Question about upgrading from Pro Tools 11

[Ferrante]

Hey guys!
It's high time to upgrade my Pro Tools 11, and I got some questions:

1. In my Avid account, I have the option to purchase the Pro Tools Studio Perpetual Upgrade & Support Plan for 368.90€. This sounds like the most logical upgrade for me (I don't want to be forced to pay yearly to use PT), but my main question is, will I be able to continue using Pro Tools even if I choose not to pay again after a year?

2. Will I be able to keep my PT11 license? I would like to keep my old PT11 laptop setup for when I travel etc.

Thanks for the help!
/Ferrante

[Ben Jenssen]

1. Yes. Since you have a perpetual license (for 11), the Studio Perpetual Upgrade & Support Plan will let you have upgrades for a year, and if you choose to not renew after that year, the license will work forever, only not for new upgrades.

2. I'm not entirely up to date on this, but when I renewed my perpetual license last time, it worked for 10, 11, 12, and up to current.

(Added: You won't "keep your 11 license", you won't have two licenses, but the renewed license will work for an installation of PT11.)

[The Weed]

Be very careful here. If you do not have a current Update & Support Plan, which, given you are on PT 11 is most likely the case that you don't, you need "Get Current" otherwise known as a "Reinstatement".

Contact Thomann to be sure you get what you need.

[Ferrante]

Hey The Weed, thanks for your help.

You ARE actually referring to the same option I am mentioning above - the option says "Pro Tools Studio Perpetual Upgrade & Support Plan - GET CURRENT" for 368.90€.

My PT11 license is a Perpetual one, I just haven't paid anything since 2015 or so, so it expired in 2016, but I've been able to use it after this.

And this is what I am trying to do now: Pay for the latest version of PT and being able to use after a year, even if I decide not to pay again.

[jeffro]

Originally Posted by Ferrante

...will I be able to continue using Pro Tools even if I choose not to pay again after a year?

Yes. You'll get a perpetual Pro Tools license, though the bonus plug-in licenses (e.g. Avid Complete Plug-In Bundle) would expire.

Will I be able to keep my PT11 license? I would like to keep my old PT11 laptop setup for when I travel etc.

You'd surrender your Pro Tools 11 license/bundle and get a new license bundle that supports v10.0-current (plus whatever is released during the year starting from when you redeem the code/upgrade).

avid.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/Knowledge/reinstatement-faq

[Darryl Ramm]

Make sure your system meets requirements for current Pro Tools, especially operating systems compatibility (especially if you are on macOS, which I don't think you are) and memory.

One thing you can do on either platform is download the free Pro Tools Intro product and make sure that works OK on your current systems (uninstall the current Pro Tools 11 version to be safe). Since all versions of Pro Tools actually use the same installer... if that works then you can just buy a Pro Tools Studio (or whatever) current license and apply it to that install, no need to reinstall anything. If you have problems you can uninstall Pro Tools and reinstall Pro Tools 11 or restore from backup while you sort it out. The risks of problems are much lower on Windows than Mac so may not be needed... although something I'd still do.

Don't forget as well there are many extra things to install, all the complete plugin bundle plugins and more that are not included in the Pro Tools installer. A lot of stuff there is very worthwhile to have IMO (and why you might want to keep paying a annual support fee since these extras are effectively an annual subscription as Jeffro mentioned). I would install all this by hand, downloading from your Avid.com account MyProducts section. I would *not* use Avid Link to manage software installs, and like many here I uninstall that from my system.

[Ferrante]

Thanks for the extensive answer! This forum is very helpful and quick to respond.

Now I got worried about the bonus "complete plugin bundle" that would expire after a year. Are these different than the stock plug-ins?

I'm using mostly 3rd party plug-ins, but I do use the PT Stock EQs (the 1-band EQ and EQIII) and Delay (Mod Delay III or whatever it's called).

Is there a list of these Stock plug-ins and the "bonus" plugins, so I can get a clear picture of what plug-ins I'll be able (and not be able) to use if I don't pay annually?

Thanks again for all help.

Oh, and about my rig. I'm planning to use my new PT on a Windows 11 i7 32gb ram desktop computer.
I'm running PT11 on a Windows 7 laptop and it runs like a horse.

[Darryl Ramm]

Yes we are talking about plugins not included in the small number of core plugins.

You can Google for Avid Complete Plugin Bundle and find what plugins are included there. (you can also outright purchase or by a separate annual subscription to that bundle.. but most folks are getting it via their annual support update plan or by Pro Tools subscriptions with both include a subscription to ACPB.. and a few more plugins). Pro Tools also includes some additional plugins, you can get the full list by Googling for what plugins are included with the version of Pro Tools you are buying (presumably studio).

e.g. https://www.avid.com/pro-tools/whats-included-studio

Core plugins do not expire. There are also just not many of them, they are:

AutoPan.aaxplugin
BF-76.aaxplugin
ChannelStrip.aaxplugin
ClickII.aaxplugin
DVerb.aaxplugin
Dither.aaxplugin
DownMixer.aaxplugin
DynamicsIII.aaxplugin
EQIII.aaxplugin
Eleven Lite.aaxplugin
InTune.aaxplugin
Invert-Duplicate.aaxplugin
LoFi.aaxplugin
MasterMeter.aaxplugin
Maxim.aaxplugin
ModDelay_III.aaxplugin
Normalize-Gain.aaxplugin
Pitch Shift Legacy.aaxplugin
PitchII.aaxplugin
RectiFi.aaxplugin
Reverse-DC Removal.aaxplugin
SansAmp PSA-1.aaxplugin
SciFi.aaxplugin
SignalGenerator.aaxplugin
Time Shift.aaxplugin
TimeAdjuster.aaxplugin
Trim.aaxplugin
VariFi.aaxplugin

---

In the ACPB subscription, I could not live without Eleven Rack Mk II (because I also use the Eleven Rack) or some of the Air virtual instruments. You may have all you need covered already, but I would look at what you get in these bundles and decide if it's worth anything to you.

[JFreak]

Darryl, I have one extra perpetual ERII license bundle available. If you are interested in future-proofing, PM me.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Darryl, I have one extra perpetual ERII license bundle available. If you are interested in future-proofing, PM me.

Thank you! But for full disclosure I already also have a ERII perpetual license as well , I was trying to keep the discussion simple and explain the plugins I most like in ACPB... there are others there that I'd include but I was trying for a quick/short list.