Tracktion Software

esesar · Post by **esesar** » Wed May 06, 2015 5:51 pm

Hello everyone,
I have been out of the music making business since T3. (Picked up a T4 license but never used it...) I'm trying to get back in to the swing of things and wanted to check with you guys for some suggestions. First - 32 or 64 bit? Which leads to the second question: Plugin recommendations? I know my legacy VSTs won't work in 64, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just pick up something new and go 64. Especially since I have no idea where my backups are for my old plugins anyway. I am completely overwhelmed by the number of choices and amount of information. I'm also extremely impatient and want to start making music and not researching every available option. Any favorites out there? I would like to keep it to freeware while I get my chops back.
I loved the Tracktion workflow but I see the forum consists of plenty of complaints. Am I right in sticking with Tracktion or should I be looking into another DAW altogether? Thanks for any insight.

gigazaga · Post by **gigazaga** » Wed May 06, 2015 6:08 pm

esesar wrote:Hello everyone,
I have been out of the music making business since T3. (Picked up a T4 license but never used it...) I'm trying to get back in to the swing of things and wanted to check with you guys for some suggestions. First - 32 or 64 bit? Which leads to the second question: Plugin recommendations? I know my legacy VSTs won't work in 64, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just pick up something new and go 64. Especially since I have no idea where my backups are for my old plugins anyway. I am completely overwhelmed by the number of choices and amount of information. I'm also extremely impatient and want to start making music and not researching every available option. Any favorites out there? I would like to keep it to freeware while I get my chops back.
I loved the Tracktion workflow but I see the forum consists of plenty of complaints. Am I right in sticking with Tracktion or should I be looking into another DAW altogether? Thanks for any insight.

What kind of music? The answers might be different depending on if your mostly working with recorded audio vs. virtual instruments.

Scotty · Post by **Scotty** » Wed May 06, 2015 6:59 pm

For great VSTs check out the Developers Challenge on KVR. Many of the submissions are 64 bit and they can be downloaded here. This challenge has been running for a few years and you can source previous years buy changing the year in the url below.

http://www.kvraudio.com/kvr-developer-challenge/2014/

Also, don't give up on your legacy plug-ins. jbridge is a 64 bit wrapper for older 32bit plug-ins and it works very well. I have hundreds of legacy synthedit creations that are all wrapped with jbridge not to mention numerous commercial plug-ins that I didn't upgrade to 64 bit. It paid for itself many times over.

https://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/ Price is 15 Euros and you can wrap all of your 32bit plug-ins.

I recently checked out this link http://talkinmusic.com/musicproduction/ ... t-plugins/
and found a couple of nice plugins that I didn't have.

In terms of DAWs you'll likely get some passionate responses to this. I own a few DAWs but Cubase Pro 8 is the centerpiece of my studio. It runs my headphone mixes, patches in my external efx and compressors, provides top drawer midi editing and powerful mixing capabilities, drives mulitple monitors, 3 sets of speakers and 2 raydat audio cards. It also has an extensive assortment of included efx and instruments. I'd recommend Elements to get you going with the option to upgrade to Artist or Pro when you need. I run elements on a laptop and use it when i am going mobile. I use Pro in the studio.

I found this summary article which compares the three versions of Cubase
https://www.musicmatter.co.uk/lists/wha ... do-I-need/

Good luck. - Scotty

fwsuperhero · Post by **fwsuperhero** » Wed May 06, 2015 9:44 pm

http://bedroomproducersblog.com/

There are great and actual topics about freeware plugins.
it is enough for you to get back in IMHO

.

dupont · Post by **dupont** » Thu May 07, 2015 5:04 pm

good freewares :
TyrellN6, soustractive analogue synth
Dexed, FM DX7 emulator
Synth1, soustractive analogue synth, kind of Nord lead emulator, I love this one but sometimes makes T6 crash on OSX with an horrible white noise at full level. Almost fried my ears and my monitors last time.

dupont · Post by **dupont** » Thu May 07, 2015 5:15 pm

esesar wrote:Hello everyone,

I loved the Tracktion workflow but I see the forum consists of plenty of complaints. Am I right in sticking with Tracktion or should I be looking into another DAW altogether? Thanks for any insight.

I also use Logic X and it's forum (logicprohelp) is also full of complaints. In fact, it's the same for every DAWs, when you post on a forum, it's mainly because you want to complain or solve an issue.

Lot of people currently use several DAWs, as each is different, it helps finding new ideas and break the habbits.

gigazaga · Post by **gigazaga** » Thu May 07, 2015 5:48 pm

dupont wrote:... In fact, it's the same for every DAWs, when you post on a forum, it's mainly because you want to complain or solve an issue...

If you liked Tracktion before, it would be worth taking a look at it now. Tracktion has been continually improved since T4. That is ongoing with frequent new releases. The TSC team really listens to users and we see changes even based on KVR forum threads.

There are lots of new modern, features in T6. There are still issues with 3rd party plugins but many of old issues have been sorted. If you are going to use free plugins, then you can just use those that work.

There are lots of other choices for DAW software and most of them perform quit well. I use other DAWs as well, but more and more I am able to get my music and voice over projects done in T6.

gigazaga · Post by **gigazaga** » Thu May 07, 2015 5:50 pm

dupont wrote:... In fact, it's the same for every DAWs, when you post on a forum, it's mainly because you want to complain or solve an issue...

That is right! It's no different for any of them. The difference with Tracktion is that the developers read and respond to the issues right in KVR>

If you liked Tracktion before, it would be worth taking a look at it now. Tracktion has been continually improved since T4. That is ongoing with frequent new releases. The TSC team really listens to users and we see changes even based on KVR forum threads.

There are lots of new modern, features in T6. There are still issues with 3rd party plugins but many of old issues have been sorted. If you are going to use free plugins, then you can just use those that work.

There are lots of other choices for DAW software and most of them perform quit well. I use other DAWs as well, but more and more I am able to get my music and voice over projects done in T6.[/quote]

gigazaga · Post by **gigazaga** » Thu May 07, 2015 6:08 pm

double

esesar · Post by **esesar** » Thu May 07, 2015 8:20 pm

Wow,
Thanks for the information.
Scotty, thanks for the info on jbridge. That sounds awesome. I really wanted to get into cubase but it never did suit my workflow. Perhaps I'll revisit. And great idea about the dev challenge, I forgot about those.

dupont, that's a good idea about breaking habits with a different DAW. And I definitely abused the heck out of synth 1. That white noise thing was a problem for me back then as well.

fwsuperhero, thanks for the link. Not familiar with that site but it looks like it's got a lot of good info.

gigazaga, yeah, i tried them all and kept coming back to T to actually get anything done. I found that it was super easy for me to get all my guitars, keys, horns and electronics put together in a cohesive way. I think that my style is (like many here) varied. I love it all from orchestral to rock to electronic. Now I just need to find a new interface as I no longer have firewire on my pcs/laptop. (So long firebox...[pre Studio One])

I am lamenting the loss of Final Mix. It provided the perfect amount of cohesion without being overdone. Surely I'll be able to replace it with something.
Yeah, I remember the original Raw Material forums being full of characters with some strong opinions on what should be and Jules being super cool and composed for what he was up against. Thanks for the assurance that nothing has really changed.
Thanks again everyone, happy composing/recording/mixing/producing.
E

Ben di Arrows · Post by **Ben di Arrows** » Thu May 07, 2015 10:08 pm

esesar wrote: I am lamenting the loss of Final Mix. It provided the perfect amount of cohesion without being overdone. Surely I'll be able to replace it with something.
E

Still fine with T6 32 bit.
If not splash for Master mix

Once a Tracktioneer....

gigazaga · Post by **gigazaga** » Thu May 07, 2015 10:12 pm

esesar wrote: I am lamenting the loss of Final Mix. It provided the perfect amount of cohesion without being overdone.

Final Mix has been reborn as Master Mix. It's an in-app purchase. There are lots of other great options for master bus compression from 3rd party developers.

skipkent · Post by **skipkent** » Wed May 13, 2015 4:14 pm

I spend time occasionally in Logic land, which has a lot of (really) interesting bells and whistles, but from day 1 my proudest musical moments were all done in Tracktion. It's got a new lease on life and the devs are really responsive. Still feels like a work in progress from time to time, but it also feels like home!

Tracktion Software

KVR Audio

Want to get back in. Advice needed.