New Toys

SSL's Pro-Convert Digital Audio Project Translator

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SSL's Pro-Convert Digital Audio Project Translator Solid State Logic's Pro-Convert solves a continuing problem for all digital audio workstation users: how can the session and audio files from one DAW such as Pro Tools 9 be loaded into and used in another DAW like Steinberg's Nuendo? Pro-Convert, available for both Mac and PC, reads all necessary audio related timeline information from the files of most any current DAW system and translate them into an interim master format.

It reads and converts: edits, regions, fade shapes and duration, track names, media files (both audio and video) markers/PQ data, volume and pan automation, region and clip gain values, cross-fades and maintains their same timing positions as the original project file.

I installed Pro-Convert into my Pro Tools computer and plugged in the included CodeMeter dongle to a USB port--it needs this to run. I pulled in a current Pro Tools session of a song I had been working on and set the target format to Steinberg.xml because I was going to send this song to a friend who uses Nuendo. Once I told the program where to store the new file, I hit convert and everything is more or less automatic from then on.

Conversely, using the same procedure, I would be able to convert the Steinberg.xml file back into a Pro Tools session file and all audio would come across as the same .wav files.

This whole process has some caveats and restrictions based upon which DAW program you're using and which one you want to transfer to. For example Apple's Logic 9 does not export files with edits--it bounces them to contiguous files. Or that Pro-Convert does not support tick-based audio--too bad I reckon considering all the time a utility like this can save you. Obviously none of your plug-ins are translated either so you should render any crucial sounds from plugs to new audio. I would save plug-in presets so I could reinsert them on a song coming back to me via a Pro-Convert transfer.

Pro-Convert effectively supports over 40 different audio applications each with different feature sets and methods of implementing specific details. The Mac version of Pro-Convert sells for $389 and the PC version is $689.

Much more information is available at: www.solidstatelogic.com/music/pro-convert_mac/




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