I want to know if Pro Tools is really worth that much more money than one of the newer 96kHz MOTU models like a 1286 based setup?
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Well said Greg Darren http://www.dixondigital.com
Well said Greg
I have been doing research on much the same sort of question. I
I have been doing research on much the same sort of question. I think it would be wise to look at what professionals are using to produce hit records and movie sound tracks. At the pro end of the market money is a secondary consideration to results. from my research I have found:
Pro Tools on Mac dominates. They have a certified, proven solution. There are no questions about motherboards, compatibility etc. You can record on a Pro Tools studio at home and take it into just about any major studio in the world and your project will work on their systems. No fuss, professional results.
The time invested in learning Pro Tools will be useable in many studio jobs, if your career goes that way.
The next most popular system at the professional end is Logic Audio, Mac and MOTU. The MIDI editing is better but you don't have the huge amount of DSP power Pro Tools has. (This could be supplimented by a TC Powercore card.)
I have a system based on a Pentium 4 PC with 2 17" monitors, Cubase SX, TC Powercore, Soundcraft Spirit Digital 328 mixer, Unitor 8, JV1080, Yamaha A4000, Mackie Monitors and some outboard.
I have used Cubase since version 1.03. I tried Logic Audio and didn't like it much then Apple dropped PC support - VERY DARK ON APPLE. I really like the way Cubase does MIDI and have many years of knowledge invested in the product. Moving to SX has not been too stressful.
With the Powercore card I get some of the DSP power of Pro Tools but the new HD cards are very powerful.
I have also had many computer, OS, driver, software related problems. The Cubase, PC, TC Powercore solution is effective and powerful. It is good technology and it works well. But if you don't have computer skills you could find it a hard road.
Pro Tools offers a guaranteed 'turn key' solution that will work out of the box allowing you to get on the job not screwing around with computers.
The Mac, Logic Audio, MOTU, solution is almost single supplier too (check out if Apple certifies MOTU interfaces as supported).
The big difference between the above 2 solutions is the DSP power of Pro Tools. Their DSP cards are powerful.
I have been very impressed with the TC Powercore card. It will be interesting to see how much 3rd party support they get.
I have to disagree 'Logic is used on many pro recordings and qu
I have to disagree 'Logic is used on many pro recordings and quite frankly I find Cubase to be plain buggy.Being a Logic user on both Pc and Mac ,I find myself leaning on Logic for composing Audio recording more so than my pro tool set up,We run a p4 with 3 Hammerfall audio converters and 1Frontier design Dakota light pipe card 16/16 and 1 montana light pipe card 16/16 and a Universal audio card Going digitaly into a Yamaha O2r and Logic controller .With Logic you get a fantastic on board sampler ,A Rhoades emulator piano,Hammond ,I find it anything but dark and quite frankly I think it is the future for Audio ,I mean When Mac buys Logic . Tell me what operating system and computer does Pro tools run on?Mac thats right ,but I think Mac will be concentrating in the future on making Logic the number one Recording tool for audio .My suggestion is take the dive you won't regret it !
Have to agree about Logic being better for composition. With the
Have to agree about Logic being better for composition. With the integrated soft-synths it can be a standalone workstation.
Also the ability of apps like Sonar, DP3, and Logic Platinum to support TDM hardware, make it easy to work on a native system, and transfer your work to a TDM system.
One thing that is for sure. When you buy Digi PT HD, you have n
One thing that is for sure. When you buy Digi PT HD, you have no hardware or software compatability issues. You know the plug ins are of some quality, because they have to work with Digi on the TDM platform, and the system is stable.
Leon Russell had a large MOTU system. It had so many issues that he hired a MOTU engineer to come manage the system at his studio full time, and eventually he and the system were replaced with PT.
It is a matter of what you want/need and what you can afford. Can the MOTU hardware sound good? Yes, if it is properly clocked. Can it sound as good as an HD rig? Don't know. I do know that MOTU doesn't make an I/O that is as flexible and configurable as the 192 I/O. DP is also a host based system, so processing and latency are an issue, even on a Mac.
For me it was a matter of rentals and compatability with systems in larger studios in larger and different sectors of the industry. If you get certified by Digi, then that can help your resume.
It depends on what you want to use it for. There are a number of
It depends on what you want to use it for. There are a number of systems out there that can produce comparable results to PT. The advantage of PT is it's speed, reliability and flexibility within a professional environment. My business for example is very time critical and PT is easily worth the extra to me. If you've got plenty of time to play around, the odd crash is not a serious problem and you don't have commercial clients expecting to see PT, then the advantages of PT over other DAW setups are greatly lessened and it may well be worth you looking at alternatives.