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Pro Tools

Pro Tools

Overview

What is Pro Tools?

Avid offers Pro Tools, the company's flagship music and audio editing and recording suite.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Pro Tools is a highly regarded Digital Audio Workstation, widely used in the film and television industry for audio production, mixing, …
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Pricing

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Pro Tools

$29.99

On Premise
Per User / Per Month

Pro Tools - Ultimate

$79.99

On Premise
Per User / Per Month

Pro Tools - First

Free

On Premise

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Details

What is Pro Tools?

Pro Tools Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Avid offers Pro Tools, the company's flagship music and audio editing and recording suite.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of Pro Tools are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(38)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Pro Tools is a highly regarded Digital Audio Workstation, widely used in the film and television industry for audio production, mixing, recording, and mastering. The ability to transfer files seamlessly within the Pro Tools system is crucial for maintaining workflow efficiency. Users appreciate that Pro Tools allows them to create their own music, which is particularly important when copyrighted material cannot be used. It is the preferred choice at The Production Studios of Sandbox Music Group for daily audio recording, mixing, and mastering. Additionally, it is widely employed for producing programming at WDNF-Philly.com, an internet radio station focused on independent artists. Pro Tools is also highly regarded for archiving vinyl LPs, working with analog consoles, and producing post-punk bands. While not specifically tailored for beat production, it is considered the industry standard for audio production due to its versatility and functionality. Proficiency with Pro Tools is highly valued as it allows users to easily transition to working with analog consoles. The stability of the software is crucial and any perceived instability can often be attributed to inadequate hardware or operating system compatibility issues. In addition to its extensive use in professional music studios for recording and arranging music, Pro Tools is also commonly utilized in various fields such as podcast production, marketing, instructional videos, and arts organizations. It excels in editing and recording multiple audio tracks as well as cleaning up different voices or sounds for a higher quality end product. Pro Tools streamlines the audio production workflow effectively, making it an indispensable tool in these industries.

Wide range of options: Many users have praised Avid Pro Tools for its wide range of options for recording, mixing, and transferring audio. This versatility makes it a highly flexible program that can meet the diverse needs of different users.

Highly customizable nature: The highly customizable nature of Avid Pro Tools has been commended by reviewers. Users appreciate being able to customize the performance, function, and appearance of the application to suit their specific needs and preferences.

Compatibility with various audio formats: Avid Pro Tools has received positive feedback for its compatibility with various audio formats. This feature makes it easy for users to integrate audio of different formats and sample rates into their projects. Additionally, exporting audio files is also effortless with this software.

Tedious Setup Process: Several users have found the setup process for MIDI production in Pro Tools to be tedious and time-consuming. They feel that it acts as a barrier to entry, making it difficult for new users to get started with the software.

Clunky Virtual Instrument Interfaces: Many reviewers have expressed frustration with the virtual instrument interfaces in Pro Tools, describing them as clunky and non-intuitive. Users find it challenging to navigate and work with these interfaces effectively.

Lack of Features for Loop-based Music Production: Some users have pointed out that Pro Tools lacks features specifically aimed at loop-based music production, such as those commonly used in electronic music and hip-hop genres. This limitation restricts their ability to create music in these styles efficiently.

Reviewers of Pro Tools have provided several recommendations based on their experiences with the software. The three most common recommendations are as follows:

  1. Try before you buy: Users suggest evaluating the free version of Pro Tools, known as Pro Tools First, before making a purchase. They recommend visiting the AVID website to access this version and also advise trying out other digital audio workstations (DAWs) to compare features and functionality. This allows potential buyers to assess whether Pro Tools meets their specific needs and preferences.

  2. Invest in learning resources: While acknowledging that Pro Tools can be challenging to learn, reviewers emphasize that it is worth the effort. They recommend having a guide or book to help navigate through the software's extensive features and options. Additionally, users highlight the importance of gaining hands-on experience with Pro Tools to become proficient in its usage.

  3. Consider cost and long-term investment: Reviewers acknowledge that Pro Tools is widely recognized as an industry standard for audio production. However, they advise potential buyers to consider the cost of purchasing and maintaining Pro Tools, particularly due to its annual subscription and new pricing structure. Nevertheless, users believe that Pro Tools offers exceptional functionality and editing capabilities, resulting in high-quality recordings. They believe that the investment is worthwhile, especially for individuals looking to learn proper mixing and recording techniques.

In summary, reviewers recommend trying out Pro Tools First before committing to a purchase, investing in learning resources, and carefully considering the cost and long-term value of Pro Tools. These recommendations emphasize the software's industry recognition, challenging learning curve, and its suitability for various audio production tasks.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-7 of 7)
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Jim Lopardo | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Avid Pro Tools is the only DAW I use. I use it daily for audio recording, mixing, and mastering at The Production Studios of Sandbox Music Group. I also use it to produce programming for WDNF-Philly.com, an internet radio station focused on local, regional, national, and global indie artists in that order. Whether archiving vinyl LPs for posterity or broadcast on VINYLLY!!!, or producing a post-punk band, Avid Pro Tools is the only choice. While it may not be as suited for beat production as say, Reaper, Avid Pro Tools is the industry standard for audio production, and rightly so. Proficiency with Pro Tools almost assures you can step up to any analog console and in short order know where to begin. Stability is crucial. Much of the criticism of Pro Tools encountered online centers on perceived instability, but in most cases, any instability originates in inadequate system hardware, or OS-triggered issues when users upgrade their OS before AVID certified compatibility.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We primarily use this for podcast production, as well as other occasional or supplemental audio production needs for work with local arts organizations or marketing projects. This is a relatively narrow use case; it primarily serves folks involved with marketing, although it of course serves to benefit to organization as a whole. The software is highly effective at streamlining the audio production workflow.
Rob Gokee | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
As a film & television composer, the first DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) I ever used was Pro Tools. It's the industry standard when it comes to audio production, mixing, recording and mastering. Being able to transfer files to other people within the system is vital to keeping the workflow moving, and Pro Tools is cutting edge software in terms of production.
Jonah Dempcy | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Pro Tools for audio recording and music production, specifically for music beds, interstitials, introduction music and music cues, or incidental music. The music might be for product demos and presentations, or instructional videos. We also include music in rich media EPUB3 ebooks as a way of demonstrating audio capabilities of the format.

Additionally, I have used Pro Tools extensively at various music studios over the years, when acting in my role as producer or as assistant engineer on various projects. Pro Tools is an industry standard for recording and arranging music, and it is rare to find a professional music studio that does is not using Pro Tools.
September 16, 2019

Pros and Cons of Pro Tools

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We create tutorial videos that often need vocal overdubs. I have used Pro Tools for my audio projects even before it became useful to our company, and I find it is easier and faster to use it for audio than to work inside IMovie. It is easy to show others how to use it, and has all the functionality lacking in many of the video programs available.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Avid Pro Tools to make music for tutorial videos. Our customers like that we make our own music. We are unable to use popular music because this sometimes results in the videos being taken down - so using our own music solves this problem.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Avid Pro Tools is being used by our organization as a primary tool to record and edit multiple audio tracks underneath the video, as well as edit and record podcasts and audio webinars. It allows us to be able to isolate different voices or sounds and clean them up using the appropriate sends/inserts to present a higher quality product to our clients.
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