AudioMedia - March 2009 - (Page 37) PRO TOOLS 8 Another PT feature that I’ve found to be extremely useful is the ability to open a session with all of the plug-ins deactivated, done by holding the shift key before selecting and opening the desired session. Since plug-in intensive sessions often take a long time to open, this lets you quickly open a session for immediate visual inspection and audio playback (without plug-ins). Even without this feature, the speed of opening and closing sessions is drastically improved with the implementation of plug-in caching. their translucence when working in Elastic Time's Analysis and Warp mode – arguably when they are needed the most. Digidesign did comment that maintaining the translucence had been tried and rejected as the gridlines clashed too much with the Analysis and Warp markers, making for a frustrating Warp experience. I N F O R MAT I O N £ Pro Tools HD 8 Upgrade GB£150.00 (exc.VAT) Pro Tools LE/M-Powered Upgrade GB£90.00 (exc.VAT) Pro Tools M-Powered Full Version GB£180.00 (exc.VAT) I experimented with some long recordings and was pleased to find that file sizes up to . GB (as opposed to the previous GB limit) are now supported, providing longer, single file recordings. I was happy to notice that gone are the days of having to stop playback every time you want to make a change to the mix configuration. Since . though, Pro Tools has allowed most common changes, including adding or removing tracks, copying inserts and sends, changing I/O routing, and re-ordering tracks, to be made on the fly. A Little Experimentation Digidesign has clearly set a new standard with Pro Tools’ sleek new look, enhanced functionality, and creative power. Pro Tools is easier to use than ever, faster to work with, and offers more customisability than ever before. Between the HD, LE, and M-Powered versions, the environment easily adapts to the creative and financial needs of virtually anyone. ∫ Conclusion A Digidesign, Avid Technology Europe Ltd., Pinewood Studios, Pinewood Road, Iver Heath, Bucks, SL0 0NH, UK T +44 (0) 1753 655999 F +44 (0) 1753 654999 W www.digidesign.com “PT8 is the first time that MIDI data can be graphically edited beyond the restrictions of a track lane in the Edit window” I love the selection of new effect plug-ins. Each one is usable in the real world, and surprisingly there is not a bad apple in the bunch. My favourites include Vintage Filter, Spring Reverb, FuzzWah, Chorus, and MultiChorus. The additional inserts on the track are nice, but I did feel that there should be a fast way to consolidate a track with plug-ins and any inserted outboard, without additional routing, disabling of the automation, and so on – the equivalent of a freeze function. Of course, with outboard connected the process would have to be real time, but that's an inevitable consequence of acting outside the box. As minor as it seems, one of my favorite features of PT is the translucent regions that allow the grid to be viewed through the region in the Edit window. It is a great feature, but the regions lose AUDIO MEDIA MARCH 2009 37 http://www.digidesign.com http://www.seelectronics.com http://www.sonic-distribution.com http://www.sonic-distribution.com
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