Have anybody tried this
Eventually got the software downloaded but not installed.
Michael
I just read the email. Will be installing tonight. I didn’t bother with the last one because it was time limited.
Nate @Mustela
It is quite a challenge to get installed.
Haven’t had time to check if it all up and running correctly.
Best of luck.
Michael
A small warning about these free DAWs that they bundle with audio interfaces (or provide as downloads for the users through marketing arrangements).
They are almost always very restricted versions of the full apps, designed to “trap” you in their ecosystem. If, and when you hit those restrictions, upgrading to a better version can be very expensive, and switching to a different DAW is not easy.
Pro Tools was, for a long time, considered to be “the industry standard” simply because it was one of the first DAWs around and was one of the first DAWs used in recording studios when they moved to digital.
However, in recent years, they’ve largely traded on their name and there’s now many other DAWs that are just as good or better, and many are far less expensive if you want something without restrictions. Pro Tools hasn’t been regarded as “the best” for a long time but, for a long time, people still went for it because of its “industry standard” aura.
Well, it now hasn’t been the “industry standard” for some time (the honours there probably are split between Ableton, Logic Pro, and Reaper) and the benefits of being compatible with “the industry standard” have practically disappeared.
Frankly, most people on this forum would probably be better with Reaper, Ardour, Tracktion, Cakewalk, etc. all of which provide capabilities comparable to, and in some cases better than, Pro Tools, with unrestricted versions available at very low cost (or sometimes for free).
Cheers,
Keith
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I don’t much care what’s industry standard.
I certainly don’t have high end needs. But, given that I have access to some tools via my purchase of a Focusrite AI, I’m going to take a look to see what I like, if anything. If one of them meets my needs and has an interface that works for me, then all good. If not, then I can look at my other choices.
As long as you are going in with your eyes open.
So you are aware, Pro Tools Intro+ is limited to 8 audio tracks. This may sound plenty but it can easily become a constraint if you are mixing multi-track parts.
As an example, I have projects where the drums alone use more than 8 tracks.
The other thing to be aware of is that Pro Tools (in any version) does not natively support industry standard plugin formats like VST3, AU, or CLAP. It has it’s own, proprietary, plugin format AAX which is incompatible with every other DAW.
So, not only will you be limited in what plugins you can get (and the ones that are in AAX format tend to be expensive), if you purchase any, you won’t be able to use them with any other tools.
Comparatively, VST plugins (for example) can be used on pretty much every DAW (except Pro Tools), in video streaming and editing applications like OBS and DaVinci Resolve and lots of other applications. And there’s loads of decent free and low-cost ones available.
Cheers,
Keith
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Keith @Majik
Thanks an interesting insight to those of us are not really into that sort of thing.
Michael
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that’s good to know. Focusrite gives you access to a pile of misc stuff. I’ve already downloaded a copy of Ableton Live Lite and one (lol) amp simulation plugin. And yeah, I have figured out how to use that plugin with OBS already.
If ProTools has a more closed ecosystem than just about everything else then I may not keep it. But I figured that I ought to at least take a look at it now that the license Focusrite provides is perpetual.
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Thanks for your input Keith, I am just starting to adventure into the world of audio interface and recording so I need all the help I can get cheers HEC
to echo Nates comment. Yes it is frustrating to actually get it loaded. I gave up after about the 10th step. May try again later but I have loaded for free a similar program called “Reaper” and it seems to be what I want and need.
Just need to learn how to use it. Got a couple of pointers from a friend that is in a successful band but have not used it enough to be fluent. It is one of the goals I have set myself for this year is to learn how to record with Reaper.
For all things Reaper use Kenny
https://www.youtube.com/@REAPERMania
But there are many articles and advice on Reaper in this category as there are quite a few users here in the Community.
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Yeah, Reaper is, IMO, a better option than Pro Tools for almost everyone. It does everything that Pro Tools does and more.
You should note that it’s not, strictly, free. You can use it for free as a trial but, strictly speaking, the full licence to use it is a one-off payment $60, which is still pretty good value considering the equivalent Pro Tools cost is hundreds of dollars every year.
Cheers,
Keith
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Good luck with it.
IMO I would avoid all of the free tools bundled with audio interfaces, other than the ones directly needed to use the AI itself, such as drivers or control panel apps.
All the other “free” apps they provide, especially the third -party ones, are a bit of a trap: They aim to discourage you from researching other tools by saying “everything you need is here” and get you to use the free tools for your projects and to get used to them.
And they are good enough to get going, but when you advance and need more capability, the limitations start to bite and you find yourself stuck in an expensive ecosystem.
And the ways out are to abandon your existing projects, start from scratch with a different DAW, and maybe try to rebuild your projects in that DAW, or to pay the $$$ for the less restrictive versions.
They offer these knowing that most people don’t know about these tools, and they are relying on most people’s ignorance and their trust in the product brand.
Cheers,
Keith
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Thanks, Keith I haven’t touched on any of that yet just used the Focusrite as it is, nothing else I will turn to you guys when I eventually start. i have already reached out to Brian and had a great chat so I know there is lots of help on this community cheers Hec
Yeah, for what I’m doing right now, sending the input from my Focusrite to OBS to record video does the job I need.
I know that I can send the signal to Ableton first and then into OBS if I need to make finer adjustments, but I haven’t needed any of that yet. I know it’s a much more complex process and I don’t want to dive into that until I have to. I have no idea if I can do that with any other DAW.
I did manage to get ProTools installed. I already had an iLok account from the Softtools amp plugin I downloaded. I ended up having to dig on the ProTools website to find a direct download link, though, because their download manager program wasn’t pulling up the program, even after I entered my license code. Of course, I try to take a look at a tutorial and it throws an error code.
It should be possible to do that with any DAW.
The ability to route audio between applications on Windows is not part of the DAW, but is done with an external application, like ReaRoute, VoiceMeeter, or Jack. These applications normally work with any audio application.
If you already have, and use, Ableton then I don’t see that Pro Tools will give you anything useful or extra over Ableton. Ableton really is an excellent, modern application and probably better than Pro Tools in every way.
Really, the only reason people still use Pro Tools these days is because they’ve already had it for years and have existing projects in it, have learned how to use it and don’t want to learn a new DAW, or they’ve been misled into believing it’s still the “industry standard”, which it hasn’t been for nearly a decade.
I would recommend Ableton over Pro Tools any day of the week.
Having said that, if you haven’t already invested in Ableton (financially or otherwise) then I would also recommend looking elsewhere simply because, excellent as it is, Ableton is also pretty expensive when you start using it in anger (again, the free versions are restricted and it’s likely you’ll need to upgrade at some point).
Ableton is a great DAW and also is the tool of choice for loop triggering, EDM, and complex, choreographed live looping setups, as used by artists like Elise Trouw or Rachel K Collier:
But it’s also fairly complex to learn and probably most of us here won’t use more than half of it’s capabilities.
For standard audio and MIDI work, most other DAWs are just as good and many are quite inexpensive in comparison, or even free. I mentioned some before: Reaper, Ardour, Tracktion Waveform Free, and Cakewalk are ones that I would point most people at.
Cheers,
Keith
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I just have the “Lite” version of Ableton that came as a download with the Focusrite. I’m not entirely sure about whether the differences between “Lite” compared to the full version will matter to me.
The main limitation of Ableton Lite is it’s limited to 8 tracks.
I believe you are also limited to mono tracks. This may not matter to you as they can be mixed into a stereo output with panning (and mono tracks are generally more common for DAWs) but if you want to use stereo sources (such as a multi-fx unit or digital amp) or stereo backing tracks, it may be a major issue.
It does also have a limited number of bundled plugins compared to the full (paid) version but, unlike Pro Tools, Ableton can use standard VST plugins, so you aren’t really limited as there’s lots of free and commercial plugins you can use.
I believe some of the more advanced features that Ableton is known for, are also missing, but I doubt most people would notice.
The biggest limitation is really the 8 tracks. If you are only ever going to do simple recordings, say acoustic guitar and vocal, then you’ll never hit these limitations.
But if you do anything like multi-track full-band recordings (using virtual instruments, MIDI tracks, or individual backing tracks) then you are quite likely to bump into the track limit.
Cheers,
Keith
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In a nutshell, the best DAW for most people in this community is almost certainly not the one that comes “free” with their audio interface.
Cheers,
Keith
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