Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

[Swampy]

How similar are the DAW's?
Other than "Industry Standard", what is important about your Pro-Tools that you can't get with other DAW's?
Which one should I look at? Version? I know nothing about the differences between say, 10 or 12. 12 just newer? Is 10 out of date? Would I always have to upgrade? What should I expect to spend to get started a good version of Pro-Tools?

I learned Reaper just by using it, and there is a ton I don't know yet, but with being bit by the recording bug, I feel I should maybe switch before I get too deep with a DAW that I wouldn't be able to transfer stuff to others that have Pro-Tools.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

First question:

Mac or PC?

Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Swampy]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

First question:

Mac or PC?

Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk

Right now, PC. And if that changes, it'll be further down the road.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

Right now, PC. And if that changes, it'll be further down the road.

The reason I ask is because Logic is basically what everybody that thinks they want Pro Tools ends up getting.

Now... I'm a PC guy. I use Reaper myself. But if I were to ever move onto something else I think it would be worth getting a Mac for Logic.

That's just my opinion. All I know is that a lot of people in the recording community have been laughing at Pro Tools, saying things like "They happily announced today that Pro Tools has a feature that every other software package has had for five years. Wow..."

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

From my experience using Adobe Audition, Cubase, Sonar and Podium, the basics are the same. Once you're used to a certain DAW you can transfer that knowledge to others. Since I don't do a lot of post production manipulation, to me as long as it supports MIDI and the interface is visually pleasant, it'll work.

Currently I am using Podium Free, very light on the hard drive, only 11 MB of space.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

Here's a question for you: WHY ?

If the reason is 'because its the industry standard' then don't do it. Only move if you need better functionality than you have now, feature sets etc. Honestly I can't stand Pro Tools and things like iLok just are deal breakers for me.

In alternatives to reaper, definitely look into Sonar and Cubase as well. What are you missing that you think you need?

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

Here's a question for you: WHY ?

If the reason is 'because its the industry standard' then don't do it. Only move if you need better functionality than you have now, feature sets etc. Honestly I can't stand Pro Tools and things like iLok just are deal breakers for me.

In alternatives to reaper, definitely look into Sonar and Cubase as well. What are you missing that you think you need?

+1

There is no longer an 'industry standard'.

If you understand workflow and your DAW setup, then switching between DAWs is pretty painless; they all work pretty much the same.

Now -- that being said --

Once again, agreeing with Komanda-SD, if you have specific reasons for wanting to switch, you should be able to list them out.

For example, what I like about Pro Tools:

Upsampling on native AAX plugins is very good
Splitting stereo tracks is very easy in PT, and I also like the fact that the channel strip automatically has separate left-right gain controls
Trim in PT is very well handled
I like how PT resolves waveforms when you zoom in very close
The SansAmp plugin for bass

What I like about Cubase:
The Roland-style drum editor is great if you are used to beat creation that way
Cubase's VST management and integration is great, and VST enables the use of lots of fee/open source plugins
Cubase does have a particular 'sound' that I find pleasing

What I like about Logic Pro X:
Logic Drummer
Flex Pitch
The workflow in LPX is super intuitive and very easy to get from demo to finished project

On the OTHER hand, most DAWs have free trial versions. Give it a swirl, you may find PT's workflow suits you.

 

[Ampedandtied]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

I myself was thinking of changing programs to something more expensive. Then I realized there really isn't that much it'd be adding to the mix and it was just a purchase to have it. Like buying a really nice watch. Except people will actually be able to look at a nice watch.

So yes OP, think specific functionality that you'd be gaining first and exactly what you need from it.

 

[Swampy]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

My main reason was for someone being able to open my session in Pro-Tools. I just read somewhere that Reaper files can be opened up in P-T if I render as stems. If this is true, then I may just stay with Reaper, as I'm pretty used to it.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

My main reason was for someone being able to open my session in Pro-Tools. I just read somewhere that Reaper files can be opened up in P-T if I render as stems. If this is true, then I may just stay with Reaper, as I'm pretty used to it.

After you bounce down tracks, you can open them in ANY DAW, burn them to a CD, play 'em on iTunes, play em on your phone, upload and play 'em on SoundCloud ... anything.

It's hard not to get caught up with buzz words like 'stems'. Another big one is 'tuning'. And we can't forget 'summing'!

A 'stem' is just a bounce down, print, mix down, whatever you want to call it, of a group of tracks. The format is nothing special and its purpose is to reconstruct a mix later. There is a particular technique involved in properly creating stems from a mix, but those files -- which are just high res audio files -- can be played on virtually anything.

 

[dg27]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

For example, what I like about Pro Tools:

Upsampling on native AAX plugins is very good
Splitting stereo tracks is very easy in PT, and I also like the fact that the channel strip automatically has separate left-right gain controls
Trim in PT is very well handled
I like how PT resolves waveforms when you zoom in very close
The SansAmp plugin for bass

I love the SansAmp plugin for bass.

I'm a PT user because that's what I am used to and familiar with: it's what I grew up on, so to speak.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

I vote no

I love reaper

the plugins are gonna be the same no matter what daw. reaper is user intuitive. if you like reading manuals and are using really big file type plugins then ya protools is great for the computer programmer types, more functionality and layering on a very high $$ level. otherwise I would stay with reaper and just buy better plugins.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

The reason I ask is because Logic is basically what everybody that thinks they want Pro Tools ends up getting.

Now... I'm a PC guy. I use Reaper myself. But if I were to ever move onto something else I think it would be worth getting a Mac for Logic.

That's just my opinion. All I know is that a lot of people in the recording community have been laughing at Pro Tools, saying things like "They happily announced today that Pro Tools has a feature that every other software package has had for five years. Wow..."

As someone who's going to school for audio recording and is learning on Pro Tools, I'd recommend Logic instead. I've said before that if you know what you're doing, then you can get great results on any DAW. I find that Logic is just a more friendly system and as GilmourD pointed out, it's what everyone who thinks they want Pro Tools ends up with.

 

[dg27]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

I find that Logic is just a more friendly system and as GilmourD pointed out, it's what everyone who thinks they want Pro Tools ends up with.

Not everyone.

In terms of using it, I find that the Avid community is great for solving bigger questions. But in the majority of cases if I have a question I google "How do I do xyz in pro tools 11.3?" and have the answer in seconds. I have had no issues with it. To each his own.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

another thing is to just see what plugins are supported by the DAW and if they are plugins you need

a DAW is not gonna make recordings sound better, DAW is for workflow and may offer some sophisticated mapping and software functions if you are a computer programmer type person.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

Not everyone.

In terms of using it, I find that the Avid community is great for solving bigger questions. But in the majority of cases if I have a question I google "How do I do xyz in pro tools 11.3?" and have the answer in seconds. I have had no issues with it. To each his own.

I agree that Avid has a really good community, but I find that a lot of the functions of Pro Tools are more complicated than need be.

 

[Swampy]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

One feature I do like about Pro-Tools is the volume automation function I see people use. I need to figure out how to do that in Reaper, if possible. What I have done is "split at seams" before and after the part I want to adjust, then drag it down to a new track (copied any effects to new track) and adjusted its own fader up or down. A lot of work, but its worked for me.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

Any decent DAW will do automation, here's some tutorials on Reaper (I googled Reaper Automation):

http://wiki.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/Automation
http://www.audiorecording.me/volume-automation-tutorial-in-reaper-daw.html/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8rqBMsC9zg

 

[Swampy]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

Any decent DAW will do automation, here's some tutorials on Reaper (I googled Reaper Automation):

http://wiki.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/Automation
http://www.audiorecording.me/volume-automation-tutorial-in-reaper-daw.html/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8rqBMsC9zg

Thanks man. I'll check those out later today.
I have no excuse for not searching it myself. I'm a Google junkie normally.
Just saw Warren Huart (Produce Like a Pro) doing automation just last week on one of his videos.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Thinking of makimg the switch from Reaper to Pro Tools. Have questions.

You have to activate the "volume envelope" for the track you want. I use it all the time for fade-ins, fade-outs, and bumping volume down when doing a voiceover over something else.