Jim Roseberry


Hi Dave,
 
For basic recording/editing/mixing, you're not going to be missing a whole lot.
That's PT's forte'.  (Straight up tracking/editing/mixing)
 
PT is 32Bit... so it's limted to addressing 4GB of RAM.
If you're making extensive use of virtual instruments, that limitation can be tough.
The way around it (for PT users) is to use VE Pro to host soft-synths... running alongside PT.
IMO, It's simpler to just use Sonar and forget about it.
There's nothing you're going to do in a typical session (using PT) that couldn't be done in Sonar.  In many cases, because of your experience with Sonar... it would be quicker/easier.
 
FWIW, I have many Pro level clients... and they use whatever tool/s they want to accomplish specific tasks.  These folks are hired for their ability/skills... not for the tools they use.  If a potential client is more concerned with your software than the end-result... I'd give that gig a second thought.
As for "compatibility", you can deliver Wav files... which can be loaded into any DAW application (including ProTools).  This works 100% of the time...

Jim , i tried PT 10 and i'm shoked how it crash everytime whrn i start loading it ith plugins sometime while in sonar i can put 10 times more plugins ,preferences are tweak , but i found it way less stable to not say unusuable...is it a PT on windows thing or a PT 10 thing ?

Based on your operating premise, you should own every major PC DAW just in case, right?


The answer seems simple to me.

You should have PT10, Reaper (which you have), Studio One Two (which I believe you have), SONAR (which I KNOW you have) and whatever the "next" PC based DAW to hit the market.

bapu


Based on your operating premise, you should own every major PC DAW just in case, right?


The answer seems simple to me.

You should have PT10, Reaper (which you have), Studio One Two (which I believe you have), SONAR (which I KNOW you have) and whatever the "next" PC based DAW to hit the market.

I think Pro Tools would be the only one that I would consider profitable to own.  (I reserve the right to change my mind at any moment.)  PT is the defacto industry standard DAW application at the moment and you can't help but bump into it now and then.  If an artist wants to work with me, I suppose I could insist on using SONAR or Reaper.  In this case, he had his own producer/engineer and he wanted to rent my studio for a few hours.  When I declined due to the shortness of notification, he inquired about another date which sparked the conversation about what DAW I had available.
 
Like I mentioned before, I am simply evaluating possible return on investment and if it looks like PT can pay for itself and make me some bucks without too many headaches, I may buy it and have it available as a selling point.  Doesn't mean I have to love it the most.

Jim , i tried PT 10 and i'm shoked how it crash everytime whrn i start loading it ith plugins sometime while in sonar i can put 10 times more plugins ,preferences are tweak , but i found it way less stable to not say unusuable...is it a PT on windows thing or a PT 10 thing ?

 
Hi Zo,
 
PT can only address 4GB of RAM.
If you loaded a lot of plugins in PT10 (especially virtual instruments like Superior 2.0), you may have "RAM starved" the machine.
 
I don't find PT unstable...
I just don't care for it.  For hard-core slice/dice editing, I much prefer Samplitude's Object based approach (Reaper and Sonar share some similar features/abilities)
For composition/production/mixing, I love X1.

I still think Dave should get Pro Tools.....as he said, it's still the industry standard and it would be a selling point for him.....for example, there is a small commercial facility not too far from where I live.....this was designed by Tony Bongiovi (remember Power Plant?)...they use Sonar but do NOT have Pro Tools...frankly as much as I love Sonar, I thought this was a turn off.....every pro level studio I've heard of has a Pro Tools HD rig.....by Dave getting (I'm assuming) PT10 (the non HD version) it would definitely up his game with clients....I think all of us know Sonar is miles ahead, but he has to cater to the client

hi Jim , i'm talking about nothin but a douzen of plugins ( i7 920 !!!)!!! not a big session !!! inserting a simple plugin not heavy (waves C1 or some) and bam !!! even built in plugins ....i was about to get it to master it just in case witch i did partially , but this is just unusable !!!!

I think Jim is incorrect about the available RAM to Pro Tools. One of it's features (even though its a 32 bit app) is that if you have it installed on a 64 bit OS and you have a lot of RAM installed Tools can address all of it.

It is not unstable either. I have seen it running on a powerful MAC with three cards installed and it played back over 700 tracks with massive plugin counts. This is where it actually excells over most DAW's. It is serious in this department.

Also you can load an entire session into RAM and it plays back very fast and is very responsive. Something you cannot do in any other DAW.

It is very handy to have in your studio in terms of others wanting to use it etc or for converting sessions over to your fave DAW for mixing etc..

Mod Bod


I also use 64 bit versions of VST software.  I'm sure I will have to install the 32 bit versions once again.
 
I've got a 64 bit machine but I understand that it will run in 32bit.  Correct? 
 
I have a UAD 2 Solo coming soon as a rebate for ordering a UA 710.  Will that software run in Pro Tools?
 

Hi Dave
 
I run two system here with Pro Tools 9 native on PCs with Windows 7 64bit. Everything works fine. Pro Tools 11 is reported to be when Avid will make Pro Tools 64bit native. However, I don't think they've officially verified this yet. 
 
Yes you would have to install 32bit versions of your VST software. For example, I have Superior Drummer 2.0 and EZ Keys (64bit & 32bit) installed. Failure to install the 32bit versions means that they would just not show up in Pro Tools at all.
 
Incidentally, just for info's sake. Some of your Instrument VSTs (soft synths etc) will only show up available in plugin lists if accessing the list via the Inserts on a 'Stereo' Instrument Track. Before, I was aware of this and whilst attemting to find them in mono track plugin lists, I was convinced my plugins weren't installing propertly. Doh!
 
Your UAD card and plugins will run fine. I have a UAD-2 Duo and Solo which run fine. The plugs tend to crash if I use too low buffer settings though. They seem to favour 1024 whilst mixing.
 
Just a word to the wise. Pro Tools can be a little picky regarding the hardware it runs on. The Avid forums are punctuated with stories of frustrated people giving up. However, I guess they must be a minority given the numbers out there who get by using it just fine. My two machines are an ADK build for serious stuff and an off-the-shelf HP Desktop for goofing around on.
 
Make sure you have at least two Hard Drives, or even three. I'm sure you'll likely already have this covered though Dave.
 
Stewart
 

Jeffs , i'm talking PT native .....

In fact i have a friend engeneer that also made the same statement and use it under osx natively ...

Jeff Evans


I think Jim is incorrect about the available RAM to Pro Tools. One of it's features (even though its a 32 bit app) is that if you have it installed on a 64 bit OS and you have a lot of RAM installed Tools can address all of it.

Jim is correct.  A 32bit app cannot address more than 4GB RAM.  In Pro Tools 10 you can make a RAM disk but that is not the same thing.