Hi all!

I'm a new happy mac user...me and my partner switched to macs and we're really excited about it, BUT...
We've been using Nuendo and Sonar for a while (2+ years now), and we got hold of too many cool plugins, which don't work on macs of course. They don't even work in the PC version of Pro Tools, which we bought, damn iLok.
Thing is, we spent lots of cash on a Quad G5, an iMac and a mini, and now we have basic Pro Tools M-Powered running on our 1814. They do the job, BUT after recording, it feels like we backtracked, because we can't use those wonderful plugins we had...and we got those for free, of course. Now we need a way to get them again, free...no way we'll sell our houses and cars to get each plugin one by one...can anyone help? We already have a hard time paying for the macs...

P.S.: Before anyone holds it against us, there's a reason we bought three macs:
1- The Power G5 will be used also for video editing, DVD authoring and general video production. Maybe even 3D rendering.
2- The iMac is for those day-by-day jobs, like recording live demos, speeches, some overdubbing here and there. We also needed two, so each of us had his own machine. No sense in getting two of the same.
3- The mini is for outside recordings...we use it a lot to record live audio right on the stage, for live DVDs, theatrical plays, and such. We thought about a Powerbook for this, but it is way more expensive than the mini, having a slower HD, and other things. The mini is portable enough for us.

you can get wrappers

try www.fxpansion.com

You could have budgeted for LEGAL plugins. I mean, not to sound rude, but come-on, you got the money to buy a quad G5, but on the other hand are stealing software... mmmm... questionable ethics if you ask me

quote:

Originally posted by Arthur:
You could have budgeted for LEGAL plugins. I mean, not to sound rude, but come-on, you got the money to buy a quad G5, but on the other hand are stealing software... mmmm... questionable ethics if you ask me

Arthur...are you sure they're illegal????

There ARE a lot of free PC plugs that won't work on MAC.

How can they be legal? "Because we can't use those wonderful plugins we had...and we got those for free, of course. Now we need a way to get them again, free..."

Now perhaps he's referring to plugins that came with the specific DAW applications that he no longer has support for because he upgraded?

I don't know. You blow your wad on buying a house and don't have enough money to buy furnishing or a bed. That's just poor planning. But to come online and ask strangers to provide your furniture for you, especially when you just bought a mansion . . .

Ok clearing up some things...

We had to switch because too many people were making decisions based on whether we had pro tools on macs or not.
There's people that just won't work with you if you don't use pro tools on macs. Some of them even record different things in different studios...and we all know how bad Mac to PC transfers can be.
Things are a lot better now, except for the plugin thing.
We try to keep as many legal ones as we can, meaning the free ones, and the ones that came with Pro Tools, and other M-Audio stuff we have bought.

So, we were kinda forced to get the macs, but even so, we don`t regret it!
I just wish there were as many free things for Mac as there are for PC.
You guys live in the US and that keeps you from having an idea of our income/expense rate.
Just to exemplify...our brazilian cash is worth almost 1/2 of US Dollars.
That means, we get paid half of you guys, but we have o pay double the prices for US manufactured stuff...that makes it almost 4x what you guys spend....get the idea?

Anyways, thanks for the replies!!!!

Baterax, before you get me wrong, it was not my intention to slam you. English is not my first language and Henry (thanks Henry) put it more eloquently than I could.

What I meant is: when you plan on speccing a system, never underestimate and/or forget the cost of software to accompany the hardware.

As for the Mac/PT thing, that is very true! I use a Mac with PT HD3 Accel myself, and it is the go-to system in the pro world, indeed.
And no, I am not a rich american (gee, I wish I were ). My first rig (a Mac and ProTools III - remember those? 16 tracks and at least 5 plugins, whow, all for the little sum of 20k), I had to pay off long after I sold it... But it got easier afterwards, so you made an important first step, you invested in the right system.

Now as to find a solution for your problem, do what I did: I took another loan and bought smart, i.e. I bought bundles. Tell me what you are looking for and I will try to help you by finding the best deal. Sounds fair? And no, I'm not a salesman

Cheers
Arthur

I certaily can sympathize with your situation. to a certain degree. The shit can be expensive. Certainly there are plenty of free and legal plugins available for Mac. I'd simply do what I did: buy one plugin at a time. Let some of the clients pay for them over the price of projects. I even had some clients purchase some specific items for me and I worked it off on their projects. I had a client who really needed Auto-Tune. I didn't even want to get it myself. But he paid the $300 or so $ and I deducted the hours. I had enough clients that it was a win win.

But I also won't condone or help you locate any illegal or kracked software. There are plenty enough out there and I'm sure it can be found, but I don't believe in it myself. I have nothing kracked, except my head. If I can't afford to buy it I can't afford to have it.

YMMV.

I believe you have to have a VST to RTAS adapter in order to get those to work in Pro Tools. Yes? I happen to be a non-rich musician in the United States BTW, some of us happen to record (or try ) our own stuff and are on a tight if not impossible budget.

There a few decent free ones out there, but are restricted in one way or another. Kjaerhusaudio has a thing or two that I liked at one time.

But yeah I think you need the adapter. The first one I ran across just doing a quick search is not the one I was thinking of, but...: Adapter