How to get Pro Tools for free in 2024

 How to Get Pro Tools Legally and for Free in 2024

Pro Tools is the most popular Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software in professional recording studios. Originally created by the company Digidesign, it became so popular that after a few years, it was acquired by the video and multimedia company Avid. For many years, it has been considered the "audio standard" in many recording studios, and now you can have it on your computer for free!

Advantages of Pro Tools

Pro Tools is famous for being easy to use, stable, and quite powerful in terms of audio functions. It is excellent software for recording and editing audio, as it allows both functions to be performed with ease and speed.

It is also perhaps the most widely used program for mixing music, film, and television. Most film, TV, and recording studios have a Pro Tools system. Its main advantage is that it is a standard in audio production.

Therefore, it is very important for audio professionals (or aspiring ones) to learn how to use Pro Tools and have a version on their personal computer.

Disadvantages of Pro Tools

However, Pro Tools is not without its drawbacks. One of the main disadvantages is that it is a somewhat expensive system. This has been the case since its early versions many years ago.

The reason for this is that Pro Tools was not just software; Digidesign designed it to be a comprehensive system that included both software and hardware. This involved using digital signal processing (DSP) cards that had to be installed in the computer, as well as special interfaces.

Classic Pro Tools cards and interfaces

This situation was necessary in the 90s (when Pro Tools started) because computers of that time were not capable of efficiently processing digital audio. Therefore, Pro Tools was the first system to allow for a digital audio studio through a computer.

Returning to the present, both Pro Tools and computers have evolved, so it is no longer necessary to have any special hardware to run the program. This has made it much more accessible for everyone... even for FREE!

Versions of Pro Tools

So now we can have Pro Tools on our computers (Windows or Mac) without having to pay for the software license. All completely legal, although with limitations. Avid offers various options according to the user's needs. Here are the options available in 2024.

Pro Tools Intro

This is the best option for those starting with Pro Tools, as it is the completely free version. Its most important features include:

• 8 audio tracks and 8 MIDI tracks
• 4 audio inputs (depends on the interface used)
• Many editing functions and tools, such as Elastic Audio
• 36 processing plugins
• Resolution of up to 96 kHz, 32-bit floating point
• Does not support working with video

As we can see, Pro Tools Intro is a good option for those starting in audio work or needing to work on simple projects. In reality, the main limitation is that it does not allow importing video, so these types of projects are completely ruled out.

Pro Tools Artist

This is a more complete version and includes features such as:

• 32 audio tracks, 64 MIDI tracks, and 32 instrument tracks
• 16 audio inputs (if the interface allows)
• 32 folder and routing tracks
• Over 100 plugins
• Special version of Melodyne for professional voice tuning
• Audio-to-MIDI, Beat Detective, and Clip Gain functions

This version is ideal for musicians or producers who require more tracks and processing tools. The cost is $10 USD per month.

Pro Tools Studio

It is a more complete version, designed for audio and music professionals. Among its additional options are:

• 512 audio tracks
• 512 instrument tracks
• 1024 MIDI tracks
• 128 auxiliary tracks
• 128 VCA tracks
• Complete collection of plugins and processors
• Option to work with video
• 64 audio inputs
• Surround system handling and Dolby Atmos

Its price is $30 USD per month.

Pro Tools Ultimate

This is the most complete version of Pro Tools, although many may not require all the options it offers. In addition to what the studio version has, this version includes:

• Over 2000 audio tracks
• Handling up to 256 audio inputs
• Use of HDX hardware
• Advanced recording and editing functions
• Support for AAX DSP plugins
• 64 video tracks

As we can see, this version is ideal for the most demanding professional situations. Like working with HDX hardware, which allows processing audio using additional cards (as with the early versions of Pro Tools), relieving the computer's CPU and allowing for running huge and complex sessions. It can also work with multiple video files simultaneously for audio post-production.

The price is $100 USD per month, and there is access to a special price for students and teachers.

Requirements

The minimum computer requirements for Pro Tools Intro are:

Windows

• Intel i5 CPU or higher
• Windows 10
• 8 GB of RAM
• 15 GB of free disk space
• Internet connection
• It is recommended to have an audio interface that supports ASIO

Mac

• Intel i5 CPU or higher, or Apple Silicon
• MacOS 10.15.7 or higher
• 8 GB of RAM
• 15 GB of free disk space
• Internet connection

To have Pro Tools Intro, you will need to go to the Avid website and create an account. There you can download the installer according to your operating system or the Avid Link software, which manages installations and updates.

You will also need to create an account on iLok.com to authorize and use the software. This is also a free account that will allow you to use Pro Tools via iLok Cloud, which is a cloud service that monitors licenses to prevent illegal use.

In this sense, it is necessary for your computer to be connected to the internet while using Pro Tools, as the iLok Cloud system needs to be online when using the software.

So now you know the basics to have Pro Tools on your computer without spending a single cent. Although Pro Tools Intro has some limitations, for many users, it won't be a big problem, and you can start using this excellent DAW right away!

Continue Reading →

Choosing a computer for music production in 2024

How to choose a good computer for Music Production

 When we enter the world of music production, one of the most common questions is figuring out what type of computer (PC or Mac) is recommended for optimal work. 

In this article, we will seek to address the most common doubts on this controversial topic, especially for beginners.

PC or Mac?

The first question we need to answer is whether we need an Apple computer, a Windows PC, or perhaps an option for Linux.

Let's clarify regarding Linux first. Linux is undoubtedly an interesting system in many respects, however, in terms of music production, the Linux ecosystem is quite limited compared to a PC or Mac. The primary limitation lies in the available Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) for Linux. While there are some good options like REAPER, Mixbus, or Bitwig Studio, the variety of virtual instruments, plugins, libraries, etc., falls short compared to what other systems offer. Additionally, hardware setup and compatibility tend to be more complex.

For this reason, our first recommendation is to avoid Linux systems for music production, unless you are a programming geek passionate about Linux. It's definitely not a good option for beginners.

Apple Computers

Mac computers are undoubtedly a great choice for both beginner and professional music production. Among the main advantages are:

1. Operating System: MacOS is one of the most stable and secure systems. While it can fail, like any other system, it is highly reliable, clean, and often prevents many issues such as viruses and corrupt files. MacOS is designed to work with audio efficiently, using Core Audio technology, making it an excellent choice for demanding professional applications.

2. Native Hardware: All Apple computers come with good hardware for audio playback and even recording. You can work with your Mac's built-in outputs without needing to buy an audio interface, and the sound quality will be quite good. While you'll eventually need an interface for more demanding tasks, it's not a necessity when you're just starting.

3. Apple Ecosystem: Consider that with a Mac, you enter or expand your Apple ecosystem. If you have an iPhone or iPad, the Mac allows practical and seamless integration with those devices. This can benefit you when producing music, as you can use mobile apps as virtual instruments, MIDI controllers, or extensions of your DAW.

4. Native Software: All Macs come with Garageband, a friendly and comprehensive DAW that allows you to start working without acquiring another program. For users needing something more advanced, Apple offers Logic Pro, one of the most popular and powerful DAWs. If you've learned to use Garageband, transitioning to Logic Pro won't be complicated.

In addition to this, practically all popular DAWs are available for Mac. Apple computers are definitely a great option to start in the world of music production.

Their disadvantages usually revolve around the higher cost compared to Windows PCs. However, with the new generation of Apple Silicon computers (M1, M2, etc.) that Apple has released, costs are much more competitive and powerful, making a Mac worth considering.

Windows PC

Windows PCs are the most popular computers globally. While initially not the best candidates for audio work, they have improved significantly over the years and are also a great option for both beginners and professionals.

Factors that can help us decide if a PC is our best option include:

1. Preferred DAW: While most DAWs run on both Mac and PC, some may only work on PC. This should be the first consideration when choosing a computer.

2. Budget: PCs can be more economical in their basic form. Carefully examine this aspect, as a PC suitable for audio may have a higher cost than a basic PC for school or office use.

3. Operating System: Windows has improved considerably in recent years. If you love Windows or feel comfortable with this system, you can definitely continue using it as a base for your music production software.

Technical Specifications

If you are evaluating a PC's capability to work with audio and music, we recommend the following minimum specifications:

- Windows 10: This is definitely the most stable and recommended version for most programs.

- Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen multi-core processor: This is a crucial part, as the processor handles audio processing operations. A low-capacity processor will make your work too slow and frustrating. While a more advanced processor, such as an i7, is better, these minimum processors will allow you to do general work without issues.

- 8 GB RAM: RAM allows you to run multiple programs and plugins (audio processors or virtual instruments) simultaneously. As your projects become more complex, you may need to increase RAM to 16 GB, 32 GB, or even more, depending on your experience.

- Free Disk Space of 10 - 40 GB: Storage allows you to save more projects on your computer. Additionally, each DAW requires a certain amount of space for installation. It's worth noting that using SSD (Solid State Drive) storage is highly recommended over hard drives. SSD transfer speeds are much faster than any hard drive, ensuring excellent performance for audio programs.

Unlike Apple computers, typical PC audio hardware is not of high quality. Therefore, it is practically mandatory to get an audio interface to work properly from the beginning. Make sure your interface has ASIO drivers for correct functioning and high-quality audio.

As you can see, there are many options to find a good computer and start creating music. Often, it's not necessary to make exorbitant expenses initially. It's better to start with a basic but high-quality setup and increase your computer's capabilities as your level of expertise and needs grow.

If you want to start in the world of music production from scratch, you can check out my online courses, where you'll learn step by step in a comprehensive and clear manner. Click on the following links for more info:

- Audio Engineering Fundamentals.

- Introduction to DAWs with REAPER.

- Principles of Acoustics for the Home Studio.

I'm confident they will greatly help you on your journey as a producer. See you next time!

Continue Reading →

Logic Pro Scripter

Introduction to Scripter

Logic Pro X includes a very nice tool for the musician that loves music technology: Scripter, the MIDI programming script editor. This is a MIDI plugin that allows us to program new MIDI plugins by using JavaScript code.

Perhaps Scripter is the least understood plugin in Logic. The documentation is somewhat limited and you need some experience coding with JavaScript to push it to its limits. Anyway, it's worth it to give it a try and start working on it, as the possibilities are endless!

Fig. 1. Scripter main window.

But, what is it good for? Well in general, you can manipulate MIDI data in many flexible and powerful ways. For example, you can:

• Change the pitch, volume, panning, etc. of certain notes.
• Create new notes and play them back at different time intervals.
• Create automatic Control Change (CC) messages or transform them.
• Generate random notes or create notes based on probability (algorithmic music, this is your call!).
• Filter, transform or delay MIDI events based on our rules.

With this tool, we can create things like:

• A MIDI effect that emulates guitar strumming techniques.
• An algorithm to create automatic melodies or rhythms.
• Totally customized arpeggiators or harmonizers.
• MIDI Sequencers or drum machines.
• User interfaces with menus and sliders for our plugin.

Fig. 2. Scripter and the editing window.

As we see, we can create many interesting tools to unleash our musical creativity. It's important to mention that we can use Scripter right away, without writing a single line of code! Scripter comes with a variety of interesting presets that we can use immediately. Anyway, let's see how to start writing our own scripts or how to customize the presets according to our needs.

Let's begin with the basics: JavaScript

JavaScript (JS) is a programming language that was born along with the Web browsers. Regardless of that, it has become one of the most popular languages in recent years. Its applications reach areas like: the Internet of Things, mobile applications, virtual reality and of course, music.

This is because JS is a robust language, it's easy to learn and there's a huge community of developers around the world that use it. It's important to mention that JavaScript is not the same language as Java. The name looks similar but they are very different languages. Mozilla is the group that maintains and develops JS.

JS has a specific syntax that we should learn to write code. We will learn the most essential parts to keep our focus on what we want more: the music.

Functions

A function is a block of code that can be reused. Programming languages include basic functions and the programmer can create his own functions. In Logic, we have different functions that are defined in the Scripter API.

The simplest example of code in Scripter is a program that "resends" the MIDI data that it receives. Think of it as a virtual MIDI Thru. Here it is the code:

function HandleMIDI(event) {
    event.send();   //Resends the event that is received.
}

The word function is a keyword in JS. It indicates that we will use a function named HandleMIDI(). This function is part of the Scripter API and it will receive and process MIDI data. Then it will store it in the variable named event. This variable could be named in any other way if the programmer desires.

When the function HandleMIDI() is called (when the plugin runs), the instructions between the curly brackets will be executed one at a time, from top to bottom. In this example, there's only one instruction: event.send(). The text after the double slash (//) is known as a comment. It helps the programmer to understand the code. It's just for clarification purposes as it is ignored when the program runs. Although it's optional, it's recommended to use.

The command event.send() reads the data in the variable event and sends that data to the MIDI channel where the plugin is inserted in Logic. With this code, you can hear the notes played on that channel. Not a big deal, as it's the same effect as using no plugin at all! Each command or instruction ends with a semicolon.

Let's add another command to make our program more interesting:

function HandleMIDI(event) {
    event.send();
    event.trace();  //Prints the data in the editor console                
}

The command event.trace() prints a log in the Scripter console (lower part of the window). Here we can see the information inside the event variable.

Fig. 3. Scripter Console showing the MIDI data received.

In the image, we see that the console shows a list of MIDI messages received by the Scripter plugin. In this case, there are NoteOn and NoteOff messages, along with their parameters: channel, pitch, and velocity.

This code is very simple, but it is useful to understand the logic behind Scripter. Later we will see other more advanced commands to manipulate the MIDI data.

Continue Reading →

Introduction to Digital Audio

What is Digital Audio? 

Nowadays it's very common to find the word digital everywhere. The "digital revolution" is reaching every part of our lives: information, video, audio, images, money, etc. In the world of audio, there is a constant debate between digital and analog audio about which one is best. Each one has pros and cons and we actually need both of them when producing music. This time I am going to explain what digital audio is and why it's important.

First we have to understand that most audio signals begin as analog signals. For example, the electrical signal coming out of a microphone, guitar, synthesizer or MP3 player is an analog signal. This means that it's a voltage that varies with time. This is why we can represent it as a waveform.

Fig. 1. Sinusoidal waveform.

The amplitude changes (Y axis) represent voltage variations. X axis represents time. In the image we see that the voltage goes up and down as time goes by. The amount of variation will depend on the kind of sound that this signal represents. Thus, the waveform will be different if it's a high pitched sound, a voice, a drum, etc.

A digital signal, on the other hand, is a series of pulses. Usually, these are electric pulses, although there is technology that handles pulses of light instead (photonics). These pulses represent coded information and they can have two values only: 0 or 1. So we use a binary system to represent the coded information. Each one of these binary values or digits are called bits (binary digit). For example, in the image we see a two-bit signal, in this case we use 2 bits to represent different amplitude levels.

Fig. 2. Digital signal

This chain of bits only makes sense if we know how they are coded, so we can decode it later and extract the information. The most common coding system used for audio is called Pulse Code Modulation (PCM). This is the kind of modulation used for WAV or AIFF files, although there are other kinds of less common modulations.

100% digital?

Loudspeakers need an analog signal to work. This happens because its cone movement is proportional (is analog) to the electric variations of the signal. This means that any digital signal needs to be decoded and converted into an analog signal before reaching the loudspeaker. It also means that there are not a 100% digital audio systems. Likewise, we cannot simply asume that a digital system is better than an analog one.

Both kinds of systems have its pros and cons, depending on the application, goals and budget. A basic audio system can be digital on the recording, processing (editing, mixing, effects) and transmission stages but it has to be analog on the power amplifying stage (the signal going to the loudspeakers). Anyway, it's very probable that with technology development, we will have more audio stages on the digital domain.

Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

We could say that digital audio is just a bunch of numbers. That's why one of its main advantages is the use of Digital Signal Processing (DSP). This process consist on a series of complex calculations that can modify the original signal in several ways. This is what happens inside our computers or smartphones when we edit video or images too. Modern computers and devices give us the opportunity to achieve things not possible with analog audio. DSP applications are vast in many fields. In the case of audio, through DSP we can:

• Modify the pitch or duration of a sound or tune a singer automatically (sound familiar?)
• Create different effects like reverb, echo, chorus, etc.
• Process the audio with filters, EQ, compressors, etc.
• Reduce background noise or restore old recordings
• Analyze the components of an audio signal, its frequency, phase, amplitud, etc.
• Recognize patterns (voice and music)
• Many more things yet to come!

Fig. 3. Analyzer using DSP.

Digital audio is and will be part of our daily life, not only for the audio professional but for everyone. Its advantages for storage, transmission and its impressive processing potential make it a must for any music producer or sound engineer.

Continue Reading →

Music Technology and Pure Data (PD)

Music Technology

This time I'll talk about a very interesting topic in the world of modern music: music technology. When we talk about music technology we mean all the tools that can be used for music creation, analysis and synthesis. We are living in an age where music technology grows everyday and the most interesting discoveries are yet to come.

Among the available music technology tools, we can find music programming languages. Here it is a list with the most popular languages:

• Csound. This is one of the oldest languages but still popular. It has tools for music composition, synthesis, live coding and more. It's based on written code, it is free and it can be used on any computer platform.
• Supercollider. Another code-based, free and multi-platform language. Supercollider is an object oriented language that allows real time performance, synthesis, algorithmic composition and many more.
• ChucK. This is one of the newest languages yet it has become very popular. This is because its simplicity and great synchronization features, live coding, synthesis, composition, etc. It is code-based, free and multi-platform.
• Reaktor. Unlike the other examples, this is not a "real" programming language, but a graphic developing platform instead. With Reaktor you can build synths and effects in a visual way. It is a commercial software and runs on Mac and Windows. Its graphic environment allows the development of creative tools and projects in an intuitive way and with excellent sound.
• Max/MSP. Another graphic environment where you can connect "blocks" and do many processing operations. These include synthesis, MIDI and even interaction with video or images. It's a commercial software available for Mac and Windows. It's very popular due to its great integration with Ableton Live. 
• Pure Data (PD). This one is like the "open" version of Max/MSP. It was created by the very same person: Miller Puckette. It's very similar to Max/MSP in its basic functions but it's open source, free and runs on Mac, Win and Linux. You can create synthesis, composition, audio, MIDI and control tools.

In future articles we will talk about working with PD. With this platform we can build the music tools we may need, for example:

• Synthesizers
• Audio signal processors
• MIDI processors (arpeggiators, splitters, etc.)
• Movement, camera or sensor controllers
• Interactive art tools
• Educational tools
• Algorithmic composition tools

All of this looks very interesting but we must understand that PD gives us the basic blocks to build all these tools. It's a kind of LEGO set for audio and MIDI processing. Anyway, this doesn't mean that building this kind of creative tools is a simple task. You need imagination, knowledge and persistence to make the things work.

Finally, we will use PD for many reasons. The first one is that PD is free and runs on any system. The second is that, being a graphic environment, it doesn't use a complex syntax nor code lines. You need to learn the language rules though, but the learning curve is so much more intuitive. The third reason is that you can use PD to work along with any DAW or virtual instrument. Another advantage is that it doesn't need a lot of processing power, so you can even use it with old laptops or even some netbooks, whether live or in the studio.

Music Technology is an essential tool for the modern musician or producer, that's for sure. These technologies will allow today and tomorrow's musicians to build the creative tools the may need. In this way, there will be almost no limits for the creative process and imagination in the world of music.

Continue Reading →