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I am about to finish uni and was questioning wether I should take advantage of the student discount and buy pro tools?

I have used Logic for a long time and find it excellent, but think as everyone in the real world seems to use pro tools, maybe I should invest?

Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks

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There's a lot of indirect value to owning pro tools, from hundreds of people across the globe being able to relate when you (inevitably) start cursing its limitations or bugs, to actually being able to hand your work down the standard role chain of bigger post-production projects.

Pro Tools 9 (and 10) is excellent value, even the vanilla (non-HD) package, and it doesn't cost an arm+leg the way Nuendo does. There is no other "industry standard" package for post (regardless of how many times someone here says Reaper or anything else), just these two.

I'm a long time Logic user and had taken a short break recently, only to come back to it under a slightly tighter deadline, and that felt like pure agony. With PT I've mostly had a smooth time (touch wood).

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I'm not going to say which platform is better, but when I'm hiring new people at our post facility, if they don't know Protools they usually don't make it past the first round of cuts. I'd take advantage of the educational discount if you can, it will give you a leg up knowing multiple platforms.

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Not EVERYONE in the "real world" uses it, but there's definitely a high percentage. The things to be concerned with is what direction you see yourself headed in, and how you'll need to integrate with other professionals (both audio and not).

If you were to ask me my direct opinion on Logic vs. Pro Tools for post-production audio? I would say Pro Tools. I may be biased though. I wasn't that fond of Logic before Apple bought it, and I haven't really used it since. There is simplicity with Pro Tools as far as compatability with other people goes, since it is so prevalent in our field.

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  • Is there a large dub-stage in existence that uses Logic for it's playback? Do people use Logic to record foley? I'm actually not sure, but I'm pretty certain it would be Pro Tools.
    – Utopia
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 1:09
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    It depends what he intends to do - if he is a musician & considers sound design = synth programming or whatever Logic cld be ok, but if he ever wants to work in the professional post world then definitely PT and sooner start learning it the better... I wouldnt even consider someone for an intern/trainnee role without good ProTools skills...
    – user49
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 2:03
  • @tim prebble - agreed regarding intentions. i know a composer who's been very happily working with Logic for years without any problems. you bring up an excellent point regarding working professionally in post, but i think it's easier to learn the tools (DAWs) than to develop the skills to use them correctly (proper editing techniques, making use of frequency spectrum and dynamic range, etc.).
    – Shaun Farley
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 2:31
  • ok thanks, thats more or less what I thought I think. I started off using it for music and then just carried on using it when starting to do foley. I definitely want to move into doing more and more post work.
    – Dominic
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 13:31
  • @Dominic - definitely worth getting into Pro Tools then. knowing Logic on top of it won't hurt either.
    – Shaun Farley
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 13:45
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As a fellow student, I would definitely recommend taking advantage of the discounts on offer.....PT 9 or 10 for less than half the standard price is a no-brainer, especially as it's considered the standard for most pros in sound and post. You're no longer tied to dedicated interfaces either. I prefer Cubase for MIDI sequencing and drum mapping, but I've really warmed to the simplicity of the PT functionality, which just makes more sense from a routing/bussing/plugins perspective. Plus, there's an awful lot more guidance out there to assist you with learning PT.

There's a few other nice student discounts too - Waves Plugins (35% off), Windows 7 upgrades from XP or Vista to W7 Ultimate for £60! (software4students), Apple (15%+ off)....

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If I could go back in time, I would by it in a heartbeat. I would even consider financing if I couldn't pay upfront. Pro Tools 10... for less than half the regular price? Absolutely! I really want to buy it now, but it's $699! If I'd bought Pro Tools 9 while in school, I would have had it all this time, and the upgrade would cost me $299. I'd say do it!

Also, I should add, if you want to work for someone else, getting your Pro Tools shorcuts down and being a fast operator is a huge merit! The best way to do that, is to own the software and to use it for everything you want to do.

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I'm in a similar situation. I have used Logic for a while now too, and I find It does everything I need easily. I can use pro-tools if I have too, and I think editing wise it is very intuitive. I record foley, edit dialogue, and do sound design with it, as well as music.

Not EVERYONE in the "real world" uses it, but there's definitely a high percentage.

I would agree.

Cost versus quality was an issue for me when I first got Logic. Pro-tools was locked to the proprietary m-boxes, which I didn't like the quality of (I was not in the market for an HD system at that stage). I found at the time that I could get a much better quality AD converter for the same money.

That's a little convoluted, but my point is, now that Pro-tools is again unlocked from the proprietary boxes, it makes it very probable that i'll move over to it.

Just another opinion.

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  • Hmm. Can you pencil waveforms in Logic? I'm curious now. It would be the perfect Sound Designer/Scorer program.
    – Utopia
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 3:01
  • I wasn't aware it was unlocked from the proprietary boxes, would it work with my crappy m-audio mobile pre interface? I want to invest in a good interface anyway so how do I know what it will work with or is it worth saving up for the mbox pro?
    – Dominic
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 13:37
  • @ Ryan You can pencil a waveform in Logic when your zoomed in close enough (pencil tool functions as a zoom until you are close enough).
    – Colin Hunter
    Commented Nov 25, 2011 at 18:31
  • @Utopia, Other arguments aside, Logic is really good with midi editing and control, and many of the standard plugins afford great creative freedom. @Dominic, yep, that means you can get any interface you want for pt9. If your m-audio mobile works with your computer, it should work with pt9 - um, but don't quote me... I would suggest you upgrade your sound card. I'm not sure of your needs or budget, but there are now few quality ones under $250 - I've found that the Focusrite Saffire 6, and the Presonus Audiobox sound great, just to name two that I know about.
    – PhatCo
    Commented Nov 27, 2011 at 23:24
  • @phat controller. thanks alot for the info, is that the same for pro tools 10?
    – Dominic
    Commented Dec 1, 2011 at 2:54
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Get Pro Tools with your student discount!

I still design and compose in Logic, but for audio post production, Pro Tools or Nuendo are your best bet. All of my work has been mixed in pro tools.

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Seems like a great deal and I'm also interested in buying PT to that price, but does anyone know for sure that:

  1. You can use it commercially

  2. You get 4 years of free upgrades

I've searched different forums now and this seems to be the case, but I'm not 100 % sure. And Avid seems to have the worst email support when you have to pay for asking these questions. I will probably call avid here in Sweden.

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