ABSTRACT
A computer-based multitrack recording hardware and software system, Pro Tools was first released in 1991. Over the next decade it became the top selling digital audio workstation. Some versions used only a computer’s own CPU, while others required adding DSP cards to increase the number of available channels and effects. This created a platform that third-party companies could develop for, with hooks that allowed other pieces of software (plugins) to affect the audio stream. A number of control surfaces became available, providing buttons and sliders to ease access to and tactile feedback.
