Thread: Another Pro Tools Question

As a PT devotee, I think if you feel the need to upgrade from your current setup is there, then digi002 is right for you. You say you have decent mic pre's, mic's, monitors, etc., so really the only expense you're encountering in this upgrade is that of the software/hardware, which are bundled in the 002 setup. If you intend to do your own mixing, then the 002 with the control surface is the way to go. If not, as you seem to suggest, then the 002R without the control surface is perfect for you. You'll be sufficiently compatible with larger facilities to handle your mixing for you.

Plug ins are those little third party applications that are used within PT as effects, which you have expressed concern over in this thread. There is definitely an advantage to the Mac side of this equation, as there are fewer plug ins presently available for PC based systems running digi002. However, depending on the I/O configurations of the Roland units you presently have (I'm not familiar with them), you may possibly be able to use those simply as outboard effects units that you can interface with digi002. This means that if you are happy with using the effects in these units, you can use them with your PT system as outboard effects units. You'll learn how to do this as you get deeper into learning your way around PT software and hardware. So, your concerns up front about the availability and quality of PT's effects out-of-the-box may be less substantial than you think. Again, I do not know these units, so I'm only speculating. Others may correct me here if interfacing these two systems is not possible for such purposes.

As for the learning curve, don't sweat it at all. You say you've spent the past two years learning to record. Consider this simply a continuation of that curve, not an impossibly steep mountain. I've been using PT for years now, and just learned something new in it tonight on a polka session of all things. The learning curve NEVER ends, but I personally find it to be extremely intuitive and easy to get around in (the software, that is).

Good luck in your endeavor. Hope you're finding all the info here useful. Digidesign's website is extremely helpful in becoming familiar with their line of systems. PT Free, while not something I've ever found useful in terms of realistic functionality (too much latency, extremely limited in terms of track count/ I/O options), is a great introduction to the GUI of the software and its functionality for editing and mixing. Download that and play around with some audio with it just to get a feel for how PT works. Otherwise, have no fear about jumping all the way in. You will not regret it.

I have used both the roland VS machines and the Pro Tools LE stuff (digi001). Without much hesitation I can say go for the 002. You already have nice pres right? So you don't need the16 mic inputs on the VS2480.If you are getting it mixed professionally you kinda have to discard the idea of the roland. Mixing on it SUX! The faders are so lame, and short. D-verb plug that is bundled with 001 is miles better than the roland verb.( I don't even wanna mention the poorly written manual, is that english?) Finally getting your songs from Roland to a professional system is not as easy as swapping drives. On the other hand, with digi you can take your entire albums worth of data to the biggest studio in the world on a firewire drive. :w:

I hope I'm not driving you all nuts with questions after question! I've been looking into what computer I'd need as I only have a Pentium 3 running 98. I've looked into G4's and of course, getting a Pentium 4, brand new actually, seems a lot cheaper. I also noticed some of you quoted G4 specs below those recommended at digidesign. Do those computers, like the one I'm using now, really perform less or about the same? I'd have to get a brand new one anyway, as XP wouldn't install properly on this system anyway. Are there a lot of limitations with plug ins and PC's, or just a few?

The limitations are the number of plugs available for pc not their implimentation. If you are going pc go to this post first.
http://duc.digidesign.com/showflat.p...=88#Post501479
Roly

Just checked the link, go to page 1.

I am about to get a PT system too. However I'm a bit confused here. Do all versions of PT software and hardware support TDM plugins? Can someone explain me what the differences are? It's not clear to me from digidesign web site.

thx,

chris

hey , in the other thread of yours that are lots of important info already!re-read that again!

Pt is pretty nice, stable, specially if you work with the very debugged 5.1.1/OS 9.2 combo.

6.1/OS X is still a little cloudy. I myself decided not to move into new ground for a while.

PT directly accepts TDM/HTDM/Audiosuite/RTAS plugs.
You can not use RTAs on sends and Aux tracks.
hope it helped ya

3dchris:

You have no need for concern in supporting TDM plug ins in a PT HD system. An HD system will support TDM, RTAS, and Audiosuite plug ins.

PT LE systems (001, 002, 002R, etc.) do NOT support TDM plug ins. They support RTAS and Audiosuite plug ins ONLY.

So no, not all PT systems support TDM plug ins, but the system you are looking at does.

TDM plug ins rely on DSP chips on the PCI card that comes with the PT HD system for processing. Since the processing for TDM plug ins takes place on the PCI card, there is no drain on your computer's CPU when using TDM plug ins.

RTAS plug ins are host based, meaning they use the computer's CPU when processing audio.

As a general rule, and realize that there are a number of factors that play into this statement (mainly depending on how demanding your recording/processing needs are for what you do), it is more important to have a powerhouse of a computer for a host based recording system (which would utilize RTAS plug ins) than it is for a TDM system. This isn't to say it doesn't matter what you build an HD system around, it's just to say that with a host based system, all the work is done by your computer's CPU, as opposed to the work being done by dedicated hardware being supplemented by the computer's CPU, as would be the case in a PT HD system (TDM plug ins).

Alecio:

You say you cannot use RTAS plug ins on Aux Tracks???

In my digi001 system I always create Aux Tracks and apply RTAS reverb and dynamics plugs to them for Aux Sends and sub-groups (all bussed internally). Is this a difference between the Mix/HD systems and LE systems? I'm confused......