[ddots-l] Re: About Macs and Pro Tools
- From: "Gordon Kent" <dbmusic@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2010 14:02:12 -0400
Hey Bryan:
Wlw, what an informative blog that is. I was thinking of getting a mac book
pro to play around with since I need a new laptop anyway, but having seen
your review on the state of accessibility for logic, which I had hoped
mightg be worth a look, I will probably just get a new PC laptop for now.
That being said, couldn't you run Pro tools with the fast track pro and use
the behringer bcf2000 as a control surface, freeing up the FW port for an
external drive for audio?
Gord
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bryan Smart" <bryansmart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 5:13 PM
Subject: [ddots-l] About Macs and Pro Tools
I want to take a moment to post here about some of the topics that have been
coming up recently on the list, since there is a lot of guessing about what
is going on with Pro Tools and the other Mac DAWs.
First, the disclaimer. I, of course, work with Bill and the Dancing Dots
team, and have been working with David Pinto on his efforts to make Sonar
and CakeTalking a great combination for even longer. Before all of that,
though, I used and contributed to the free Sonar scripts, when they were
just called the Vic and Gord scripts for Sonar. I also struggled with using
Cakewalk Pro Audio manually with the Jaws cursor before there were any
scripts, and used other semi-accessible sequencers, like Cubase on the Mac
in the early 90's, along with half a dozen others that most people here
wouldn't remember. The point is that my interest goes beyond just work. And
Dancing Dots's interest in accessible music technology goes beyond just
Sonar and CakeTalking.
Were we to step back just 10 years, and look at the state of what a blind
person could accomplish in terms of independently recording and mixing their
own music, the differences would seem shocking. At that time, the only real
choices in the entire world were to run an old version of Pro Tools, or to
use one of the early versions of Sonar with CakeTalking or JSonar.
If you wanted to use Pro Tools, you had to run it on out of date (even for
that time) Mac hardware, using an old version of the Mac operating system,
and with a screen reader no longer in production. Besides finding the right
Mac, the old OS, and the out of production screen reader, you had to pay
serious money to purchase Pro Tools, plus the special audio interface
hardware that is required to run it (Pro Tools didn't work with mainstream
audio interfaces). After the frustration and the money, you had access, but
only to certain parts of Pro Tools. Further, the access that you could get
was achieved through lots of tricky workarounds that were passed
person-to-person. There was no manual or tutorial on how to get any of that
to work for you. Pro Tools was only something that you'd try for if you had
lots of money, a professional situation that produced income and made the
investment worth it, and if you were extremely patient, and if you could
find other rare people like yourself that were also willing to teach you the
tricks. That last point is important. It was hard to find others that shared
your situation, and, when you did, just by the nature of their situation,
their lives were probably too full of working with clients in order to find
the time to tutor you.
So, most people went with the other option, being Sonar and a script
package. We could do more in Sonar at the time than could be accomplished in
Pro Tools. Even so, there were lots of things that we couldn't do. We had
practically no access to those new softsynths that everyone was talking
about. Even when it came to audio, our options were limited. We couldn't
access most effects, even the ones bundled with Sonar. We certainly couldn't
read meters, so most blind people had to try to do levels entirely by ear,
which didn't always yield the best results. We also had almost no way to
perform detailed audio editing in Sonar, since we didn't have any meaningful
access to the clips pane. So, our editing entirely consisted of what we
could accomplish from the track pane. We didn't have Hot Spot Clicker to
help with access to plug ins that Jaws couldn't see. Though JSonar and CT
are both good packages now, besting each other in specific areas that are
important to different groups of people, at the time, JSonar was not nearly
as polished. People on a budget did have a free option, but the free option
would test their patients. CakeTalking was available, and combined stability
with the great tutorial that David has updated through the years, but
CakeTalking didn't provide access to much of Sonar that JSonar couldn't, and
neither of them, as I said above, could access most of what was available.
For the last 10 years, Sonar access has dramatically improved. We now have
extremely complete access to nearly all of Sonar. Largely, the only parts of
the program that we can't use are ones that are so visual, that using them
wouldn't be of much benefit to us. There are two mature script packages
available for Sonar, both with their own advantages, and both providing a
similar high level of access. Not only have we reached a point where a blind
person can control every aspect of their music production from sequencing,
to tracking, to mixing, to mastering, to even detailed levels of editing,
but with CakeTalking, you also get what we jokingly call a tutorial, though
the 400+ page monster should probably be made in to a book called David
Pinto's Complete Guide on Sonar and Audio Production. This means, not only
has this capability been made possible, but it is possible for non techy
types to expect that they'll be able to master it, even if they don't have
access to a great friend or professional teacher to lead them through the
process. Beyond this, when compared with the prices of the past, a blind
person can get spectacular access, documentation, and support for a modern
DAW, enabling all of the possibilities of music production, at a very fair
price.
As great as it is that we can finally accomplish these goals on our own, the
next impulse after reaching a goal is to want options. It's amazing that
soon, we will have options. A few years ago, we would have been happy just
to be able to do these things at all, and now, we will be able to pick our
approach. Having options is an exciting position that gets people talking
about the possibilities. However, in our excitement, we should remember that
every choice in the world involves tradeoffs. You can give away some of the
things that you enjoy, for others that you want more. Sometimes, if we're
lucky, the only thing that we have to give up to get the things that we want
is money. Usually, though, no amount of money will get us what we want, and
so we must make other compromises. Those are the positions that everyone
will need to consider as the new options appear this year, both on the Mac
and the PC.
Access to the Mac is exciting for many reasons. The VoiceOver screen reader
is built-in, so we get better integration with the operating system, and we
don't need to pay for screen reader updates. I personally use Macs now, and
like them. However, people considering Macs shouldn't be fooled that there
are no tradeoffs involved in this choice. The cost for a Mac is somewhat
higher than an office PC. Part of that cost involves the higher quality
hardware. Part of that cost also involves the cost of the operating system,
and development of tools like VoiceOver. The screen reader is free, but it
is free with the operating system. That means that, new versions of the
screen reader are released along with new versions of the operating system.
You can't just upgrade your screen reader. In general, you trade off cost
savings in one area for cost increases in another. The way that the costs
are spread out might work better for you. You'll need to make that call. It
is just important to remember that what you pay and when you pay it are
different from the Windows world, and, even though the tradeoffs might work
out be a better deal for you, there is still no free lunch.
When it comes to people on this list, the sort of people that do music and
audio production, I don't think that the costs will matter very much. You
won't spend much more for a Mac than you would for a high quality PC DAW.
And, since the Mac is built with high quality components, and works
spectacularly as a high quality DAW, you'll get a good deal. For people that
are recording on a budget, or accustomed to making due with using office PCs
as DAWs, the Mac will cost a bit more than you're accustomed to.
On the Mac, there are three main DAW packages where accessibility is making
progress.
Pro Tools is the one that most people have heard about. I'm very excited
about Pro Tools accessibility. I've been involved with the accessibility
work, and am extremely impressed with the progress that they've made. The
beta cycle is nearly complete, and the accessible version of Pro Tools will
be available to anyone with a current Pro Tools 8 license as a free upgrade
with-in a matter of weeks.
I'm now able to speak in a small way about what people can expect from the
accessible version of Pro Tools. A blind person will have access to basic
mixing and editing features. A blind person will be able to use audio
effects and softsynths in a restricted way. However, many areas of Pro Tools
won't be accessible. Detailed editing (MIDI or automation), several
important dialogs for people that primarily sequence, and some areas of
setup won't work with VoiceOver. Additionally, effects and synths will work,
but only in the way that you might expect them to work with Sonar's track
inspector (no native access). On the Mac, just like Windows, there are
synths and effects with completely invisible windows that are nearly
impossible for blind people to work. There isn't yet a Hot Spot Clicker type
program for the Mac to help with accessibility to these, though options are
in the works. In general, though Pro Tools is certainly more advanced
technically, the accessibility situation reminds me of Sonar, 10 years ago.
A blind person will certainly be able to use Pro Tools for tracking and
mixing projects. This accessibility will be a big help to blind people that
need to swap files back and forth with others that use Pro Tools. However,
Pro Tools isn't ready to take over as your primary DAW, unless your needs
are narrow in scope. Avid has made amazing progress in a short amount of
time. Just a few months ago, Pro Tools was 100% inaccessible, being
completely invisible to VoiceOver. There are more plans working their way
down the pipe that will make Pro Tools even more accessible in future
versions. Fixing accessibility problems at the source is certainly the best
approach, and so I'm very glad that Avid is working this way to improve
accessibility. For the moment, though, I think that the only blind people
that will be using Pro Tools are either the curious, or people that need Pro
Tools, in what ever form that they can get it, for work or school.
GarageBand is also another DAW program on the Mac where we can expect
improved accessibility in just a few weeks. For those of you that don't
know, GarageBand is Apple's basic music production software targeted at home
users and others with light recording needs. It provides basic DAW
functions, a small set of software instruments and effects, and a library of
loops. In the sighted world, GarageBand has given many sighted people a
taste of recording and sequencing. It works very well with even the built-in
sound device on Macs, so people can run it without any additional hardware,
except, perhaps, a MIDI controller, though you can play the computer
keyboard like a MIDI controller.
Most all of GarageBand works well with VoiceOver at the moment, but blind
people can't use it as even a scratch pad DAW, due to one important
accessibility problem in the program that blocks access to the editing
features. Apple plans to fix this when the latest minor update to the Mac OS
comes out in the next few weeks.
I think that it is important for there to be a way that blind musicians can
preview computer-based recording before having to put down the big bucks.
It's true that, for some people with basic needs, a program like GarageBand
might be all that they need. For others, though, seeing this type of program
in action will get their mind going on the possibilities that can open up to
them if they're in full control of their recording process with a full
featured system.
GarageBand is strictly a taster. In terms of MIDI, you can't control any
external synths or modules, you can't remotely control any softsynth or
effect through your MIDI controller, control surfaces aren't supported, you
can use only one time signature, the maximum length of your songs are
limited, and others. Software instruments are included, but you can't really
edit them, except for absolute basic parameters like the envelope and
cut-off for a filter. There are some basic keyboard shortcut keys, but, on
the whole, you'll need to navigate around the screen a lot with VoiceOver to
access functions, meaning that you'll work much more slowly than in other
DAWs.
The main purpose of GarageBand is to give you a taste of Logic. Logic is the
big brother version of GarageBand, and is a full featured DAW. In fact, I
think that Logic might be the absolute best DAW on the market now for people
that are primarily concerned with sequencing.
Recently, an access solution for Logic, originally developed by the RNIB,
was released online. This system, which they call Logic Access, took a
similar approach with Logic that CakeTalking takes with Sonar, however only
more complex, since VoiceOver can't see many of the controls in Logic that
they were scripting for. Also, just like Sonar, each update of Logic would
slightly rearrange the user interface, which would break their scripts,
necessitating a rewrite. They realized that they'd bitten off more than they
could chew, and just released what they had. The version that is being
passed around now only works with Logic Studio (the most expensive version
of Logic). Further, they only work with Logic 8 (Logic 9 is the current
series). Finally, in order to run them, you need a Mac scripting/macro tool
called QuicKeys, and the scripts don't work with the current version. So, in
short, you must find a specific edition, of an old version of Logic, and run
the scripts with a version of a scripting package that isn't generally
available anymore. Because of the scripts dependence on absolute screen
positions, only Macs with monitors that support specific screen resolutions
are supported, namely the MacBooks. Desktop Macs, like the IMac, don't use
the same aspect ratio, and so won't work with the current scripts. The
scripts could be updated to work with the new QuicKeys and Logic, or to
support other screen layouts, but that would require a lot of work, and
there isn't financial support right now to make that happen.
However, Apple is planning to fix Logic accessibility from the inside, like
is being done with Pro Tools. When Logic is accessible, it will be a better
DAW option than Pro Tools, since it can work with any audio interface (even
the built-in Mac sound), has a set of software instruments and effects that
are superior to any other DAW that I've ever heard, and has excellent
keyboard and control surface support. There is no ETA on when Logic
accessibility fixes will be complete, though. The hope is that the work will
be wrapped up this year, but, even after the work is complete, most people
won't have access to that work until it is rolled in to a public release of
Logic. Apple has a specific update schedule with Logic, similar to
Cakewalk's plan of releasing one major version per year, and so it is
possible that most people won't see any improvement to Logic accessibility
for almost a year.
So, with-in a month or so, we will have access to GarageBand and Pro Tools
on the Mac. Those are quite nice options. To use them, though, you'll need a
Mac.
Apple has four lines of Mac: MacBook (laptop series), Mac Mini (small
desktop consumer series), IMac (all-in-one consumer series), and Mac Pro
(high-end professional workstation series). In terms of computing power, the
MacBooks, Mac Mini, and low-end IMacs are exactly the same: they, for the
most part, use laptop components, such as processors, memory, and hard
drives. So, while they're different physically, the performance is about the
same. Only the high-end IMacs and Mac Pro have significant processing power
of the type that would be desired for audio applications. The high-end IMac
uses an Intel I7 processor. The Mac Pro uses either 1 or 2 server-class
Intel Xeon processors.
GarageBand and Pro Tools will run on any Mac. However, that is like saying
that Sonar will run on a 1Ghz Pentium 3. A slower CPU and a 5400 RPM hard
drive means that you'll be able to run only a few instruments and effects in
a single project, and you won't be able to work with a large number of audio
tracks.
Since GarageBand is a limited DAW, anyway, if all you plan to do is to run
GarageBand, any modern Mac should perform fairly. A faster Mac will mean
shorter lags between switching presets on softsynths, and the ability to run
more synths and effects at once. Just as an indicator, on my MacBook Pro,
with 2.5Ghz proc, 8GB of memory, and single 5400 RPM hard drive, there is a
lag of almost a second when switching between instrument presets in
GarageBand. I haven't tried it on an entry level Mac Mini, but expect that
it would be much worse.
When it comes to Pro Tools, though, the choices are a bit more narrow than
with GB. Pro Tools comes in 3 major editions: HD, LE, and MPowered, all of
which will share the same accessibility.
HD is their top of the line edition. It uses external gear for mixing and
effects processing. It requires the use of an expansion card, and the only
Mac that accepts expansion cards is the Mac Pro. I don't think that many
people here will be using HD: the cost of the Mac, plus HD can easily top
$40,000.
Most people will only be able to afford either LE or MPowered. LE is
slightly more powerful than MPowered, but requires Digi/Avid audio
interfaces in order to operate. I don't suggest that blind people use LE
unless they can afford to have an entirely separate system for apps other
than Pro Tools. The Digi/Avid audio interfaces are notoriously incompatible
with other DAW software. In particular, they are profoundly incompatible
with Sonar. So, for the remainder of my remarks about Pro Tools, I'm
assuming that you'll be using MPowered.
Pro Tools MPowered works only with M-Audio interfaces. Of course, Avid, who
bought Digidesign, also bought M-Audio, so this isn't surprising. Still,
M-Audio interfaces work with far more operating systems and recording
software than the Digi/Avid interfaces.
For Pro Tools MPowered, a high-end MacBook or Mini (2.5Ghz or better dual
core processor, and 4GB of memory) would be the minimum that I suggest in
order to avoid frustratingly sluggish behavior. You'll need between $1,500
to $2,000 for Macs like this. It is possible to upgrade a Mac Mini to the
point where it can give this kind of performance, but, it isn't cost
effective. So, unless you must be mobile, an IMac is the better choice.
Even so, those systems will seem a little sluggish if you intend to work
with software instruments, though, so, if software instruments are in your
plan, you'll need to have a faster CPU and hard drive, and the next machine
on their roster that can give you that is the 27 inch IMac with a quad core
I7 processor, for about $2,700 fully equipped. The 27 inch IMac will
certainly make a great Pro Tools machine for someone using Pro Tools
MPowered or LE, but we're not yet certain that the IMac will be able to pull
double duty for your Windows software. All Macs can boot in to either the
Mac OS or Windows, so you can have, for example, both Pro Tools and Sonar
installed on a single machine. However, the latest IMacs haven't been using
the TI Firewire controller. I've heard bad reports from sighted people using
DAWs other than Sonar on the Windows side. Those people weren't using
M-Audio interfaces and Pro Tools, though, so that is, by no means, a
conclusive indicator that the IMac is out. The M-Audio Firewire audio
interfaces might work just fine in both OS X and Windows. Even if they
don't, then certainly the USB M-Audio interfaces will. Going USB, though,
will slightly impact your latency, and will also prevent you from using or
upgrading to the nicer control surfaces. With Pro Tools, at least, using a
control surface is almost required if you want to work with real speed.
The only Mac that is known for sure to run Pro Tools MPowered, with M-Audio
Firewire interfaces, as well as to work correctly with Sonar on Windows, is
the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro, unfortunately, is expensive. Single processor
systems with 3GB of memory start at under $3,000. They cost a lot, but are
very premium, in terms of their construction and the choice of components.
They are designed to operate as servers that are used 24X7, as well as
high-end multimedia workstations for music and video production and editing.
Beyond the computer, you need to purchase Pro Tools. If you go with
MPowered, then you can get the software for $250. You'll also need an
M-Audio interface, though even the $100 FastTrack USB qualifies. For better
results, though, you should consider a higher quality interface and control
surface. The only M-Audio combination unit is the ProjectMix I/O. With the
ProjectMix I/O, you have an audio interface and control surface that will
work in both Pro Tools and Sonar. The ProjectMix is available for around
$1,300.
So, assuming that you already own Windows, Jaws, Sonar, and CakeTalking, the
following is what you can expect to pay to get a Mac and the Mac side of the
software situation working for you.
The cheapest known way to get Pro Tools MPowered on a current Mac is:
Basic Mac Mini $600
Pro Tools MPowered $250
M-Audio FastTrack $100
For a total of $950.
I'm sure people on the lists will try this setup. This won't make you happy,
though. The processor is profoundly slow (remember that this 2Ghz CPU is a
mobile processor, a Core2 Duo), you only have 2GB of memory, and the
interface is only a single channel model. The Mini uses a laptop type hard
drive, which is slow, and which you can't expand beyond 500GB. You'll barely
be able to track/mix any audio and you're not going to be able to use
softsynths.
For someone on a budget, that wants both audio and software instrument
capability, I wouldn't suggest any less than:
21.5 inch IMac $1,199
Upgrade the processor to 3.3Ghz dual core $200
Pro Tools MPowered $250
M-Audio FastTrack Pro interface $199
For a total of $1,888
You can use audio and synths with this setup without wanting to pull out
your hair, plus you have a much more capable interface for home recording
(two combo jacks, phantom power for mics, MIDI I/O). You might way to pay a
little extra to upgrade the hard drive, but, even if you don't, at least the
IMac uses a real 7200 RPM desktop hard drive, instead of the laptop drive in
the Mini. You still can't run many softsynths, and you don't have a control
surface, though, but you can accomplish a lot from the keyboard, if you're
patient, and you have the power to make most reasonably sized projects
happen.
Assuming the ProjectMix works on the 27 inch IMac, which I haven't tested
yet, the following is probably the best value for your money, in terms of
what you'll get.
27 inch IMac with I5 processor $1,999
Upgrade to 2.8Ghz I7 processor $200
Upgrade memory to 8GB $200
Upgrade hard drive to 2TB $250 (you can't upgrade this later on your own, so
get it now)
Pro Tools MPowered $250
ProjectMix I/O for $1,249
For a total of $4,148.
This is probably the best value. You have lots of power for effects and
synths (quad core I7 includes 4 physical CPU cores and 8 virtual cores),
plus a good interface and control surface. However, you're stuck with the
single internal hard drive, which will affect how many audio tracks you can
use. It is possible to connect an external Firewire hard drive to act as
your audio drive, but, since the ProjectMix is already using the Firewire
port, that isn't an option. You could substitute the FastTrack Ultra 8R,
which will run on the USB port, freeing up your Firewire port for a hard
drive. Buying the FastTrack instead of the ProjectMix will save you about
$700, but you'll need to buy a Firewire hard drive, eating a chunk of those
savings away, and, in the end, you won't have a control surface. Of course,
there are ways to get a control surface with good Pro Tools compatibility
that will connect through a USB or MIDI port, but those will cost a lot. By
the time you go that route, you'll have spent over $5,000, and you might as
well step up to a Mac Pro, where such workarounds aren't necessary. So, for
most people, they'll just need to live with the fact that they'll be using a
single hard drive, or, if it is really that important to them, upgrade to a
Mac Pro.
For someone that is serious about running Pro Tools, you need a Mac Pro. The
speed increase, even on the single processor model, is significant over an
IMac. You can use multiple hard drives, and 4 of your drives are mounted in
cartridges that you can easily swap in and out to boot different operating
systems or to give hard drives to clients as required. Mac Pros use TI
Firewire controllers. Mac Pros are extremely quiet. With a Mac Pro, you also
have the option of upgrading to Pro Tools HD later on.
Here is the budget configuration that I'd suggest.
Single processor Mac Pro $2,499
Upgrade to 2.93Ghz Xeon processor $400
Upgrade to 8GB of memory $250
Add $400 to upgrade to a pair of 1TB hard drives
Pro Tools MPowered $250
ProjectMix I/O for $1,249
For a total of $5,048.
That is the first configuration that you can buy that doesn't require any
compromises. Since it is a Mac Pro, you have lots of room to expand: add
lots of hard drives, expand the memory up to 16GB, expansion cards can be
used, Pro Tools HD is an option.
Of course, there is lots of room to go up from there. A dual processor model
like mine, with 12GB memory, a set of hard drives, ProjectMix and software
costs over $8,500. What a monster, though.
It's also important to remember that, while buying one of these can be
expensive, they will serve as a DAW for both Mac and Windows DAW software. I
am very impressed with Pro Tools. I'm anxiously awaiting Logic. GarageBand
won't be the ultimate DAW, but I look forward to having fun with it, also.
The thing is, Sonar will continue to be extremely relevant for quite some
time to come. While it is good that we're starting to have other options,
Sonar is still the one place where you can do it all, with lots of docs to
help you out. Also, if you want assistance, from either a tutor or just
friends online, there are far more people using Sonar, and so more of them
to help you out. A Mac is the only way to have it all, though.
Just in case people haven't heard, Dancing Dots can sell the full line of
Macs. Just like with the Windows DAWs, DD can preload and preconfigure
everything. So, you can get a Mac, with both Sonar/CakeTalking and Pro
Tools, all setup for you, and have the best of both worlds. As always, DD
can assist you with getting financial support from blindness agencies. It
isn't difficult to justify the industry standard DAW. And, as always, you
get support for your computer and software directly from blind musicians at
DD that use this stuff, rather than people in a call center that have never
heard of a screen reader.
Bryan
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