Digidesign Pro Tools 8 (Mac/Win) Review

May 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Eli Crews

           
 

PRO TOOLS GETS A MAKEOVER AND THEN SOME

One great thing about all A.I.R. plug-ins is that they utilize the mouse scroll wheel, a feature I'd like to see on all plug-ins. A minor drawback for Pro Tools HD users is that A.I.R. instruments and effects run only as RTAS plug-ins, so they don't take advantage of TDM cards' processing power and low latencies.

MIDI Consultation

Since my work revolves primarily around audio recording and mixing, I wanted the opinion of someone who uses MIDI to compose on a daily basis. Steve Kirk, a member of the fantastic Bay Area band Orchestra Nostalgico, is a prolific composer for film, commercials, and video games. He uses a myriad of software-based sounds either as placeholders for real instruments or as part of the final arrangement. Steve had switched from Pro Tools to MOTU Digital Performer a few years back, citing more-complex MIDI requirements than Pro Tools could handle at the time. He recently upgraded to Pro Tools 8, hoping that what he considers superior audio editing in Pro Tools would be matched with ample MIDI implementation. He wasn't disappointed, and in fact he said he was incredibly impressed with the new MIDI features.

FIG. 3: The new MIDI Editor window makes editing various MIDI parameters on multiple tracks a breeze.

Steve found the new MIDI Editor (available as a tile at the bottom of the Edit window or in its own separate window) an elegant interface for accessing his complex layers of MIDI data. The MIDI Editor window can follow the main Edit window's tool and operation modes (Slip, Shuffle, Grid, or Spot) or have its own unique setup (see Fig. 3). It also has its own track hiding, Timeline view, and Conductor rulers. In addition, Steve really appreciated the new Score window, which is loosely based on Digidesign's Sibelius notation software, which he uses to flesh out his scores. His only (very modest) complaint was that there is only a global split point in Notation view; he'd like to be able to split the default Grand Staff on a local basis.

Cut to the Chase

Shortly before I finished this review, I received a new HD2 Accel system, which included an upgrade to Pro Tools 8. The Pro Tools HD-only features mostly revolve around Avid video improvements and Satellite Link (for running sessions across multiple computers over an Ethernet network), neither of which I use. In general, though, Pro Tools HD 8 has been running like a dream, with all the same features I'd been enjoying in LE, especially after I installed the CS (customer service) update. I have a general issue with Digidesign not alerting its customers to CS updates well enough, but it claims that automatic update notification will be part of a forthcoming release.

To be clear, this review is not really meant to compare Pro Tools with the many other DAWs out there. I'm a dedicated longtime Pro Tools user, and the latest version contains numerous components that make my day-to-day work easier, more pleasurable, and more creative, all at a very low upgrade cost. Although I've touched on only a handful of new features, I'm sure you'll continue discovering them around every corner as I have. I feel strongly that Digidesign has never offered a more compelling total software package than Pro Tools 8.

Eli Crews wrangles both ones and zeros at New, Improved Recording, his studio in Oakland, California. Special thanks to Steve Kirk for his help with this review.