My feelings after spending another $399.00

[gearhead2010]

So, like many here, my HD Subscription plan was coming to an end.

I've been running 12.5.2 successfully and wasn't really sure if I should go to 12.6 after reading about all the issues / bugs...

I then became incensed when I thought about all the real updates that are available for free from EVERY other major DAW company.

I'm just venting here and it really, really stings and sucks that AVID has gone so far down hill as a music tech company.

If I didn't have a D-Command, HDX card and 4 HD/IOs I would jump ship, but they got me, as I keep hoping they can turn it around and offer feature updates that not only innovate, but compete with other DAWs out there.

The fact that say Presonus can continually offer FREE updates says a lot about how they run a company. Why can't AVID do it? The only answer is AVID is ineffective at running their company and it's loosing money. I truly believe that they will go under soon, but as a loyal user for 20 years (Audiomedia 2 Channel card was my first Digidesign purchase) it's really sad to see the leader fall so far behind.

Ok, I think I'm done.

-gh

[john1192]

Originally Posted by gearhead2010

So, like many here, my HD Subscription plan was coming to an end.

I've been running 12.5.2 successfully and wasn't really sure if I should go to 12.6 after reading about all the issues / bugs...

I then became incensed when I thought about all the real updates that are available for free from EVERY other major DAW company.

I'm just venting here and it really, really stings and sucks that AVID has gone so far down hill as a music tech company.

If I didn't have a D-Command, HDX card and 4 HD/IOs I would jump ship, but they got me, as I keep hoping they can turn it around and offer feature updates that not only innovate, but compete with other DAWs out there.

The fact that say Presonus can continually offer FREE updates says a lot about how they run a company. Why can't AVID do it? The only answer is AVID is ineffective at running their company and it's loosing money. I truly believe that they will go under soon, but as a loyal user for 20 years (Audiomedia 2 Channel card was my first Digidesign purchase) it's really sad to see the leader fall so far behind.

Ok, I think I'm done.

-gh

i renewed for one more year to see how it all unfolds .. if next september rolls around and the state of affairs is no better than i will jump ship .. in the meantime i have a couple other DAW's and will make sure i am up to speed ..

i have already made sure i do not rely on any Avid Plugins, or Instruments to make any move easier ..

mind you i am not on HD so my burden is not the same as yours .. but it still pains me to see Avid not stepping up on Bug Fixes .. they just cannot get a handle on the myriad of systems that use their products .. it is Too Bad .. i feel more comfortable working in PT than any other DAW ..

but today on 12.6 i am still having things like, Bounce to Disk and PT loses control of my Hardware .. either Distorted Sound or no Sound at all .. Toggle Buffer usually fixes it, sometimes have to do it more than once ..

i know use Avid Hardware .. well, i just do not care for their hardware .. and that would mean using HD / HDX .. sorry, cannot do it .. i do not have surround work that much to justify the cost ..

there, i have added to the rant a bit .. hope you don't mind !!

cheers john

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by gearhead2010

If I didn't have a D-Command, HDX card and 4 HD/IOs I would jump ship, but they got me, as I keep hoping they can turn it around.....

I know, I keep piling up Avid hardware...for the most part I like it.

But yes the hook keeps getting deeper.......

[gearhead2010]

The more the merrier!

[Barry Johns]

The value of the hardware on the used market is dropping rapidly. In 18-24 months, an HDX card will cost around 1700.00, then I'll make the jump, and pay the 999.00 to upgrade to the current version, ditch my Pro Control and go Slate MTI.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

The value of the hardware on the used market is dropping rapidly. In 18-24 months, an HDX card will cost around 1700.00.....

Man oh man, even at $3k it's tempting to just get one right now........

I can't see it getting that low w/o the appearance of a newer better model/replacement.

But yes I did the same thing as GEAR i just upgraded to protect my interests.....i had to.

[xylie6]

Gear,

Have you been to the "Other" software forums? I have been involved with software and hardware for a long time, both audio and computer/telephony and can say that they all have their issues. You are right, it comes down to sales. The reality is that Avid has a huge payroll to meet, regardless of anything else. I wish Avid would make their product more sectional, where you could only load what you need to record and worry about the fancy stuff later. It's the reason many major studios are still running very old PT software, it does its job of recording the take.

[Barry Johns]

Originally Posted by YYR123

Man oh man, even at $3k it's tempting to just get one right now........

I can't see it getting that low w/o the appearance of a newer better model/replacement.

But yes I did the same thing as GEAR i just upgraded to protect my interests.....i had to.

They have dropped $1500 just over the last 9 months. Supply/Demand, the demand is just not there.

[gearhead2010]

Originally Posted by xylie6

Gear,

Have you been to the "Other" software forums? I have been involved with software and hardware for a long time, both audio and computer/telephony and can say that they all have their issues. You are right, it comes down to sales. The reality is that Avid has a huge payroll to meet, regardless of anything else. I wish Avid would make their product more sectional, where you could only load what you need to record and worry about the fancy stuff later. It's the reason many major studios are still running very old PT software, it does its job of recording the take.

Hi there,

Yes I sure have... I also use Studio One, Live, Logic & Reason and you're right. But... The feature set of these other DAWs are light years ahead of Pro Tools... The MIDI implementation alone... I feel the amount of Bugs 12.6 has far outweighs anything cool about it..

[dterry]

Interesting thread. I am coming from the other direction - I've used other DAWs for years, including a year or two with PT a few years back, and am back with the PT11HD demo, considering upgrading my PT10HD license to 12HD.

Yes, other DAWs definitely have more advanced features in some areas - mainly midi (for my work at least).

But, the interesting thing I've found in doing direct comparisons between PT and 2 other major DAWs, is that the feature tradeoffs aren't always equivalent in terms of productivity in a day to day business.

For film scoring (my work), there is a balance between features of the DAW, and it's efficiency running heavy loads while using those features - sometimes you end up losing part of the advantages in order to carry the load modern film scoring requires. My template runs significantly more efficiently in PT (possible that PT is more efficient at complex bus routing and handling VEPro connections).

That wasn't the case a few years ago with PT8/9. DP has far more advanced midi and film scoring abilities, but PT has an overall faster workflow, and obviously, in this case at least, runs more efficiently. So I have to look at what do I lose or gain with each on a project. Running a large template cue without dropouts can be more important than having a spline tool for editing CC data (when I can record CC data on the fly anyway), or chunks for alternate versions. DP is fantastic, but it isn't very cpu efficient (at least in this case).

If you rely on specific features for most of your productivity, then that is going to dictate the best DAW for you. But, there are still a lot of things that Digi/Avid got right with PT long ago that no other DAW developer has duplicated - partly because they don't want to be seen as ripping of PT, and partly because some just don't get it. For pure audio editing and post, PT really is hard to compete with, regardless of the feature set others offer.

Just my .02.