By Roger Nichols
I have griped about Digidesign many times in the past, but I also yell at
my kids because I know they can always do better. Well, Digidesign has done
better. The PCI version of Pro Tools has been shipping for months now, and
Pro Tools 4.0 is probably shipping as you read this.
The migration to PCI marks the fourth generation of Digidesign audio hardware.
Stepping up in the past sometimes meant leaving your favorite features behind.
Case in point: 20 bit and 24 bit recording and playback capability. Although
Pro Tools III allowed 24 bit internal mixing and TDM support, sound files
could only be 16 bit and the NuBus cards only supported 16 bits. This was
like trying to run the 440 yard dash while wearing a leather zipper mask.
PCI to the rescue. The new hardware now fully supports 20 bit and 24 bit
samples. The 888 I/O and 882 I/O always supported these higher sample resolutions,
but the data never made it through the computer interface card. Plugging
the 888 I/O into a PCI card is like removing the carburetor restrictor plate
from your favorite NASCAR entry. Because of improved hardware architecture
and faster DSP chips, the PCI version of Pro Tools III boasts a whopping
50% increase in DSP power.
You've heard it was coming, and it is everything you heard it was, and then
some. The new version of Pro Tools software is a masterpiece.
To top off the list, Pro Tools 4.0 is Power Macintosh native, so that it
will run at lightning speeds on Power Mac computers. No longer will you
have to wait what seemed like weeks for waveforms to re-draw or TDM modules
to activate. Now you can do what you are thinking about without having to
stop and think about what your doing (think about that!)
Mixing capabilities have taken a giant leap in 4.0. Mute and solo response
is now instant. Soloed tracks can now be muted. There are now solo safe
and record safe modes as well, which would have saved me much embarrassment
a few months ago.
New automation features are starting to rival those of big, expensive stand-alone
digital consoles. Every parameter can now be automated, including parameters
in plug-ins. You can store snapshot or dynamic real-time changes to every
thing. There are separate Touch and Write automation modes which making
automation updates a breeze. There is also a separate mute track for visually
editing track mutes and send mutes.
Let's talk about grouping for a minute. Fader grouping is now truly relative.
All faders maintain true relative balance throughout group movements. There
are now two kinds of groups. Fader groups and edit groups. A fader can be
in a group with another fader for level control, but can be left out of
the group when in edit mode. At first glance you may be wondering about
the advantage of this configuration, but after you have used it once, you
will wonder how you ever got along without it. Don't let me forget to tell
you that all of these groups can be nested, providing even more flexibility.
A very sophisticated Hide/Show Tracks list allows you to focus your attention
on just the tracks being manipulated. You can now assign track I/O and plug-ins
globally to all tracks or any group of tracks which greatly improves the
speed of getting things done.
I often wished that some of the file editing functions of Sound Designer
were included in Pro Tools. What a pain to have to switch between applications
to edit out a click. Not any more, pencil tool breath. Pro Tools 4.0 now
incorporates what they call AudioSuite, a new plug-in architecture that
allows Sound Designer style file based processing. AudioSuite uses the host
CPU and a Digidesign audio card (if present) to perform these operations.
The way it works is by selecting a range of audio in the edit window and
perform the function. Let's say you wanted to pitch shift one beat on seven
different tracks. Select the area, call up the pitch shift plug-in, and
process. All of the regions will be processed and plugged back in right
where they came from. Regions can also be processed right from the region
list. You can even use a TDM module for processing a region. Remove a vocal
pop, or add reverb to a giant tom fill, or de-ess a vocal line, the possibilities
are virtually endless.
Check this out. Suppose you just spent the better part of your life editing
a guitar solo from a gazillion performances. It is brilliant! Now the guitar
player comes over and wants to do it his way. You would have had to copy
the regions onto another track and tried his edits. The drummer thinks he
has the best idea for the guitar solo edits. Copy again, and do it his way.
The desktop is starting to get unruly. Now, each track can have multiple
edit playlists. Now the guitar can stay on the guitar track. Just start
another edit playlist. If you want to hear the first part of the drummer's
edits and the second part of the guitar player's edits, then just switch
playlists during playback. This feature lets you cut way down on the need
for virtual tracks.
Also included in Pro Tools 4.0 are keyboard shortcuts for all tools and
edit modes, making it much quicker to get from point "A" to point
"B" than it was in previous versions. I think that the next thing
you should be thinking about is the shortcut over to your friendly neighborhood
Digidesign dealer.
Crossfades have long been the dividing line between good sounding edits
and unusable junk. Pro Tools 4.0 adds variable custom shapes and S-shaped
(my favorite) curves as options when selecting crossfades. I saw the new
crossfade editor screens, and it is amazing how much easier it is to select
the right crossfade when you can see a good graphical representation of
the resultant audio waveform as you change the crossfade parameters.
Pro Tools 4.0 supports "personality files" that allow any MIDI
controller to interface to Pro Tools faders, pans, plug-ins, transport controls,
or whatever you could dream up. You could even connect multiple controllers
from different companies if you wanted to.
Since Digidesign introduced the TDM bus and opened the way for third party
developers to add functionality to Pro Tools, the stampede has been un-stoppable.
There have been DSP plug-ins from t.c. electronics, Focusrite, Waves, Apogee,
Antares, Arboretum, Crystal River, Lexicon, Intelligent Devices, QSOUND,
and Steinberg, with more joining every day. Rumor has it that there will
even be some GML entries soon.
For you video post guys, PostView PCI will add non-linear frame accurate
video playback and machine control to the Pro Tools III/TDM in the PCI environment.
A PCI version of SampleCell II with TDM support will be available in the
Fall of this year to round out Digidesign's hardware offerings.
On the "future hardware" front, watch for a dedicated control
surface called Pro Control, that will rival the look and feel of hardware
consoles.
Pro Tools 4.1 will offer 24 bit support for the already 24 bit PCI hardware.
You will also be able to network multiple Pro Tools systems for file and
session sharing.
I don't think that there really is an ending to this review. By the time
you read this, there will be new developments at Digidesign that will need
to be told. I have been a supporter of Digidesign since I bought my first
Sound Tools system in 1989 (DAT I/O serial # 210). I plan on being the first
guy lined up at the front door when Pro Tools 4.0 ships.
Oh, I almost forgot. I was thinking about building a few plug-ins myself.
The first one would put a random amount of delay, in weeks, on your whole
project.