University Studio help!

[senectavit]

Hey, I'm a manager at the Music Department studio at Millersville University. I took the job last semester hoping to get some time behind the wheel of a decent Pro-Tools system.

Hah. We're an education school, so it figures I'd find a PowerMac G4 running OS9.3 and ProTools 5.3TDM. I have the discs for OS X, but we also don't have any registration codes for ProTools. Anybody have any suggestions? Is there any way to get to 6.0 at least without registration codes? How do I upgrade to some remotely OS X compatible version that was conceived in the past 4 years without having to beg for money from the department? Does Digidesign offer education discounts, and would a 7.0 upgrade work on our antiquated 5.3 system? If all these answers are obviously printed out somewhere in the plethora of support pages, let me know.

Oh, and does anybody have a decent mixer to donate to a poor university studio? We're using a busted yamaha rm800. Sad.

thanks

-Paul
CRIS Manager

[c-tone]

First of all, post some of your system details so we can help you out better. What PT system, cards, and interfaces do you have? What model G4 do you have?

I will assume that you have something earlier than an HD system since you are using 5.3. If that is the case, then Pro Tools 7 is not compatible with your system. Take a good hard look at the Compatibility pages linked above at the top of this page.

The best thing might be to call Digidesign and have them answer your questions. You might need to ask them how to upgrade to version 6. There probably is not an education discount at Digidesign, but the latest version is only $175, so at least you won't need to go begging for too much. Apple does offer education discounts, so contact them too.

Bottom line is, do the right thing. Pay for your software and get the latest compatible versions you can. Otherwise, stick with what you have now if you can't get the money.

[Scott Goldberg]

Hi Chris,

I understand your problem. I had a similar circumstance when I taught in a music department here at a college in California, where we had a great PT system at the time, but OS X came out, and then PT 6.4 became the last OS X platform you could use on an old machine with older hardware. We could not afford new hardware so we went with getting PT 6.4. I was lucky in the respect that I know a lot of people at Digi and we got an installation disc in no time. But, with that said, they are still great at helping out and I'm more than sure that they will help you get a disc.

So, we solved that same problem actually pretty easily. You can get OS X installed, just make sure it'a earlier version that is compatible with PT 6.4.1 and you can run your old hardware. You would still need to Call Digi and ask for serial numbers, but they will oblige as much as they can. They are very good to colleges teaching on their platform, and in our case, they originally even came out and installed our sysetm and donated a bunch of stuff. You will also need to upgrade your plug-ins. That, as well, is not too difficult, but rather, more a pan in the butt. The good news is that if Digi can, and should be able to get you a 6.4 disc, and then you can reinstall many upgraded versions of those plug-ins from that disc.

Also, do you have an ilok? If you had 5.3, then you may not have had one at the time. If that is the case, then get an ilok for a couple bucks and get an account at ilok.com which is free, and get the installation codes from the plug-ins that your school owns, and go through that fun time.

You should also look in whever files you have, for any and all discs that had plug-ins. Look for serial numbers and codes etc. If you can't find some or all of that stuff. I would still call each company that shows up on your active plug-in list and tell them what happend. You will find most of them sympathetic. it's just good business practice to be that way, especially with places like colleges who ae teaching with their stuff.

Last, feel free to e-mail me or ask any other questions. I know exactly what you are gong through. I was just more fortunate because I also had been a studio owner and PT user for several years prior, but making that jump to OS X was not a whole lot of fun for any of us at first. It entailed a lot of change for everyone. Also, if you decide you want new hardware, talk to Digi about that. They have refurbished cards, I/O, and interfaces of all kinds, that they use to help out schools. Hope that helps. If not, call or e-mail me www.goldrecordings.com. Best of luck to you!