My Reality and Pro Tools ~RANT~

[Trainwrecker]

This is not a good time to post. I have spent all day trying to have PT10 play sessions that I have created in PT10 on the same system. No changes have been made, all I/O's are default. Once again the Combo of W764 and a 3rd party device comes back to bite. Cannot find device; Changes in Device Pro Tools must restart, and a host of others.

I am currently restoring my HD with a back up. Not that Avid would care (and I don't blame them) but after trying out a few other DAWs, PT is just a pain in the ass. NEVER once have I had issues with Studio One 2. It just works, and EVERY TIME. I just bought a new mobile setup, Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 and a new Asus laptop. After configuration using Sonar LE, I have had no Issues! It is USB!! I just works.

Why do I continue to waste MY time with PT10? (stupid Question) It has become the battered wife syndrome. I have invested years and am starting to look at a permanent switch. Hey Baby!

There is just not enough manpower at Avid to ever fix or include the features that are sorely missing from the product. Yet bug fixes happen overnight with Reaper, Studio One is evolving at a very fast pace. Yet I am suppose to stand and cheer for Clip gain? Please, I am almost done with the beating that I get from PT without warning and with no changes to my system.

The frustration is amazing. I have been a 6 year user of PT (from 6) and know my my way around it pretty well. The amount of time that I have spent with the never ending problems Pro Tools seems to deliver is enought to make me start sniffing glue.

Yea don't let the door hit you in the ass, so long, My system is rock solid, etc. I am happy for you, really. If I have Avid gear and used Apple, I think my issues would be cut in half. Just to use PT?

[NickRyanAudio]

Originally Posted by Trainwrecker

Yea don't let the door hit you in the ass, so long, My system is rock solid, etc. I am happy for you, really. If I have Avid gear and used Apple, I think my issues would be cut in half. Just to use PT?

I've been using Cubase for many many years, and Reaper for about 2. I am getting more involved in cross-studio collabs and decided to break down and be compatible for the PT studios. Money down the Effing drain!

Absolutely zero support, and 10 times more incompatible hardware than what may actually work with it. Pro Tools is NOT PC software and should come with a huge warning that says, "Installing this on a PC? Hope you have a lot of free time, and your computer store has a generous return policy."

My Pro Tools experience has made me a faithful and life-long Reaper consumer. I can only hope to warn enough people about Pro Tools before they waste their money.

[hooksound]

Originally Posted by Trainwrecker

If I have Avid gear and used Apple, I think my issues would be cut in half. Just to use PT?

Don't be so sure about that. I once attended a studio course where we had four recording rigs. Two with imacs and two with PCs and all with Digi 002s and Pro Tools LE 8. It was always the PCs that made the day in the studio - and the reason became obvious. When using the imacs, they sometimes crashed with Pro Tools and people of course wanted as much stability as possible when we had customers in the studio. The PCs also crashed with Pro Tools, but not as often as the imacs. Sometimes it's the other way around. The only guys who (say that they) base their studio entirely on one system and promote that solution, are the ones in the top of the trade. Either they can afford a good service contract or they have been appointed a brand endorsement agreement, with virtually unlimited access to support. And this goes for all brands and all kind of products. And that's a completely fair part of the business. They've earned it. But the useful net info for the average sound guy is purely marketing hype, leaving the impression that his goes for all avid products on any level. When avid made Pro Tools "open" to third party audio hardware, they opened Pandoras box. I can only say that ASIO works on a lot of other systems.

What can one do? Being a part of the hopeful and hard working "up coming" crowd, I have to think in plan Bs in order to reach my goals in time:

1. I have two PCs (instead of one mac).
2. I run and maintain both Pro Tools and Cubase.
3. I only buy plug-ins from 3rd party vendors, who offer them in both VST and RTAS format.

I was originally a Logic user, but I was burned by the apple/emagic situation in 2002. Went to Steinberg, who offered a fair deal on a Cubase crossgrade. But it was a time consuming setback (learning curve, new workflow etc.) and I swore never to end up in a situation like that again.

After using M-Powered for a couple of years, my impression is that AVID does not yet belong in the mid and entry level segment. This is much better covered by Cubase and Reaper. I would like to jump to Pro Tools 10 one day, mostly to have some more inputs and buses, but reading this forum convinces me that I'm lucky to have a well functioning M-Powered set-up. If I'm in a strong need merely for more inputs and buses, then I can always use Cubase for that particular session.

Trainwrecker, I understand your frustration. We have all been there and I know that the writings above does not ease your pain. Only avid can do that.

[jgrooms]

3 Words. Aging code base.

I seriously hope Avid is considering forking their code base with PT11 and starting fresh. I know that is no trival thing to do but they would be in such a better position to support and enhance their product going forward.

The one advantage all other DAW have is they have started fresh using modern programming techniques and don't have decades of legacy code to maintain.