Bx_Console_E

[WernerF]

Stephen, understood as well. Don't forget, as well, that drums sound quite different when going through a drum buss together and there still is no way that I can see that happening in a live tracking situation on a Native system. Correct me if I am wrong.

[Stephen Bond]

Yes, I understand. It all depends on the total latency on the drum Aux that is being monitored. For example, I'm generally showing 680 samples (44.1kHz) on the Master with my 4 plugins and I find that completely AOK to track with. Add a LinMB or the GW MixCentric and it goes to over 4000 which is unusable.

The playback buffer is at 128 if possible and 256 if not. Also, delay compensation is switched permanently on.

Hope that helps!

Stephen

[WernerF]

Thanks Stephen.Still too much latency for my workflow. Unfortunately it still comes down to jumping through hoops to avoid latency as opposed to never having had to do it in the past.

[Dan IceWood]

With HDX and Pro Tools 12 this whole debate about latency is a bit of a fallacy.

Just commit the tracks with long latency plug ins and carry on tracking, only takes a few minutes.

That said I really have NEVER had a problem with all the DSP plugins that are available.
Yes there are less than the TDM land days, but I'm still of the mindset that separates tracking and mixing - as are many other pro users I know or work with.

For me HDX has been as solid as a rock for a long time - thats my main reason for sticking with it, that and it's the only way to get more than 64 outputs at the same time. (96 outs here)

[Bob Olhsson]

Actually there are more than in TDM days only there was a higher percentage back then.

[WernerF]

Bob, can you back that assertion up with any evidence?

Also, changing the plugin choice to match the plugin choices that are available is, for sure, an aspect of jumping through hoops to accommodate the new DAW landscape. The lack of, for one, Waves DSP plugins makes tracking a bit of a minefield. Combine that with the total absence of Sound Toys DSP plugins and you've got a giant hoop to jump through.

[Bob Olhsson]

Waves and Soundtoys are very good and very popular but there are AAX DSP alternatives for people who want to track through DSP.

[Stephen Bond]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Actually there are more than in TDM days only there was a higher percentage back then.

I concur. Almost every plugin was TDM and RTAS back then. It was rare to find a Pro Tools plugin which was native only. There were a good number which were TDM only though.

These days, most stuff is native only, save UAD with their own proprietary DSP system. Some of the native stuff support the Avid DSP.

On the whole there are multitudes of plugins overall compared with the old days so maybe on balance AAX DSP plugins aren't so different to back in the TDM days? Either way, HD owners still seem to lament what has been lost from the likes of Waves, SoundToys and such.

Stephen

[Stephen Bond]

Originally Posted by WernerF

Thanks Stephen.Still too much latency for my workflow. Unfortunately it still comes down to jumping through hoops to avoid latency as opposed to never having had to do it in the past.

Can I ask what is too much latency? Latency is only a problem if you can hear it right? I mean every digital system has some latency. With native Pro Tools systems I've never had an issue with 128 buffer at 44.1 KHz or come to think of it a 256 one. Non-one every hears it, drummers included.

512 and higher is unworkable for tracking but any modern Mac should have no issue running lower buffers in standard tracking situation. Unless you're doing orchestras, film score or other situations with huge track counts with piles of plugins then even a venerable 5 year old MacBook Pro or iMac which I use regularly should be fine, even in i5 form.

If you need a gazillion tracks and plugins then there are other Macs with even faster processors, 12-16 cores or more which can run these gargantuan Sessions. If not you can always render as one poster has written, which is what we used to do back in the day with TDM and LE

Stephen

[Bob Olhsson]

Rendering is stupid fast and unfreezing to make a change is even faster.