Pro Tools?

Sebastian · Post by **Sebastian** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 1:27 pm

Hi

Is it common for some Ableton users to record audio Pro Tools as well?

Im trying to get a clear picture of what will happen with my demo songs when Im finish writing them in Ableton.

One scenario many people tell me about is that I could bounce the songs to Pro Tools and have it tweaked/perfected by an experienced audio engineer guy that will probably use Pro Tools. Im not saying I cant or wont try to tweak my projects but I aint no engineer with 20 years of experience etc.

thanks

megahurt · Post by **megahurt** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:01 pm

I do all my drums in Live, as well as most bass, some synths, and occasionally some guitar.

I then bounce to Pro Tools to record "proper" guitar and all my vocals.

Here's the newest example: http://www.darkdiscoclub.com/audio/buy_the_lie.mp3

darkcatt · Post by **darkcatt** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 7:10 pm

Live runs out on some editing features, and doesn't use project folders.

I use it however as my main daw and when it falls short I look to Cubase ( which is rare) However I do 99% of what I need in Live

Sebastian · Post by **Sebastian** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:05 am

why record guitar and viocals in PT?

sparklepuff · Post by **sparklepuff** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 2:16 am

I gave up on Pro Tools and do 100% in Live now, including my 'proper' guitars. Please enlighten me as to how recording guitars in Pro Tools is proper.

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:25 am

I use Live by itself now for 90% of what I do (which ranges from electronica to psychedelic indie rock). It is just so fast to compose with compared to using Cubase. I use Cubase less and less, although it has got extra audio and MIDI editing features which are sometimes useful that Live is lacking, Live also has many unique features too.

Occasionally I rewire Live into Cubase and I prefer to record lengthy guitar parts or solos in Cubase and crossfading audio clips is another reason when I look outside of Live. Live is fine for recording guitars, especially 4,8 or 16 bar loops, but it's editor is not as detailed as Cubase. Similarly Cubase has scoring for MIDI and more detailed editing. Also Live's mixer view is less flexible than having 2 or 3 Cubase mixer windows and the mixer controls, metering and general look are more appealing.

However, Live rocks my world as a compositional tool and I am mixing more and more without going to rewire or importing rendered audio files into Cubase these days as I get more familiar with Live and the fun factor is ten times that of Cubase !

subbasshead · Post by **subbasshead** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:25 am

"I gave up on Pro Tools and do 100% in Live now, including my 'proper' guitars. Please enlighten me as to how recording guitars in Pro Tools is proper."

i can't speak for him but for me using Protools (vs LIVE) is
- 5.1
- 48 bit summing
- automation

but hey, as far as guitars go IMHO they should all be muted
except for the fractional offbeat skank 4 dubs
or resonant ambient tones...
but thats just taste & a subject that cant really be debated
so whatever cranks yr dial/mows yr lawn/bakes yr cake
is right for u!

Sebastian · Post by **Sebastian** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:12 pm

Im confused that if you record your guitars in PT, and you record them in measure x but then you delete that part in Live, or move part b down 10 measures, how cumbersome is it to have the corresponding parts in PT move the same as the changes you make in Live?

datapopstar · Post by **datapopstar** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:34 pm

in protools you have some very cool editing features, like "tab to transient".
you can easy jump from transient to transient and cut or make ranges....
in live you can do similar things, but sometimes it is a bit more timeconsuming.
personal i dont like cutting/editing in live, but on the other hand, thats not what it is made for.
if you try to record a whole band with lots of drumtracks (lets say typical 12-16 tracks including ambient mics), you will see how importand foldertracks are.
but once more, thats not what it is made for.

Daim · Post by **Daim** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 1:42 pm

i sold my protools as well.. the workflow which everybody loves so much about it didnt appear to me

mpacyga · Post by **mpacyga** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:58 pm

I'm wondering the same thing? Can Live actually be used to a full out album? I've been testing it with crapy gear to see what i can get. I recorded 6 mics on drums used a total of 17 tracks and 6 sends( for this song). I'm also using Wave Editor by Audiofile Engineering. You got to check that program OUT! MAC only...

http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/about.php

I also did this on an old laptop that couldn't actually play back all these tracks. I had to break up the session. Which sucked bad! because my sample rate was 48k @ 24 bit. Plus the mics were cheap except for 2 Neumann TLM 103's. I don't own any fancy gate's/compressors or external gear whatsoever. Alright give a listen...

http://gee-zu.com/stuff/braintoys_v4_mst.mp3

Also I have an audio designer background and I'm getting into mixing and mastering. I used Wave Editor and Ozone3 to master this.

My main question to everyone is this worth my time to do everything in live. I have used other programs Calkwalk sonar4-6, protools, cubase... But I get frustrated with them so fast that I end up back in Live. I'm currently testing a new project with live using a way faster PC laptop and recording a 32 bit 96k rate. I don't have a end result but can anybody prove or show if its worth recording at Live's 32 float? Or should I dump live altogether for recording this same type of stuff?

laird · Post by **laird** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 4:48 pm

I recently switched from Pro Tools to Live, and the only thing I really miss is crossfading audio files (on one track).

This worked great for recording things like guitar or vocals, where you might splice together multiple takes to make one perfect super-take.

In Pro Tools, this could be done on one track. Then that track gets EQ/compression/other effects.

In Live, this takes at least three tracks... either that or you are stick with buttsplicing.

Thats the only thing I miss. Otherwise, I can still do all the "linear, traditional multi-track" recording I used to do in ProTools, but I get some really awesome Live-only bonuses, like Live's superior ability to arrange and re-arrange song sections.

Whether the studio you take your tracks to uses ProTools, DP, or possibly even tape... if you use Live's ability to bounce all tracks to individual .wav's, you'll be golden.

Daim · Post by **Daim** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 5:09 pm

how are u exporting reverb return tracks for protools mastering?

the return track itself or each of the other tracks together with its reverb?

ah just remembered i sold protools so i can forget this question now

mpacyga · Post by **mpacyga** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:25 pm

Can I ask you protool guys.... Whats the deal with rendering audio in real-time? I understand that you can catch mistakes or whatever but really its digital. Or is there something there I don't know?

knotkranky · Post by **knotkranky** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 9:01 pm

Pro Tools "LE" is not ProTools.

Pro Tools "HD" "is" ProTools.

Pro Tools?

Pro Tools?

I used Live for recording/mixing everthing.