Pro Tools FIRST question.....

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by gemada

Of course, technically they're not committing "extortion". It was a metaphor to describe the way I feel about avid policy on protools first due to the fact that they will charge me if I want to save my projects. And I won't be able to save them in my hard drive unless I'll pay for it. Not quite the definition of a free product for me. :)

100% agree about the limitations of this version so we agree on those things for sure. And sorry if I came off rude and fanboy-ish

[Bill Denton]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

How can it be "extorsion" ? it is FREE and you don't have to use it! The Free version is for BEGINNERS who want to see what workflow PT has and how it works in general, those type of comments are rediculous and doesn't belong here. If you get a free carwash that has a 3rd of the options, is that extorsion aswell as your car doesn't get as clean as with the 5 Star option?

Christopher...you were getting so close...I'm surprised you didn't make the logical jump...

As I posted elsewhere...

Have you ever gone into a hard-core biker bar around 2 AM on a Sunday morning?

Nobody will tell you to leave, but they will sure as hell let you know they don't want you to be there...

Pro Tools | First

(think about it...)

You said...

Free version is for BEGINNERS who want to see what workflow PT has and how it works in general ...

Consider someone whose only exposure to a DAW has been Garage Band or Fruity Loops or who has no exposure to a DAW at all...

I don't think any of us would claim that Pro Tools is easy to learn, even for someone who is highly motivated.

So, don't you think a good percentage of those who "see what workflow PT has and how it works in general" are going to turn around and run like hell?

And you don't think those who do stick around are probably not going to be making those "I just bought an MBox...how do I hook it up service requests?"

Avid can't survive if their "service plan" is inundated with a bunch of "service requests from morons" (pardon my lack of political correctness).

By getting rid of the chaff early on, Avid will pretty much be dealing with motivated people, who are willing to put in some work to learn Pro Tools.

So...think of Avid as my "biker bar"...Nobody will tell a prospective customer to leave, but they will sure as hell let you know they don't want you to be there...

[Darryl Ramm]

I'm still lost. Where is this biker bar I need to go to?

[Bruce Paine]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

I'm still lost. Where is this biker bar I need to go to?

I used to be a cross country trucker, and trust me, you don't want to go there.

[Bruce Paine]

To clear up a couple of points brought up in this thread, from the Pro Tools First FAQ:

Q Do I have to be online and connected to my Avid Master Account to use Pro Tools | First?
A. You can work offline, no problem. The first time you log in to your Avid Master Account from Pro Tools | First you can start working on your first project and save it. When you want to leave the project don’t logout, you will remain logged in offline, and you can still work on the project with a local project cache in the app. Next time you connect with the internet on that same computer and log in, your offline project work will sync up and store to the cloud.

Q. Pro Tools | First includes three Cloud Projects, what does this mean?
A. Unlike Pro Tools and Pro Tools | HD software where an unlimited number of sessions can be stored locally on your computer’s hard disk, projects for Pro Tools | First are stored in the cloud on Avid Servers, accessed through your Avid Master Account from anywhere. Avid provides up to three free projects (songs) with Pro Tools | First.

Q. What if I need more than three projects?
A. We will offer additional Pro Tools | First projects to purchase from the Avid Marketplace in the near future. You can also complete a project and export the final stereo mix and then delete that project to give you back the space needed to start a new project.

[Bill Denton]

Originally Posted by Bruce Paine

I used to be a cross country trucker, and trust me, you don't want to go there.

LOL! Surprisingly, considering my mouth, I've never had any problems...but while I don't have any "iron", I do have an "M" on my driver's license...maybe that allows me enough "attitude" to get by...

[asimmd]

Im sure i read somewhere that you can export your mix as a wave file so it could be imported into say iTunes,so whats to stop me doing a guitar track,exporting it as a wav file and importing it into Logic,or any other DAW?

I dont think it has the amount of restrictions some think,yes its different to having PT11 but from the content i have seen there will be enough plugins that come with it to make a decent finished recording.

I'm going to try it anyway,as has been said,i don't Have to use it if i don't want to.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by asimmd

Im sure i read somewhere that you can export your mix as a wave file so it could be imported into say iTunes,so whats to stop me doing a guitar track,exporting it as a wav file and importing it into Logic,or any other DAW?

I dont think it has the amount of restrictions some think,yes its different to having PT11 but from the content i have seen there will be enough plugins that come with it to make a decent finished recording.

I'm going to try it anyway,as has been said,i don't Have to use it if i don't want to.

Nothing stops you of course, but ah let's see, what are the issues... you are forced to irreversibly print plugin effects or VIs for instrument Tracks. You lose tempo information, tick based capabilities and elastic audio processing. If you export the whole mix then you've also irreversibly made a mix decision, if you export a single track or stem, then less so. But so what, exporting and importing audio files is the lowest common denominator available today and what everybody does if they have to, but that is not anybody's idea of a modern compelling collaborative DAW workflow. And let's see exactly what Pro Tools | Crippleware supports as bounce to disk or bounce to cloud capabilities.

No Ability to read current Pro Tools sessions, no ability to write Pro Tools sessions (to standalone Pro Tools users), limited track counts, plugin lockin/need to repurchase plugins (if those plugins you need are in the store), can only ever work offline on one project at a time, limit of three free sessions..... They are all pretty significant limitations for a start, sure you just pay to solve some, but then you may soon be better off with full Pro Tools or another DAW. Again I expect high-end cloud collaboration between Pro Tools users to be very useful, just not sure that yet another effort by Avid to chase the lower-end consumer market is going to be either well executed or a sucess for Avid or its users.

But absolutely try it and see, I have a feeling traffic on DUC, especially from newbie users is going to be ah "interesting".

[asimmd]

Darryl,you make a good case for not bothering but surely as this is supposedly aimed at non PT users,there is enough content to try PT and if you like what it does,then go for the full programme.

I had PT m- Powered,and I bought the Music Production Kit,then I found out that to keep using PT I would have to shell out more money.

I didn't think it worth bothering so I left it but I have to say that whatever it did do,I liked.

I will be interested to compare what First has to offer,then move up to PT12 and subs.

If not I can just carry on using Logic,nothing lost.

[Darryl Ramm]

Avid has had Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Tools SE, Pro Tools Express... did any of those help Avid significantly recruit/maintain low-end users or upsell them to Pro Tools/Pro Tools HD? I'd be happy to be wrong, but I don't think so.... and this is the consumer market that Pro Tools has admitted problems with and run away from several times, but is now back chasing?

Certainly going to be interesting to see when it rolls out.