Advice for dinosaur upgrading?

[guy.fi]

I am still running 7.4 on a Black Lion modded 002R using an RME FF800 for extra channels; also using a Command 8. I’d like to keep using my hardware. My (rock solid) studio computer is an Allenstein Asuspk5 quad OC’d to 3.4ghz running on a dual boot XP, dual boot because at one time I used one side for general computing needs, the other for just music. Original iLok, use Waves and Massey plugins and some VSTs through a wrapper.

Years ago I bought a license for 10/11 which I never installed. Obviously I don’t need the latest bells and whistles but I’d like ADC and offline bounce and clip based gain. I’d also like PT installed on a laptop to make migrating remote work to the studio more easy. Now I have 3 ways of doing it depending on the situation but nothing as easy as plugging in an external drive and transferring sessions.

Can I install PT on two computers? I’m thinking of putting win 10 on the non musician side of the computer and if PT doesn’t work o there I can still use my partition with XP and 7.4. I have done a lot of reading and am aware of some problem with FireWire and win10, and wonder if the 002 and or command 8 will work with PT 10 or 11....I’m thinking of staying with 10 if I can keep using my RTAS and VST plugins. I’m sure there are manny things I haven’t thought about but I welcome all input.

One last question, I’ve gotten conflicting info on this: Does PT 10 and later sound any better than earlier versions like 7.4 (using the same hardware)?

[albee1952]

Hmmmm, where to begin????
1-Moving to PT10 isn't much of an upgrade(and may NOT work on Win 10)
2-Moving to 11 on Windows 10 makes some sense as both are 64 bit(which can give a serious performance boost) but again,I am not sure on compatibility.
3-XP is a bad idea unless that PC will stay 100% off the internet(Win 7 is not much better), which again, seems like a non-upgrade)
4-PT10 does allow you to keep using all your old plugins(provided you have, or can find the installers now).
5-Re sound quality, I doubt you will notice any change at all, given no change in hardware(although, modern plugins HAVE gotten much better in many cases. Example, Melodyne 5 sounds better than 4, which sounded better than 3...)
6-leaving the old setup just as it is and building a modern system makes the most sense(and recycling the firewire interface SHOULD work, with a compatible FW card and driver). That leaves the old system untouched as a backup(while you come to grips with the million changes and new features)
7-Having been onboard since PT6, I can't imagine going back to anything older than 12.4(way too many features I use every day).
8-If you are a hobbyist and only record yourself, there are other DAW options you could consider on a tight budget. Reaper is free to try and cheap to buy(and can do anything you now can do). Cakewalk By Bandcamp is totally free(used to be known as SONAR). Then there are lesser versions of CuBase and Studio One(and all of these options are very capable). If any of your old plugins are available as VST, those may work fine in any of the above DAW's
9-you may BE a dinosaur(like me), but that doesn't mean staying in the stone-age is a good thing............

Not easy choices, but its down to your needs and wants

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by guy.fi

Years ago I bought a license for 10/11 which I never installed. Obviously I don’t need the latest bells and whistles but I’d like ADC and offline bounce and clip based gain. I’d also like PT installed on a laptop to make migrating remote work to the studio more easy.

My first thought is; Would it really be worth the hassle, because it will be a big hassle, for those few things? If everything is working good now?

I think you'd need to go to 11 for clip gain, ADC, and offline bounce, and that means no more RTAS and perhaps going to windows 10?

By the way, my impression is the old Command 8 will work with most any PT version and constellation, basically because it uses midi over usb. I have it running rock solid on latest PT and almost latest mac os.