KVR Audio

Ahmed · Post by **Ahmed** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:48 am

Which sequencer should I chose Sonar 4 or Logic if I'm mostly concerned about the following aspects;
- Light CPU usage
- A very easy and fast automation methods as apposed to drawing events inside piano rolls or fiddling around with tiny buttons (which is eye damaging by the way)
- Great midi editing
- A great workflow

Other aspects are all of a minimum importance to me .Money Dosn't matter at all as long as the price doesn't go above $500!

Thanks for help!

haydxn · Post by **haydxn** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:58 am

it's strange that you're deciding between logic and sonar, seeing as logic is now mac only and sonar is windows only..

i'd get hold of demos of both. not sure about logic demo status but you can get sonar demos. i'd also look at the Tracktion2 demo. logic was my sequencer of choice for a few years and when it went mac only, i seriously considered going to sonar. then i discovered tracktion and was sold in seconds. as far as workflow goes it's second to none. some people gripe about the midi editor tho, despite the fact that i've never had a single problem with it. T2's editor is much more refined, and the automation is greatly improved. it's a stackload cheaper than the others too.

at the end of the day, everything depends on taste, and any sequencer could be shoehorned into the specs you've stated. you won't know what you like or how it goes until you try them; like asking "should i buy marmite, marmalade or margarine for my sandwich?"... you have to try them for yourself.

Sonar demo

Tracktion2 demo

afaik you can no longer get any demos of logic for pc, seeing as it's no longer made for pc..

whoops sorry i didn't mention any others here! cubase obviously is an alternatve, although i can only find a demo on their site for cubase SX 1, which has significantly less feature-wise than the latest ones...

Steinberg's demo page

Ahmed · Post by **Ahmed** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 12:34 pm

i'd also look at the Tracktion2 demo. logic was my sequencer of choice for a few years and when it went mac only, i seriously considered going to sonar. then i discovered tracktion and was sold in seconds. as far as workflow goes it's second to none

Eemmm;
That's very encouraging about Tracktion!

DHR53 · Post by **DHR53** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 1:55 pm

Logic is the cpu king on the Mac side... It uses the dual processors, and it's built-in instruments are very efficient!! But, that is with a dual G5 ...an expensive machine! There's also the matter of AU only... It's a big universe out there, and AU is absent from a lot of that!! Although, some of the best are AU at this point anyway... Logic is too expensive, and the price just keeps going up with every upgrade... Something to think about...

PC side is full of great pattern sequencer's (Fruity, Orion) that blur the line between full-fledged sequencer's and simple pattern based software... Argueably you could use either to do everything, and get a ton of inexpensive (good) plugins for a fraction of the cost of Logic! Even the big sequencer's (Cubase, Sonar) are cheaper than Logic, and you can build a monster PC DAW for $1500. easy... So, the question is which platform are you most comfortable with, and which do you have the most investment in already?

Mac's are great if you have a tie (business or graphics) with them already... Like myself... But I could just as easily use a PC to do most of my work if the industry wasn't already "Mac centric"... You pay for Apple's marketing... That's the bottom line!

So... which platform do you feel most comfortable with... Do you have money already invested in software... How much do you have to spend?? These are the most important questions! DAW sequencer's are pretty much divided between older legacy packages that have a lot of leftover accomodation for hardware studios, i.e. hardware synthesizers that most people just aren't using these days. So If your not, than you should look at a package designed more for today's "virtual studio"... Like Fruity, Orion (PC) or Tracktion, Reason (Mac).

P.S. I have a Tracktion 2 skin that looks a lot like Logic... Just cheaper!!

http://homepage.mac.com/dhrooser/Images/T2a.jpg

Ahmed · Post by **Ahmed** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:53 am

Reason (Mac).

Is Reason only for(Mac) Or do you mean it work best on MAC?

I have a Tracktion 2 skin that looks a lot like Logic

That's an amazong Interface

Where can I get this one?

Thanks,

stefancrs · Post by **stefancrs** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:01 am

And I moved from cubase to podium. Podiums workflow, interface, automation, device handling and track structure just kicks ass. imo.

rsmus7 · Post by **rsmus7** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:05 am

Hi ahmed

you can also try energyXT

see the forum for that :

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=36

it is far away from your price range (53$)
but got everything you need and much much more
and it is skinable and you can get many great skins in the forum

you can dl a demo, that´s fully functional beside loading saved files

Ahmed · Post by **Ahmed** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:05 am

you can also try energyXT

BTW, is it sufficient to use EnergyXT with A good audio editing software to make music? if so, how is the workflow?

haydxn · Post by **haydxn** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:11 am

it is definitely possible, and some people will tell you that it's really easy. i'd recommend giving it a go tho, as a starting point i personally think it's f**king hard to get to grips with as your main sequencer. no offence to anyone who disagrees, and certainly no offence to its creator jorgen. i use eXT a lot. but not as a sequencer. that side of things is just way too complicated for me.

.jon · Post by **.jon** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 12:14 pm

haydxn wrote: i personally think it's (eXT) f**king hard to get to grips with as your main sequencer.

Just voicing a different opionion - after Cubase, eXT was almost as easy to cope with as Tracktion

Sequencer choice is very personal. In the end, isn't a sequencer just an instrument - you need to feel good with it, and for me that feel counts more than features.

haydxn · Post by **haydxn** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 12:22 pm

yup, again refer to my first post in this thread. don't take any one persons word for which is best; get the demos/trial versions for all the ones that sound interesting and just TRY them. you'll soon know which one suits you best.

rsmus7 · Post by **rsmus7** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 12:23 pm

Ahmed wrote:
you can also try energyXT

BTW, is it sufficient to use EnergyXT with A good audio editing software to make music? if so, how is the workflow?

well I´m definitelly not a sequencer geek, but I like it very much,
and yes it needs a bit of learning, but once you get yor head round it´s possiblities you can really have a great sequencer too, beside it´s modular qualities and it´s plugin use to expand the other "big" sequencers.

If you set up a default song for your need, like you should do with any sequencer, I think eXT is easy to handle too.
but you could need an audio-editing software too.

Since for me money really counts, I use audacity for audio editing, it is free, but has great features.

but there are also many other good audio editing progs, beside wavelab

so I think you should take your time before purchase and try as much demos as you can get to find the sequencer that really fits your workflow.

all the answers are just rough aproximations

no offense to any answer

and @ haydxn:
I cant udnerstand that you cant use eXT as sequencer, you are a reaktor geek and eXT doesnt get in your mind???

or dont you like the way it works???

ceenda · Post by **ceenda** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 1:04 pm

Ahmed: If you want time signature support and tempo automation then eXT might not be the way to go. Otherwise, it's a superb sequencer with some of the most flexible MIDI clip support I've come across. The piano roll is simple but effective. Automation can be tricky to set up at first if you're not used to the envelopes and the CC->parameter style methodology that eXT uses. It's just a case of trying as many demos as possible and seeing which one fits your requirements best. Even things like CPU intensity may well vary depending on someone's PC setup.

There isn't a sequencer mentioned so far that I _wouldn't_ recommend looking at. But DON'T shell out on a sequencer on the basis of something that is supposedly 'coming up soon' or any other features. Make sure it does what you want on the basis of it's current implementation.

Though, given the price, there's so many things eXT does on the very basis of it being a kick-ass VST that I'd recommend it completely regardless of which sequencer you go for in the end.

haydxn · Post by **haydxn** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 1:14 pm

i

eXT, and use it all the time. but for my sequencing duties Tracktion is everything i could wish for. when i sequence i have particular habits and styles of working, and eXT just doesn't do it for me; T's clip based arrange method is essential to how i work.

eXT is completely invaluable... i couldn't live without it! but i'd be far less comfortable if it were all i had to make music with.

Cabinfever · Post by **Cabinfever** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 1:46 pm

i've used most of the little hosts, but am now with sonar. while the little hosts all have their strong points i kept coming across things they just didn;t handle well. i think any of the big hosts like sonar, cubase and logic will 'future-proof' you for wherever your musical ambitions might lead you.

but its all personal taste and workflow.

A quick question before chosing a sequencer