Avid Studio Music Creation Systems with ProTools SE Review

Videomaker by Douglas Dixon

Pro Tools is a big name in Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, for professional film scoring and composition, and sound production for film, TV, video, and broadcast.

Formerly developed by Digidesign, and now part of Avid, Pro Tools is available in a variety of versions with integrated audio interface hardware - from Pro Tools HD with dedicated DSP accelerators and professional control surface consoles, to Pro Tools LE with Mbox personal recording studio interfaces, to Pro Tools M-Powered with M-Audio MIDI, keyboard, and guitar interfaces.

Avid has now brought Pro Tools to first-time Pro Tools users and music creators interested in musical composition, editing and production. These three Avid Studio systems provide what you need to create and record music at home, with new Pro Tools SE software and bundled M-Audio hardware.

Music Creation Systems

The three Avid new music creation systems are Vocal Studio with USB microphone for $99, KeyStudio with keyboard for $129, and Recording Studio with a USB interface box for $129 - all for Windows or Mac.

That's a much more accessible starting point, for example, than the new full Pro Tools HD Native starting at $3,495.

• Avid Vocal Studio includes the M-Audio Producer USB microphone and stand to capture vocals for songs, soundtracks, podcasts, or voice-overs. The mic includes a headphone connection for monitoring the input sound and the output from Pro Tools.
• Avid KeyStudio includes the M-Audio KeyStudio 49-key, velocity-sensitive, synth-action keyboard, to play music with the included library of virtual instruments, from piano, organ, and synth, to guitars, bass, strings, and percussion.
• Avid Recording Studio includes the M-Audio Fast Track USB interface box, with XLR input for microphone and vocals and a 1/4 inch input jack for electric guitar, bass, and other instruments. These systems are designed for music creation and expression - for creative hobbyists with an interest in musical composition, editing, and production. You choose the appropriate interface to record your instrument (vocal, keyboard, guitar), and then can leverage the power of the Pro Tools interface to edit and mix, compose and instrument your compositions.

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