Neil has been working closely over the last few months with a long established pro audio PC company to develop a machine built for one specific task - Pro Tools.

More info will be coming over the next few weeks, but in the meantime you can go to their web site and sign up to be kept informed of developments. www.pro-tools-pc.com

One of the Pro Tools Expert team has managed to take a sneaky picture of the manufacturer list of plug-ins running on Pro Tools 11 (some, of course, are in beta). It’s impressive and gives us hope that we won’t be left short when Pro Tools 11 ships. You can click on the pictures for a larger view.

Click to play the video of Pro Tools 11 - What were they looking at?

We’ve been getting a lot of people asking what were all the people in the Avid Pro Tools 11 promo video looking at? We got some behind the scenes footage and can now reveal what was on those PC screens. Enjoy!

We know that there has been some confusion around Pro Tools 11 and educational pricing, so Mike has spoken to a couple of Avid people at NAB to get clarification on it.

Click to read more ...

For those who missed the web-based Q&A for Pro Tools 11 users, here is the entire transcript (minus the pre-chat banter) in text (.rtf) format that should help clarify any questions you have. Thanks to Rex for the formatting!

Download it here

Russ and Neil are here with a packed Pro Tools Expert podcast that includes; 

• Competitions
• AIR Announce AAX Support
• Pro Tools 11 community feedback
• CPTK2 upgrade price concerns
• Other Pro Tools 11 feedback
• Tops for managing VIs in 32bit Pro Tools
• Navigating the Blog question
• Missing iLok Account Details
• Using ASIO drivers in Windows
• Pro Tools 11 Interview with Chris Gahagen from Avid
• Interview with Louis Hernendez CEO of Avid
• New Avid iOS interfaces
• And more

You can listen here;

• Listen on iTunes here
• Download the MP3 here

If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here

Avid have announced two new portable audio interfaces for composing and recording high-quality music — Avid Fast Track^® Solo and Fast Track Duo. Both interfaces feature a robust industrial design, include Pro Tools^® Express software for Mac and PC, and connect directly to the iPad^®, providing high-quality I/O for supported iOS apps. 

Designed for musicians, students, and aspiring professionals, Fast Track Solo and Duo offer easy entry into the Pro Tools family. Key features include:

Pro Tools Express software

• Provides many of the same tools and features used in commercial recording
  studios.
• Records up to 16 stereo audio tracks and offers full MIDI editing and notation tools.
• Includes high-quality virtual instruments and effects for creating the best sounding work.
• Facilitates time, tempo and pitch adjustments with Elastic Time and Elastic Pitch.
• Users get session compatibility with Pro Tools and Pro Tools HD systems. 

Click to read more ...

Introduction

Some would suggest that the Pro Tools Ideascale site is a good idea, helping users feedback their ideas to Avid to be considered for inclusion in future versions of Pro Tools. Whilst in principle it sounds like a great idea in practice it must be a bloody nightmare to deal with. Granted, some of the top suggestions are worthy ideas to consider for inclusion, yet others range from the plain barmy to those who simply don’t know how to use Pro Tools, rather than any insightful product development ideas. I write this knowing that Ideascale has been cited, on numerous occasions by Avid, as a driver behind product development. Right at the top of the list have been features that 99% of users have been screaming out for years for. Thankfully these do not include a two voice bass synth for left handed drummers or the option to colour code every MIDI note with a different Skittles flavour. 

Pro Tools 11

I’ll cut to the chase, for those wanting a lot of bells and whistle, more stuff to fiddle with, you ain’t got it. For those who wanted the next generation of rock solid 64 bit DAW, Avid delivered.  

In short Pro Tools has had a heart transplant not a boob job and as a professional I’m pleased, in fact I might go as far as saying I’m ecstatic.

So let’s see what boxes have been ticked;

Click to read more ...

Russ and Mike have produced a show as either a YouTube video with slides or audio podcast ‘Everything You Need to Know About Pro Tools 11’.

The 45 minute show is an in depth explanation of the new features found in Pro Tools 11, plus our thoughts on the latest version of our favourite DAW. 

• Watch the video here
• Listen to the podcast on iTunes here
• Download the MP3 here

If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here

Avid have as expected announced the latest version of Pro Tools, Pro Tools 11; in their words;

Avid today announced Avid Pro Tools^® 11, a major upgrade of its industry-leading digital audio workstation that redefines music and audio production for today’s workflows. This latest version enables audio professionals to take on the most demanding productions with new, high-powered audio and video engines, 64-bit architecture, expanded metering, and direct HD video workflows. 

“Pro Tools 11 represents a quantum leap in creative power,” said Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of Products and Services at Avid. “The newly designed architecture turbo-charges production with more plug-in processing, the ability to run more virtual instruments—and a host of new features—letting users create ambitiously, without holding anything back.”

Pro Tools 11 delivers the features, performance, and workflows professionals need to take on today’s increasingly complex sessions and tighter timelines. Key benefits and features include:

• Fully redesigned audio engine and 64-bit architecture
• Expanded metering
• Direct HD video workflows with built-in Avid Video Engine — Enables audio post professionals to play and edit a wide range of HD video formats including Avid DNxHD^®, directly in the Pro Tools timeline without transcoding, using the same core engine as in Media Composer^®.

“In the world of professional mixing, I constantly need more processing power, and the extra power in Pro Tools 11 is exactly what I need,” said Tim Palmer, mixer and engineer for U2, Robert Plant, Ozzy Osbourne, The Cure, and INXS. “I love the new metering and the new sends view is excellent.  It is really impressive. Pro Tools 11 is a big leap forward.”

Availability & Pricing

Pro Tools 11 and Pro Tools HD 11 will be available in the online Avid Store and at Avid resellers worldwide later in Q2 2013. For more information, click here. Pricing will be as follows:

• Pro Tools 11 software (full version): $699 USD
• Pro Tools 10 to 11 upgrade: $299 USD
• Pro Tools  9 to 11 upgrade: $399 USD
• Pro Tools Express to Pro Tools 11 cross grade: $499 USD
• Pro Tools HD 10 to 11 upgrade: $599 USD
• Pro Tools HD 9 to 11 upgrade: $999 USD

Pro Tools 11 offers a number of cool new keyboard shortcuts that are going to speed up workflow.

We have been given a head’s up on the new shortcuts and here they are for you to swot up on before the releaese of Pro Tools 11. Click to enlarge the image. Enjoy!

Russ shows how to use the plug-in hosting feature in Maschine to run plug-ins that won’t run natively in Pro Tools. This can be used for VST and AU plug-ins.

• Members watch it here
• Watch it here for $1 on demand

Apple style invitations have started to go out to what is described as a ‘Special Avid Audio event – you’re invited’.

The full text of the invite reads;

Attention audio professionals—we’ve got some exciting news to share and want to personally invite you to attend our very special Avid® online event. Be among the first to see what’s unveiled—register now to see our special event and participate in the live Q&A.

Avid Pro Audio Online Event and Live Q&A Monday,
April 8, 2013 6:00 pm PT/9:00 pm ET

After the video showing how to use Thump to get killer Hip Hop kicks some of you asked how to do it without. Russ shows you how.

In an aim that will leave some bemused and others plain confused, news is coming in that Pro Tools 11 will now be called Professor Tools, in an aim to appeal to the college and university sectors.

Furthermore in an effort to ensure that only those who are qualified to use the application, those wishing to buy it must meet the following criteria. 

• Pass an entrance exam to obtain a copy
• Take an interview with an admissions professional
• Pay the annual fee to use the software 

It is also understood that those who can’t afford the new annual fees to own the software will be able to apply for the new Avid StudioNT Loan, there will also be a Professional Tools Scholarship scheme.

Avid would not comment officially, but one source told Pro Tools Expert ‘we think it’s a brave move now we’ve dropped the consumer sector. Pro Tools is a top audio application, we want the best people to use it and the way to ensure that is to follow the education sectors model. Think of Pro Tools as the Harvard of music making, not everyone will get a chance to go, but those that do will get the best jobs.’

Let us know what you think.

UPDATE: HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!

Here are 5 more MIDI features in Pro Tools worth knowing about to follow up on our first 5 we showed last week.

Mirrored MIDI Editing Works Across Tracks

Whilst Mirrored MIDI editing may be cool within a track to ensure loops are consistent, you can also use them across tracks if you want to use 2 synth bass sounds or stack drum sounds. Simply turn on the feature then a track copied to another will continue to mirror any edits made

Export MIDI

Right mouse click on the name of any MIDI track and you will see the “Export MIDI” feature. Now because Pro Tools uses real-time MIDI processing you will then get a dialogue box up asking if you want to export the original MIDI without any quantizing, transposing or other real time processing you may have done, or as you are hearing it - nice!

Show MIDI Editor

If you want to see you MIDI editor all the time rather than when you just open it (double click on the MIDI track for that when in clip mode) then simply hit this down arrow at the bottom of the Pro Tools Edit window.

Enable Note Chasing

Imagine you have a long string pad that starts at bar one and then lasts 8 bars, but you want to hear the sustain of that note if you start playing at bar 5. Enable note chasing and Pro Tools plays the note as if you had started playback from the start. Magic!

Drawing MIDI Date 

If you drop down the arrow on the bottom left of any MIDI channel you’ll see options to chose any MIDI controller, use the little arrow at the end of the grey bar next to the word to choose. Then select the pencil tool and you can draw in things such as the velocity of hi-hats or a snare roll. I use it all the time.

We have covered this creative surround panner plug-in that does so much more, when it first came out. Its just got better Justin has released v2 of the plug-in and a free iPad app that enables you to control Spanner from your iPad. I have had a quick play and it it very intuitive to use.  Here is what Maggot say…

This is the most exciting update to Spanner yet. There’s a raft of fixes, tweaks and improvements and two of the most interesting features ever seen in a plugin: The QT overlay window and the iPad remote controller app. So you now have visual feedback on pan position right on top of your movie window, as well as a dedicated multi-touch pan controller on a portable tablet. Of course there’s also a new demo video, showing just how groundbreaking these two features are.

Spanner remote iPad app released
The Spanner remote iPad app is a dedicated multi-touch controller for the Spanner plug-in. With a stack of groundbreaking ergonomic design features it is really a revolution in panning and an entirely new approach to controlling audio plugins. Available now, free from the appstore.

Over 25 years ago Peter Gotcha was one of the people who created Pro Tools. He has given this rare interview about his work and also how he feels about Pro Tools now.

Well worth a read, but pedant alert the Pro Tools moniker is wrong all the way through the article.

More here

We know that some time soon that Pro Tools 11 will be announced, offering users 64 bit processing and we think a heck of a lot more. We make it very clear on numerous podcasts that there is no need to upgrade to the latest version of any software. Many users are still happily working in legacy versions of Pro Tools as far back as version 6. If your version works and is doing everything you need then you don’t need to update.

However many users will want to take advantage of the new power and features that a new version of any app can bring. However to make sure you have a pain free transition here are 5 ways to prepare for an upgrade.

1. Make Time
   It may sound low tech, but the first thing you need to do is make sure you have time to do something as large as change to a new version of Pro Tools. Below we will tell you the technical stuff, but these things can’t be rushed. If you have a diary full of work then our advice is wait until you have a natural downtime in your work before even considering this transition. Remember the work you have now is not reliant on having Pro Tools 11, so why upgrade now? Right now I have a list of things I need to do in my studio which includes rewiring, installing updates, repairing stuff, but that will have to wait until the clients who pay for it all have had their work delivered. Ignore this advice and you may repent at leisure.
2. Do Your Research
   Make sure that your hardware, other applications and plug-ins will work. You can check our AAX database to see where the various vendors have got to in this process, although you will see many essential VIs are not even close to being ready, so make sure you don’t install a version of Pro Tools that kills your workflow. Each week on the Pro Tools Expert podcast we give the latest news on hardware and software issues.
3. Back-up, Back-up, Back-up
   I was shocked to read on a recent forum of a user who was backing up their computer simply by dragging files to another folder, this is not a back-up, this is a copy. The only way to ensure a real back-up of your machine is a full clone of the drive, there are many apps on the market that do this, some of them free. Check out our support page here for more information. On a Mac I use Carbon Copy Cloner, but select the one that suits your needs.
4. Upgrade Your Machine
   Some of you will do research that leads to the fact that you need a new computer, to be honest who ever needed a reason to buy a new computer?If that’s you then make sure you buy one that will last a few years. Don’t buy a computer for the needs you have now, but for the next 3-5 years. One tip, if your going to max out a computer it is often cheaper to get the memory and drives elsewhere - just do your homework. Some of you will not need a new computer but there are a number of things any working musician/studio will always need more of; memory and storage. If you haven’t maxed out your memory then take time to see how much memory you can add to your machine and add it - 64 bit will mean that Pro Tools 11 will be able to access all that lovely memory for your VIs and processing, so make sure you feed the beast. Storage has never been cheaper, consider upgrading your system drive to an SSD and getting some external storage to use for your sessions, samples and a place to back-up to. Remember if you are going to back-up your entire studio then it will take at least the amount of storage that is already being used - in my case that’s around 12TB. 
5. Sell Some Stuff
   I have always had a policy of trying to fund any expenditure by selling gear I don’t use, rather than getting into debt. Look around you studio and ask when you last used some of the stuff you have. If you can’t remember the last time you used it then you probably don’t need it. This stuff is meant to be used not moth balled, of course if you have a vintage 1956 Fender Telecaster then don’t sell that… unless it’s to me!

So in summary if you are one of those people who is considering an upgrade to Pro Tools 11 then make time, do your research, back-up, upgrade and if you can do it in a way that doesn’t mean spending money you don’t have, then do it.