If you travel with your iLok, I highly recommend enrolling in iLok’s zero downtime (ZDT) insurance program as well as purchasing a backup iLok USB Key ($39.20).
If it is unplugged during use, Pro Tools will lock you out until it is plugged back in. In order to prevent piracy, you must have your specific iLok plugged into your computer in order to run Pro Tools. If you are new to the world of Pro Tools, the iLok will quickly become your best and worst friend. This purchase includes the software, activation code, as well as your iLok USB key.
The simplest way to buy Pro Tools is to purchase a Pro Tools 12 Perpetual License ($599). Right now, at the beginning of 2016, we will be focusing on the most current version: Pro Tools 12.
You know how to drive, but it might take some time to get used to the new stereo or how to open the trunk. It is a similar change to driving a new car for the first time. Don’t worry though, the large-scale functionality is the same and you can adjust quickly to the changes. The updates have new features, faster computing, user-interface changes, and other enhancements. This article will help you take that first leap into Pro Tools by discussing purchasing options, what gear you need, as well as tips and tricks.Įvery year or so Pro Tools releases a new updated version.
Like any other professional creative software, it can be intimidating to jump in. Developed by Avid, Pro Tools provides one of the best interfaces for multi-track recording, editing, and production. While there are currently countless DAW options on the market, one name has always been at the top of the game: Pro Tools. Now, DAW’s, plug-ins, and virtual instruments allow musicians to produce chart-topping hits with nothing more than their laptop.
As digital technology progressed so did the power of the DAW. DAW’s are nothing new and for the younger generation of recording engineers, they never knew a world without them.
DAW software provided an interface for engineers to record, edit, and produce audio files within a computer. Computers provided the platform to consolidate this process. Before the rise of home computers, recording studios required walls of equipment, tape recording machines, and a crew to operate the system. In my choice of Antivirus application “Microsoft Security Essentials” there is a section where you can exclude certain file types or folders from virus scans.Digital audio workstations (DAW’s) forever changed the world of recorded music. Obviously this will leave those particular folders unprotected but its a risk I am certainly willing to take in the name of performance. The reason some people experience slow starts from Pro Tools is that the Antivirus scans all files being executed or scanned by the OS in case they may pose a threat,Įverytime Pro Tools starts, It scans your plugin folders to check that nothing has changed and no additional plugins have been installed.Īs long as all of your plugins are from a genuine source there is less of a reason to believe they will cause your system any harm and contain any malicious material such as a virus and should be safe to exclude from the Virus scan. If you answered Yes to both of these questions, something that may help you speed up the launch of Pro Tools is to exclude your plugin folders from your Antivirus application. Does your Pro Tools System take rather a long time to scan through your plugins upon launch?ĭo you have an Antivirus application installed on your system?