For more than the last two decades, Pro Tools has been a driving force in audio production software and digital audio workstations. Not content to rest on its laurels while new comers like Ableton and Reason gained traction and early competitors like FruityLoops evolved and expanded, Pro Tools has finally come full circle back to hardware with its specially-designed Pro Tools M-Powered edition, which brings Pro Tools LE functionality to the popular M-Audio devices.
There is obviously a very specific appeal for the Pro Tools M-Powered edition of the regular Pro Tools LE; i.e. M-Audio hardware users. Owning M-Audio USB, Firewire and PCI interfaces would likely mean that either a.) you have an enviable disposable income, or, more likely, b.) you have some experience behind the boards--likely M-Audio boards. So, why else might anyone else want Pro Tools M-Powered? Good question.
And the answer...
It's the same as Pro Tools LE; the interface, features and tools, that is. It simply has a very unique input/output architecture that is designed with M-Audio instruments and controllers in mind. The said instruments and controllers are among the better available, so Pro Tools isn't exactly marrying down. In fact,
Who Uses It?
M-Powered is very wise to have a producer/artist section. Ableton has become the gold standard in this regard, giving its potential and existing users program and production insight from the producers and artists that use them, many of which are very, very popular. M-Powered, too, does this to good effect. There aren't as many artist or producer interviews to lend the same amount of insight into Pro Tools M-Powered as Ableton Live. Still, the artist and producer list, and some of the accompanying interviews, are still pretty impressive. Some of the more well-known artists and producers include:
- BT
- Black Eyed Peas
- Coldcut
- Depeche Mode
- Dntel
- Groove Armada
- Junkie XL
- Rilo Kiley
- The Crystal Method
Among many, many others...
Standout Features
- Elastic Time and Elastic Pitch
- Loop-generator toolset
Many a paragraph could be spent describing all production and editing features available in Pro Tools M-Powered. So, to make things easier, we'll focus on the standout features that generally make or break the deal.
Loop 'd' Loop
Loops are the brick and mortar of modern audio production. Unfortunately, not all loop-generators are created equally. Some work well until a tempo or time change, where, gulp, they more or less sink the song. Others can only be implemented in static environments, meaning real-time experimentation or implementation are outright impossible. With Pro Tools M-Powered, neither of these issues is a problem.
The music production software program comes with several looping tools to extract loops and set them back again. The "Loop Trim" tool does a sporting job of looping hardware and MIDI controller loops without the latency and related issues that can arise in other programs. And, with the DigiBase Loop Preview window, producers can preview loops in sync, in real-time, before actually laying them on the ongoing track, freeing up producers to find what works before breaking what already does.
Minute by Minute
The beloved Elastic Time and more-recent Elastic Pitch will save a producer or artist more time than almost any other tool or feature, not to mention expand their creative potential. Elastic Time lets producers apply plugins, loops, effects or entire audio regions in semitones without offsetting or affecting the timing and tempo. This can be used to make adjustments and changes to recorded tracks, vocal or otherwise. For mixing, this means producers can lay a loop without antagonizing the time and tempo of the parent track. Elastic Time is perfect for experimenters and by-the-book producers alike. And, in either case, it is indispensable as compositional and creation tool.
Elastic Pitch, on the other hand, is more or less the same as Elastic Time but for, well, pitch. Producers can modify, improve or correct the pitch of a track or specific area. Clean up vocals. Shift pitch to expand or compress time, which, by the way, is an excellent way to generate odd sound effects. Elastic Pitch can be used to adjust pitch up to four octaves in either direction without bungling the timing or tempo. In the editing process, Elastic Pitch, too, is nearly indispensable.
As mentioned previously, Pro Tools M-Powered is designed specifically to support M-Audio hardware, specifically USB, Firewire and PCI interfaces. This covers M-Audio's entire range of hardware controllers, MIDI devices and other interfaces, both low-end and high-end.
As for audio file format support, Pro Tools M-Powered is compatible with the standards like MP3, WMA, AIFF, OGG Vorbis and FLAC, as well as not-so-standards like AAF, OMF and MXF--which often keep far more of the track in tact than "lossy" audio file formats.
Like input, Pro Tools M-Powered can export to a wide variety of audio file and delivery formats, both "lossless" and "lossy." Want to preserve every last detail piped in from every channel? Go with AAF, OMF or MXF. Want to save some space or compress to a more share-friendly size? Publish to MP3 or CD. With Pro Tools M-Powered, producers have a healthy amount of options for getting their music out there, in one form or another.
Pro Tools M-Powered isn't exactly a walk in the park. Then again, it's not Dante's Inferno, either. It's clean, well-organized interface reduces a mountainous learning curve to a scalable hill. And its workflow, audio input/output setup and other organizational elements are customizable, well-designed and, more importantly, easy to make use of. Advanced tools and features, as is the case with most music production software programs, can take some trial and error before you get the hang of it. But really, much of the fun of these programs lies in experimentation, trial and, in many cases, error. You probably won't become the GZA overnight (who, by the way, actually paid homage to Pro Tools by naming an album after it), but, you never know...
Listed telephone numbers are typically a good way to lose several hours of precious mortality being patched along different branches of a phone tree. Fortunately--and refreshingly--Pro Tools is very, very different. It has helped countless Pro Tools, Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered users troubleshoot problems, learn basic--and complex--features and functions and even give step-by-step instructions to new (or just confounded) users.
Oh, and to say nothing of Pro Tools M-Powered's support resources would be patently unfair. In addition to the well-equipped built-in user resources, Pro Tools and M-Audio provide a knowledgebase, PDF manuals, drivers and updates, as well as contact information for additional technical assistance via telephone or email. The M-Powered community also features a broad array of tutorials, videos, podcasts, forums for exchanging tips and tricks or just sussing out the ins and outs of music production. In fact, Pro Tools' community is one of the more active, lively and engaged among audio production software and digital audio workstation manufacturers.
Pro Tools M-Powered is the perfect marriage for hardware and MIDI controller-intensive PC-based producers. It combines the strength of Pro Tools tried, true and widely-used audio production capabilities with specially-designed compatibility with M-Audio hardware. It's still not as flexible as Ableton Live, nor as creation and composition-oriented as Reason or KORE, but it does still make a strong argument for itself.
