OT: Pro Tools 8 details announced

headquest · Post by **headquest** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:44 am

From Digital Village website (full details also on Digidesgn site, including video featurettes and information about the new Music Production Toolkit 2)

"Pro Tools 8 News: After months of rumours, Digidesign's Pro Tools 8.0 is here. Digidesign Pro Tools 8 features a gorgeous new interface; dozens of new plug-ins; five new virtual instruments; exciting new scoring, MIDI, editing, and mixing capabilities; deeper controller integration; improved ease of installation and use; and enhanced performance.

With Pro Tools 8, you get the most comprehensive music and sound creation features and functionality, and the proven, dedicated platform for world-class audio production — all in a single application.

Pro Tools 8 is coming soon for Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered systems.

Pro Tools 8: New Interactivity and FeelAll of the Pro Tools functionality you know and love is still in place but with some subtle enhancements, double the inserts per channel, more customizability, and easier access to editing options than ever before. Customise the toolbar to show only your favorite tools, and rearrange them the way you want. Tile or cascade your window arrangement. Change the color of your channel strips, tracks, regions, groups, and markers to any hue. Navigate through sessions quickly using the Universe view. And with the QuickStart dialog, you can jump right into an existing session, quickly create a new session from scratch, or start from one of the new session templates.

Pro Tools 8: New Editing and Mixing Capabilities
Lock regions to the timeline to prevent them from being inadvertently moved or edited. Use the Automation and Controller lanes to view and edit track automation (such as volume, pan, and plug-in automation) and MIDI CC data (such as velocity, pitchbend, and modulation) without changing track views. And with 10 inserts to play with per track, you can now use more plug-ins than ever before.

Pro Tools 8: Sibelius Score
Whether you want to compose music using the notation tools, or transcribe recorded, imported, drawn (with the Pencil tool), or step entered MIDI data into notation, the Score Editor features everything you need and nothing you don’t. Write parts on a single staff (choose treble, bass, alto, or tenor clef) or grand staff. Place and edit notes, and edit the meter and key signature at whim. Add chord symbols (Dm7, G, and so on) and chord diagrams (for guitarists) to sessions. Transcribe MIDI parts in real time. Print out a score in its entirety or print only certain instrumental parts. You can even export sessions as Sibelius (.sib) files for further finessing in Sibelius.

Pro Tools 8: More Tracks and Improved MIDI
Pro Tools 8 expands the power of your current hardware interface, allowing you to work with up to 48 mono or stereo audio tracks. Add Music Production Toolkit 2 (for serious musicians and music producers) or DV Toolkit™ 2 (for complete post production, Pro Tools LE only) and you can create huge mixes, with up to 64 mono or stereo audio tracks. And with the new Complete Production Toolkit (Pro Tools LE only), which combines both toolkits, you can work with up to 128 audio tracks AND get 7.1 surround mixing capabilities, making it easier than ever to collaborate with Pro Tools|HD users.

With Pro Tools 8 you can comp tracks to perfection. Pro Tools 8 features new track compositing workflows, enabling you to quickly and easily piece together the best possible version of a performance from multiple recording passes. Simply loop record multiple takes on an Audio track, view and audition the takes in Playlist view, select the best parts from the track’s alternate playlists, and copy them to the main playlist with a single click. You can also rate regions on a scale of 1 – 5 to help identify which takes you like the most when compositing playlists.

If you use virtual instruments and MIDI, Pro Tools 8 features a comprehensive array of new MIDI tools. Gain extensive MIDI editing power through MIDI Editor windows, which can display MIDI and automation data for Instrument, MIDI, and Auxiliary Input tracks. Work with new features that let you separate, consolidate, and mute MIDI notes; scrub and shuttle through parts; view superimposed MIDI and Instrument tracks for easier arrangement editing; color code MIDI notes by track, type, or velocity; audition velocity changes; and play MIDI notes when tabbing. Edit MIDI automation and continuous controller (CC) data through multiple Automation and Controller lanes. Even watch your musical handiwork scroll by in real time during playback.

Expanded Pro Tools 8 HD
Pro Tools HD 8 extends the extensive capabilities of Digidesign’s Pro Tools|HD audio hardware with the new Satellite Link option, which allows you to control up to five Pro Tools|HD systems as one. For the ultimate in post-production efficiency, the new Video Satellite and Video Satellite LE options bring Avid® and QuickTime HD/SD video playback to Pro Tools in high definition, without sacrificing your audio track counts or processing power. Pro Tools 8 also delivers major enhancements to ICON users, bringing new functionality to the Soft Keys, adding a local assign mode, introducing I/O view, and letting D-Command and D-Command ES users expand their console to 40 faders.

Pro Tools 8: Transpose with Elastic Pitch
As a complement to Pro Tools software’s powerful Elastic Time tempo and time manipulating tool, Pro Tools 8 introduces Elastic Pitch, which allows you to effortlessly manipulate or correct the pitch of any audio region in real time, right inside the Edit window. Easily transpose an entire audio region in semitones — up or down up to four octaves — without affecting its timing or tempo. Fix a less than perfect vocal performance by altering the pitch of individual notes in cent intervals. Or create cool sound effects by linking pitch changes with time compression/expansion using the Varispeed algorithm."

Looks interesting, and possibly a great bargain if you own M-Audio hardware.

mauve · Post by **mauve** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:26 pm

Too bad you can use it only with their shitty hardware.

ollyb303 · Post by **ollyb303** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:33 pm

Pro Tools.

meh.

headquest · Post by **headquest** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:14 pm

mauve wrote:Too bad you can use it only with their shitty hardware.

Do you mean M-Audio or Digidesign or both...?

I use M-Audio hardware, some of which is really good, some less so.

dave999z · Post by **dave999z** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 6:41 pm

did protools LE ever add plugin delay compensation?

headquest · Post by **headquest** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 7:58 pm

dave999z wrote:did protools LE ever add plugin delay compensation?

Amazingly, that is still a "no". I guess its not needed for the HD system, so they would have to develop it specifically for LE. Disappointing though...

dave999z · Post by **dave999z** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:34 am

headquest wrote:
dave999z wrote:did protools LE ever add plugin delay compensation?
Amazingly, that is still a "no". I guess its not needed for the HD system, so they would have to develop it specifically for LE. Disappointing though...

unbelievable.

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:47 am

omg it's Progic 8! I mean, Lo Tools 8! I mean, wow!

funny though, for all my naysaying, i'll probably end up having to purchase a PT rig in the not too distant future if I ever plan to finally score some work in post-prod. *sigh*

Baron von Case · Post by **Baron von Case** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:52 am

Pro Tools is for producers, not musicians.

Yes, a $10,000 home studio is very practical for a touring musician.

And don't say you can use other programs for live things. How fucking rich are you? Pro Tools is for fucking Republicans.

[It's up to you how seriously you want to take any of that.

]

subbasshead · Post by **subbasshead** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:49 am

At least it supports surround now, which is more than can be said for LIVE...

Bagle · Post by **Bagle** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 3:04 am

Live never sold themselves on there mixing adn amstering

but on the creative front,
session view
the whole fact that its in the name LIVE

honestly i dont want to use protools, im happy with live and logic when i mix
im annoyed that some day i may have to learn it cos its the industry standard

fuck your industry

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:25 am

Bagle wrote: im annoyed that some day i may have to learn it cos its the industry standard

fuck your industry

hear hear. my sentiments exactly

Bagle · Post by **Bagle** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:41 am

friend of mine has pro tools
LE with a 003
and when ever we are doing stuff together it pisses me off

but i guess with the whole world failing financially hopefull these fuckers will not be able to afford it any more
and then the all switch to renoise

Baron von Case · Post by **Baron von Case** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:17 pm

Industry standard or not, there'll always be an alternative. One that DOESN'T require you to dish out thousands for program-specific hardware. One that is for musicians, not rich fucks who like to call themselves musicians because they can buy a lot of gear.

Look at it this way. A fucking onslaught of amazing music was created during the 1970s. There was no Pro Tools, no Live, no Logic, no Lemur or any other toy. It was just musical artists (ACTUAL musical artists, not just anyone who has Roland V-Vocal to correct the terribly sung lyrics someone else wrote for them but happens to like the sound of the term), their instruments, mixing boards, and creativity.

I'm by no means dissing on DAWs. I'm just saying, it only matters so much which one you're using. Good music depends on the music being good, not how much you can do to mask the fact that it's actually not. You can produce till your eyes dry out, your fingers fall off, and your headphones become grafted to the skin on your ears, but if you're crossfading and stutter editing two notes, it's still two notes. Nothing wrong with minimalism if it's done properly, it just often isn't.

I tend to think in analogies. I often equate electronica that only offers extremely overproduced output to fireworks. Fireworks are interesting to watch but don't have the artistic merit of a well-made film.

Basically: I'd rather have a raw masterpiece than a polished turd.

headquest · Post by **headquest** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 12:48 pm

Bagle wrote: ... but i guess with the whole world failing financially hopefull these fuckers will not be able to afford it any more ...

An M-Box 2 costs £269 in the UK. This is probably slightly more than some comparable basic audio/MIDI interfaces, but it comes bundled with Pro Tools 8, included Sibelius notation, Reason Adapted, Ableton Live Lite, and a huge amount of good quality plugins.

For any student of mine, that packages makes for a no-brainer recommendation. They have everything they need - hardware and software - to get learning to make music. They can even score their stuff in the Sibelius notation, save as a .sib file and bring it to school to use on the full Sibelius.

The point is that it will no longer do to pretend that Pro Tools is some kind of elitist toff software - it's become one of the most affordable mass market options, and let's face it - Ableton Live is now HUGELY overpriced in comparisson to Pro Tools