and the winner of the shameless plug and hyperbole award goes to...:D
 

Chrishubb2448
I think that the new Pro Tools 11 update could be worth all the trouble that is may cause. A LOT of the new features are great on 11. It finally has many features that all engineers have been waiting for. Pro Tools 11 redefines professional music and audio production for today’s workflows. From all-new audio and video engines and turbocharged 64-bit performance, to expanded metering and new HD video workflows. Pro Tools 11 also has 64-bit performance. This means much more accessible RAM to boost performance and you can creatively take your music and audio production to a whole new level, while handling bigger mixes with thousands of clips, take advantage of larger VI sampler sizes, and enjoy more system headroom. Pro Tools 11 is the dedicated low-latency input and playback buffers. This allows you to monitor record inputs on native systems with ultra-low latency — without sacrificing plug-in performance. To me, one of the best features of Pro Tools 11 is that you can now speed up delivery with offline bounce. With faster-than-real-time offline bounce, you can speed up your final mix or stem deliveries, up to 150x faster. Those little add-ons from Pro Tools 10 makes 11 better already. There are a ton more things that Avid has added and Im sure that you can read that on their website. One of my main things was the offline bounce, and I am finally happy that it is in 11. I have never used SONAR but I think that Pro Tools is still going to be the best recording software out there. 
 
- Chris Hubbard
 
 

 
 

I've been using Cakewalk software since '99 when I bought a copy of Guitar Tracks.  I've thought about experimenting with Pro Tools but just haven't been able to justify the cost for what it includes.  I'll probably stick with whatever the latest version of Sonar is unless I end up with a ton of money laying around I can't figure out how to spend.

Ryan Munnis [Cakewalk]

Studious

Ryan Munnis [Cakewalk]
You should try SONAR. You found your way to our site after all! I use both as well and prefer SONAR personally. Most of the kids I show it to at Berklee are amazed at what SONAR can do :)
 
Free 30 day trial is available if you're interested in checking it out: http://www.cakewalk.com/p...s/sonar/web-trial.aspx

Oh man, you had me there Ryan!  I thought it was the X3 trial.
 
Any idea when/if the X3 trial will be available?  Thanks.

Lol sorry I didn't mean to deceive. Unfortunately I'm not sure though it's an active discussion. All hands are currently on deck for X3c and various "other" stuff. You still on the fence?

Ryan,
I am indeed on the fence.  I've been reading nice feedback on X3, and I really hope the updates and communication continue from Cakewalk. But my experience with X2a requires that I trial X3 before buying in again.
Thanks for responding!

Chrishubb2448
I think that the new Pro Tools 11 update could be worth all the trouble that is may cause. A LOT of the new features are great on 11. It finally has many features that all engineers have been waiting for. Pro Tools 11 redefines professional music and audio production for today’s workflows. From all-new audio and video engines and turbocharged 64-bit performance, to expanded metering and new HD video workflows. Pro Tools 11 also has 64-bit performance. This means much more accessible RAM to boost performance and you can creatively take your music and audio production to a whole new level, while handling bigger mixes with thousands of clips, take advantage of larger VI sampler sizes, and enjoy more system headroom. Pro Tools 11 is the dedicated low-latency input and playback buffers. This allows you to monitor record inputs on native systems with ultra-low latency — without sacrificing plug-in performance. To me, one of the best features of Pro Tools 11 is that you can now speed up delivery with offline bounce. With faster-than-real-time offline bounce, you can speed up your final mix or stem deliveries, up to 150x faster. Those little add-ons from Pro Tools 10 makes 11 better already. There are a ton more things that Avid has added and Im sure that you can read that on their website. One of my main things was the offline bounce, and I am finally happy that it is in 11. I have never used SONAR but I think that Pro Tools is still going to be the best recording software out there. 
 
- Chris Hubbard
 
 

 Well, it's too coherent to be McQ
 
 

I believe Pro Tools is left-handed and Sonar right-handed. They both have to do with music , but different ways of using them . They are both DAWS, nothing more,nothing less.

Pro Tools is not king because it's best. It's king because it was first. When a brand is positioned as the true first leader in the marketplace (like Coca-Cola, McDonalds, etc.), it's almost impossible to beat unless the company screws up bigtime or a vastly superior competitor arrives with a massive marketing budget to change customers' minds en masse.
 
I was forced to use Pro Tools at a broadcast production facility in the early 2000's. Management research had concluded that it was the "industry standard", yet everyone there hated it, because it made easy tasks difficult. The company ended up switching to Cool Edit Pro and saving a lot of money while getting jobs done quicker. Not one single client noticed that anything had changed at all.
 
For some time now, Sonar's features have outclassed Pro Tools, but that's gone unnoticed by Pro Tools aficiandos because they are happy with the product, and frankly, that is all they know. Most are probably too busy to spend any time demoing Sonar X3, but if they did, I believe they would start to fall out of love with Pro Tools.  

Companies like Avid scare the **** out of me - they don't offer products to the market based on demand - they try to control market.
 
1. Software and hardware went together at start
With a gun to their head they started support ASIO in general
 
2. They always use their own plugin standard - controlling every aspect of what they do
With a gun to their head they let the VST wrappers exist
 
3. Now with AAX plugin standard they go even further - all plugin vendors must have some iLok code in there as well.
They also prohibited wrappers for AAX from other format - to be able to control market still.
We'll see how that goes - is a gun enough these days, would take a bomb probably.
 
And the iLok thingy make them a no-no anyway.
 
The path music industry is taking seems less and less these huge multimillion dollar creatures - wider range of studios are emerging with much smaller production cost. It's still a big industry with the old style studios - but probably will fade away - as will Avid.
 
More and more studios/artists that fill the charts are selfmade.

Freddie H
PRO TOOLS 
 .........
   
As many of you maybe remember PRO TOOLS 9 didn't even work or installed on VISTA, WINDOWS 7 x32 or x64 at first.
The problems is still there in PRO TOOLS 10 not talk about all horrible workarounds still need to do with PRO TOOLS 10 x32bit just to make it work on a modern Windows 7 x64bit or Windows 7 x32 system.  
    
 ........
   
   
   
Best Regards
Freddie

That's very strange Freddie. I have PT 9 working fine in a Win x64 Laptop.

All the studios I've been in recently have had icons for Pro Tools, Logic, Sonar and Cubase sitting on their desktop. Some even had Reaper as well as a few of the usual post production editors Wavelab, Soundforge, Audition etc. I would put it to anyone who thinks pros only use PT? That in this day and age, it would be far more beneficial to cover as many bases of compatibility as possible. This is the same principle applied by those with massive plugin collections. They ammass the collection not so they can use all 1000 (plus?) VSTs in every project. But so they have compatibility with whoever they work with. It would be a potentially damaging business decision to turn away clients solely based on the fact that they do not have the program that you prefer to use.

Speaking to a couple of guys that run their own studio recently. They both remarked at how difficult it had become to remain viable and that learning multiple DAWs and having them available in their studio, was key to their current success. As it was stated much further back in this thread, the music is more important than the tools. Telling a potential client, who has some great songs, that they can't work with me until they port their project to PT? Probably means a higher likelihood of losing their business to a studio that's prepared to be flexible.

Yes, the time used to exist where a lot of studios would stand arms folded, shaking their heads at you if you couldn't provide them with a PT session. But thanks to the many (smaller & mid sized) studios offering multiple platforms and the tsunami of bedroom producers breaking through to the airwaves? The days of adapt or die have arrived. In recent years I haven't had a single issue dealing with studios when using projects from Cubase or Sonar. As such my copy of PT8 hasn't been fired up in about two and a half years.

((*Apologies if something like this has already been said, the thread was kind of doing my head in, so I skipped a bunch of pages*))

PT owns the post production film world.
 
Does my blasted head in, Sonar will address the catch up on Video issues with X3d tho which I CANT WAIT FOR.
 
When you deliver a film the Distribution companies SPECIFICALLY ask for Pro Tools sessions of the audio work.
 
Try saying to your Producer "I run Sonar, I dont use PT"...Meh....
 
I hate Avid, I hate the control they have on the market and I only use PT to deliver. All my creative work is done with Sonar.
 
Sod PT and sod Avid, but its a necessary evil in my industry.