Non Pro Tools users: what do you tell a band when they say "dude, you don't have PT?"

[Ben Johnson]

I was having a casual conversation with The Broodwich the other day, and the subject came up: that a band asks if you have Pro Tools before agreeing to work with you, as if the software you're using will have any bearing on how their record will sound. It'd be one thing if they were bringing in their scratch tracks on a PT file, but I'm talking about the guys that come into the studio with nothing. Why do they care about which software we use??

Of course, WE all know how little the DAW plays in the sound of the end product, but any client that asks that question probably has no clue and would never be able to discern between two identical sounds created in two different [high end] DAWs (I'm not even sure if I could at this point). But they will theoretically sound different because they are all designed differently and thus handle algorithms differently.

I suppose the only way to cope with this problem is to let your work speak for itself, understand that Digidesign will dominate the industry for a long time to come, and know that there will always be fuckwits who don't know any better.

PS: this is not a knock to Pro Tools - it's a solid program for sure, but I happen to be more comfortable in Cubase.

 

[BrandonS]

I use Audition, so I really know nothing of hi-tech.

But I must say, isn't it reasonable to assume the band would be interested in working with their project? They may have experience with PT and not with Cubase, or whatever other program you may use. The band may simply ask because they are interested in assisting with the production process, or would like to change certain little details. Am I totally wrong here?

I've just recently starting hearing the word "DAW", and at first, I thought it was a "Common black-and-grey Eurasian bird noted for thievery." What is it, digital audio workstation? But in all seriousness, I use Audition because (1) I got a free copy of it, and (2) It's easy to use. Doesn't crash as often as other programs I've tried. I tried Steinberg Nuendo before, and it would always pop up and say "sync error!" and screw up pretty much 100% of the takes I tried. Audition at least has a drift fixer so that if it DOES go out of sync, it knows how to fix it properly. I don't have any trouble with that. -_-

 

[Mutant]

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=173932

 

[Mutant]

I use Audition

Thumbs up !

Steinberg

A big loud BOOOOOOOOOOOOO !
Because of boooooooogs and crashes and lost work/time !

 

[cobhc]

I use Audition, so I really know nothing of hi-tech.

But I must say, isn't it reasonable to assume the band would be interested in working with their project? They may have experience with PT and not with Cubase, or whatever other program you may use. The band may simply ask because they are interested in assisting with the production process, or would like to change certain little details. Am I totally wrong here?

I've just recently starting hearing the word "DAW", and at first, I thought it was a "Common black-and-grey Eurasian bird noted for thievery." What is it, digital audio workstation? But in all seriousness, I use Audition because (1) I got a free copy of it, and (2) It's easy to use. Doesn't crash as often as other programs I've tried. I tried Steinberg Nuendo before, and it would always pop up and say "sync error!" and screw up pretty much 100% of the takes I tried. Audition at least has a drift fixer so that if it DOES go out of sync, it knows how to fix it properly. I don't have any trouble with that. -_-

First of all, I think Ben was talking about bands who have no experience/knowledge of the recording/mixing process, but assume you're a bad/amateur engineer because you don't use Pro Tools.

Secondly, DAW does in fact stand for Digital Audio Workstation. There is two places where this abbreviation is used, the most common (and most widely used on this forum) refers to the software used, such as Cubase, Pro Tools, etc. The other refers to the actual hardware that someone uses to record music (for most of us it is our pc/mac).

Overall, I think your work should speak for itself, if you get good results from Adobe Audition, or some of the less well known DAW's then it doesn't matter. After all, you can have all the top of the line equipment that will wow customers, such as a PT HD rig, an SSL desk, masses of amps and cabs, etc. But if you can't produce a good mix, then all that is worthless. It's just a shame that most musicians don't realise that. After all, if the most well known manufacturers were the best, we'd all be playing Fender Strats through Marshall amps and cabs.

 

[James Murphy]

Ben, one possiblity that may lead to you getting this question from time to time lies in the simple fact that, as the most ubiquitous DAW platform in the Pro side of the industry clients know that their files, as Pro Tools documents, can travel just about anywhere after the initial tracking stage and have additional work done without the annoyance of changing platforms. to put it simply, you may not be the last stop on any given band's project.

so my thoughts on the subject boil down to this: if you are in the game for real, then you have to do everything possible to make it easy and hassle-free for clients to bring their projects to you... as well as to take them somewhere else when your part is done. you can't assume you'll be mixing once you enter the more pro arena... because you may well not be, despite intentions.

you may not currently entertain such lofty dreams and therefore simply don't want to make any additional invesment... but you can bet that your clients do have such dreams.... of moving on and becoming professional recording and touring acts... so given that you know PT is dominant you have arrived at a key point of decision: to forever find yourself "explaining" why you and they don't need pro tools (and this is usually a fruitless task, despite any head-knodding that may be going on in the room), or your can follow the laws of basic economics and Supply the Demand. this does not preclude continuing to use your DAW of choice... simply get an mbox/ptle set up so you can personally convert PT files that come in the door and can convert files to PT that are going out the door when necessary. More work for you, but if you don't take it on then you are putting it off on someone ese.... which is not conducive to the concept i mentioned above regarding making yourself easy and hassle-free to deal with.

 

[cobhc]

James, correct me if I'm wrong, but you are a DP user, right? Do you ever get turned away from work because you don't use PT?

 

[James Murphy]

James, correct me if I'm wrong, but you are a DP user, right? Do you ever get turned away from work because you don't use PT?

Pro Tools HD3 Accel.

i used DP in the past, and still have it, but even when i was fully DP i always had a PTLE system on hand (borrowed one until i got my own) to handle file translations. people don't want to deal with OMFs.. they just want to know they have the PT files, because they know it's the standard.

 

[ffaudio]

I use Sonar 6.

I just tell them that all programs are the same, they all manipulate waveforms.

I want to buy PT LE or something just so when people ask if I have it I can say yes. I'll just leave out that I don't use it.

 

[Aaron Smith]

you may not currently entertain such lofty dreams and therefore simply don't want to make any additional invesment... but you can bet that your clients do have such dreams.... of moving on and becoming professional recording and touring acts... so given that you know PT is dominant you have arrived at a key point of decision: to forever find yourself "explaining" why you and they don't need pro tools (and this is usually a fruitless task, despite any head-knodding that may be going on in the room), or your can follow the laws of basic economics and Supply the Demand. this does not preclude continuing to use your DAW of choice... simply get an mbox/ptle set up so you can personally convert PT files that come in the door and can convert files to PT that are going out the door when necessary. More work for you, but if you don't take it on then you are putting it off on someone ese.... which is not conducive to the concept i mentioned above regarding making yourself easy and hassle-free to deal with.

Really well said, dude.