Transcript
Digidesign Update A review of the new Digidesign ProControl hardware control surface for Digidesign's Pro Tools system + the latest Pro Tools MIX plus cards and version 4.3 software. Pro Tools systems are increasingly finding their way into audio post-production facilities. By far the most popular computer-based DAW, the system is going from strength-to-strength in terms of numbers of audio tracks and available DSP power - not forgetting the plethora of third-party developers supplying everything from software plug-ins to hardware add-ons. The latest system uses the new 'MIX' cards. The MIX Core card will now handle up to 64 tracks of audio with up to 16 channels of I/O and has much more mixing and processing power than the previous system. And you can run a basic system using just one of these cards - great news for Apple PowerMac G3 users who only have three PCI slots. Adding the MIX Farm card gives you another six DSP chips for effects processing and lets you connect a further 16 channels of I/O. The two-card system is called Pro Tools|24 MIXplus and you get a MIX Farm card included with this. You also need to buy interfaces, such as the 888|24 or the new ADAT Bridge, and the latter makes a particularly good choice for Yamaha 02R users - with its pair of 8-way ADAT optical connections allowing you to connect 16 channels of digital I/O to the 02R. I especially like the new four-in-one SmartTool in the version 4.3 software. This combines the functions of the Selector, Grabber and Trimmer tools - switching function automatically depending on where you position the cursor in the Edit window so you can grab, select, trim or create fades or crossfades without switching tools. And the new Auto Fade-In and Fade-Out commands make it much easier to achieve smooth edits. Audio post users will particularly appreciate the 'AutoSpot' and 'Nudge-to-Picture' facilities. Auto-Spot lets you pause your video deck on a particular SMPTE frame, then click on a region with the Grabber tool to automatically spot this to the current timecode location - rather than having to enter this manually. The Nudge function lets you move regions backwards and forwards in increments of 1 frame or whatever - ideal for spotting sound effects to picture. The Machine Control features have been improved as well. For instance, you can now remotely arm audio or video tracks on Sony 9-pin or V-LAN decks. You normally connect the 9-pin cable to the modem or printer port on your Macintosh. This is inconvenient if you are using these for Midi interfaces or other devices so Digidesign have provided a 9-pin socket on the MIX cards as an alternative. Version 4.3 is the first release to support the use of this serial port which can also be used to hook up a Digidesign Universal Slave Driver synchronizer.
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Pro Control Main Unit with Panner
The BIG news is ProControl. Pro Tools has an on-screen simulation of a mixing console and a waveform editor which you normally control using the computer's mouse. The problem here is that the mouse is not ideal for controlling these - it's difficult to drag faders smoothly and 'turning' knobs onscreen can be awkward. ProControl allows hands-on control of mixing, editing and DSP processing. It is a modular design, expandable in 8-channel increments to 32 channels, with an integrated meter section featuring stereo meters for each channel, an 8-character time display, and 6 meters for stereo and surround output metering. The Fader section has 8 touch-sensitive moving faders, with 'scribble strip' displays above - to pick up Pro Tools track names. Eight rotary encoders are assignable as pans or aux sends and two rows of buttons above these give you direct access to any EQ or dynamics plug-ins. There are dedicated buttons for Mix, Edit, Status, Transport and Plug-ins windows (though not for the Fade window) and for Select, Grab and Trim tools - and if you hold all three you get the new Smart tool. A neat trick is to use the 'Copy To Send' command to copy your main mix to, say, the aux mix feeding the headphones. ProControl has a handy 'flip' button which puts control of the aux sends onto the main faders - letting you make finer adjustments. As the rotary controls are not touch-sensitive it makes a lot of sense to use this feature when updating automation. The Main section has controls and displays for plug-ins, Group switches, a numeric keypad, bank switches to switch between groups of channels, a trackpad, transport controls and a weighted Scrub/Shuttle wheel which works MUCH better than using the mouse. A centrally-positioned section puts all the mutes, selects, solos or record readies onto a matrix of buttons so you can operate these without moving out of the sweet spot - particularly useful for working on large Pro Tools sessions. Analogue monitoring facilities are provided to take the stereo mix from your Pro Tools interface and there are three additional analogue stereo inputs so you could also have a DAT, cassette and tape recorder hooked up. Alternatively, the monitoring can be configured to handle up to 6channel surround sound. A rotary fader controls main monitor level with associated mono, dim and mute buttons, and an Alt button lets you switch between large and small monitor speakers. A talkback key dims the main monitors and opens the built-in talkback mic - or you can use an external talkback
mic if you prefer. These features will now allow many studios to dispense with the need to use external mixing facilities with Pro Tools systems. Mission Control: For another £3000 you can add Gallery's 'Mission Control' unit. Designed to fit into the same housing as the ProControl, this provides many features that ProControl misses out. It has a QWERTY keyboard, a version of Gallery's Production Palette (additional editing buttons such as Trim and Heal, a startup key for the Mac and a key to launch Pro Tools, various keys to speed up editing and nine location keys with scribble displays), and a 5-port ethernet hub that feeds out to the Pro Control. Options include a Wacom Pen Partner as an alternative to a trackball, and two alternative surround panners that can control the Dolby Surround Tools plug-in or provide the 5.1 panning which Surround Tools doesn't support. HUI: Alternatively, for about £3000 you could buy the Mackie HUI - Human User Interface - instead. This has 8 faders and many of the same features as the Pro Control but connects via MIDI rather than Ethernet. It also has two pairs of general purpose input/output jacks for triggering Stop/Play/Punch, On-Air, external console solo, or suchlike and two high-quality Mic pre-amp inputs with switchable phantom power - useful features which ProControl lacks. Buyer's Verdict: What's good about the system: For smaller post-production studios working with surround sound ProControl makes a superb choice as a partner to Pro Tools systems. You get the hands-on control which has been missing until now from Pro Tools systems, along with monitoring facilities which will allow many users to totally avoid using an external mixer. It is fairly large compared to its nearest competitor - the Mackie HUI - which could work to its advantage when it comes to impressing clients. What's bad:
There are one or two unfortunate omissions as far as dedicated buttons are concerned and I still prefer the 'feel' of real audio faders to the DigiFaders used on ProControl. Also, it is a fairly 'pricey' system.
Ratings:
Sound quality: 9 Editing performance: 8 Range of Features: 7 Ease of Use: 7 Value for money: 6 Overall rating: 7.4
Prices:
PT MIX core system - £5279 + VAT PT MIX plus system - £6599 + VAT 888|24 Interface - £2439 + VAT ADAT Bridge I/O - £829 + VAT Pro Control - £7919 + VAT Fader Expansion Kit - £4289 + VAT
Manufacturer:
Mike Collins © 1999
Digidesign UK Tel: 01753 653322 www.digidesign.com
