Tracktion Software

koolkeys · Post by **koolkeys** » Mon May 09, 2005 11:12 pm

Ok, so I've been able to peek through things with my T2 bundle. And I decided that to answer any questions, I would post my thoughts about the product. I've been a T1 owner for a long time, so it was a given that I was buying. But for some, it may be up in the air. So here goes.

First, the box is very nice. The front looks like the T2 opening flash screen, only with words. The back, and the inside of the cover that folds out look just like, and even read like most of the ads that have been around lately.

So I open the box, and find 3 CD's and a printed manual that is 80+ pages. It's actually the user's guide, but the more in depth reference guide is still on the CD and is installed with the software. Oh, and the CD's are blue. The first CD is the install CD, and includes most of the plugs(which I'll cover also). The second CD is completely taken by RMIV, and the third CD is Amplitube and Sampletank SE.

Installation was a breeze, and I was glad that there was a more functional installer than T1. Not a big issue, but still nice to have. But it went quick on both my Mac and my PC.

Next came registration. When I opened up T2, it told me that it was a demo version, and gave me the option to continue or to unlock. I chose unlock. On the next screen, ALL I had to do was enter my Mackie.com login info and the license number that was included in the box. Then, not even ten seconds later, it told me it was approved and that T2 was now unlocked. It went equally smooth on my Mac as on my PC. Literally, no hastle at all.

For those not on the internet on same computer, it gives you the option to unlock it with a keyfile, just like T1.

Now I won't run into all the details on the workings of T2 itself, since there is a demo for this, and it would take forever. I will note that the version on CD is 2.0.2 when the website has 2.0.4. Simple to fix, just download the most recent.

Now, onto the plug-ins. Here is a list of all plug-ins included:

RMIV- Included are 274 kits, equalling about 991MB, and about 1000 MIDI files

Slayer 2.5- Best sounding version of this plug that I've ever played with. Some new truly great things are here. Does not include the effects only version.

Sampletank 2SE- lite version of Sampletank 2. The sampler is not limited in features, just limited to the included sounds. There are many sounds here, around 30 patches, most of which are of very good quality. The loops that were said to be included was apparently a typo, and meant the MIDI files for the RMIV.

Amplitube LE- This is a light version of Amplitube, and only includes a few amp and cabinet choices, but the ones included are very nice. This is like the Digidesign version. And of course, there is no better amp sim on the market(IMO)

Soundfont-1 - This is built off the Bismark BS-1 soundfont player. This is a very nice SF2 player, and IMO, is better than SFZ. It has options that are in SFZ+, and can compare better to that.

Mackie ZR-3 - This is a very nice sounding B3 organ synth that can easily rival several commercial products.

REFX Claw- Synth

BigTick Ticky Clav- Clavinet emulator

Mackie Pad- This is a re-done GUI of Big Tick's Cheese Machine- A great pad synth

Mackie Mixing Suite- This includes several compressors, and a de-esser, and in the future there is apparently plans to add to this suite. Very nice plugs here. These are the ones in the demo

Final Mix- We all know this one, which is a D8B and DXB mastering multi-band compressor, and sounds very nice. This was in T1

Raw Materials suite - These are the ones that were in T1, like the EQ, and much more

MDA Full Suite - There are more here than before. It appears that every mda plug is included. You'd have to check the mda site to confirm, but they are mostly here, if not all. Even with no gui, these are VERY nice plugs, and shouldn't be overlooked.

These are the plug-ins I've noticed, although the Mackie Pad and the ZR-3 didn't seem to install on my Mac, but they are on my PC. I hope Beno can look into this. And again, there is said to be more Mackie plugs, like a channel strip and a reverb that will be added soon, and will only be available to bundle owners. Plus, with all the commercial plugs I know of that have limitations here, they all offer upgrade paths to the full versions.

Stability has not been an issue except in one case. On my Mac, Slayer 2 seems to crash T2 every so often, usually when moving plugs around. If I can pinpoint it, I'll post a bug report here.

Overall, the plugs do make it worth the buy if you need them. I needed some of them, and did want some of the plugs to enhance ones I already have.

Overall, so far, T2 bundle has been a very nice buy, and well worth the upgrade.

I hope this helps at least someone here. If you have any questions, please ask. I'll be happy to help or try something, such as test a bug or whatever, or answer questions about specific plugs.

Koolkeys

hexman · Post by **hexman** » Tue May 10, 2005 1:19 am

nice

I just got my boxed ver installed and had similar experience. Still playing!! The only thing is I have not found the link to offline install T2 (my music computer is not on the net).

The plug-ins are very nice. Any my setup has been nice and stable.

Have you noticed sampletank volumne seems kinda low compared to the other plugs? May be my issue since Ive just started playing but it seems really low even with no atten.

koolkeys · Post by **koolkeys** » Tue May 10, 2005 1:52 am

Yeah, I don't know why, but it starts at like 64 for the volume. I have to raise every patch to about 100 to be normal. Not that it's a huge issue though.

And with registration, you could always get your machine number from the about page and take it with your license number to a library or computer deli or somewhere and get online and register there, downloading a key file to disk, then put it on your music computer. Wait, you are obviously on the net now. I guess that means you have another computer.

Yeah, just go to my.mackie.com and get yourself a key file and you can just drag it to the T2 interface I believe to unlock it. Should be pretty easy though.

Good luck!

Oh, and do you have a mac or a pc? I have both and a couple plugs didn't install on my mac. I was just curious.

Koolkeys

hexman · Post by **hexman** » Tue May 10, 2005 2:18 am

Yeah - I wound up the vol and its better. The velocity curves are also pretty nice to switch between. The text is itty bitty though!

I imagine they'll get the reg sorted out soon (I do have my other pc on the net, just havent found the old key file link to be ABLE to gen a key). No biggie. If I have to I'll stick a modem onto my music pc and log in. I did reg amplitude and sampletank. IK needs to add Tracktion 2 to the "select sequencer" list

Both just Win2000 P4 1.8MHz PCs, and an IBM ThinkPad. I have been giving the mac the eye though. What do I need for decent performance on the mac?

Lunch Money · Post by **Lunch Money** » Tue May 10, 2005 3:04 am

Sampletank LE also starts at 64 for the volume. I haven't a clue why this is the default, but once you crank the volume knob up, it all falls into place.

koolkeys · Post by **koolkeys** » Tue May 10, 2005 3:14 am

My laptop is a mac, and it's 1.2Ghz. That sounds low, but macs run more efficient than PC's. I have 512 of RAM which has been more than enough. Just one thing, make sure you get a fast enough hard drive. But for audio apps, it runs great. I run Reason 3, ProTools, and Tracktion 2 all pretty flawlessly. I do like it though. Don't expect much gaming performance or anything though. This isn't the mac's strong area.

Koolkeys

Montana · Post by **Montana** » Tue May 10, 2005 4:04 am

can you load AKAI samples into sampletank on Tracktion?

maximilians1 · Post by **maximilians1** » Tue May 10, 2005 4:14 am

Montana wrote:can you load AKAI samples into sampletank on Tracktion?

I was wondering this as well. Is the import sample funtion enabled, and will it load waves, if so this could take care of the tracktion sampler issue.

koolkeys · Post by **koolkeys** » Tue May 10, 2005 4:18 am

No, it can only use the supplied sounds. I asked this question before release, as I saw that it fixed the problem also, but it's a negative.I do wish though!

Koolkeys

maximilians1 · Post by **maximilians1** » Tue May 10, 2005 4:26 am

ahh nuts! That would have been cool, bismark looks promising though

koolkeys · Post by **koolkeys** » Tue May 10, 2005 5:07 am

Yes, it's a very nice SF2 player.

Koolkeys

AlanB · Post by **AlanB** » Tue May 10, 2005 7:27 am

Koolkeys

Thanks for taking the trouble to provide a balanced and informative review. It'll help people outside the USA decide on whether to hold out for the boxed version, when or if it is available.

Do you get many natural kits with SampletankSE/RMIV?

AlanB

chico.co.uk · Post by **chico.co.uk** » Tue May 10, 2005 8:12 am

Koolkeys

Thanks for the review mate. I lap up all the daft wee details like "the cds are blue", "there's three of them" etc. Really. I'm in the uk (duh), but i'm considering getting the box set even though i don't really *need* RMIV and have Amplitude. I almost just want the box ...

chico

headquest · Post by **headquest** » Tue May 10, 2005 9:10 am

Thanks for the review koolkeys. You're clearly good at this!

Can you just confirm about SampletankLE. I understood from your review and subsequent comments that it comes with around 30 sounds and can't use any others. Is this correct? Sorry if I'm being dense! But you also said the IK stuff takes up the whole of CD3, so 30 sounds seems kind of small... or are the big mutha multisamples, or what?

sonicsmurf · Post by **sonicsmurf** » Tue May 10, 2005 9:28 am

Thanks koolkeys

Tracktion Software

KVR Audio

First T2 boxed bundle review-maybe this will help someone...