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ProTools Free!
Hey, I’m psyched! Digidesigns has released a free version of ProTools, their multitrack digital audio program…Mac and Windows versions.
I’ve used a free version they released briefly a few years ago, but it didn’t work with newer versions of the MacOS very well…but it’s a solid program for what it does, and one of the few that emphasizes audio recording, not MIDI.
Perhaps this will mean I’ll finally record some new tunes of mine, something I haven’t done in years. 
I haven’t been able to download it yet (server’s bogged down), so I don’t know what the feature limitations are, but my needs are simple, I imagine it will work fine.
October 26th, 2000 at 8:00 am
Please post once you have a chance to play with it, Greg. I’l got the older free version, and am trying to decide whether the new version would represent an increase in functionality, or a decrease. (Probably the former, since my sporadic attempts to install the older version on the G4 haven’t gone especially well so far…)
Sean
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Sean McMains <sean@mcmains.net>
http://www.mcmains.net/
October 26th, 2000 at 8:21 am
> Please post once you have a chance to play with it, Greg. I’l got
> the older free version, and am trying to decide whether the new
> version would represent an increase in functionality, or a
> decrease. (Probably the former, since my sporadic attempts to
> install the older version on the G4 haven’t gone especially well
> so far…)
I did get it downloaded last night, but haven’t been able to get the current
version of OMS downloaded from Opcode’s site yet, and it’s required to
run…I also downloaded the Windows version, but it won’t install on
Win2000….says I need Win98 SE or newer! ( It’s suppose to run on WinME, so
I don’t know why it wouldn’t work on Win2000 — I think they just have an
overzealous install script).
They do have a Features and limitations page at the site
(http://www.digidesign.com/ptfree/ptfreefeat.html) and it looks like it
more than meets my needs. It’s limited to 8 tracks of audio, 2 channel I/O
(ie, stereo in/out), 48 MIDI tracks. It doesn’t support some audio
hardware, but I don’t have any special cards, so that’s cool. Other than
that, it’s fully operational. With OMS, it should be compatible w/ the
Quicktime Musical Instruments synth for Midi tracks. It comes w/ some
effects plug-ins, also.
FYI, I have actually gotten the “old” free version to work on my Powerbook,
but it wouldn’t install. I had to install it on my 7500, and copy the
extensions and files over to my powerbook, after that it seemed to work OK.
g.
October 26th, 2000 at 2:20 pm
I think the old version would allow up to 16 tracks of audio if you had the hardware for it. I don’t believe I ever used more than about 5, though, so 8 should be just fine for my purposes. I’m looking forward to the sequencing features, as I’d been considering investing in a new sequencer, now that Vision has died a painful death. I don’t expect ProTools to be as good on the sequencing side as Vision was, but the ability to combine the digital audio with MIDI at that price is hard to beat.
Yeah, that’s the same problem I’ve been having. I’ve been meaning to just copy over the files and see how it worked, but haven’t had a chance to try it yet. I might not bother now.
Thanks,
Sean
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Sean McMains <sean@mcmains.net>
http://www.mcmains.net/
October 26th, 2000 at 2:26 pm
Hey, if you’re still having trouble getting it downloaded, OMS is available
on http://www.download.com/.
Sean
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Sean McMains <sean@mcmains.net>
http://www.mcmains.net/
October 26th, 2000 at 2:43 pm
> Hey, if you’re still having trouble getting it downloaded, OMS is
> available
> on http://www.download.com/.
Thanks, man. Don’t know why I didn’t think to check other distribution
points….I’m looking forward to playing with this thing.
g.
October 26th, 2000 at 2:48 pm
>. I don’t expect ProTools to be as good on
> the sequencing side as Vision was, but the ability to combine the
> digital audio with MIDI at that price is hard to beat.
Yea, true. I’ve tried Vision and Metro and didn’t like either as much as
the old free ProTools, so hopefully I won’t be dissapointed by the new one.
The new office at home has my music stuff (including cool brand-new 4
instrument stand) right next to my desk….hopefully I can get setup to do
some recording soon.
I guess your biggest challenge now will be figuring out how to mic a
hammered dulcimer
g.
October 26th, 2000 at 5:21 pm
Shouldn’t be too hard, actually. It has two rather obviously placed sound holes. Learning to play the dang thing is the bigger challenge at the moment…
Sean
–
Sean McMains <sean@mcmains.net>
http://www.mcmains.net/