Required equipment for Pro Tools 8?

Tigercat212 · Sep 27, 2009

Hello!

I am looking into Pro Tools 8 but I'm a bit confused about what I need for it. I have been reading quite a bit on the Digidesign website, and it says that I need a ProTools HD or ICON system. Would this (http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid=62&itemid=34329) work? Also, it says that I will need to put DSP cards into my system, but I have a Macbook Pro and I don't know where that goes, if it goes anywhere, so do I have to buy an external system for this?

Thanks for the help in advance!

zimv20 · Sep 27, 2009

you don't need PTHD, that's the full-blown pro ($$$$$) version.

digi/avid offers two other levels of software, PTLE and PT-M. PTLE requires digi hardware (such as the mbox and digi003) and comes free with the hardware. PT-M (where M = M-Audio) is a separate purchase for the software and runs on M-Audio hardware.

the software differences between PTLE and PT-M are minor, though PTLE is just a tiny bit more capable.

for either version, you've got a fair number of hardware choices. start with how many channels of simultaneous i/o you need.

Tigercat212 · Sep 27, 2009

zimv20 said:
you don't need PTHD, that's the full-blown pro ($$$$$) version.

digi/avid offers two other levels of software, PTLE and PT-M. PTLE requires digi hardware (such as the mbox and digi003) and comes free with the hardware. PT-M (where M = M-Audio) is a separate purchase for the software and runs on M-Audio hardware.

the software differences between PTLE and PT-M are minor, though PTLE is just a tiny bit more capable.

for either version, you've got a fair number of hardware choices. start with how many channels of simultaneous i/o you need.

I see what you're saying. I won't be getting PTHD, but I'm just curious, what features are in PTHD that are not in PTLE?

So, any of the Digi hardware comes with PTLE, right? Lastly, the purpose of the 003 rack is to connect all my gear to my computer, right?

pkoch1 · Sep 27, 2009

zimv20 said:
the software differences between PTLE and PT-M are minor, though PTLE is just a tiny bit more capable.

I haven't used M-Powered, but from what I hear there are no software differences between it and LE (other than a few plugins). I'm very curious as to what the differences are, because for many, I bet buying a nicer (than an M-Box) M-Audio interface would be a much better buy.

zimv20 · Sep 27, 2009

Tigercat212 said:
what features are in PTHD that are not in PTLE?

there are some differences listed here. i also seem to recall that PTLE has a bigger buffer to handle latency, though that info may be out of date.

So, any of the Digi hardware comes with PTLE, right?

technically, no. the LE hardware (mbox, digi003) comes with PTLE. the HD hardware (those are the PCIe cards) come with PTHD.

Lastly, the purpose of the 003 rack is to connect all my gear to my computer, right?

most of the LE interfaces offer mic pre's, line ins, a/d conversion, d/a conversion and monitoring. yes, it is designed to act as the hub of your system. "all" depends on a number of factors.

in the most basic sense, you hook a mic to the interface and record a signal into PT. then you can listen back to it. in a less basic sense, you can hook up a number of instruments / mics to it, record tracks in a multitracking environment, then monitor while you mix down the song.

zimv20 · Sep 27, 2009

pkoch1 said:
I bet buying a nicer (than an M-Box) M-Audio interface would be a much better buy.

the last time i checked prices, the cheapest way to get into PT was to buy a PTLE interface and get the software for free. originally, it looked to me that the idea of PT-M was to target current owners of M-Audio hardware who wanted to get into PT but didn't want to buy more hardware.

these days, it's a lot less clear (not that it ever was clear). it is certainly arguable that M-Audio has better hardware for the money, which is confusing in the market because LE seems to be positioned as the intermediate line, i.e. above PT-M.

i think digi's made a real mess of it and they ought to either 1) give LE more power to more clearly define it as that middle line, or 2) combine PT-M and PTLE into one line.

Tigercat212 · Sep 27, 2009

zimv20 said:
the last time i checked prices, the cheapest way to get into PT was to buy a PTLE interface and get the software for free. originally, it looked to me that the idea of PT-M was to target current owners of M-Audio hardware who wanted to get into PT but didn't want to buy more hardware.

these days, it's a lot less clear (not that it ever was clear). it is certainly arguable that M-Audio has better hardware for the money, which is confusing in the market because LE seems to be positioned as the intermediate line, i.e. above PT-M.

i think digi's made a real mess of it and they ought to either 1) give LE more power to more clearly define it as that middle line, or 2) combine PT-M and PTLE into one line.

Thanks for the information!

I just saw that yesterday they announced the Eleven Rack LE interface specifically made for guitarists. I would mainly be using Pro Tools for guitar tracks and the occasional vocal track, and I see that it has a mic input, so would this work with my Blue Bottle Rocket Stage 2 mic? Also, they say it's a "guitar-optimized" version of PTLE? What does that mean? Will it still have all the normal features of LE but just with additional guitar resources or do they mean it is LE with things taken out that wouldn't typically be used by guitarists? Do you think this would be a good option for my situation?

Also, I definitely agree with you that Digidesign has screwed up the whole system, because when I was looking at their online store, there were only upgrades for Pro Tools, because they don't tell you that it comes with the hardware. Very poor job... very poor job...

zimv20 · Sep 27, 2009

Tigercat212 said:
I see that it has a mic input, so would this work with my Blue Bottle Rocket Stage 2 mic?

yes, that should work fine.

no idea what a "guitar-optimized" version of PTLE is.

<rant>
digi clearly is putting a lot of R&D / marketing towards the consumer market, which is somewhat distressing to me as i'm in limbo waiting for a better mid-tier solution, but not wanting to invest so much money to get HD. i've been running an 002r/rosetta800 combo for a few years now. i mix down 16 tracks in analog, but 8 of those have to be the kinda crappy digi conversion. i want to move to 32 channels at mixdown, but i can't do it at the LE level. it's really absurd, not to mention the lack of ADC at the LE level.

all i want is a box from them, serving as a dongle, to which i can connect up to 64 channels of my own conversion. i don't want mic pre's, i don't want onb oard conversion, i don't even need monitoring. i'll give them $3k for this stupid (and i do mean "no on-board smarts) box. what i don't want is to have to fork out some $8-12k for HD, as this is a hobby for me and i'd rather put that kind of money into mics and outboard gear.

i wish their software wasn't so damn easy for me, such that i could switch to Logic (blech) or DP (double blech).
</rant>

Tigercat212 · Sep 27, 2009

zimv20 said:
yes, that should work fine.

no idea what a "guitar-optimized" version of PTLE is.

<rant>
digi clearly is putting a lot of R&D / marketing towards the consumer market, which is somewhat distressing to me as i'm in limbo waiting for a better mid-tier solution, but not wanting to invest so much money to get HD. i've been running an 002r/rosetta800 combo for a few years now. i mix down 16 tracks in analog, but 8 of those have to be the kinda crappy digi conversion. i want to move to 32 channels at mixdown, but i can't do it at the LE level. it's really absurd, not to mention the lack of ADC at the LE level.

all i want is a box from them, serving as a dongle, to which i can connect up to 64 channels of my own conversion. i don't want mic pre's, i don't want onb oard conversion, i don't even need monitoring. i'll give them $3k for this stupid (and i do mean "no on-board smarts) box. what i don't want is to have to fork out some $8-12k for HD, as this is a hobby for me and i'd rather put that kind of money into mics and outboard gear.

i wish their software wasn't so damn easy for me, such that i could switch to Logic (blech) or DP (double blech).
</rant>

I agree. It seems like there is an almost non-existant gap between LE and M, but then from those two to HD it seems like a rediculous gap.

Also, is it possible to move Logic projects over to Pro Tools?

Lastly, what small console should I get to help with my mixing. Is there something that is relatively small but has many features? Is the Command 8 good?

pkoch1 · Sep 27, 2009

zimv20 said:
no idea what a "guitar-optimized" version of PTLE is.

<rant>
digi clearly is putting a lot of R&D / marketing towards the consumer market, which is somewhat distressing to me as i'm in limbo waiting for a better mid-tier solution, but not wanting to invest so much money to get HD.

i wish their software wasn't so damn easy for me, such that i could switch to Logic (blech) or DP (double blech).
</rant>

<myturntorant>
Unfortunately, that's what everyone is doing now. DP7 just came out and all they really added was guitar effects. I'm still looking for them to upgrade more of their MIDI and film scoring tools. PT is doing a similar thing (although PT8 was a very welcome upgrade, and caused my switch from Logic for audio). Logic just added the guitar stomp boxes and "speed fades" and that was it. I obviously understand why they are doing it ($), but I wish one would stand out from the pack and really cater themselves towards professionals without the $10k price tag. If Logic and DP want to be professional recording software, they can't keep trying to lower their prices and add consumer features.
</myturntorant>

Then again, I use DP6 (no reason for me to upgrade to DP7) and PT8 almost every day, and they do get the job done.

zimv20 said:
the last time i checked prices, the cheapest way to get into PT was to buy a PTLE interface and get the software for free. originally, it looked to me that the idea of PT-M was to target current owners of M-Audio hardware who wanted to get into PT but didn't want to buy more hardware.

True on the level of the M-Box, but past the M-Box, there is only the 003 or PTHD. With M-Powered, you would be able to get something like the ProFire 2626 + PT-M for less than the cost of a 003, then you can expand from there from only ~$900 per 8-channels. I can see that being much better than shelling out the money for a couple of 003 Rack+Factorys (which are twice the cost).

Tigercat212 · Sep 29, 2009

pkoch1 said:
<myturntorant>
Unfortunately, that's what everyone is doing now. DP7 just came out and all they really added was guitar effects. I'm still looking for them to upgrade more of their MIDI and film scoring tools. PT is doing a similar thing (although PT8 was a very welcome upgrade, and caused my switch from Logic for audio). Logic just added the guitar stomp boxes and "speed fades" and that was it. I obviously understand why they are doing it ($), but I wish one would stand out from the pack and really cater themselves towards professionals without the $10k price tag. If Logic and DP want to be professional recording software, they can't keep trying to lower their prices and add consumer features.
</myturntorant>

Then again, I use DP6 (no reason for me to upgrade to DP7) and PT8 almost every day, and they do get the job done.

True on the level of the M-Box, but past the M-Box, there is only the 003 or PTHD. With M-Powered, you would be able to get something like the ProFire 2626 + PT-M for less than the cost of a 003, then you can expand from there from only ~$900 per 8-channels. I can see that being much better than shelling out the money for a couple of 003 Rack+Factorys (which are twice the cost).

Wait, if I was using PTLE, could I use an M-Audio interface? It seems foolish to have to buy another version of the software just to use a MIDI interface.

Tigercat212 · Oct 3, 2009

Hey everyone!

I have one more question. If I was to buy the plug-in Strike, would I be able to use either a Command 8 or C24 to directly control the drums?

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