PT8: should I worry or not?

[SoundReplay]

Hi,

I am a PT user for 10 years now. I am considering the upgrade to PT8, but maybe you can help me to make a decision. Currently I have PT7.4 HD2 on MAC PPC Quad Core 4GB RAM. (Running very stable)



I am worried about:

1. I need to upgrade my MAC OS to 10.5 (now 10.4). Around 130 euro. I am wondering if I just can do an in place upgrade or should I install from scratch (and remove 10.4 completely = format disk)
2. Will all my plugins still work? I am mainly using WAVES Diamond TDM with iLok
3. Are all my current sessions backwards compatible (I cannot afford to loose my current and past work)
4. Learning curve. Although I am using PT now 10 years, will there be again a steep learning curve? (especially on new features and shortcuts (I am using keyboard shortcuts a lot)
5. Will my PPC with 4GB RAM enough or will PT8 run better (more stable) on an Intel based Mac? (do I need to buy a new MAC with Nehalem processors?)
6. I am mainly recording live bands, sometimes using MIDI also. I don't need the score printing features... Are there any other main new features which will improve my workflow?

So the OS upgrade + PT HD upgrade will cost me around 450 euro. Am I safe doing this upgrade now or should I wait?

Thanks!

[studiojimi]

i'd stay put if i had to do it over again

but i must say

if you have the dough

purchase PT8 from digi and put it on a partition and test the waters.

that's what i did.

seems like 50% of us can't stand the new vibe of it and the other are like little pigs in manuer.

you will love the free vritural synths ...piano, organ and synth

that alone is worth the price and you can bring that into PT7 like I did and many others.

nothing should stop you from having what you will eventually get sooner or later

it's a long long well documented read--- 27 thousand hits, but

this will show you what most of your peers thing of the upgrade and there is the good and the bad:

http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread.php?t=234140

[ajastudios]

do it, your G5 is more then sufficient. Just account a day or two to get everything loaded in and up to date!

[EvilElfBoy]

Originally Posted by SoundReplay

Hi,

I am a PT user for 10 years now. I am considering the upgrade to PT8, but maybe you can help me to make a decision. Currently I have PT7.4 HD2 on MAC PPC Quad Core 4GB RAM. (Running very stable)



I am worried about:

1. I need to upgrade my MAC OS to 10.5 (now 10.4). Around 130 euro. I am wondering if I just can do an in place upgrade or should I install from scratch (and remove 10.4 completely = format disk)
2. Will all my plugins still work? I am mainly using WAVES Diamond TDM with iLok
3. Are all my current sessions backwards compatible (I cannot afford to loose my current and past work)
4. Learning curve. Although I am using PT now 10 years, will there be again a steep learning curve? (especially on new features and shortcuts (I am using keyboard shortcuts a lot)
5. Will my PPC with 4GB RAM enough or will PT8 run better (more stable) on an Intel based Mac? (do I need to buy a new MAC with Nehalem processors?)
6. I am mainly recording live bands, sometimes using MIDI also. I don't need the score printing features... Are there any other main new features which will improve my workflow?

So the OS upgrade + PT HD upgrade will cost me around 450 euro. Am I safe doing this upgrade now or should I wait?

Thanks!

Yes I would totally start with a fresh install, this ensures that you will have the most problem free experience.

You may have to upgrade your waves at some point, I am on V6 with my renmax+gold bundle and my studio classics, my JJP they haven't upgraded and thats still V5 and works proper.

The learning curve isn't that harsh, it's still very much PT. In my link below I have a tutorial of all the new feature of PT 8, it's 10 bucks. You can see if the new features can apply to you without having to make the dive into upgrading, this way you can make a more educated decision on if it's what you need.

The sessions are all backward compatible.

It has came up to par with MIDI and ever a little better IMOHO over other DAWS out there. The main feature that I think would apply to you would be the "Track Comping" and the way you can view playlists.

I have a very powerful machine (see below) and I work on it constantly without getting the issues that other people are experiencing. If I were you, I would test the waters as the other poster mentioned. This way you have a backup plan.

Best piece of advice is if it's not broken, don't fix it. I personally need the new features of PT 8. It's solid on both my macs.

Hope this comes in handy for you.

[SoundReplay]

Originally Posted by EvilElfBoy

Yes I would totally start with a fresh install, this ensures that you will have the most problem free experience.

You may have to upgrade your waves at some point, I am on V6 with my renmax+gold bundle and my studio classics, my JJP they haven't upgraded and thats still V5 and works proper.

I do have currently V6...so that would not be an issue than I guess...

Originally Posted by EvilElfBoy

Best piece of advice is if it's not broken, don't fix it..

So what you say is...if I don't need the new features of PT8...don't upgrade now?

Thanks for the reply, I'll take a look at your site.

[TommyT]

For Anyone that's curious about old & New Mac Speeds in the real World that want's to do an system upgrade...... [bleep]Just did an A/B test...

Not As impressive speed increase as I would have thought especially PPC to Intel [bleep]but here's the data...... [bleep]Basically almost twice as fast (if you don't feel like reading further) [bleep]LOL.....

Sample Rate convert a 250 gig Protools session on 2 different machines Old & New....

Test :

Sample Rate Convert 48/24 - 44.1/24 [bleep] 250 Gig music Session Tweakhead Conversion...
1 Firewire 800 Drive... [bleep]same amount of space available on Target drive.. [bleep]Same Protools Cards...

Rig #1 Old 2006/7 Power PC Quad Core 2.5Ghz [bleep]8 gig Ram [bleep]Tiger / Protools 7.4 HD3 48minutes to Complete....

Rig #2 New 2008/2009 8 core 2.8Ghz Intel Mac Pro 10 Gig Ram Leopard / Protools 8.0Cs2 27 Minutes to Complete [bleep] [bleep](almost twice as fast) [bleep][bleep]

For a ratio of 33min / 60min (1hour)

So if src ing is part of your life, it does save some time....

Cheers Tom

[EvilElfBoy]

Originally Posted by SoundReplay

So what you say is...if I don't need the new features of PT8...don't upgrade now?.

That's what I am saying. The reason for upgrades is not a mandatory thing. The only reason why you would upgrade is if the new features would help your workflow (i.e. 10 inserts, track comping, MIDI, etc).

In my case I do a lot of hyper critical drum programming, so for me, I need the new MIDI functionality the PT 8 has to offer, as well as some of the new features like track comping has become invaluable for tracking.

[Will Russell]

I think PT8 has been the best and most trouble free upgrade ever. Buy a new drive and install a fresh OS and PT8. That way there is little or no risk.

Plugin compatibility is well documented. http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...n=news_details

Sessions translate back to 7.4 no problem.

learning curve was nothing. I Installed and did a session in the same day.

A Dual G5 should be fine with 4gig ram.

Go for it!

[crashboombam]

Whatever you do.... clone your startup drive to another drive. There is a free app. called Super Duper. It works great! Once you've cloned, you can either upgrade your drive or do a fresh install. The complete clean would be best. Either way, you can very easily go back to what you are working on now. No down time! PT8 has some great features. However, I'm seeing a couple of strange bugs that need to be worked out.

[studiojimi]

Originally Posted by crashboombam

Whatever you do.... clone your startup drive to another drive. There is a free app. called Super Duper. It works great! Once you've cloned, you can either upgrade your drive or do a fresh install. The complete clean would be best. Either way, you can very easily go back to what you are working on now. No down time! PT8 has some great features. However, I'm seeing a couple of strange bugs that need to be worked out.

i don't hear much about carbon copy cloner

was there some issue about that one?

i use it

and just wondering why most of you guys seem to mention super duper over carbon copy cloner (just wondering)