Avid have released a tease video showing a preview of new features they will be showing at NAMM 2024. Here’s a breakdown of what Avid are previewing this year.
For several years Avid have used the NAMM show as an opportunity to offer a ‘Tech Preview’ of new features potentially coming to Pro Tools. These previews are different from product announcements as Avid are clear that there is no specific timescale attached to these and they might not even come to Pro Tools at all. It’s just a look behind the curtain at what they are working on. It’s fair enough to assume that these features will come to Pro Tools, just don’t be upset if a feature with has been previewed isn’t in the next release. With that said. Avid have released a tease video which contains a wealth of new features:
Pro Tools MIDI Effect Support
This is something which has been on lots of people’s wish list for a long time. The ability to apply effects to MIDI rather than on the audio output of instruments opens up lots of new possibilities.
Pro Tools will showcase new MIDI effect plugin support and MIDI signal flow improvements, while the open AAX SDK will allow partners to develop new MIDI effect plugins. Also being demonstrated are the new Avid Note Stack, Velocity Control, and Pitch Control, as well as Audiomodern Riffer 3, Modalics EON-Arp, and Pitch Innovations Groove Shaper MIDI effects plugins.
The closest we have had to anything like this in Pro Tools is the MIDI Real Time Properties, which achieve their results in the same way, in real time, but are more utilitarian in nature than these new MIDI effects.
New ARA 2 Integrations
With the release of Pro Tools 2022.9 we finally got access to ARA 2 in Pro Tools. However integration has to happen on a per-title basis and new integrations were anticipated. Three new titles are being previewed:
ARA 2 Support For RX Spectral Editor
ARA 2 Support For Synchro Arts RePitch
ARA 2 Support For Sound Radix Auto Align 2
RX has been top of the list for many people working in post production. At the time I commented that I was looking forward to an integration of Synchro Arts RePitch. I prefer the results using RePitch over Melodyne but the ARA workflow is so compelling that I went to Melodyne just for that reason. Sound Radix’s Auto Align 2 is already a breeze to set up compared to the original version but ARA will make it even more convenient.
Custom Dolby Atmos Live Re-renders
We have no details on this at this time but the integrated Pro Tools Dolby Atmos renderer had fixed live re-renders available. A 5.1 re-render for loudness measurement and a re-render for binaural headphones are available in that release but this reference in the tease suggests that custom re-renders will be possible.
Detachable Tabs For ARA and Clip Effects
The bottom of the Edit Page has got busier since ARA integration. Where previously there was a docked MIDI Editor, which has a floating counterpart, tabs for docked Clip Effects (moved from the top of the page) and ARA editing have moved there. The ability to detach these tabs makes things more flexible.
Sibelius/Pro Tools Interoperability
For the first time publicly, Pro Tools and Sibelius will preview interoperability. Designed to save significant time for composers and producers alike, users will be able to copy music in Sibelius, paste it into Pro Tools, add MIDI automation and MIDI effects, then copy back to Sibelius for further orchestrating.
Sibelius will preview its open beta for Android and Chromebook functionality. Following scalable licensing options for education, Sibelius is continuing its focus on providing educators with the tools they need to be successful in the classroom and prepare students for a future in music.
Updates to Cloud Publishing and Cloud Sharing will also be previewed, including a redesigned experience for navigating and transposing scores across any device.
Pro Tools Sketch Updates
The tease also mentions updates to Pro Tools Sketch, we have no further information at present but we’ll update when we know more. Hopefully we’ll see those new MIDI effects in Sketch and maybe even GrooveCell integration.