Dear Pro Tools, it's been a rocky 16 years, I'm leaving you.

[technician]

I've been using Pro Tools for 16 or 17 years now, and I've finally had it with you (check my join date).

I've been gouged beyond belief, burned left and right, and had more stress than imaginable.

I don't know any other DAW besides Pro Tools, but the constant bugs, full version updates so often, and now a "subscription" is just gone too far.

I've given you THOUSANDS and thousands of dollars, and I feel I'm treated like garbage.

If I paid myself $50 an hour to learn a new DAW, it will still end up being cheaper than you, and I'll be happier.

It's MUCH harder to gain new customers than it is to keep old ones. And your market share sure isn't looking good from my colleagues.

If there's a major, and I mean MAJOR change in your business model I'd (probably regrettably) possibly change back, but as of now, fair well!

[Josh Voyles]

Do you mind me asking which DAW you're considering as a replacement?

[LDS]

Avid have been nailing themselves into a corner a little of late. I am probably not the only person who has been checking out other DAW's just for curiosity sake, which often results in more things to complain about with Avid!

As an example, Reaper seems to have sorted out its ADC issues with outboard inserts. It actually is much quicker and easier to do than the Protools running coreaudio/asio devices.

[Oliver M]

Originally Posted by Josh Voyles

Do you mind me asking which DAW you're considering as a replacement?

May I ask, too?

[technician]

I'm thinking about Logic.

I can BUY logic for $200, I can RENT Pro Tools for $300 for 1 year.

No more iLok, no more errors, it's cheaper, better included plugins, less stress, all for much less money over time.

I threw my iLok out this morning to force myself to not second guess my decision.

Farewell Avid, give me a shout if you'd like to subscribe to a friendship.

[mesaone]

Are you selling your old licenses and hardware? Why would you toss your iLok? Presumably you own some non-avid products that have AU versions.

[Eric Lambert]

Originally Posted by technician

I'm thinking about Logic.

I can BUY logic for $200

Prepare to have your mind blown by what you get for $200 from Logic. It will infuriate you that you didn't switch sooner.

I started with Digidesign in 1993 and DL'd Logic a few months ago and I've been laughing ever since. I even convinced everyone else at my studio to do the same, which didn't take much arm twisting. Enjoy the DAW upgrade - I know you will.

[technician]

Originally Posted by mesaone

Are you selling your old licenses and hardware? Why would you toss your iLok? Presumably you own some non-avid products that have AU versions.

I do have things on my iLok that are cross compatible, but the reassurance I cannot go back is worth more to me than selling off my licenses. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but for me it just made sense.

I stopped using Digidesign hardware the day I was allowed too run PT with an iLok only.

I jumped ship to RME and would never look at anything else again. Now there is a company who treats it's customers genuine and will support you and your purchases until it's impossible to do so any longer.

My Fireface 400 which is almost a decade old STILL gets routine updates and works flawless.

My RME UFX has been the most stable thing I've ever plugged into a computer. Maybe Avid should look at RME's business model and learn a thing or two?

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

Prepare to have your mind blown by what you get for $200 from Logic. It will infuriate you that you didn't switch sooner.

I've had friends try and get me to switch but I was just so comfortable with PT that I couldn't do it. But it's that time, I'm sick of being used and abused.

I'm looking forward to making this switch, thanks for the encouraging words.

[Mark Ziebarth]

How different experiences can be...
I'm a long time logic user (20 years plus...) but don't trust it to be my main DAW. It's good for composing and all the VI work. But audio recording? Editing? Mixing? Automation? Video handling?
To me Nuendo is the go to DAW if I switch. My main reason to leave PT are not bugs but the new business model and the lack of new features in the post pro area.

Mark

[Drew Mazurek]

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

Prepare to have your mind blown by what you get for $200 from Logic. It will infuriate you that you didn't switch sooner.

It's amazing what you can sell something for when you don't have to turn a profit, ain't it?