KVR Audio

AlanB · Post by **AlanB** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:20 am

I've used Tracktion for some time (great program!

), but am always interested in looking at other hosts, because they can have a big effect on creativity.

I've tried using energyXT as a sequencer, and whilst it is a great program

, I'm finding some activities which ought to be easy, hard to deal with (e.g. automating pan and level).

I've seen Podium mentioned several times recently. Can anyone tell me how it compares with Tracktion?

Thanks

AlanB

lalo · Post by **lalo** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:26 am

podium is great!!
a different concept from tracktion...more traditional in some ways...and more innovative in some other...
basically at the moment it gives me more hope for its future than tracktion...
the to-do list in podium is well documented by its author (frits)...
i suggest ya to give its demo a run...
can be a little difficult at the start and is a lot younger than tracktion...but hey...the spline curve tool for automations is simply great

lalo

scam_artist · Post by **scam_artist** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:28 am

i use Podium because in my opinion it has better midi editing than Tracktion, has a nicer GUI and seems more polisheded overall.. and Podium has group tracks which are ingenius, neat and powerful

Tracktion has better handling of audio files though (audio clip envelopes)

ceenda · Post by **ceenda** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:30 am

I would certainly have been interested in Podium had I not already bought Tracktion, but ReWire kinda pushed the scales in Tracktion's favour. Though apparently it's on the list for Podium.

Podium, like Tracktion, has been rock-solid. I can't recall a single crash, even when the CPU is being pushed to the limits.

At first I found the heirarchy method of working slightly odd, but I can see the advantages to it. Some people love it, I'm not so sure, I think it comes down mainly to just experimenting with it.

The automation in Podium is very nice. You can draw curves, use Bezier lines, etc. It also allows you to do MIDI-editing in a full-screen window (which is a little fiddly in Tracktion, imo).

The demo is similar to the Tracktion one in that you can use it as much as you like, but it introduces a silence every few seconds and a pop-up message every 20 minutes.

Initial setup can be tricky, but use the wizard (Ctrl-W) to set up the application and then save the project so you don't have to repeat that step.

Also, support is 10/10. The developer is very active on the Zynewave forums.

spaceman · Post by **spaceman** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:56 am

a big vote for Podium

chagzuki · Post by **chagzuki** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:31 am

How big?

stefancrs · Post by **stefancrs** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:36 am

Podium is my fav host.

chagzuki · Post by **chagzuki** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:42 am

Just checked out the podium demo for the first time in about a year. It's certainly come on since I last looked at it, and I might just give it a proper spin. Looks great.

spaceman · Post by **spaceman** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:44 am

chagzuki wrote:How big?

at least about yeh-big

duncanparsons · Post by **duncanparsons** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:56 am

As it's first paid up user, I can give it a large thumbs up..

My contest entry this month was done using Podium..

(I've tried Traxktion several times, but each time come away feeling it's just not for me..good prog, but no go!)

DSP

lightshy · Post by **lightshy** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:04 am

seeing the screenshots on their website, i immediately thought of cubarse. even the layout of the tools and ... resembles cubase. what i'm asking is: how much does podium really resemble cubarse workflow-wise. and another thing is it a cpu bitch?

Daniel78 · Post by **Daniel78** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:38 am

Having heard great things about it, i tried the podium demo after suffering for too long with cubase. Unfortunately, i must have spent at least 30 minutes trying to set up the initial options... and trying to actually get something recorded. I lost enthusiasm and uninstalled it.

Maybe I'm an idiot, and maybe I should have perservered, but later, when I first tried Tracktion I was up in running in seconds, literally.

Now of course this doesn't mean tracktion is a better sequencer, but my reason for leaving Cubase was that i seemed to spend far too much time pissing around with unnecessary crap, and my initial impression of Podium really didn't convince me it was going to be better. Which is a shame, becuase feature-wise it looked great.

scam_artist · Post by **scam_artist** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:51 am

lalo wrote:podium is a lot younger than tracktion...but hey...

Frits the developer of Podium says he started it in 1990 (although it's probably gone through many forms since then). That's why the GUI is so polished I reckon...

rockstar_not · Post by **rockstar_not** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:56 am

Where's a URL for podium?

-Scott

spaceman · Post by **spaceman** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:57 am

Daniel78 wrote:Having heard great things about it, i tried the podium demo after suffering for too long with cubase. Unfortunately, i must have spent at least 30 minutes trying to set up the initial options... and trying to actually get something recorded. I lost enthusiasm and uninstalled it.

Maybe I'm an idiot, and maybe I should have perservered, but later, when I first tried Tracktion I was up in running in seconds, literally.

Now of course this doesn't mean tracktion is a better sequencer, but my reason for leaving Cubase was that i seemed to spend far too much time pissing around with unnecessary crap, and my initial impression of Podium really didn't convince me it was going to be better. Which is a shame, becuase feature-wise it looked great.

the new setup wizard is much better.. and as I've mentioned before, once you know the logic behind Podium you'll realise it's actually extremely simple to use and set up

I think the new guide he's writing will make things much clearer for new users

Podium vs Tracktion