smallstonefan Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 I've spent the last few months digesting all sorts of training videos (the Mix with the Masters are amazing) and of course, everyone in the videos uses Pro Tools. I use Ableton for composing and Studio One for mixing, and on paper it seems like Pro Tools would be a step backwards from Studio One. That said, I find it appealing to use the tool that I see used all the time by the professionals in their training videos and feel like I might be missing out on something. I've had a one year subscription in my cart a few times but just can't convince myself to pull the trigger. thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StudioNSFW Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 (edited) Personally, not for years. Couldn't even tell you what I am missing out on at this point. Used it quite a lot in Nashville but one place I worked with out there for a major project was a Sonar shop. The Studio owner seemed to really like it (or maybe was just defending not being a Pro-Tools house) and he convinced me to give it a whirl. When I started producing I went the PC/Sonar route and have been pretty happy with it... even major label releases can be done start to finish in good old Sonar X1 Producer (although I will confess I use GoldWave for quick .WAV edits) . Given the quality and functionality CbB now offers, the only advantage I see in going to Pro-Tools would be easier interoperability with a larger ecosystem and a bigger pool of sound engineers who know the platform as it is what is being taught in the schools (at least locally), but I can export stems as needed and no one seems to have much of a problem with them, and I can import stems easily enough as well. You might check out Mikes @Creative Sauce tutorials for a lot of good info in using CbB - I've used the software for a long time and still picked up a lot of tricks. I know some guys bounce back and forth between a lot of different DAWs and, for some genres I guess it makes sense...but CbB hasn't had any feature gaps that have impacted my work, works perfectly fine with my setup (After a few afternoons of hair pulling frustration to get it set up initially with the outboard gear) and, like video post production, I feel it it is WAY better to know one tool really in depth than know how to basically work with a bunch of them. If you want a job at a studio, it really makes sense to know Pro-tools at a very proficient level. If you want to have a studio...I cannot see the advantage. This, of course, may be based on an old world view as I left Nashville over 10 years ago... And on that note I have to share: Edited June 7, 2020 by StudioNSFW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallstonefan Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 I appreciate your perspective, thanks! I consider myself an expert on Sonar and I've used Cakewalk software since the mid 90s. I only left during the sale debacle which led me to Studio One. I found Studio One to be far more stable than Sonar was, and the integration with Faderport 16 is top notch. I still have a special place in my heart for Sonar and I defend it has having many innovative features before any competitors. I pull up old projects in it, but I don't use it for new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapu Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 James, I don't use Pro-Tools but I own a perpetual license. What I do with it thus far is export stems from (*cough* cough*) Studio One and import them into Pro-Tools and can send that session to my friend who is a Pro-Tools only guy. He's a live mixer and wants to learn record production. His live rig is 99% of the time an AVID desk so he can play around with mixes while on the road. The other thing I do is use when a tutorial offers the session in Pro-Tool format I can really study it. Gotta agree with @StudioNSFW that unless you want to open a for hire studio owning a copy may keep an adament "you user ProTools right?" client. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapu Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, James Foxall said: I appreciate your perspective, thanks! I consider myself an expert on Sonar and I've used Cakewalk software since the mid 90s. I only left during the sale debacle which led me to Studio One. I found Studio One to be far more stable than Sonar was, and the integration with Faderport 16 is top notch. I still have a special place in my heart for Sonar and I defend it has having many innovative features before any competitors. I pull up old projects in it, but I don't use it for new ones. Ditto. I only use CbB to create a tracking shell with markers, tempo and time signature data for a few of my die-hard CbB collaborators and send along a tracking WAV or stems as needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallstonefan Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 Thanks Ed - this helps! I have to admit that I have no specific reason for wanting to try Pro Tools other than I have never used it before. I suspect my time would be better spent just using Studio One. That said, I can see myself getting into those expensive control surfaces in the future when I build my next studio. I suspect I'm a good 6+ years out from that though. When it happens, I'll see you in Florida! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapu Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 (edited) One other caution from my experience. ProTools on Windows is a dog when you start getting up to large amounts of FXs. ProTools on Windows is not as efficient as on a Mac. My Win 10 Pro Machine is 32 GB of DDR3 RAM & 3.4GHz i7 2600K 3.4 Quad Core My 2014 MacBook Pro is 16GB 1600 Mhz DDR3 RAM & 2GHz i7 Quad Core I have a tutorial project that will drop the audio engine after about 30 seconds of play in PT on Win 10. The whole song will play on the MacBook Pro. Maybe the Mac VSTs are more solid? IDK. Also, PT will does allow buffers over 1024. It tells you you're out of RAM and try switching to Native VSTs. Huh? Oh yeah, I have ProTools Native not HD. Edited June 7, 2020 by Bapu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StudioNSFW Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Bapu said: (*cough* cough*) Studio One You should really have that looked at...Could be the COVIDS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulo Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Bapu said: (*cough* cough*) Studio One 26 minutes ago, StudioNSFW said: You should really have that looked at...Could be the COVIDS! Yeah, it does to have become quite repetitive lately, Seek medical help Bapu, before it's Pro Too late. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallstonefan Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Bapu said: One other caution from my experience. ProTools on Windows is a dog when you start getting up to large amounts of FXs. ProTools on Windows is not as efficient as on a Mac. That pretty much clinches it for me. I have a beefy system and I love the stability of S1 - I don't want to go backwards in that department. Ah well, maybe I should pick up the CTC-1 console shaper and have some fun. What I REALLY should do is track all these acoustic parts I've written for a new song. Or maybe finish this mix before I can't stand hearing it. Or maybe buy another toy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Gregy Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 4 hours ago, James Foxall said: Or maybe buy another toy.... 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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