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The music industry's best-known production app will soon be free
You've probably heard the output of Avid's Pro Tools audio production software, even if you don't know what it's like -- it's virtually a staple of the music industry, and spawned now-famous (or infamous) effects like Auto Tune. There hasn't been a cheap way to try it for nearly 15 years, however, so it's not exactly practical for crafting songs in your basement. Thankfully, Avid's about to lower the barriers to entry. It recently unveiled Pro Tools First, a free version that lets you get your feet wet. It includes a "subset" of the usual features (you're mainly missing extra tracks, score editing and video playback), but it otherwise behaves like the paid version. You won't have to relearn anything if you hit the big time and start using the full software.
Pro Tools 10.3.4 now available
Pro Tools has released version 10.3.4, which addresses a number of issues on the Mac. While many of the issues are minor, users will be happy to know that the company has resolved annoying bugs in the Edit window that were not resolved with 10.3.3. Users can see a complete list of fixes in this update in the ReadMe file here. Pro Tools is the industry-standard sound and audio production software made by Avid.
Pro Tools beta adds Lion support
Pro Tools is the industry-standard audio creation and production software used in the music and entertainment industries. Traditionally, Pro Tools takes its sweet time to be updated to work on newer OSs, but today Avid has released a Pro Tools 9.0.5 beta, which adds support for OS X 10.7 Lion. Note, however, that even though Pro Tools 9.0.5 is officially qualified to work on Snow Leopard systems, that's not the case with Lion. Hence the "beta" status. If your livelihood depends on Pro Tools, you probably shouldn't upgrade your production workstations to Lion and version 9.0.5. If you intend to upgrade, note this warning and advice from Avid. When Lion is installed on a system with Pro Tools, the OS will disable some Pro Tool plug-ins. Given that, Avid recommends against updating a Snow Leopard workstation that already has Pro Tools installed. Instead they suggest Pro Tools users create a new partition on their hard drives, then install Lion from scratch, and then install Pro Tools 9.0.5. You can check out Avid's Read Me file on the matter here (PDF) and download the Pro Tools 9.0.5 update here. [via Loopinsight]
Count The Beats: Interview with a mixing engineer
In the last year I've spent a fair amount of time doing some recordings. In particular, I've been working on some of my own material. Having invested a large amount of time and money into pre production and the actual recording sessions, what started out as a small bedroom demo soon escalated into something much more than that (I'm sure you know what I mean). It soon became apparent that I was going to need someone with a bit more experience and 'know how' when it came to post production, and in particular, mixing. After calling in some "favours," and reaching as far as I could into the "industry," as such, I was introduced to Mr. Stephen Harding. An exceptionally talented musician, producer, and up and coming mixing engineer. To my delight, I discovered that not only is he a pretty nice guy, he is also darn good at mixing, and he's a fan boy of all things Apple too! Amongst all our post production endeavors, Steve and I managed to sit down with a cup of tea and some rich tea biscuits to talk Macs, set-up , plug-ins, outboard gear and the art of approaching a mix backed by the stability of Mac OS X. Read on for some wise words on mixing, but be forewarned though, as is becoming customary in the Count The Beats series, there is some pretty heavy tech talk ahead. However, it does make for some juicy reading. Don't forget, if you don't understand, just nod your head and pretend you do like the rest of us! Enjoy.
Count The Beats: Logic Studio, are you in love? (Poll)
Here at TUAW, we've not given Apple's Logic Studio a great deal of coverage recently. In particular, back in July 2009, Apple released its latest iteration of the popular music production software, Logic Pro 9 (alongside the upgrade to all its various virtual studio components too), and not much has been mentioned about it since. With Pro Tools' much vamped version 8 released at the beginning of 2009, and, more recently, the introduction of Reason's new DAW Record (not to mention all the other powerful DAW's out there), we thought it was high time to take a good look at the new features of Apple's flagship music production solution. Since Logic Studio boasts over 200 new features, and takes a one-size-fits-all approach (basically everyone will find something different to take away from this enormous package), we're not going to do a comprehensive review (well, not at this stage anyway). Instead, we'd love to hear from you (sitting in your dark studio making funny noises and dreaming of Grammy's) to share with us how these new features are working out in the real world. What's that awesome new feature you keep on going back to? What's the most annoying problem that disrupts your work flow? From the tones of 'Pedalboard' and 'Amp Designer' to being a master of time with 'Flex Time,' how is it all working out for you? Apple describes Logic Studio to be "...a complete set of professional applications that lets you write, record, edit, mix and perform. It's also the largest collection of modelled instruments, sampler instruments, effect plug-ins, and audio loops ever put in a single box. So it's easy to get amazing sounds and amazing-sounding recordings. Now you can tackle any stage of your project yourself - without losing your inspiration along the way. " Do you agree with this statement? If Logic 9 isn't your DAW of choice, or you haven't yet upgraded, now's your chance to tell the world why your DAW is genuinely better. Or why you're sticking to your Logic 8 guns because you think Logic 9 (Studio) isn't worth the upgrade. This isn't a time to gloat and sneer (I'm looking at you Pro Tools people in the corner, you're always up for a fight!!!), but rather to get some genuine conversation going on what really works and what doesn't on our beloved Mac platform. In the future we're aiming to do a series on the various components of Logic Studio. To get to grips with the nitty gritty of what each application has to offer. If you work professionally, and rather closely, with one of these apps then let us know, we'd love to hear from you. %Poll-37016%
Count The Beats: Interview with a film & TV composer
If you've ever played Gears of War 2 (who hasn't), or watched Desperate Housewives (we know you secretly love Mrs Van De Kamp), then chances are you've heard music composed by Pieter A. Schlosser from PaaxMusic in Los Angeles. Pieter's been in the music business for the last five years working on a whole lot of tunes for film, TV and gaming. From CSI New York to composing in "French" for The Sims 3, he's got a wealth of experience in this field and, must be mentioned, he's an avid reader of TUAW too. When Pieter got in touch with us regarding our 'Count The Beats' series, and sent us the above picture of his studio, suffice to say that the TUAW offices descended into a flurry of excitement (papers flying in the air and everything). What can we say, we love a picture of an inspiring setup. The logical next step was to sit down with Pieter and talk shop. Read on to find out how the complexities of this mighty setup come together, how the iPhone works as a part of the composing journey, a little bit on DAWs, the "dream upgrade" and how to get the job done when all else is failing. A word of warning, there is some serious music tech geekery ahead. If in doubt, just pretend that it all makes sense and slowly nod your head, then move onto the next paragraph. That's what most of us do anyway!
M-Audio and Digidesign team up for $99 Pro Tools, hardware bundles
It's probably safe to assume that most of the Grammy Award-winning readers of Engadget (hi, Evanescence!) already have expansive -- and expensive -- recording studios in their Bel Aire mansions. For the rest of us, however, the fruits of Avid's acquisition of M-Audio is beginning to pay off in the form of inexpensive Pro Tools bundles that see the digital audio workstation paired with entry-level recording gear. Right now, we have three Pro Tools Essentials packages for you, including: the Pro Tools Vocal Studio USB condenser mic (includes a stand and a case for $99), the Pro Tools Recording Studio comes with a Fast Track 2-in / 2-out USB audio interface with mic / line / instrument inputs ($129), and finally Pro Tools KeyStudio 49-key MIDI keyboard (bundled with M-Audio USB Micro soundcard for $99). Of course, for prices this low you can't expect the full-blown ProTools treatment, but even the streamlined version here should be sufficient for most would-be Johnny Marrs: 5 GB of instruments and loops, 60 virtual instrument sounds, and the usual reverb / chorus / delay / flanger / phaser / compression / EQ effects. To be released mid-September, but in the meantime check out the hardware in the gallery below. %Gallery-72553%
Pro Tools LE controlled with an iPhone
According to Create Digital Music an experienced Pro Tools developer named Alex le Lievre has managed to hack together a Pro Tools LE remote using his iPhone. As you can see from the above video the remote allows him to control Pro Tools and get live feedback from it on an iPhone or iPod touch. Alex is not releasing the software yet because he wants to sell it come February when the iPhone SDK is released "if Apple lets [him] once they certify [his] code." In any case, just getting this to work is rather impressive. There are more details at Create Digial Music.[via Digg]
iPhone hacked to control Pro Tools
This one might only be interesting to the musicians out there, but anyone's who's ever struggled to control Pro Tools while trying to lay down tracks will definitely be interested in Alex le Lievre's slick iPhone / iPod touch control surface app. The utility connects over WiFi to a server program and MIDI controller on your audio workstation, and allows you to remotely control Pro Tools using the iPhone's multitouch interface, all while reflecting levels and automated fades in real time. Alex says he plans to sell the app once the official SDK hits in February -- here's hoping his target audience doesn't mind all that GSM noise the iPhone generates. Check a vid of the app in action after the break.
Digidesign Pro Tools 7.3
Digidesign is now shipping Pro Tools 7.3, an update to the de facto standard in professional audio recording and mixing software. The new release delivers feature and speed enhancements for Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered systems, and includes new music composition tools, customizable user enhancements, and improved post production workflows, This version is priced between $49 and $199 USD, depending on the package, but if you purchased and registered Pro Tools 7.2 on or after November 5, 2006, your upgrade is free. If you're new to Pro Tools, be sure to check the system requirements before you buy.
Digidesign Releases ProTools HD Update for Tiger
Digidesign has released Pro Tools TDM 6.9.2 update, which brings Tiger support to the Pro Tools 6.9 feature set.
