Pro Tools 10 – Review

by Paul Bordenkircher, Mesa Sand Music

www.mesasandmusic.com

With the power of modern personal computers and the availability of recording software, most musicians and songwriters have started recording their own compositions. If you’ve just started your research, you’ve probably come along many different names for software in this category – Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer, Live and certainly, Pro Tools, to name just a few. Each of these is a type of software commonly known as a DAW – short for Digital Audio Workstation.

Today, the name is kind of a misnomer. Most modern DAWs now handle more than just audio – namely, MIDI, software instruments, effects and other processing. Pro Tools is no exception. Now in its 10th version, Avid’s Pro Tools is in many ways the pre-eminent recording software among large recording studios. But if you’re looking to start doing your own recording, the first question is: will Pro Tools be the best choice for you?

Advantages

Pro Tools has a number of strengths which help make it one of the dominant recording software products available.

• Dominance in professional studios. If you plan to do any work in a professional recording studio, it is almost without question that the studio will have Pro Tools installed. If you use Pro Tools at home, you can literally bring the recording you’ve already begun at home, and your session will quickly open on their system, with very few hassles.

• Power. If you’re recording a large number of tracks at once – in the ballpark of 20 channels or more – Pro Tools is one of the most stable programs for high track counts. Other programs have known to freeze up or crash when recording a lot of tracks at once. This is one of the reasons for its dominance in large studios.

• Flexibility. When Pro Tools 9 released in 2010, one of its celebrated new features was that it no longer requires the user to own one of Avid’s proprietary interfaces (used to convert audio to code the computer can use). Virtually any interface from any manufacturer will now work with Pro Tools. However, the software now requires the user to purchase an iLok, which stores the software’s registration and serial number.

• Features. All DAWs in the past several years have added support for both MIDI and audio. With Avid’s purchase of Sibelius, the music notation software giant, Pro Tools now also has a healthy set of features for printing out quality sheet music from your sessions.

• Good community support. Because Pro Tools has such a large user base, there are a large number of support websites online to answer your questions, including Avid’s own user support forums.

Disadvantages

While Pro Tools reigns as the leader in market share in major studios, it is not without its own shortcomings.

• Steep learning curve. Like many of the more advanced DAWs such as Cubase or Logic, professional recording software has a lot of advanced features which can take a long time to learn. Which means you may spend a lot of money on software you never fully learn.

• Limited number of plugins. In the DAW, plugins expand your software’s capability to process your tracks. There are plugins for equalization, dynamics control (i.e., compression and limiting), effects (i.e., delay and reverb), even software instruments like drum machines and synths. Many other DAWs include dozens, even hundreds of plugins with the program. Pro Tools definitely lags behind the others in the number and types of plugins included free. So if you choose Pro Tools, leave some money in your budget for more plugins.

• Limited creative tools. Pro Tools is clearly behind the curve when it comes to creative tools to help the aspiring songwriter or performer. Some DAWs like Logic can include as much as 40 GB worth of drum and music loops, as well as other content. Pro Tools includes some content, but it still seems like an afterthought on Avid’s part.

In addition, other DAWs include tools centered around creativity, like pitch and tempo matching, which make using their included content much easier. This is another area where Pro Tools is still playing catch-up.

• Engineering focus. While Pro Tools is a pre-eminent DAW for recording studio engineers, that does not necessarily translate to more creative ends. Engineers love Pro Tools because of its extensive recording and editing features, that does not mean it’s a great choice for songwriters and performers.

DAWs like Garageband have made inroads with songwriters and performers for the very reason that they’re highly UN-technical programs. They let you easily create a track and start recording, while the creative urge strikes. Pro Tools can be quite daunting for those who are less technically inclined.

• Poor company support. Users have complained for year’s that Avid’s own customer support is sorely lacking. If you do call Avid, it’s not uncommon to be on hold for nearly an hour before a live person gets on the line. So if you decide to use Pro Tools, be sure to get tied in to the user communities for support.

Conclusion

In my experience, I’ve found nearly all large studios use Pro Tools. However, I’ve also seen more and more studios start installing other programs with a different set of tools. The most common I’ve seen have been Logic Pro and Reason, but commercial studios will usually install other software based on their clients’ particular needs.

Pro Tools is still a great choice for recording. But depending on your particular style of music and the way you like to work, you may find other DAWs will help you capture your creative ideas more efficiently.

Paul Bordenkircher is Managing Member of Mesa Sand Music, an independent music publisher. He is also an instructor at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Las Vegas. His previous job titles include recording engineer, live sound engineer, and general manager for an independent record label.