Having signed-up for Pro Tools | First (that's how Avid spells it) on 13 February of this year, today I finally received the e-mail with the link to download and install it. While it might be cool for someone "just starting out," as Avid wants to put it, there are free or cheap DAWs which are much better, for at least the very reasons why Pro Tools First (as I spell it) sucks:

1. Project files are hosted online, where "anything" could happen to them.
2. An internet connection is required to work on projects.
3. Cloud hosting is free for up to three projects; one has to pay for space for more.
4. The bundled plug-ins are "the basics," but could/should be augmented by a lot more.
5. Only Xpand!2 sampler/virtual instrument (plus 1.5 GB of content for it) and a five-band EQ are available for-free via the in-app Marketplace.
6. Many of the plug-ins via the Marketplace are overpriced, and/or are "tiered" for 7- or 31-day rentals or yearly subscriptions.
7. PTF IGNORES all plug-ins NOT acquired via the Marketplace.
8. No cross-compatibility with regular PT project files.
   

It's going to be amusing to watch PTF meet the Reaper.

 

No 8 is a deal breaker

 

Nothing about that sounds appealing at all.

 

Pro Tools - "For those who have more money than sense" *yes*

 

This version of Protools is useless For A Professional
but don't forget that the full version of Avid Protools is the standard DAW in the industry

If you have home studio , there is other options other DAW that can fit with your needs

By the way I have Avid Protools HD 11 LEGIT & Cubase With yamaha 01v96 & It's Working Very Good

If Someday a Major label Hire you The only thing you will find is Protools

most of the best studios work with protools , you better learn it at least

EDIT: I Have Degree in audio engineering and video editing when i was learning the craft the only two software that I used there is AVID Media Composer & Avid Protools

Avid Protools HD 11 LEGIT It Was A Gift When I Bought yamaha 01v96

 

So damn bad. I really believed that Avid had decided to grow a heart and appeal to a wider audience by actually letting you use a crippled version of it, like Cubase AI or Live Lite, but what Stevich is describing is nothing compared to owning Pro Tools for money. After reading this initial review, it finally dawned on me that it was just another hoax from Avid to suck the life out of your pocket.

Potential Pro Tools user:

Don't fall for this crap. I own Pro Tools 11 and I am skipping 12 (nothing really new under the hood until the last revision -still waiting to see). Pro Tools is a solid and serious piece of software, and when you own it legit, you are more than covered for the bugs that you find along the way. However, if you are starting out, you'll do a lot better using something else, which will be cheaper and more cutting edge for sure. The only real reason I use Pro Tools is that it was the first thing I really learned. One day, when all of us old timers grow too old to hold a mouse or read from a screen, then the "industry standard" will fall out of use. Meanwhile, if you mean to be in, you have to at least learn how to use it. However, Pro Tools First is *not* the way to start.

 

I've gone through every DAW starting with Sony ACID, to Emagic Logic (on Windows!), Reason, to Protools, Digital Performer, Audacity in my music department, Ableton Live at its beginning, to Reaper on a Linux machine.

Overall lesson learned = spend more time making something good to put into the DAWS. I think that I'm finally coming out of the phase of spending more energy and thoughts in the tools of "how" to produce music and manipulate audio and moving into the next level of focusing and remembering the "why" of producing music. If you produce great results no one really is going to care how you did it and with what tools.

Its easy enough these days for DAWS to export and share files across software and platforms so really I think the choice of a great DAW, like the choice of a great instrument is THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND MAKING MUSIC.

I personally use Ableton because of its speed of manipulating audio and creating quick grooves and recordings and export each track to .aiffs/.wavs to import into pro tools sessions for mixers or producers if necessary.

 

It is the standard for audio engineers and more likely they own the Soundtrack industry by a long shot as well (true) but in pure Music Production land, Pro Tools have lost that market a while ago to a multitude of other DAWs (Name it: Logic/Live/FL/Cubase/etc...) Avid didn't see that coming just like AOL was stuck on 56K modem and never saw cable overtaking them *yes* . A lot of studios and producers (especially the older generation) have invested so much money in PT rigs over the years that it is hard for them to replace it (well, some just do love Pro Tools, I'll admit) but the overall truth is, for every studio which is rigged with Pro Tools for engineers, there's a tower (in-house) or laptop with another DAW for production sitting right by it; usually brought in by outside client coming in to use the facility. Research the top producers in the top current genres and it won't be any surprise that Pro Tools makes up a small percentage in the list when it comes to chosen DAW to actually produce those days.

"Pro Tools is the industry standard" is the exact line that Avid still bet on to rip people off by charging a boat load for measly features. THIS IS COMING FROM A PRO TOOLS 11 OWNER but use ABLETON LIVE, all day/everyday LOL!!!. Most of us inside or outside the industry are not that blind. We see and track the progress of all the software companies; It's debatable but we can easily say that Avid is the least innovative with its "standard" DAW - Did they add anything significant in PT. 12? Probably not. So, many people have ignored Pro Tools a long time ago. that "standard" now only occupies just one side of audio production: Mastering, not even necessarily Mixing as lot of songs are not being mixed with Pro Tools anymore. There are engineers pulling mixing in and out of the box by using the native DAW the track came from.

Is it cool to know, if you have it? Yeah! sure, especially if you are aiming to be mainly a Mixing/Mastering Engineer... But is it required as much as it used to in Music Production? NO!

PT 11 was my last straw! I'd rather jump on Sonar then upgrading to v.12 (in which they barely add anything valuable). I mean, look at how much new stuff and features Cakewalk is giving every month for its membership compare to expensive Avid which has yet to add anything to its membership plan; everything stuck on coming soon or buy at the App Store?

Pro Tools|First - Pro Tools|Last - Pro Tools anything is not much to be excited about lately!

 

And they have special secret accounts on all online stores for buying special secret pro plugins. Thats why they sounds so good.

Protools + secret plugins. CCCcombo breaker.


But seriously. Even if you are so good and Sony/Virgin/Abbey Road/every other big name will hire you, you can use any daw with protools hardware. It's not a big deal. On the other side i know many big names who was happy to sell protools junkware.

 

It's not about what you own or have! It's about how you do, how you make , blend ! people with great knowledge tmake music on 16 track keyboards and they sound bobmbastic professional! What's point to have fancy Protools or other expensive DAWs and you don't know how o make it properly :/

 

Isn't being connected always the big catch ! Funny how Avid was damn near bankrupt two years ago and barley making it now they seem on top of the world without a single home run product..Just a thought behind a thought ....

 

You talk about Music production : AS I said Before If you are working On Music like Hip Hop R&B Dubstep Trance ETC..... you can use any DAW to achieve that
by the way i don't use Virtual plugins Like Delay ETC... since I Already have my built-in effect in Yamaha 01v96
Pro tools has it's own work flow and supported with hardware

I Never saw any DAW Like Ableton Or FL Studio In Studios Of Hollywood (Talking About Film Score)

One Thing Makes Avid PRO TOOLS The Top Instead of explaining to you it's better to see : Just Watch This

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfvwUBNg-X8

 

You're kidding me? Over 400 tracks? Maybe multiple instances of Protools. Reaper host 1000 tracks in only one instance.

 

"If Someday a Major label Hire you The only thing you will find is Protools "

Bollocks.. if the music is good enough they will find a way.. from ANY DAW.

 

if you are right show me a video of reaper in any film (behind the scene)

and for your record AVID SELL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE It's Like Connection between linear and non linear

other company that do the same is NATIVE INSTRUMENTS

 

The Funny Thing Is Choose Any DAW When you finish your track when you export it , they will import it to AVID PRO TOOLS

THE GOOD THING ABOUT AVID IS THE MIXER AND THE WAY ITS WORKS IS REASONABLE (BUS AUX) Like Cubase

For ANY other DAW THEIR MIXER It's A Joke LIKE FL MIXER

 

So now i waste 7:31 min of my life. They say "protools" 13 times. It's 1.73 protools per minute.
Typical promotion. Nothing more. Dat guy, who looks like Sigourney Weaver, said that he doesn't know how to do it with another platform. THat fact that he doesn't know - doesn't mean that it's impossible in general. 7:31 of blabla show. BTW i didn't watch avatar. And don't have any plans to watch it in near future.

 

Damn and now i have to explain to you , Avid Protools has other major software With it (Avid sibelius + avid media composer) = Domination

By the way avatar is from 2009 it's old film

 

Cubase has that chord assistant witchcraft = Beyond Godlike.

I know. Also I didn't watch transformers 3 and many many other trash movies.

 

Yes Cubase Is My Second Main DAW AFTER AVID PRO TOOLS

ME TOO BUT I WANT YOU TO FOCUS ON THE AUDIO PART NOT THE VIDEO PART