Tracktion 2 - Four page review...

[headquest]

It was a positive review indeed.

More recently they did what amounted to a mini review (by the same guy) in the Reason Notes column, in which they praised Tracktion as a ReWire host for our favourite soft studio

[christianmusicmaker]

Tracktion had a good review way back,

I though Tracktion was a tracker app like fruity, until I read that review.. probably cos of the name.

I initially glanced at a review of Tracktion I think it was in CM Magazine with a Sonar 3 review can't remember the issue no. but I literally flipped through the pages without really reading the Tracktion review (seemed to have read everything else) only to discover months later what a great application it is after trying the demo!

Headquest wrote:It was a positive review indeed.

More recently they did what amounted to a mini review (by the same guy) in the Reason Notes column, in which they praised Tracktion as a ReWire host for our favourite soft studio

Yes...I remember that as well.Just remembered something else from the FM review today...it said loop recording has been added for midi and audio. I thought is was just for audio...

"Tracktion 2 includes "loop record mode" which makes it easy to record multiple passes and compile the best of each into the perfect take."

[flanneljammies]

Did anyone else notice that the list price on the Full Compass page IS $199, not the $149 (apparently street price) shown on the few other on-line offerings. Guess that's going to make the upgrade cost proablly more than $50.

[rockstar_not]

In defense of FM:

The best giveaway I've had with either FM or CM was the Carbon synth giveaway and patches on the FM cover disc about 2 years ago. It's still my fave synth giveaway.

-Scott

[Lunch Money]

I have Carbon, but I've never used it. I think the MicroTera with Music Tech was pretty spiffy, too.

My most-used giveaway was a set of Beta Monkey drum loops found on a cover of CM.

No loop snobbery comments, please... <chuckle>

[Sage]

Price £149. Mackie have told someone about the price or maybe the price is a guess based on cost of T1?

MSRP is $199, so 149 British Pounds is probably about the same(?)

Screen shots look identical to the old version with a screen shot of the send and new piano roll but really nothing new at all to see.

The new piano roll is almost certainly the most anticipated new feature of T2. That's not "nothing new at all" by a longshot.

As for the review... there is a good history of Tracktion followed by a look into the new features of T2 but even though it was four pages long it didn't really go into detail about the new midi functionality and maybe was more of a Tracktion 1 + 2 review, As (correct me if I am wrong)future music did not actually review T1.

Sounds like it's a review of T2 in its entirety. As such, they wouldn't (and shouldn't) be concerned with only the differences between T1 and T2, but rather with the T2 product as a whole.

Linplug brief screen shot using RMIV in Tracktion.

http://www.linplug.com/Support/FAQ/Drag ... #Tracktion

Wow, that makes RMIV actually look useful to me... Interesting.

[christianmusicmaker]

In defense of FM:

The best giveaway I've had with either FM or CM was the Carbon synth giveaway and patches on the FM cover disc about 2 years ago. It's still my fave synth giveaway.

-Scott

That was pretty amazing. I think CM Eve was a nice giveaway, Miracle CM Drumlooper and the future loops rompler from NI given away by FM.

Sage wrote:
Wow, that makes RMIV actually look useful to me... Interesting.

I did not know RMIV even had such a function. Looks like a very nice addition to T2.

http://www.linplug.com/Support/FAQ/Drag ... #Tracktion

[headquest]

So does RMIV include step-sequencing functions like ReDrum, etc?

[christianmusicmaker]

So does RMIV include step-sequencing functions like ReDrum, etc?

Unless I am mistaken I think the answer is no.It seems to have everything else but that.I hope someone will prove me wrong.

[headquest]

So does RMIV include step-sequencing functions like ReDrum, etc?

Unless I am mistaken I think the answer is no.It seems to have everything else but that.I hope someone will prove me wrong.

So what is the MIDI information being copied over in the screenshot you gave the link for?

[headquest]

Interesting...I never made a comparison with the other reviews, well spotted.I wonder if this will be reflected in their charts next month ! I somehow doubt it, but it would be very interesting to see Tracktion above Logic Sonar and Cubase! I guess next months edition will be a very interesting read.

I don't see why they would not show Tracktion at number 2, having given it these scores. However, I think that the weighting of the five ingredients - including 10 marks each for "ease of use" and "value for money" - slightly skews the playing field as it were. Hence Tracktion and Live coming in with higher scores than for example Sonar and Logic.

The most interesting score to me is that they only gave T2 7/10 for "quality of results", and I shall read the review eagerly to see how this lower score is justified. what did you notice them criticise in the review? What were the negatives?

Could it be that they were partly determined to leave Live 4 at the top of their chart? But this is also odd considering the feature limitations of Live 4 (24-bit export, no freeze/PDC/video/surround/etc), and bearing in mind the problems so many people have experienced with Live 4 (including apparently FM editor Andy Jones himself!). I get the impression though that FM magazine is *sometimes* more interested with spin than substance, with image than reality

But hey - it's just a bit of fun

[christianmusicmaker]

So does RMIV include step-sequencing functions like ReDrum, etc?

Unless I am mistaken I think the answer is no.It seems to have everything else but that.I hope someone will prove me wrong.

So what is the MIDI information being copied over in the screenshot you gave the link for?

Believe me I would like to know as well it looks like it does have a step sequencer but this is what the SOS review had to say...

"It's an exemplary piece of conceptual design, getting the best of the soft-synth format in that it takes the good bits of hardware equivalents without emulating the limitations. Having said that, I would really liked to have had a built-in pattern sequencer..."

If it does have a step / pattern sequencer that would be very useful indeed, just like DK's.

Maybe they added the feature since the SOS review in Feb2004 any RMIV users like to comment?

[christianmusicmaker]

Ahh..I think this may be the answer..it appears to be a pattern browser (preview of a pattern) but not a pattern sequencer.Once the pattern has been previewed then it can be dragged from RMIV.

Check out Peter from Linplugs response further down this thread...

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... ern#805408

Even more detail from Peter here...
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... n&start=15

[headquest]

Cheers - that answers the question. Exactly how useful RMIV is therefore depends upon exactly how good T2's midi editing is then

Changing the subject, I was browsing through the latest SOS and for once stopped to read the Digidesign ads for Pro Tools LE... and it struck me that the MBox/PT LE package is very similar to Spike/T2 - and in more than just looks. I just wonder whether the mid-term game plan with Tracktion is to challenge PT more overtly, rather than challenging the likes of Sonar? Little things like ignoring timestretch/looping tools in favour of implementing Mackie controller support and broadcast .wav files seem to suggest that the direction Tracktion is headed is not necessarily the one some of us had expected...

It'll sure be interesting to see where we are with all this in 2-3 years from now!

[braj]

So does RMIV include step-sequencing functions like ReDrum, etc?

Unless I am mistaken I think the answer is no.It seems to have everything else but that.I hope someone will prove me wrong.

Nope, it doesn't, but the commercial version comes with 2K midi drum loops, which should be good for getting started (especially laying out RMIV drum maps).