Today Avid released Pro Tools 2024.6. The highlights of this release are 6 new ARA integrations, 2 new MIDI effect plugins and an overhauled Import Session Data window along with many other improvements.

Pro Tools 2024.6 At A Glance

• ARA 2 support for six plugins: iZotope Spectral Editor, Synchro Arts VocAlign, RePitch and Revoice Pro, as well as Sound Radix Auto-Align 2 and Auto-Align Post 2

• Two included plugins: iZotope Spectral Editor and Synchro Arts RePitch Elements

• Dolby Atmos enhancements including Stereo Direct and Groups Solo feature

• Improved Session Data import with redesigned window, filtering and searchTwo new included MIDI effect plugins from Mixed In Key: Captain Chords Lite and Human Lite

• MIDI pitch labels in MIDI editors

• Memory Location enhancements including new Manage mode

• Session Export for Media Composer via a new Session file format option

• New improved copy/paste meter, key, and tempo features between Pro Tools and Sibelius

• Dashboard updates including In-app Tutorials

• Scripting SDK updates

There is a lot to unpack but the biggest feature for most users is the new ARA integrations.

New ARA Integrations

After a long wait the widely anticipated follow up to the ARA integration of Melodyne with Pro Tools which was introduced in September 2022 we have all of the new ARA integrations we were anticipating in one release, and a couple we weren’t. These 6 new integrations brings the total to 7 including Melodyne and there is plenty here for music and post users alike. Two different tuning products in the form of RePitch and Melodyne, VocAlign will further please vocal producers and post production users will benefit from both the much requested RX Spectral Editor integration and Sound Radix’s Auto-Align Post 2.

ARA 2 support at a glance:

• iZotope Spectral Editor

• Synchro Arts VocAlign

• RePitch

• Revoice Pro

• Sound Radix Auto-Align 2

• Auto-Align Post 2

• Melodyne

The UI tweak of populating the bottom of the Edit window with docked editors makes a lot of sense with this many ARA integrations and each to these new ARA integrations can be accessed from here or from its own floating editor. With Revoice Pro and Auto-Align 2 added as well this has to be the biggest news of this release, but there is more. And customers with active Pro Tools subscriptions and perpetual upgrade plans will automatically receive the ARA 2 plugins for iZotope RX Spectral Editor and Synchro Arts RePitch Elements as part of this release.

Check out the following links for videos demonstrating the Pro Tools ARA integrations of VocaAlign, AutoAlign 2, Auto-Align Post 2 and Revoice Pro.

Import Session Data Window Update

Of great interest to professionals will be the changes to the Session Data window, an area of Pro Tools which has packed too much into too little space for some time. The principal change is filtering. It is now possible to apply filtering to limit the number of tracks that Match Tracks applies to. The number of criteria Pro Tools saves as summary data accessible to the Import Session Data window has been expanded to include Inactive Tracks, Track Color, Hidden State, Frozen State and the presence of Clips, Automation or Markers on the track allowing deeper and more flexible filtering of results.

The layout of the screen has been optimised, the new resizable window has substituted text for the familiar track icons and the handling of Folder Tracks has been improved with the option for member tracks to be imported along with the Folder Track using a new button.

Dolby Atmos Improvements

The internal Dolby Atmos Renderer has been with us for 6 months and has received an update in Pro Tools 2024.3 bringing additional options for live re-renders. This extension and refinement of the facilities offered by the renderer continues in Pro Tools 2024.6 with additional options for live re-renders. 9.1.4 and 7.1.2 re-renders have been added as well as the Stereo Direct re-render option which was recently introduced to the external Dolby Atmos Renderer application which allows you to listen to a stereo version of the mix without going through cascaded downmixes.

The binaural mode settings (Far, Mid Near and Off), which were previously accessible only from the renderer can now be controlled from the Edit and Mix windows and the ability to Solo and Mute Atmos groups has been added in the Renderer window and a new settings pane has been added to the renderer giving easy access to IO, trim and downmix settings.

Also the ability to bounce, commit and freeze audio from the internal renderer has been added. You can select the output which is fed by the renderer output and bounce a mix, and tracks which are receiving live re-renders can be bounced frozen or committed in the same way as other tracks.

2 New MIDI Effects Plugins

Pro Tools 2024.3 brought MIDI effects plugins to Pro Tools for the first time. These two new MIDI plugs are from Mixed In Key and are available to users with active subscriptions or upgrade plans. Captain Chords Lite is a generative plugin which allows users to create chords or to access a library of progressions and rhythms with which to generate or develop compositional ideas. Human Lite is an unquantize effect which can introduce a more humanlike, organic feel to quantized material or to MIDI which has been created snapped to a grid.

MIDI improvements

Pro Tools 2024.6 introduces note name labels to the MIDI editor, available on the piano keyboard, on the MIDI notes or on both. Additionally a button to switch note names between sharp and flat names is now available. Notes played from a keyboard are also now coloured for improved visibility.

Memory Locations Refinements

In our article Things Professionals Want To See In Pro Tools In 2024 we commented on the work Avid have done in the last year to overhaul the Markers system with not one, but two major updates. Pro Tools 2023.6 brought us Track Markers and Pro Tools 2023.12 added four new Marker Rulers. This update brings some refinements including a new Manage mode to avoid workflow issues caused when the Markers Window is inadvertently left focused causing interference with navigation in the Edit Window using shortcuts. There is also a new mode which executes go to and previous/next keystrokes relative to the Edit Window’s Insertion Point but which still works relative to any active Marker Window Filtering, so for example a next marker keystroke would advance to the next filtered marker relative to your insertion point.

Changes To Edit Window

As a byproduct of the work Avid did to implement the filtering in the Import Session Data window they were able to add the ability to filter from the Tracks List to show only tracks which have clips in them, and this filter can be applied to only show tracks which have clips just within the Edit Selection or at the Insertion Point. Thankfully they have made sure that this is only applied to tracks which can contain clips rather than Master Faders, Aux Inputs or Folder Tracks.

The ability to expand Automation Lanes which contain Automation or contain automation breakpoints or ramps within an edit selection has been added making finding automation within sessions, particularly sessions which are unfamiliar to you, much easier.

New Search and Filter options have been added to the Clips List, While the Clips List has always had a find Clips function, the filter box inherited from the Import Session Data window is more accessible, and more visible. No more confusion because you didn’t realise an active clips search is hiding clips from your list. A search box has also been added to the Pro Tools Preferences making tracking down preferences faster and easier.

Media Composer Session Export

Avid have been working on improving session exchange and interoperability between Pro Tools and Media Composer for some time. Media Composer 2022.12 brought the ability to export Pro Tools session files and in Pro Tools 2024.6 Avid have introduced the facility to export Media Composer compatible Pro Tools session files courtesy of a new session file option. The new .ptxm session file can be created from the Save Copy In dialog. The selected tracks will be exported either as stems or with all clips rendered to a frame boundary. As long as the panning format is stereo, 5.1 or 7.1 Pro Tools can also export sample accurate pan automation and it is possible to export Dolby Atmos live re-renders to create stems complete with markers for Media Composer.

Improved Copy/Paste Between Pro Tools and Sibelius

Building on the Copy/Paste improvements introduced in Pro Tools 2024.3 users can now copy/paste key signatures, time signatures and tempos either by pasting to the relevant ruler or when pasting a MIDI clip if the selection extends to include the rulers. In this way tempo, key and time signature data relevant to a clip can also be pasted along with the note data.

Pro Tools Sketch Improvements

When dragging and dropping Scenes or the Arrangement from the Sketch Window to the Edit Window as well as audio and MIDI data Pro Tools will automatically add the PlayCell AAX plugin along with the relevant patch.

Other Changes

You can now enable or disable clusters of checkboxes in multi-select menus by Opt+clicking (Alt+clicking on Windows)

You can now move the current edit selection to the marker ruler by Cmd+clicking (Ctrl+clicking on Windows)

In the Keyboard Shortcuts Window you can now assign a shortcut that allows showing and hiding all marker rulers at once.

New keyboard shortcuts have been added to shrink the current edit selection, match just the start or end of the timeline and edit selections, and set the pre/post roll using the current edit selection

Dashboard updates, including In-app Tutorials, have been added

There are also new Scripting SDK updates.