Pro Tools is the world’s most used professional audio production software, offering tightly integrated software, hardware and control surfaces, to meet the demands of any size facility or individual user. In the past, major Pro Tools updates were an industry-impacting event that would normally generate a wave of investments as the updates would normally be enhanced with new hardware investments, motivating dealers and distributors. Now available as a subscription, Pro Tools software updates emerge discreetly, mainly promoted to existing users and are sadly unnoticed by many new potential users.
In the Avid announcement, the new Pro Tools 2023.3 release is promoted for the fact that it introduces the Pro Tools PlayCell sample player, new GrooveCell and SynthCell presets, and the brand-new Pro Tools Sonic Drop program, providing "a monthly drop of inspiring new sounds, loops, and instrument presets." For all those producers and musicians that actually use tools such as Pro Tools to record their own instruments and sounds, this type of "update" is largely irrelevant. For those bedroom producers that "drop" new music based on whatever is offered by the software itself, this is obviously somewhat exciting.
Likely more relevant for studios and regular users who need to record and mix, Pro Tools is now fully qualified to run natively on Apple silicon and offers significant performance improvements for users or M1 and M2 Mac systems. From faster processes like offline bounce and track activation to enhanced responsiveness and CPU utilization with plugins, users will enjoy benefits across a range of workflows.
On the creative side, Pro Tools 2023.3 also adds élastique Pro V3 by zplane.development to the Pro Tools Elastic Audio workflow. This new processing option offers stable timing, inter-channel phase coherence and sample-accurate stretching, as well as formant-preserving pitch shifting for monophonic and polyphonic audio in real-time. This release also improves Celemony Melodyne ARA 2 integration when changing tempos in Pro Tools, giving users more ways to control the timing and feel of their tracks.
Multiplatinum artist and Avid Head of Audio Content, Matt Lange, is bringing a world of exclusive sounds to the Pro Tools community with Pro Tools Sonic Drop. This new monthly program delivers a mix of inspiring new samples, loops, and instrument presets to all Pro Tools subscribers (monthly and annual) and current perpetual license holders at no additional cost. From traditional instruments and found sounds to content from other artists and industry partners, each curated “Drop” focuses on a specific theme, providing users with an ever-growing collection of unique sounds.
Pro Tools PlayCell is a virtual sample player instrument that offers an extensive library of drums, pianos, guitars, basses, synths, orchestral, and other instruments with an intuitive interface that makes it easy and fun to find and dial in the perfect sound. Each instrument comes with presets and pre-assigned macro controls, fine-tuned to impact the character of each sound with the tweak of a knob. Pro Tools users can expand their PlayCell library even further with new instruments through the Pro Tools | Sonic Drop program, ensuring them a regular supply of fresh sounds.
"From significant leaps in performance across a range of Pro Tools workflows when using Apple M1 and M2 systems, to giving users more powerful ways to manipulate audio pitch and time, Avid continues to integrate solutions from our strategic partners to offer our customers the best workflows possible," says Francois Quereuil, Vice President, Product Management for Audio and Music Solutions, Avid. "We’re excited to have Matt Lange join the team to develop content for our music customers, and the Sonic Drop program and PlayCell instrument are just the beginning."
Pro Tools 2023.3 is now available to all Pro Tools users on an active subscription or perpetual license with a current Software Updates + Support Plan, as well as all Pro Tools Intro (free tier) users. Pro Tools Sonic Drop content, Pro Tools PlayCell and Avid’s new instrument presets are available to Pro Tools Artist, Pro Tools Studio and Pro Tools Ultimate users only.
www.avid.com/pro-tools
