Help me spend my money!!

[right beside]

I have all the accessories already. My post did say I was doing an UPGRADE and that the components I was UPGRADING were the computer, interface, and version of PT. That's what I asked about. You are raising issues beyond the scope of my thread.

Anyone else?

[jasonthurley]

Well sounds like you don't need my help... I design systems for a living so I thought it was worth mentioning some of the things a lot of people don't think about... Are your plugs compatible? That could be a potential expensive upgrade.... Anyway that's my last 2 cents on this one... Good luck

[dr_daw]

Here's my 2 cents...

I did my upgrade to PT10 (full pop) and a SKB studio flyer rack (for mobility) for $6000. That included the following:

2012 MBP OSX ML 10.8.2
PT 10
Focusrite Saffire Pro 40
Glyph GPT50 1TB FW drive
T-bolt FW adapter

It all works great. The one thing I steered away from was the LS56, reason being that the extra cost for that 'emulation' wasn't worth it to me. I'd rather take that money and buy either a Octopre MkII or another tube mic pre.

The only difference between the Saffire Pro 40 and LS56 is the emulation. I noticed there wasn't much you can do in the sense of changing settings. Regardless, the focusrite mic pre's on my unit sound great.

But you can get your upgrade for under $6000, but probably not with CPTK unless you find it REALLY cheap.

Good luck with the upgrade...check my signature for more info on my mobile setup.

[right beside]

That's pretty close to what I'm thinking to get.
I didn't know that about the Saffire 40 and Liquid Saffire 56.
I have enough hard drives, so I'll save $180 there.
But yeah, I doubt I'll be able to find a CPTK2 that's cheap enough to fit my budget, if I buy a new Mac instead of used.

I see in your sig you are running PT 10.3.2 with OSX 10.8.2. Has that been pretty stable? Is that what you started with on that system?

[dr_daw]

I'm not upset with my choice, the biggest adjustment for me was moving from Nuendo to Pro Tools. So, input monitoring was the big problem for me with punching in...but that's PT for ya. If you had CPTK then you wouldn't have to worry about it

I started with 10.3.2 and 10.8, it had a few hiccups, but now that it's sorted out; I've decided not to change anything. I've downloaded all the updates for PT just in case I want to get adventurous. The OSX update was fine, but just remember to delete prefs/databases, but I'm sure you already know that.

The one thing I will say about Focusrite is that it's VERY picky about the boot-up sequence. If you're using a daisy chain FW setup, make sure the Saffire is at the end, and that it's the first thing turned on. If you wait too long during boot up, I find that my Saffire doesn't load when turning everything on; or if I turn things on in the wrong order. The fix is just to re-boot the saffire and everything goes back to normal. The other issue with Focusrite is every so often the driver doesn't get loaded properly in PT. The fix for that is to go into the Mix Control (focusrite) change the buffer size and change it back, then it works. It causes a weird Play/pause mode, but I also have my saffire set up for the system sounds. I believe this to be an OSX/Focusrite problem, not really a PT issue.

Aside from those hiccups, the system is rock solid! The perk to the 2012 MBP is that it has a FW 800 port and Thunderbolt port and a super drive that can be swapped out with the OWC bay kit for another HD. Not super stoked about the minor issues with the drivers, but it took me over a year to get my previous system hiccup free...but then it was solid for 8 years until I blew the PS/U which fried the motherboards AGP port

If you have more questions, feel free to ask. I'm not affiliated with Focusrite, but I am 100% pleased with how well it sounds and works with PT's. The Mix Control software is great!

[nst7]

RightBeside,

A couple of things to point out, based on some of the things you mentioned:

The CPTK has been discontinued, as you may know. If you are using PT10, you'd be able to use it, but if you want to continue using all those extra features in future versions of Protools, you'll eventually have to get HD software (perhaps buying a license off someone) or get an HD system which comes with it. It would be one thing if you already had the CPTK license, but at this time, spending the money to buy it from someone may not be the best choice going forward, unless you know that you'll be staying on PT10 for quite a while.

Also, the Command 8 (also discontinued a while back) is listed as being not officially supported in PT11, which means it will probably work, but won't be guaranteed as time goes on. Just something to be aware of.


Regarding inputs, consider if you need actual analog inputs, or if digital inputs would work. The Mbox Pro really only has 4 analog inputs that are useful. Inputs 5/6 are a choice of either RCA or 1/8 mini, which is worthless for almost everything. Then it has the 2 channels of Spidf. As for the Omni, it only has 4 analog inputs, and then your choice of 4 more digital.

One other thing regarding HD Native, there is a trade in offer for Mbox Pro and 002/003 owners to get $1000 off the HD Native bundle. I know you said you have an Mbox Mini, but it might be worth checking with your dealer, and having him check with Avid, to see if that still might qualify. You never know.

If you can do the trade in, or if you just buy a bundle outright, be aware that most dealers can discount those HD Native bundles below the "official" selling price.

Since you're considering spending the money on an interface, a Protools upgrade, and possibly a CPTK license, you should seriously consider doing an HD Native bundle, which will include the full HD software features, and a free upgrade to HD11.

Just be aware of just how many actual analog inputs you need.

[right beside]

nst7,

Yeah, I saw the whole debacle regarding the CPTK. That's why I'm reluctant there. But I do plan on staying at PT 10 for awhile. At least until all the kinks of PT 11 are ironed out. I mainly just want a stable setup that will let me work problem-free, and I'll keep it that way for as long a I can.

I'm looking into HD native. But it seems like the only way I can afford it is to find a thunderbolt card that has been parted out of a package and then find a used PTHD interface. Then I'll have to buy the full version of PTHD which more than likely won't be included with the parted native card.

So that's something like:
HD Native (thunderbolt) card $1000
Old interface $1000
PT10HD $1600 (unless I'm able to upgrade from PT9 for some kind of discount)

But then I have to purchase HD versions of my plugins and I'm locked into the HD pricing scale for all future upgrades (not a big deal if I stay in PT10 for a few years).

I'd also be worried that the older interface I can afford would be phased out by Avid in the coming updates.

Is there something I'm leaving out in that scenario that will be a big chunk of change? I'd be looking for an interface with 8 analog inputs for sure.

[nst7]

Not sure what you mean by HD versions of plugins. There is native, which is all you meed in HD Native, or TDM, which is only for TDM systems, or DSP, which is for HDX systems. Your current native RTAS or AAX native plugins will be fine in HD10. Once you move to PT11 (HD or otherwise), then they will all need to be AAX native.

As for having the 8 analog inputs, in HD Native you will at least need the HD IO 8x8. Another option would be the Lynx Aurora 8, or Apogee Symphony IO, which will both be seen as Avid HD interfaces by the HD Native system. But then you might still need something for monitor control.

In your situation, you may do better to get the Saffire 40, or its USB equivalent, the Scarlett 18i20. Then get the PT10/11 upgrade. Or for a little more ($629), instead of the upgrade, get the Eleven Rack, which will come with PT10/11, and a nifty guitar effects processor, plus the same 4 free plugins as the Mbox Pro.

[right beside]

sorry, my pre-coffee brain was thinking i'd need tdm plugins to work with native, forgetting the point of NATIVE.

thanks for the input. i'll check out the lynx and apogee stuff. But HD native might be too far out of my reach.

The eleven rack is not a bad idea. I could keep my PT9 license that way too.

[albee1952]

Does it HAVE to be a laptop? I hate small screens. If Mac is your preference, a hackintosh would save you a lot of cash