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What are the main differences between pro tools and pro tools ultimate
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) that offers powerful digital tools for recording, editing, and mixing professional-quality sound. Pro Tools has been the industry standard in music and sound for film, television, radio and most of modern music since the early 1990s. Avid Pro Tools software has revolutionized the music, film and audio production industries, setting the standard for how people all over the world create, collaborate, and communicate. With tools for recording and editing, as well as mixing and delivering professional-quality sound, Pro Tools software is the central hub for music makers across all genres.
Pro Tools is composed of three main elements:
Pro Tools Software – Includes all the tools you need to record, edit, mix and deliver professional-quality audio. Of course, each of these can be used individually to accomplish the same tasks—just with less power and less flexibility. Power combined with simplicity has been Avid’s goal since the beginning.
Pro Tools Plug-Ins – Includes additional features and tools that are developed by third parties. These are some of the most popular plug-ins:
How do you decide which version is right for you
According to the vast majority of Pro Tools users and experts, Pro Tools can be an extremely powerful tool for just about any kind of recording or audio production application. The most obvious difference between the versions is that the basic version doesn’t offer much beyond MIDI tracks, while the full version allows you to record and run up to 64 audio tracks in real time. Free for Mac users, Pro Tools First offers a simplified version of the software that lacks only a handful of features (such as support for third-party plug-ins and offline processors). By contrast, Pro Tools Ultimate is the top of the line DAW — and with good reason. It gives you everything included in Pro Tools First — and more. Pro Tools First is a great deal, but it can’t compare with Pro Tools Ultimate’s full feature set, including support for 64 audio tracks and third-party VST plug-ins (such as Massive (M|Tec) VSTs form Native Instruments). For an extra $100, you can upgrade to Pro Tools Ultimate. If you’re a producer just getting started, you might want to consider the full version.
Pro Tools Basic: Pros and Cons
What are some of the benefits of upgrading to pro tools ultimate
The main benefit of upgrading to Pro Tools Ultimate is the increased number of tracks that can be recorded in real time. Pro Tools Ultimate allows you to record up to 64 tracks (an upgrade from the 32 tracks that is included with a standard Pro Tools system). You’ll be able to record and mix up to 64 audio tracks in real time, or mix and run up to 130 virtual tracks by using a hardware-based multitrack recorder. Like Pro Tools 11, Ultimate offers VCA track grouping and much more powerful editing.
If you’re an avid Pro Tools user and would like to take your music production to the next level, the 64-track upgrade is well worth it. If you’ve ever bought a new computer and found that all 32 tracks will not record in real time, then this is a must have upgrade. I recommend that you do some research first on actual performance with different computers and processors BEFORE you decide to buy a new computer. The upgrade is an investment in your production
Like all Pro Tools systems, Pro Tools Ultimate will work with any music hardware you already own. It even works with Pro Tools HD, giving you the ability to use devices such as the M-Audio Oxygen 49 USB audio interface for Pro Tools 9 and higher. The 64-track upgrade also allows you to mix and run up to 130 virtual tracks, whether you connect a hardware multitrack recorder or not.
Here are a few more benefits of upgrading to Pro Tools Ultimate.
Where can you buy it
The current version of Pro Tools can be purchased for the Mac from Avid, or for Windows from Avid. It is also possible to purchase the software online at Best Buy, Amazon and B & H Photo. Standard versions are also available for Linux and the iPad.
