Pro Tools 10: More Post-Production Friendly

When Pro Tools 9 was announced, the big news was that the world’s most popular audio-production software was no longer dependent on proprietary hardware, and would now work with just about any computer audio interface. This week, its successor, Pro Tools 10 was announced, and while its new features aren’t as game changing as the last iteration, there are some sweet new tools that will improve the lives of those who mix sound to picture.

While Pro Tools 10 remains an open platform that will work with any audio interface, the new feature that will appeal to audio-post professionals is called Clip Gain. In Pro Tools 10, “audio regions” are now called “clips.” Think of Clip Gain as a visual way to balance the volume of separate audio clips. Unlike volume automation, which requires you to draw automation curves over static waveforms, Clip Gain enables you to quickly shrink or enlarge the waveform itself. Imagine a large project with lots of short clips, each with different-sized waveforms. Clip Gain will enable you to quickly adjust and match the size of each waveform. It works in conjunction with automation to greatly speed up your workflow.

There are other new features that will make life easier in Pro Tools 10. You can now use multiple audio file formats with different bit depths in the same project. The program now has a 32-bit floating point, which improves its overall resolution and gives you additional headroom. Pro Tools 10 has been given a speed boost. Opening projects and carrying out tasks will zip along much more quickly than before. You get a new toy, too. The high-end Avid Channel Strip plug-in is now included (in the new “AAX” plug-in format, no less). The same EQ, compressors, filters and gain effects of the super-fancy System 5 console are now in your hands.