pro tools users?

[markD]

hi. i just got a pro tools system in my studio. i am using it to edit/fix tracks and supplement my outboard gear with plug-ins. so far, i am pretty happy with everything i got in the deal. i got:

a digi 003
pro tools 8
waves diamond bundle
bomb factory classic compressors plug-ins
IK multimedia amplitude
sony oxford bundle
waves musician bundle
antares auto-tune 7
sans-amp PSA (or PS1 - i don't remember what it called)
(and some other plug-ins that i don't know what they are)

it is all being run in a pentium 4 dual core with 4GB RAM and an 80GB system drive and a 500GB audio drive. it links to my main system, which is an alesis HD24/mackie 32-8, through an alesis fireport. all-in-all it is a pretty awesome set up.

what i am wondering is.....

those of you using pro tools, what plug-ins do you find to be MOST essential? i am looking to add a few and ending up with a list of 22 plug-ins!!!! i know that waves diamond is pretty comprehensive, but some of them i find to be a little gimmicky or too involved in their use. i LOVE my classic compressors plug-in because they are easy to use.

what can you suggest?

[markD]

oh yeah....the whole thing is for audio. at this point i don't do any MIDI.

[bratfink]

I don't use pro tools, there is no way I can be convinced to spend that much money on stuff I don't use!

I use Pre Sonus Studio One.

We started off trying to record everything live but I have to say we have ended up triggering the whole drum kit and micing only the cymbals. For that we used EZ drummer to start with, but once I figured out what we were doing I recorded each of the drums in our kit and put the wav files into Pre Sonus Impact (a drum machine plugin/instrument/VST what ever the fuck you call them). I then built a kit in Impact using those wav files and had each drum triggered by the respective trigger on the kit. Upshot, I have the actual kit played in midi wihout any mic bleed. Still have miced cymbals though and there is some drum bleed in that mix.

For guitar I tried the included guitar rig vst but ended up going back to running my amps pre amp out for recording.

[markD]

yeah, i trigger my drums too. i am using ddrum triggers with an alesis module. the cymbals get mic'd. it works out pretty well. i do all my recording through the 32-8 into the HD24 first. after that i transfer the tracks into the computer and process the tracks with the plug-ins. so far i am getting A LOT of mileage out of the classic compressors plug-in. it gives me fairchild 660/670 limiters, LA-2A and 3A comps/limiters, UA 1176 limiter, JOEMEEK SC-2, and focusrite D2 and D3 comps/limiters. after that i am transferring the tracks back to the HD24 so i can mix on the 32-8.....haha, i just prefer turning real knobs and working real faders when i mix. plus, i like my hardware reverbs better than the plug-in reverbs.

i AM interested in being able to do drum substitution. i did get a plug-in called "sound replacer" that allows me to do what you are doing with the drums, but i don't have drum program. are you building your kit from the sound YOU sampled, or are you using software samples?

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Check out the Massey plugings. the L2007 is great!

[markD]

i checked them out, and wow - the prices are good and it is awesome that the demos never expire. i am gonna download the L2007 tonight and play around with it!! thanks!

[Hellbat]

I have protools LE 8 that came with my 11 rack, but my PC died and for some reason my install disk no longer works. Unfortunately even though I have a valid license there is no where to download the installer so I am stuck waiting to either get the CD working somehow or having to order a replacement CD from Avid. I basically used it to just record single guitar tracks anyways so I barely scratched the surface of what the application was capable of.

[Animus]

Slate VCC, Lexicon PCM Native or Relab LX480 for reverb. And of course the UAD pla†form is awesome, especially for the †ape sims.

[bratfink]

are you building your kit from the sound YOU sampled, or are you using software samples?

To start with we used the included samples, but then recorded the samples of our actual kit and then imported them into Impact to use with the triggers.

It sounds like the trigger setup we have is the same, we also have the Alesis trigger I/O and the DDrum triggers (apart from the kicks - they are Axis with built in triggers). I have to use LoopBe to port the midi signals to presnous and have to remap them in a different program, for some reason presonus can't do midi mapping.

[bratfink]

Mark, is it true you can use the old 1622 I/O with the HD box as an expansion I/O box? I read somewhere that there was a legacy cable you could get from Avid for this application.

The reason I ask is that I have a 1622 I/O sitting around doing nothing,

[markD]

i also still have cakewalk pro audio 9 (old but ultra effective!!) for doing MIDI - it is excellent for that. truth be told, i actually prefer doing a vast majority of my wave editing in cakewalk. it is more intuitive. i am still learning pro tools, and aside from processing with the plug-ins (which is AWESOME), i am not seeing what the big deal is. in fact, if i didn't get an amazing deal on the entire system (it is an HD system) i would be FURIOUS!!!!!! the potential is there, and, as with any technology, there will be a learning curve but i am just not THAT impressed with pro tools itself.

it is kind of tough because i recently opened my studio for business and everyone wants to use pro tools because that is what they read and hear about, so it makes your studio more "legit" and "professional" but that's seems to be about it!! i actually have a client right now that is REFUSING to track through the mackie/HD24 set-up (even though the results would be quicker and easier). he would rather spend extra money by tracking through the digi003 into the computer. the pro tools system tracks fine and there are zero latency issues while recording up to 18 tracks of live audio. the hassle lies in that in order to set up a good recoring level with the line, optical or SPDIF inputs i have to open a channel strip plug-in for each track and create an input level, assign any compression and EQ before recording. it is time consuming and a tiny bit harder to get fine tweaks with a mouse.

in the end, this guy is paying more because of that set-up time. if we were to use the analog mixer, the channel strips are right there and they are easier to manipulate. oh well. i am profiting from pro tools hype!!

[markD]

Mark, is it true you can use the old 1622 I/O with the HD box as an expansion I/O box? I read somewhere that there was a legacy cable you could get from Avid for this application.

The reason I ask is that I have a 1622 I/O sitting around doing nothing,

i think so. avid has great support. email them because so many of their products are system dependent that is hard to keep up with all of it.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

I used cakewalk and sonar for years. But after switching to Pro Tools I have no desire to go back. I like the workflow in PT way better. Grouping channels and switching playlists for those channels makes editing multiple takes so much easier and quicker. I do wish, however, that PT came fully loaded with better plugings like logic does.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Mark make sure you tweak your computer out for recording. There is some great info on that here (you can also search for more direct things like windows xp or windows 7):

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/...ation&-find=Go!

[markD]

cool. thanks for the link. i will check it out.