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Hi all, I had an "interesting" email today from a hit songwriter but I won't say his name. He lives in my town so I asked him some recording advise. He said that Protools is the industry standard and anything else (other than perhaps Logic) is for hobbyists. Is this right? Anyone know of any websites that compare DAWs performance etc? I do know that most recording studios have ProTools. I have Cubase - does that make me a rank amateur?? I have nothing to compare it with. I spoke to a recording engineer who said I could take my Cubase tracks in as WAV files and he could put them into Protools - is this right? Will they line up and all be in time???This songwriter is not a nice person, I have to say, sadly. SO full of himself. He disturbed me. I'm glad he's not a Taxi member. I've had a strange day, what with his email and my next door neighbor being arrested (hurrah!) that's a whole other story. Georgie

Sept 18, 2008, 1:30pm, georginasaint wrote:He said that Protools is the industry standard and anything else (other than perhaps Logic) is for hobbyists. Is this right? GeorgieYour neighbour is indeed a jerk. I use Logic. An idiot blames his tools. And we all start out as hobbyists.

No. Not at all. Aside from plain ignorance, I don't know how that guy came to that conclusion. There are a number of people here that use Cubase or Sonar and make a very nice living writing music. I would not classify them as "hobbyists" at all. The only real advantage I see to using protools is if you are somebody that is in and out of studios all the time and you have to swap project files back and forth. And even then it can be slightly debatable depending on the plug in situation you have going between the studios and your home studio. Yes, you can bounce everything out of cubase as a wav file and import into protools no problem. A lot of people do that. You don't really need to do that though to make your song sound "pro" or whatever. If you have the tools, and most importantly the ears, you can write, record, and mix songs in Cubase that will sound just as good as anything you hear on the radio. There really is nothing special about pro tools IMHO.HTH-Steve

Sept 18, 2008, 1:42pm, sgs4u wrote:Sept 18, 2008, 1:30pm, georginasaint wrote:He said that Protools is the industry standard and anything else (other than perhaps Logic) is for hobbyists. Is this right? GeorgieYour neighbour is indeed a jerk. I use Logic. An idiot blames his tools. And we all start out as hobbyists. I'm a Pro Tools snob who knows it IS the industry standard for the professional studio -- but I know lots of professionals who use other tools.If you know what you are doing you can produce broadcast quality with something like garage band. Just because you own a race car doesn't mean you can drive it. Pick a tool and learn how to use it. These days just about any of the top dog software can do the trick.Aub

I've worked on both Logic and Protools. Pro Tools USED to be the only really thing going but it isn't anymore.Logic is what I use. It crashes a lot less, you can use third party interfaces, your track count isn't limited, it comes with some pretty cool plugins, etc.Since v8 it handles audio way better than it used to and it is a lot more intuitive.Yes, the .wav file idea is correct.Sept 18, 2008, 1:30pm, georginasaint wrote:. I have Cubase - does that make me a rank amateur?? GeorgieAbout 20 years ago I was playing in a small club. A guy walked in wearing a holy t-shirt and faded/stained kakis. He'd always came in dressed that way. He was listed in Forbes as one of the richest men in the US! Christi

If you want good advice on a recording system, don't ask a hit songwriter, ask an engineer.If you want good advice on writing hit songs, now you can ask the engineer to leave the room for a moment. Of course, that engineer might still have great advice on that as well...Industry standard does not mean better, it means more prevalent. ProTools is like Microsoft Windows or Coca-Cola...it commands the market, but that doesn't mean the other brands are worse. All the DAWs have their strengths and weaknesses, and there are many that do some things in easier ways than in ProTools. But whatever you use, you can always convert your tracks for use in a ProTools studio. With every passing year, all the DAWs get better and better. In a few more years, converting all your tracks to WAV files will probably be a quick as burning a CD. Find a DAW you like and learn it well.Oh, by the way, I read a post from a veteran producer the other day on Gearslutz who said in passing that even though "most studios use either ProTools or Cubase", the other DAWs are also great too... (I like Cubase too.)

Sept 18, 2008, 1:30pm, georginasaint wrote:Hi all, I had an "interesting" email today from a hit songwriter but I won't say his name. He lives in my town so I asked him some recording advise. He said that Protools is the industry standard and anything else (other than perhaps Logic) is for hobbyists. Is this right? Anyone know of any websites that compare DAWs performance etc? I do know that most recording studios have ProTools. I have Cubase - does that make me a rank amateur?? I have nothing to compare it with. I spoke to a recording engineer who said I could take my Cubase tracks in as WAV files and he could put them into Protools - is this right? Will they line up and all be in time???This songwriter is not a nice person, I have to say, sadly. SO full of himself. He disturbed me. I'm glad he's not a Taxi member. I've had a strange day, what with his email and my next door neighbor being arrested (hurrah!) that's a whole other story. GeorgieI think you already answered your own question. Your instincts tell you this guy's a jerk. So why would you listen to anything he says? I know professional composers who use Logic, Sonar, CuBase, ProTools, Digital Performer... and I myself use MacKie's Tracktion. We all get forwards and have signed deals with publishers & libraries. It's not the tool, it's having the skill & knowledge to use it. And let's just add this - whether you have ProTools or not, it all starts with the composition - the craft of songwriting. Having ProTools will not make a so-so-song great.This kinda reminds me of when I first started thinking about moving to the Island. I went to the largest music school here and had an interview with the person in charge of the voice department. She was not interested in hiring me, and she also told me that competition was fierce and the only way I'd get any students was to go out into the suburbs. More fool me, I believed her & resigned myself to the idea that I couldn't make a go of it here. But later I had the chance to share a space for awhile, so I put an ad in the local weekly for one month to see if I could get a couple students. Well... I had to pull it after 2 or 3 weeks because I had so many replies! I haven't run an ad in any paper here for years - and my studio is chock full and I have a waiting list. In other words, don't buy the hype.

Sept 18, 2008, 1:30pm, georginasaint wrote:I have Cubase - does that make me a rank amateur?? Haha...it puts you in the same boat as that "rank amateur" Hans Zimmer, among many others. I write music for a living and happen to use Cubase. I'm sure I could also make a living using Logic, or Sonar or DP...or even ProTools (but who wants to suffer... ).ProTools IS the standard for *recording* in professional studios (largely for historical reasons btw), but there is no professional standard for composing, and most professional composers use something other than ProTools to *compose* on.Don't listen to this fool...go write some music! matto

Awh, very interesting stuff you guys can't wait to meet you all at the Rally!Yes you've given me good info there and confirmed my thoughts on what this guy said! I stick to my Cubase.Many thanks!Georgie

Sept 18, 2008, 2:20pm, lyle wrote:If you want good advice on a recording system, don't ask a hit songwriter, ask an engineer.That pretty much sums it up. LOL.