Avid

Avid resolutely keep with their delirious policy with Pro Tools 12 as a permanent internet connection of the workstation is now mandatory, which is only a thinly disguised way to spy even more on users. As a reminder, this update is out while version 11 is still not really complete - a consequence of their virtual monopoly on this market which itself owes a lot to many users' lack of curiosity. I've been a sound engineer for four decades now and have experienced many technological evolutions (including the shift from analog to digital), and I can assure that, had we reacted just like these fanboy Pro Tools users, we still would be stuck with mono optical sound. Have a nice time making sound!

The installation is easy, the hardest is managing the iLock account. Being used to Cubase, I was a bit lost at first. The hardest for me was setting up the D/A inputs and outputs of my racks, as well as the buses and sends. I haven't found any incompatibilities for now. I haven't studied the manual enough for now. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Premium Processor: intel core i7 3770 RAM: G-SKILL Extreme3 PC12800 Trident X CAS7 Hard Drive: SSD 840 PRO Samsung Soundcard: Motu 828 MK2 FireWire Its performance is excellent, the 64-bit buffer allows a very reliable latency and the direct monitoring is indispensable to record audio with big VST sessions. Pro Tools 11 works correctly and is stable, for the time being.... OVERALL OPINION I've been using it for 1 and a half months. I have only tried Steinberg's Cubase before. What I like best: Its performance handling software like east west or vienna. What I like the least: That it doesn't have direct monitoring on the non-HD version and, especially, that it doesn't have an equivalent to MAP EXPRESSION and other details cubase has. But most of all, the incredible complexity to switch to pro Tools HD which means forking out over 5,000 bucks... I feel sorry for those who have a PCIe or thunderbolt card, who are forced to buy and AVID card even if they already have the best of the best. It must be hard...

When I started recording and mixing music away from my main setup (at home) I got tired of unplugging my audio interface when leaving then plugging it in again when I got back home, so I thought the best thing would be to get a second interface. I never need to record more than one voice at a time so a small portable device would suit my needs. Initially I had my eye on the Presonus AudioBox 22VSL and M-Audio FastTrack C400 but as soon as I came across the Mbox 3 Mini I was hooked. The Mbox 3 Mini is a USB audio interface aimed at the home studio/semi-pro level. It's a beautiful, metallic, grey unit which is really solid and of top notch build quality. It's quite heavy and built to last. The device uses the same cable for data transfer and power so you don't need any extra cables. It also comes packaged with quick setup guide and ProTools LE 8, which is an added bonus. The rear side has one XLR mic/line combo input with phantom power, two balanced monitor outputs, two 1/4 inch instrument inputs and the USB cable slot. The front end has a gain knob for the XLR/line in channel with a -20dB pad, a gain knob for the instrument in channels (also with a -20dB pad), a mix knob for direct monitoring, one headphone output and a huge volume knob. The pre-amp in this unit is transparent and loud. I use it mostly for recording vocals and never have to turn up the gain too loud to get a good signal. It's compatible with Windows and Mac. Personally I use a laptop running 64 bit Windows 7, with 4GB RAM and an i5 quad core, 2.30GHz CPU. I use mostly the XLR input to capture audio from my condenser mics and it works great. UTILIZATION I use the unit mostly for powering up my condenser mics and recording audio. The round-trip latency I get with it is roughly 24ms which works great for me. The direct monitoring option is also great because I can listen to any on-going recording with zero latency. I use it mostly with REAPER which is the main DAW I use for recording and mixing as well as FL Studio. I've also tinkered with it in Studio One. I haven't had any issues with Studio One and FL Studio using either the WDM, DirectSound or ASIO4ALL drivers. However, in REAPER I get a loud, crackling, continuous white noise when I use the ASIO4ALL driver even when I set the latency really high. When I switch to DirectSound or WDM I have no issues. I'm not sure if this is a general issue with REAPER or if it's just my PC but I doubt it's an issue with the ASIO4ALL driver because when I use the same driver in FL Studio or Studio One I don't experience any issues. But this is not a show-stopper for me because even with DirectSound or WDM the latency is really low. I use the device with several different mics including an Audix CX212B, Blue Spark, AKG C1000s and Rode NT1. All of them sound good through the Mbox. I record only one track at a time which is perfectly fine for my use. If you want to something in the Mbox series but with more inputs and outputs you should consider looking at the Mbox Pro. All in all the device performs great. GETTING STARTED The unit is very easy to setup. On my Windows 7 machine I just plugged it in and the drivers were installed automatically. The process was quick and simple. In case there are any issues with the automatic installation of drivers you can download them from the Avid website and install them manually. The controls are very straight-forward for anyone who has used an audio interface before and the quick setup manual, though small does the job of helping you setup your device for use. The specific configuration for various DAWs is different but in FL Studio, REAPER and Studio One it's very straight-forward. You just select the "Mbox Mini" option in the device windows of each respective program tinker with the latency settings and you're done. OVERALL OPINION All things considered this unit is absolutely great. The pre-amp is really loud and transparent, the build quality of the device is top notch, it has a direct monitoring option and comes with ProTools 8 LE which will get you started in recording if you don't have any other DAW. There are other devices in this price range which have multiple monitor outputs as well as multiple headphone outputs. But if you are considering buying the Mbox Mini 3 then it's likely you're not interested in having a big setup, so that's not a big deterrent. You could always buy a splitter if you want to monitor using 2 pairs of headphones. Pros: - Loud, transparent pre-amp - It has direct monitoring - Brilliant build quality - Comes with Protools LE 8 Cons: - Only 1 output for headphones, but you can buy a splitter to resolve this. - Only 1 set of monitor outputs, so if you have several sets of speakers that you use in your studio you have to constantly unplug and unplug them according to which pair you need to use. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever for purchasing this unit. It has not disappointed me to date and it's worth every penny it costs. You will get great, professional sounding results from this if you couple it with a great mic.

I have been using the MBox 3 by Avid for a while now and it has never given us any issues. I have used it on about 3 different computers and on all systems it works great and it was easy to set up. All you have to do is install the drivers and get your DAW to recognize it and that is all. Depending on which DAW you use with it will change how easy it is to set up. I do admit, some of the DAW software programs are a little trickier than other ones are when trying to set up a 3rd party interface. You can record up to 4 tracks at the same time with this interface, it will also give you MIDI in and MIDI outs. It is all powered by plugging it into your computer and there is no AC power provided. UTILIZATION This interface has never let us down and it has never crashed on us. Since we have been using it, we have not received any driver updates and do not need any as of now. The MBox 3 comes with Pro Tools Express; Pro Tools Express is not the full version of Pro Tools but it is great for use to demo a project and then save the file and open it up in Pro Tools 10 on my Mac later on. There are some basic built in effects that you are going to get with this interface but they are nothing to get that excited about because they are pretty simple. GETTING STARTED This interface cannot be racked, but it is small and portable and you will have no problems with it being on your desktop workspace. There is not latency between playback and the interface is very quiet. The preamps are decent, but could be better. OVERALL OPINION This version of the MBox really didn’t differ from the previous version too much to me. It has an updated design and maybe slightly better preamps but besides that it is basically a carbon copy of the previous model.

Avid Pro Tools 9 is a top quality software to get your complete songs recorded mixed and mastered right at your finger tips. I have been in about 10 different studio’s within an hour radius of here and every single one of them at the time was using Pro Tools 9 by avid. They where actually the ones who inspired me to purchase it so I could be very fluid with it so when I came in to record I would have to waste time trying to figure out how to get the sound that I want. I purchased this from Avid’s website a couple years ago and got the box version just incase, I always like having a hard copy of something around. You could also get the downloaded version which I think was a little cheaper since they didn’t have to ship you the cd and manuals. You can still get the manual online if you get the downloaded version. Or you can get the manual if something happends and you lose yours from your hard copy version. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I ran Avid Pro Tools 9 at home on my mac and I must say it worked perfectly. I am not to sure how it would have worked on my old mac. But I purchased a new mac about 6 months before I purchased Pro Tools 9. So basically it was like a brand new set up to me and I had a lot too learn. I have used several versions of pro tools m-powered so I kind of already had the feel of how pro tools worked. OVERALL OPINION Avid Pro Tools 9 will give you every thing you need and I mean every single thing you need to do your complete song and master it. If you have a good ear and understand how to mix and master you an do it all your seft right at home. All you need is a decent set of monitors to reference on and you can do it all your self. There is no need to go to the big studio’s anymore to record and get a good master because with this program you can do it at home. Its not cheap to purchase though, it will require a good investment on your part. But its well worth it.

Avid finally went to downloads only for Pro Tools 10. Which is much preferable for me than waiting for a boxed package to arrive. Buy download, install, work! I like it. Install and dongle update went without any issue. For an Avid product the manual is actually comprehensive and easily enough digested. The new features on Pro Tools 10 is what made me jump on an early version and it runs fairly stable to my surprise. The stand outs for me are that Audio Suite plug-ins know can be frozen. I rather would've had track freeze but I will settle for this for now. Also object based volume automation ala Samplitude/Sequoia. Which for some one like me that has spent many years in Smaplitude/Sequoia is a must. Unfortunately you need the Complete Production Tool Kit or HD system to convert object based automation into volume curves. Oh well...I don't think I want to spent another 2000 for that. The other thing I'm missing that's part of the tool pack is that you can customize your system cache and various other settings for performance improvements. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE It works as advertised. Still has some of the Avid/Digi Design oddball concepts I will never understand. Like that short cuts aren't user definable. And worse what about commands that don't have short cuts. I will never understand that. Finally Avid stopped claiming that none needs or wants the ability to record at 32 bit float. Guess after years of Steinberg doing it finally it was acceptable. WHich raises a bit of an issue with backwards compatibility. But Avid actually took care of it. The file extensions are no longer .ptf they are now .ptx. And if you have a project that has 32 bit files you want to open in a prior version of Protools you need to save it as "earlier version Protools 7-9" where it converts those to 24 bit files. OVERALL OPINION I work in it, there is room for improvement. The 299 upgrade is IMO too high it should be 199.- but it is a necessary evil.

Avid's Boom! is the free virtual drum machine that comes with Pro Tools 8 and newer versions of the industry standard software. It's somewhat limited in it's scope, especially when compared to other virtual drum machines like Native Instruments' Battery. However, considering it comes free with Pro Tools, it's nice to have and is fine for laying down simple beats. Boom should install when you install Pro Tools, however I had some problems getting it to work for a while and only recently did it start working for me. For whatever reason, when I first got Pro Tools LE 8, this and a few of the other newly added virtual instruments were missing. It was only until I did a full reinstall of Pro Tools 9 that it started working. I'd used it a bit here and there on other systems, but I'm glad to now have it at home. Once it's up and loaded, learning to use it is very simple. It doesn't get much easier than this in terms of a virtual drum machine, as it gives you ten drum kits to choose from and a series of 16 beats to set where you'd like each element of the kit (kick, snare, etc) to hit. Unfortunately, you can't import your own drum sounds into this, which is the major thing that Boom is lacking. You also can't really send this out to a MIDI track as you either need to do it manually or recording it as audio. In these respects, Boom is somewhat primitive, but again for a free instrument that comes stock with Pro Tools, I can't complain too much. I haven't checked it out myself, but I'm sure there is some information on it in the Pro Tools manual. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I'm currently running Avid's Boom! on my home system which runs on a Mac Book Pro laptop. The computer has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM while I've got the newest version of Pro Tools running, Pro Tools 9. Pro Tools 8 and later versions will come with Boom, so if you have Pro Tools already, you'll have this running in it. OVERALL OPINION Avid's Boom! is a nice little drum machine to have as a stock instrument in Pro Tools. One of the main draws to the newer versions of Pro Tools are these virtual instruments like Boom, which actually sounds pretty good and are very useful to have, especially if you're just building your DAW and might not have any other virtual instruments. Boom! is nice for simple beats and ideas, but it's definitely limited in what it can do since you've only get 10 preset kits to choose from and can't export it to MIDI. It would be very nice to have these features, but maybe the thinking is that you won't pick up the more in depth virtual drum machines if you have that. Either way, for Pro Tools users, Boom! is definitely nice to have and deifnitely worth messing with if you don't have any other in the box drum machine.

Decade-old bugs not patched, same chaotic layout, still hundreds of plugins to sift through to find a workaround for a bug or a feature that should already be in the core program, the transport is still so rudimentary that it's practically useless, still can't control note velocity when entering notes, no copy and paste in all pop-up menus, Sibelius Sounds library is awful... and to add insult to injury, Avid now forces everyone to license this piece of crap EVERY YEAR. Instead of fixing anything, Avid and its ardent enablers will insist an obvious bug is not bug but how the program works or they're not receiving complaints about that bug or a fix is under consideration or they flatly refuse to fix the bug, and, of course, the old standby "You must be doing something wrong" or "It must be a problem specific to your system." I've heard these lame excuses for years. Such blind arrogance is why this program will remain a bloated piece of crap until Avid finally goes out of business. Hopefully sooner than later.

I have been looking at the 'free' versions of leading DAW lately. I owned a PT 11 and have been working in it for my video production requirement though I am only a 'self learned engineer'. However, I could produce outstanding sound track part with the competition or even better. Studio One especially version 3 is a beautiful piece of software. It is light weight compared to many other competitor product. I like it a lot and in some areas it excels it competitors. Even though I would want to continue keeping Studio One as one of my DAWs, I miss few things which makes me think if I have to bring in S1 as my primary DAW. I am comparing Pro Toots | First and Studio One 3 Prime. Below are the major areas making me think. Included Instruments and Plugins Mixing Windows I have recorded guitar and vocals using a dynamic mic - SM58 and condenser Rode NT1A. Both Pro Tools First and Studio One 3 Prime sounded equally good to my ears. However when I started adding effects, somehow S1 lacked something compared to PT First prima facie. Also when more tracks are added, S1 Prime seem to be bit behind in placing the tracks in its right place compared to PT First. When it comes to the instruments, PT First has the same Xpand! available which is found in fully paid versions. The quality of instruments and the possibility of tweaking and customizing PT F and Xpand1 is far ahead of S1 Prime and Presence. Individually the many of the instruments sound good but to my ears, comparatively they lag behind the cutting edge pristine quality of Xpand!. Another thing I struggle is the mixer section compared to PT. Many a times I am lost compared to the ease, clarify flexibility of the mixer section found in PT F. One window concept is good and compact especially when you have limitation of display span. This is my opinion based on the kind of work I do. However, S1 3 Prime, even though it comes free, is good enough for beginners to go forward with their work and later upgrade to S1 pro versions. When comparing S1 3 Prime and PT F, one things needs to be seriously looked at, in my opinion. Would people prefer S1 3 Prime if PT First remove the restriction on maximum 3 projects? Though I have only pointed out few thing which put S1 ahead of competition, I have no doubt that it is a super piece of software with great functionality, solid performance with minimum to no headaches in small setups like I have.

I finally bailed on Finale after several years of working with it. (It was the standard program at my university so it's what I started with) Thank goodness I did. I now use Sibelius for any score or lead sheet I need to produce. I'm not saying that Sibelius is a godsend, but it is much more intuitive and user friendly than Finale. I found myself so often pulling my hair out over the most simple of tasks when using Finale and with Sibelius, I've retained many more of my beautiful, brown locks. First thing I would say is not to install the, frankly, ridiculously over-sized sound library. It is not nearly impressive enough to justify taking up 40GB of your hard-earned hard drive. Unless you really get a kick out of wasting space on your computer this is one thing I would uncheck in the installation phase. The first pleasant thing I noticed about Sibelius is it doesn't crash so often. I became addicted to saving after every note in Finale because of it's instability. I have had occasional issues opening older Sibelius files in the newer version but otherwise it is pretty steady. For someone who has never worked with notation software you will still need some time to get up and running, but with the helpful manual and fairly straight-forward interface, you will be plugging in your music at a decent pace in no time. Speaking of the manual, that is another huge issue with Finale. I would have to scour the internet searching for hours to figure out how to do the such basic tasks... It blew my mind to see how complicated it could be to enter music into a computer program. I'm sorry to continually compare Sibelius to Finale but they are basically the only two programs in the game and one is much worse than the other. One great thing about Sibelius is how intuitive it is in terms of layout. When making parts out of a score, for example, it really sets things up nicely for you. I rarely have to go in and correct. Finale will do screwy stuff like have 20 bars on one line and 2 on the next... oh god. Hours of my life were dedicated just to making my parts legible after completing the full score. Have I made myself clear? In summary, I do know of some long-time Finale users who don't have the kind of issues I did because they simply know the program in and out, but for the rest of us there is Sibelius, and it is wonderful. Please do yourself a favor and buy this program. Don't just trust me, look at the rest of the reviews you will find everywhere on the internet. There is simply no comparing these two programs. Cheers!

The Avid Artist Control has 4 touch sensitive motorized faders and programmable buttons and knobs. There are transport controls on this unit which is one of the reasons I feel like it is so much better than the Artist Mix from Avid. The touch screen is a brilliant edition to the Artist Control that the “Mix” from Avid didn’t have either. The only issue with the touch screen is that sometimes in can be a bit unresponsive and I had to tap a few times in the same spot to get it to register properly. This could cause some major issues for me down the road. Setting up the Avid Artist Control was very easy just like most Avid products are, I didn’t even have to open up the manual or quick start guide to get it set up and running with my Mac or my PC. There are 12 assignable soft keys which is enough but it would have been a plus if there were more on this unit, especially with the price tag on it. The touch screen interface is a 800 x 480 pixel touch screen which has a bright display and really is easy to read and work with in any lighting situation. There are no audio inputs or outputs on this unit, some would say it would be nice if it did have some since it is considered a “mixer” but it didn’t make any difference to me. There are only 4 faders and 9 knobs on this unit but if you have everything set up the proper way and you are comfortable with it, then it really doesn't matter that there aren't more faders and knobs. The 35 dedicated soft keys and 12 assignable soft keys fit right in with my set up and was just enough for me to work with. There are no performance pads on this unit but since it is used as a “mixer” there was no need for any. I was very happy working with this unit, the only issue that I had was with the touch screen responsiveness sometimes.

The Education Edition of Avid’s Pro Tools 10 is a DAW that you can record up to 96 total tracks with. It comes loaded with over 50 plug ins and VST instruments. It can run on a Mac or a PC and installs quickly and easily. In order for you to get this version of Pro Tools you will need to show that you have been enrolled into an official college. I have had this since I was a freshman and purchased it right after my professor who is an engineer told us about this deal. I was happy that I did not have to pay full price for Avid Pro Tools 10. Also it comes with free upgrades for a few years which is a huge bonus because you will not have to spend any money at all for years to come. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Using Pro Tools 10 (Avid) will give you latency free recording and monitoring. You can have any amount of channels of simultaneous ins and outs up to 32 and it can take a ton of different file types like MP3 WAV or AIFF files (and many more). The layout of this version of Pro Tools is very similar to most all of the versions, it is easy to understand if you are already use to working with Pro Tools and if you are a beginner then this is a great place to start. OVERALL OPINION I was recommended this software by my professor and now I have a chance to use the same software that the pros use and that we use at school right in my house. It comes with iLok and is ready to go right out of the box. You will need to make sure your computer is up to date and has good RAM or you will run into some problems when working with some of the plug ins and effects. It can really slow down your system if you are on an older computer.