Hello, my Colleagues,
Nero 7 Ultra is today available as a fully-functional 30-day demo download.
Home page is: www.nero.com
Download page is: http://ww2.nero.com/nero7/enu/nero7-up.php
There are manuals and screenshots and such at various places on the site.
This is the first day, so be patient if the server is getting hammered. Mine was a little slow, but not infuriating.
Also, be careful when you install, as Nero wants to be the default program for damn near every file extension you can imagine. There's a multi-tab page for that during install, and make sure to click through every tab and deselect everything.
I, like many of you, use Nero mostly for burning CDs. However, they've added what they call SoundBox to it, available as an instrument inside their SoundTrax2 recording/mixing app. Go to 'Insert>SoundBox Clip' to open it. Records a sound clip, which can then be exported.
I've only played with it for half an hour today, so haven't really hit its limits. It's a rather charming 4-bar beatbox with a randomize function. It's limited in the sounds it can make, but has a dozen different drum kits and a keyboard sequencer for melodies. Also has a text-to-speech converter which doesn't sound half-bad.
I've actually done a track with SoundTrax, in Nero 6, as a demo for my computer users group. It's a pretty capable simple recorder/sequencer/mixer. Has all kinds of effects and noise-reduction tools that can be custom-chained as presets. And the wave editor doesn't suck. The whole thing will supposedly record at 16-, 24-, or 32-bit. No mention of sample rate, presumably 44.1 KHz, considering that it's all about CDs. SoundTrax also supposedly mixes in up to 7.1 in this version.
The docs on this thing are pretty scanty, so you have to play with it a bit. I'm puzzled about what market they're aiming at with these add-on programs. GarageBand for PCs, maybe? Or maybe somebody playful at the company is just having fun bolting toys onto their software.
Amazon is selling it for $60 after rebate here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 2?v=glance. That's the lowest price a quick Google found. If you're patient, there's always the deal that will happen at Fry's sometime within the next year.
This is a no-brainer for me, as my school sells licenses for $20, and I'm a huge fan of Nero as burning software.
Anyhow, I'd love to hear your impressions of this little guy, as well as any tips and tricks on using it creatively.
The thing I'd REALLY like, of course, is to find some way to plug VSTs into it....
Take care,
GreyLion
Nero 7 - Audio recorder, wave editor, and.. a Drum Machine!
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3385 posts since 21 May, 2004 from Deep in the Heartlessness of Texas
Oh, also -- I found a CNET review here -- http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Nero_7_Ult ... ml?tag=nav
The pro reviewer liked it, with caveats, but it looks like you need to stay the hell away from the boxed version right now; it apparently has BAD bug issues. That x.0 version release issue that's often so much fun... That said, if you buy it, you can presumably download the latest version from the Nero site and install that and use your key. I haven't yet done much of anything with this program, only got it an hour or so ago, but it hasn't been crashy for me. But, if you're the paranoid type, you might want to keep it off your main music-making machine until things clarify a bit.
Take care,
GreyLion
The pro reviewer liked it, with caveats, but it looks like you need to stay the hell away from the boxed version right now; it apparently has BAD bug issues. That x.0 version release issue that's often so much fun... That said, if you buy it, you can presumably download the latest version from the Nero site and install that and use your key. I haven't yet done much of anything with this program, only got it an hour or so ago, but it hasn't been crashy for me. But, if you're the paranoid type, you might want to keep it off your main music-making machine until things clarify a bit.
Take care,
GreyLion
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3385 posts since 21 May, 2004 from Deep in the Heartlessness of Texas
Sorry to keep bumping the thread, but --
1. It looks like the drum machine will load external samples into the pads. Right-clicking on the chosen pad brings up the dialog box. Makes this toy more versatile.
2. You can buy the boxed software at Best Buy for $59.99 out the door, with an additional $20 rebate for upgraders. Link is here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 5465403814
I still haven't had much chance to play with it, but this software is a veritable Swiss Army knife. Not insanely great at any one thing, except CD-burning, but very handy for all sorts of little project tasks.
Take care,
GreyLion
1. It looks like the drum machine will load external samples into the pads. Right-clicking on the chosen pad brings up the dialog box. Makes this toy more versatile.
2. You can buy the boxed software at Best Buy for $59.99 out the door, with an additional $20 rebate for upgraders. Link is here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 5465403814
I still haven't had much chance to play with it, but this software is a veritable Swiss Army knife. Not insanely great at any one thing, except CD-burning, but very handy for all sorts of little project tasks.
Take care,
GreyLion
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- KVRAF
- 10160 posts since 16 Dec, 2002
from the websiteGreyLion wrote:
The thing I'd REALLY like, of course, is to find some way to plug VSTs into it....
Supports Nero Wave Editor 3, DirectX and VST audio processing plug ins
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- KVRAF
- 8715 posts since 24 May, 2002 from Tutukaka, New Zealand
Hmmm...I really like Nero, but I'm not so sure about all that extraneous stuff they've added. I used to use a full Nero older version, then got a newer but "Light" version free with some h/w or other I bought. And the light version is so much simpler and easier to use. Not that Nero was that difficult to start with, but the very first time I ever burnt a CD with it, it certainly involved a bit of head scratching, and at least 3 wasted CDRs. So to me - the simpler they made Nero, the better it became. All I need or want from a CD burner is to burn a standard format CD, no fancy options that I don't even know what it means. A straight forward file browser, then a burn button.
I think adding all that shit would possibly put me off Nero. Certainly if I was new to it again, and Nero decided to be the default program for any and all audio files...I think I'd bin it. A CD burner should be click and run. Audio editors and hosts should be the ones to dick around with audio - I just don't see where Nero are going with this - apart from unnecessary bloat. The only thing that would make me want to pay for a newer version would be if they made it even simpler. All those daft choices about Joliet mode 1 through 763 etc etc etc - I just want to burn a f**king audio CD.
I think adding all that shit would possibly put me off Nero. Certainly if I was new to it again, and Nero decided to be the default program for any and all audio files...I think I'd bin it. A CD burner should be click and run. Audio editors and hosts should be the ones to dick around with audio - I just don't see where Nero are going with this - apart from unnecessary bloat. The only thing that would make me want to pay for a newer version would be if they made it even simpler. All those daft choices about Joliet mode 1 through 763 etc etc etc - I just want to burn a f**king audio CD.
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n-04:05:03:05:7 n-04:05:03:05:7 https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=59832 - KVRist
- 309 posts since 28 Feb, 2005 from France
I'm not interested in all that stuff either and it's probably a mess to only install Nero burning rom alone (not sure). Anyway, my bro tested the Nero recode codec v6 (video compression) and the size/quality ratio is very good + it's very fast to encode. For those who need a way to compress video for personal use, that's a very good solution.
In your case, kritikon, I think Nero Express would suits you fine.
In your case, kritikon, I think Nero Express would suits you fine.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3385 posts since 21 May, 2004 from Deep in the Heartlessness of Texas
Aha! Thanks, CreepJoint! Can't believe I missed that...
The docs on this program are soooo obscure. I found that I had to add the vst plugin by opening WaveEditor, then going to 'Options>Editor Options...>VST Plugins. Scanned a directory with LFX-1310 in it, it installed just fine and seems to run flawlessly.
There seems to be no way to directly install plugins into SoundTrax, but I found that it's integrated enough that once I'd installed LFX-1310 in WaveEditor, it spontaneously showed up in the Effects drop-down in the Effect Chain Editor in Soundtrax. I can now create a custom effects chain using it.
I'm planning on monkeying around tonight and seeing if I can wrap an instrument inside something (Chainer demo, maybe?) and play into it with my cheap MIDI keyboard.
This is so stupid. But I'm enjoying geeking out with this toy.
And I often have friends and clients who are interested in starting out with a cheap, simple sequencer to play their guitar and sing into, learn the basics of recording and effecting and mixing and such, before they commit to the money and steep learning curves that we all know and love. Historically, I've aimed them at Guitar Tracks, but this little guy might replace it. I think you could actually drop some drum loops into it and make a song.
Oh, also, the config on SoundTrax says it'll render .wavs up to 32/192. Still can't find a setting on sample rate during recording. Though Wave editor says it'll record up to 32/192, so maybe that integrates somehow.
Take care,
GreyLion
The docs on this program are soooo obscure. I found that I had to add the vst plugin by opening WaveEditor, then going to 'Options>Editor Options...>VST Plugins. Scanned a directory with LFX-1310 in it, it installed just fine and seems to run flawlessly.
There seems to be no way to directly install plugins into SoundTrax, but I found that it's integrated enough that once I'd installed LFX-1310 in WaveEditor, it spontaneously showed up in the Effects drop-down in the Effect Chain Editor in Soundtrax. I can now create a custom effects chain using it.
I'm planning on monkeying around tonight and seeing if I can wrap an instrument inside something (Chainer demo, maybe?) and play into it with my cheap MIDI keyboard.
This is so stupid. But I'm enjoying geeking out with this toy.
And I often have friends and clients who are interested in starting out with a cheap, simple sequencer to play their guitar and sing into, learn the basics of recording and effecting and mixing and such, before they commit to the money and steep learning curves that we all know and love. Historically, I've aimed them at Guitar Tracks, but this little guy might replace it. I think you could actually drop some drum loops into it and make a song.
Oh, also, the config on SoundTrax says it'll render .wavs up to 32/192. Still can't find a setting on sample rate during recording. Though Wave editor says it'll record up to 32/192, so maybe that integrates somehow.
Take care,
GreyLion
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3385 posts since 21 May, 2004 from Deep in the Heartlessness of Texas
Hey, kritikon -- I agree that Nero can be complex and is looking bloatier with every version. Historically, the burn software of choice for consumers was EZ CD Creator, which generally works fine. But if you're a computer geek, you gotta love Nero for all the control it gives you over the burn. One thing it was well known for is having settings that allowed you to, um, archive copy-protected disks that EZ CD creator would blow up on.
Like you, I'm puzzled about why they're adding all this other stuff. I suspect most of their customers will just be annoyed by it. But I'm finding it fun to muck around with. It has a stupidly simple consumer-oriented interface, and I'm getting off to that. I screw around with absurdly complex software and hardware all day, and this bit is charming.
Take care,
GreyLion
Like you, I'm puzzled about why they're adding all this other stuff. I suspect most of their customers will just be annoyed by it. But I'm finding it fun to muck around with. It has a stupidly simple consumer-oriented interface, and I'm getting off to that. I screw around with absurdly complex software and hardware all day, and this bit is charming.
Take care,
GreyLion