Many people find getting to grips with Pro Tools a bit daunting and so we thought it would be useful to have a series on starting out with Pro Tools, taking you through choosing your Pro Tools system, setting it up, creating your first session, some tips & tricks to help along the way and finally some basic troubleshooting advice. But first, let's take a look at specifying your Pro Tools system as time spent at this stage will save you grief and problems later.

Choosing An Interface

A Pro Tools system consists of three main components: the Pro Tools software, a Mac or PC computer, and additional hardware that handles audio and possibly MIDI inputs and outputs.

Depending on your Pro Tools software you have a number of options. If you want to use Pro Tools Standard, or Pro Tools HD Standalone software, then you can use any interface that supports Core Audio on Mac or ASIO on Windows or an interface that has specific drivers for Pro Tools. If you want to use Pro Tools HD Native or Pro Tools HDX hardware then you will need to use an interface that has a DigiLink connection on it to connect to the Pro Tools HD Native or HDX cards, or via the Pro Tools HD Native Thunderbolt box.

Because not all interfaces play nicely with Pro Tools Standard, we have a database of interfaces that we have tested with Pro Tools over the years, or you can check our article Pro Tools Audio Interfaces - 10 You Should Check Out.  You can also check out the Avid Knowledge Base Pro Tools 12 Approved Audio Interfaces and Peripherals article which lists the Avid approved interfaces for use with Pro Tools.

Choosing The Software

In the main with Pro Tools it is a choice between Pro Tools Standard and Pro Tools HD, but for some, the free version of Pro Tools, Pro Tools First will be appropriate.

Pro Tools HD

Pro Tools HD software comes bundled with Pro Tools HDX and Pro Tools HD Native systems and can be used with or without hardware. Since Pro Tools 12.6 the software is also available without Pro Tools HD hardware as Pro Tools HD Standalone software.

You will need Pro Tools HD software if you are working in any surround or immersive audio formats like Ambisonics, 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos. Together with Pro Tools HDX hardware, you have zero-latency recording, whereas HD Native hardware gives near zero-latency recording.

The good news is that most of the other HD only features in earlier versions of Pro Tools like Input only monitoring, disk cache and VCA groups are now available in Pro Tools Standard.

The price for Pro Tools HD standalone is $2,499 for a perpetual license or to rent for $999 per year. More details about pricing comparisons are available in our Pro Tools FAQs - How Much Does It Cost To Buy Pro Tools?

For information on whether it is better to rent or buy a perpetual license is available in our article Buying Pro Tools? Which Is Better, Perpetual License Or Rental Subscription.

Pro Tools Standard

Pro Tools Standard can be purchased alone or as part of a Pro Tools software/hardware bundle and can be used with or without hardware. You can only have mono or stereo tracks with Pro Tools Standard. If you need more then you will need to get Pro Tools HD standalone software.

The maximum number of simultaneous inputs and outputs you can have with Pro Tools Standard is 32. This isn't a track limit, you can have lots more tracks, it's an I/O limit. Even if your interface supports more than 32 channels of I/O, Pro Tools will not be able to access more than 32 at the same time. If you need more than 32 channels of I/O at the same time you will need to go for a Pro Tools HD Native or Pro Tools HDX system. For more details check out our Pro Tools FAQs - Ways To Get More Than 32 Channels Of I/O.

The price for Pro Tools Standard is $599 for a perpetual license or to rent for $24.92 per month on an annual contract. More details about pricing comparisons are available in our Pro Tools FAQs - How Much Does It Cost To Buy Pro Tools?

For information on whether it is better to rent or buy a perpetual license is available in our article Buying Pro Tools? Which Is Better, Perpetual License Or Rental Subscription.

Pro Tools First

Pro Tools First is a limited version of Pro Tools which is free but restricted to 3 sessions stored in the cloud and with a track count limit. Until recently, it was not possible to open Pro Tools sessions in Pro Tools First or vice versa. However with the latest version of Pro Tools First it is possible for any Pro Tools First user to be able to collaborate with any Pro Tools Standard or Pro Tools HD user.

Pro Tools First also now has a number of features that were only available in Pro Tools Standard and Pro Tools HD including Track Freeze, Layered Editing and Track Presets. In addition, there is a $4.99 per month plan which enables Pro Tools First users to be able to save sessions locally on their own computer, rather than only to the cloud.

If as a Pro Tools First user, you want to start your own collaboration project, rather than just collaborate with other Pro Tools users, you can upgrade to an Avid Cloud plan for $4.99 per month and then you will be able to invite other Pro Tools First, Pro Tools Standard, or Pro Tools HD users to collaborate with you. 

Coming Up In Part 2 Of Getting To Grips With Pro Tools

In the next part, we will take a look at choosing a Pro Tools computer and suitable hard drives.