Posted: 5/24/2011 5:02:36 PM EDT
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I had my first experience creating music via midi (Cakewalk Music Creator on a friend's computer) a few days back and I think I'm about ready to take the dive myself. After taking a stroll through the neighborhood Best Buy musical instrument section, the best candidate seems to be the Pro Tools Mbox Mini. The website seems to conceal the fact that it comes with a stripped down version of Pro Tools, but the box in-store was clearly marked "Pro Tools LE." According to Wikipedia, the LE versions were discontinued. I would like to know what kind experiences the hive has had with Pro Tools. Some more specific questions- What are the limitations of this LE version? What are some recommended plug-ins (free or otherwise)? I have seen remarks about a $20 license to export mp3s.  Is that all there is to it, or is there a work-around to this?Any other advice? ETA: I'm open to ideas if you want to recommend something different. I am running a Core 2 Duo Mac with OS 10.6 and 3 GB of RAM. |
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Quoted: Money pit. Protools requires a license for everything. Go Cubase, you wont regret it. Yup. You don't need to worry about the money for the MP3 license. I never bought one. I mix all my stuff down to .wav files (as you should) anyway. You can find free programs to convert .wav to mp3 files online. This is what I do. I like Pro Tools, when I'm using it but not paying for it. Basically, if I'm in someone elses studio. IIRC, they use a proprietary type of plug in as well. Cubase uses VST's, and I've found a TON of open source free VST's that work very, very well online.
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find a nice Midi controller http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.family&ID=USBkeyboardcontrollers and a good pair of headphones then start trying different software package demos. I like FLstudio myself but I have messed with Propellerheads Reason also which is quite bit to learn and higher end. FLstudio is good to learn on and a simple midi controller like the Oxygen 25 will get you into it. you can do amazing stuff with just those 2 things. |
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This might sound like a really stupid question, but is there a difference between Mac VSTs and Windows VSTs? I am asking because I downloaded Reaper as an experiment and I couldn't get it to recognize a VST I downloaded. (Yes, I know the Apple Logic and GB software uses AUs.)
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Quoted: This might sound like a really stupid question, but is there a difference between Mac VSTs and Windows VSTs? I am asking because I downloaded Reaper as an experiment and I couldn't get it to recognize a VST I downloaded. (Yes, I know the Apple Logic and GB software uses AUs.) Yes. I use Windows VST's because I'm running a windows OS. Use Mac VST's if you're running a Mac OS. They're the same VST, but need to match the OS is all.
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I use these quite a bit. |
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Blockfish is great! |
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I guess I should have looked at Wikipedia for this one too... <meta charset="utf-8"></meta>The majority of VST plugins are available for Windows due to both Apple's proprietary Audio Unit software for OS X and the lack of information and patent encumbrances that make development difficult for Linux platforms. I have this feeling that trying to find Mac specific VSTs will be a royal pain in the ass as most VSTs are made for Windows and a lot of the internet traffic seems to focus on making VSTs AU compatible.
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Quoted: Blockfish is great! I've gotten a lot of mileage out of Spitfish. It's one of the better free de esser's I've found.
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| Afaik Protools 9 now works with other (non-digidesign) interfaces. I moved to it about a month ago and honestly, it has been really great. I've been recording for a long time and my workflow is very streamlined using PT. Quality is fantastic and you can bounce directly to mp3 out of the box. |
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Quoted: Afaik Protools 9 now works with other (non-digidesign) interfaces. I moved to it about a month ago and honestly, it has been really great. I've been recording for a long time and my workflow is very streamlined using PT. Quality is fantastic and you can bounce directly to mp3 out of the box. Is this with the full ~$500 $600 version? |
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LE isn't too bad. Unless you are planning on running a ton of tracks, and plugins with a lot of latency, it will do what you want it to without much hassle. The way that they do business leaves you scratching your head sometimes, with arbitrary limitations, and forced obsolescence. They also require a USB dongle called an iLok, which you pretty much have to leave in at all times. Since most of the Mboxes are USB, that means two ports gone. However, the newest version (PT9) has really opened things up. Workflow is much better, midi editing is more intuitive, they have finally given you automatic delay compensation, and you are no longer tied solely to AVID hardware. Getting free plugins for it isn't difficult, either, if you look in the right places. They also have a lot of cracked plugins, not that I would endorse that sort of thing.
Of course, as someone else mentioned, you can get Reaper for free, and it has a lot of cool features. But, you still need to get a good audio interface. By the way, I suppose it would be good to know what you intend to use it for. Are you planning on recording instruments, or just using it as a sequencer for MIDI? Also, what are they asking for that particular MBox? Some stores are selling the MBox Minis already bundled with PT9 (such as Sweetwater) for around 620 dollars, and I have seen some used units, with 9, for sale. Finally, if you go to http://duc.avid.com/, you can find a lot of useful information (including info on other platforms). |
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Quoted: LE isn't too bad. Unless you are planning on running a ton of tracks, and plugins with a lot of latency, it will do what you want it to without much hassle. The way that they do business leaves you scratching your head sometimes, with arbitrary limitations, and forced obsolescence. They also require a USB dongle called an iLok, which you pretty much have to leave in at all times. Since most of the Mboxes are USB, that means two ports gone. However, the newest version (PT9) has really opened things up. Workflow is much better, midi editing is more intuitive, they have finally given you automatic delay compensation, and you are no longer tied solely to AVID hardware. Getting free plugins for it isn't difficult, either, if you look in the right places. They also have a lot of cracked plugins, not that I would endorse that sort of thing. Of course, as someone else mentioned, you can get Reaper for free, and it has a lot of cool features. But, you still need to get a good audio interface. By the way, I suppose it would be good to know what you intend to use it for. Are you planning on recording instruments, or just using it as a sequencer for MIDI? Also, what are they asking for that particular MBox? Some stores are selling the MBox Minis already bundled with PT9 (such as Sweetwater) for around 620 dollars, and I have seen some used units, with 9, for sale. Finally, if you go to http://duc.avid.com/, you can find a lot of useful information (including info on other platforms). It is my understanding that the Mbox acts as the dongle when it is in use, but that's according the the guy on the BB sales floor. Do tell... I will mostly be working with MIDI, but I will probably line-in a bass on occasion.
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