Pro Tools 7

[Mr. Tunes]

I own all the sequencers and find that the midi side in Protools is the only thing letting it down except for maybe the track count also.

i agree of course but sometimes I can foresee a use in having such a bareboned midi editor. maybe for stuff like ringtones you'd want to have something that basic? how about when all your sequencing is done externally on a korg or an akai?

[dramsenik]

1.bounce in realtime AND non realtime

It could happen

2.freeze track

It will probably never happen

3.Real PDC ... because now we have one that a lot of people are not aware of: "Pro Tools LE DOES compensate for host-based plug-ins using the CPU for processing by way of the HW buffer"
So this stripped down version of PDC work up to HW buffer time and don't work for external hardware.

PT will never have true pdc for mpowered/le. That is why you pay more money for the TDM/hardware stuff. I didn't say I like it, but that is how it works.

4.maybe up to 48 tracks

Not gonna happen, but it should.....very dissapointing.
Originally as a program that used external hardware only for real processing/recording this is a problem for le/mpowered for life. If anyone has le/mpowered then you know how hoover-like disc usage can be. This is somthing that will have to be re-done to get the tracks up.

5.maybe surround

TDM, that's it.

6.maybe copy to send

please clarify what you mean. I am pretty sure that could be happinin' if I am understanding you.

Anyway i'm glad with what i have now and will nevertheless upgrade to PT7 (and continue to whine and wait until we have all TDM features ...

6.8 (mpowered) is so stable it will be hard to match, but I believe there will be some little niceties that will appeal to those who "get it" when it comes to pt.

freeze track and up to 48 tracks: Are you aware of informations/something i don't know ? I began with PTLE 5.0 in year 1999 and at this time we had only 24tracks, no Rewire, no possibility to load VST, no Asio drivers for digi hardware,no beat detective, no possibility to inactivate tracks, etc.

All these things that we were sure that it would never happen in PTLE world. I'm pretty sure that we will have more tracks in the future...but when? for me the future was PT 7 but it is not...

Copy tracks to send: (It's a TDM feature only...)
Used for matching the settings in the track itself—for example, to provide
a headphone mix based on the main mix.
(In one click copy all automation to send...)

[koolkeys]

Why does having the MIDI on the same screen have to happen for it to be good? It's a matter of how you work. Yeah, some people prefer the key editor, but many, including myself, like the one screen approach. It doesn't have to be like all the other sequencers, many of which are adding the one screen approach to MIDI.

Also, PTLE DOES NOT have a track limit. It has a VOICE limit. And it only applies to audio. You can have as many MIDI tracks as you want. And with the audio, you can have up to 32 voices playing, with more tracks than that. Plus, you can automate the tracks so that you can change which voices are playing, so you can cut voices when they aren't playing.

Yes, it's still a limitation, but it's a misunderstood one.

Koolkeys

[FlounderEye]

you can automate the tracks so that you can change which voices are playing, so you can cut voices when they aren't playing.

Could you elaborate a bit? I use Protools almost daily (on an unprofessional basis). I have a funny feeling I could benefit from what you're describing. I'm always hitting my limit with unnecessary harmony tracks and the like.

Sorry to be off topic, but does any other host offer the kind of audio editing functionality that protools does? I've always felt that it was a bit like a musical version of Excel. My experience in other hosts has not been good in this regard. Perhaps the midi focus here at KVR explains the constant criticisms that seem to pop up.

Regards

[Mr. Tunes]

i think kool keys is referring to dynamic voice allocation, basically on the track you can select if it's going to use up a voice when a voice becomes available or not at all(the button that says DYN).

i also think that the order of your tracks also determines what will get played back and what will not.

i think many people would argue that the other hosts like cubase offer some sort of audio editing that can at least compete with pro tools. if you learn your quick keys in any program you can come close, but there's some sort of magic in pro tools with editing audio i dont know what it is. it sounds cheezy but i think it's true

[koolkeys]

Mr Tunes is right. I believe there is a way to automate it traditionally also, but I'm not quite certain on that. But that is what I'm talking about. It can help alot to get around the limitation if you don't have more than 32 voices playing at one time.

Plus, as I said, MIDI tracks aren't limited. And even audio tracks themselves aren't limited, just the voices that can play.

Koolkeys

[koolkeys]

Oh, and with version 7 it seems to get even better as it adds instrument tracks. I hope this means that now virtual instrument tracks won't be considered an audio voice when playing. I'm not sure about the details. But up till now, you had to have a MIDI track and an audio track. So if your MIDI was playing an instrument, it used a voice, cause it was playing through an audio track.

Koolkeys

[_oswald]

Oh, and with version 7 it seems to get even better as it adds instrument tracks. I hope this means that now virtual instrument tracks won't be considered an audio voice when playing. I'm not sure about the details. But up till now, you had to have a MIDI track and an audio track. So if your MIDI was playing an instrument, it used a voice, cause it was playing through an audio track.

Koolkeys

IIRC, instruments used AUX tracks, which didn't use voices.

[Mr. Tunes]

IIRC, instruments used AUX tracks, which didn't use voices.

hmmm the only instance i know of instruments using audio tracks was on TDM systems. maybe he used that one a lot and got confused?

[koolkeys]

I should have clarified. You CAN use an audio track with virtual instruments in LE, but it's not the "proper" way. I do it differently some times for some reason. And I do use TDM alot also, so disregard that part of what I said.

I have been Digidesign trained and certified, and even the "official" training materials do teach to use an aux track. Don't ask me why I do it different, cause I'm really not sure. Maybe because I use PT for mostly audio since it's usually used for outside projects. Sorry bout that confusion.

Koolkeys

[Midi_Glider]

but there's some sort of magic in pro tools with editing audio i dont know what it is. it sounds cheezy but i think it's true

Well, I don`t know anything about magic and other mythical things, but I do believe that in recent years many other hosts have caught up (and to an extent surpassed) audio editing in the PT environment (witch, don't get me wrong, *is* good).

Could you please elaborate in what ways is the audio editing suite in PT superior to other editing platforms? Personally, I have found that in regard to audio editing, there are a few things I can do in PT and not in, say, Nuendo, but on the other hand many things I can do in Nuendo but not in PT. in addition, editing audio in Nuendo seems to be a much faster affair then in protools.

(Just my own personal opinion, of course, but I would love to hear some input from the more "Hardcore" PT users in here... )


Best,
midi.

[dramsenik]

Not to start war and flames here but the thing i really dislike in Nuendo it's the fact that you have to open another window to zoom a lot (for editing purpose) ...in PT i store my editing zoom defaut hit just "1" and there i am to cut, draw. Besides that the command focus mode really rules. (that make your editing ultra fast) I also really like in PT the way the scroll mouse act since 6.4


But myself i don't know enough Nuendo to judge...i've just seen people working on it and ....

I've also tried in nuendo to extract a tempo map from an audio track and wasn't able to do that...i'm sure there's a way but a hidden one ???

[Midi_Glider]

i really dislike in Nuendo it's the fact that you have to open another window to zoom a lot (for editing purpose)

actually, far from it. Nuendo zooming system is by far more flexible then in PT. you can assign custom key commands to different zoom level presets (up to 10), you have a 'zoom to selection' function (simply select a small range of audio or an entire event, hit the zoom to selection shortcut and youl have it it fully blown on your screen), you have unlimited zooming undo and many other little zooming features- and its all there on your main screen up to the 1 sample level.

I've also tried in nuendo to extract a tempo map from an audio track and wasn't able to do that...I'm sure there's a way but a hidden one ???

Well, I don`t know where you have looked, there is the "merge tempo from tapping" function (witch converts tapping notes from your midi keyboard to a dynamic tempo map of the project), or you can use the time warp feature. both are phenomenal for these kind of tasks.


Best,
midi.

[dramsenik]

...you have an undo for zooming and many other little zooming features- and its all there on your main screen up to the 1 sample level

Thanks,
i knew it...

Theses recording engineers these days have maybe golden ear but often no clue for using computers and softwares efficiently...

[FlounderEye]

My only experience with audio editing outside of Protools was with Cakewalk Home Studio 2 (to my knowledge and experience all the Cakewalk line is the same at the editing level). I found it hopelessly stilted for audio editing, although I use HS 2 for it's staff view and anything midi related - whereafter I take my bounced instrument track into Protools so I can record and edit vocals to my hearts content.

I couldn't find simple analogues in HS 2 to Protools' shortcut keys, and the region selection was unnecessarily roundabout. As I said above, though, gotta love that staff view.

Regards