Mike, James and Peter chat through issues from the week's news as well as the usual tips, tricks and questions answered.

New Podcast Sponsor - zplane

We have new podcast sponsors and it’s going to be a different brand each month. So to kick us off, thanks to zplane who are supporting the podcast this month.

This week we want to highlight their amazing PPMulator which in the early days was simply a plugin replacement for the BBC PPM meter used a lot here in the UK and Europe as well. But now PPMulator covers a range of different meter standards as well as Loudness metering and the PPM emulations and is a cost effective solution for a wide range of users. You can check out Mike's review on the PPMulator XL.

Source Connect Now

As you may know we are spread out around the UK & Europe when we record the podcast. In the past we have used a variety of internet based solutions so we could hear each other.  We have settled on Source Connect Now which gives us ISDN equivalent quality audio using a Chrome browser, no software to install. You can get a free account from Source Elements.

Competitions

Win a seat on the PureMix Pro Tools Advanced Editing course starting on March 20th. Until March 18th pureMix are offering the chance to win a seat on their upcoming online Pro Tools Advanced Editing Course. This course will run over 4 weeks and is designed for intermediate to advanced Pro Tools users. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the entire Pro Tools editing environment and features such as Strip Silence, Playlist Comping, Beat Detective, Elastic Audio, Groove Templates and more. But don’t delay as this competition finishes on March 18th

Win 1 of 5 Copies Of Regroover Essential By Accusonus - Enter and be in with a chance of winning one of five copies of Regroover Essential by Accusonus - worth $99  

Win All the SoundBits Sound Effects Libraries - We are offering the chance for one lucky person to win all the SoundBits sound effects libraries. 3 more lucky people will win 5 SoundBits libraries of your choice, as runners up prizes.

Deals

• Save Up To 25% On Leapwing CenterOne And DynOne Plugins - Buy one of these plugins and you can save an exclusive 20% off and get them for £119.Or buy them both together for £222 and save 25%.  
• New Deals from our Partners section on this page

This Week’s Featured Pro Tools Expert Interview

In this week’s featured interview James Ivey talks to community member Tom Lowe about the new Sennheiser Ambeo VR Microphone.

Talking Points Kindly Sponsored By Universal Audio

Until March 31st 2017 you can save up to $500 on UAD-2 DSP accelerators, buy a UAD-2 OCTO Satellite Thunderbolt, USB, or PCIe card save $500, or buy a UAD-2 QUAD Satellite Thunderbolt, USB, or PCIe card save $300. 

• Over 50% Of Mac Pro Tools Users Polled Say They Are Ditching Their Apple

Community Feedback Kindly Sponsored by RSPE Audio Solutions

RSPE has an ever-growing selection of analog and digital synthesizers, both new and vintage. If you’re looking for the newest synth on the market or an obscure vintage piece, then perhaps contact our friends at RSPE...

• Knut Breistein has been in touch to highlight the irony, in his eyes, that you have to subscribe to our premium content to watch a tutorial about a free feature in Pro Tools.
• Marco Niccolai has let us know that he finds the text on the blog too light.  Thanks for your feedback, we continue to improve the look and usability of the site.
• Dustin Patterson has come back to us to let us know that he has got to the bottom of Pro Tools hard crashing on him. His problem was that Winthrust doesn’t play nicely with Pro Tools.
• Scott Vanderbilt would like to thank us for adding a Podcast menu item to the site navigation. Since that we have also changed the menu structure will be doing more to help you find content on the site.

Questions From The Community

• Harry Brown asks if Pro Tools is still accessible to blind users and can someone just use a microphone to control Pro Tools?
• Check out our article Flo Tools 1.0 Released For Pro Tools Users With Visual Impairments and our interview with Blind Pro Tools User Slau Halatyn.
• Bing Shi from China is having problems with Trim automation with Pro Tools HD as it doesn’t update until he stops and presses Play again.
• Markus is interested in our views on the Orion 32HD and the Apollo 16 and would like an interface with MADI to link to his DigiGrid system.
• We how have 3 iLok related questions…
  • Ben Lowe has been given a Pro Tools 8 PCI-x system but Pro Tools won’t open as he doesn’t have an iLok.
  • Marcos César has bought a MacBook Pro and would like to run Pro Tools on both his new MBP and his existing Mac Mini with his iLok.
  • Johnnie Harris would like to know if there are any updates offering Guidance On Buying And Selling Licenses On iLoks.

Find Of The Week

• Mike - Following on from my review of the 2 backlit Pro Tools keyboards I have come to realise the importance of a good keyboard and the small differences between them and how it affects the way we work.
• James - New Workstation Pros spec’ed HP Z840 PC running Windows 10. 
• Peter - Exponential Audio R4 - possible ‘outboard killer’ -  We all love a good reverb but some just ooze quality and character more than others - The closest I’ve ever heard to classic outboard character reverb in a plugin and about 10% of the price.

Listen on to the Pro Tools Expert Podcast on iTunes