Cubase to Tracktion?

[musiclinks]

Hello All,

Has anyone made the move from Cubase VSt to Tracktion?
I'm contemplating moving to Cubase SX but I've been reading that Tracktion is quite good and may have the features I require for television and movie composing as well as song writing.

[jplanet]

I moved from Cubase/Nuendo, and do not look back. I get a lot more work done, even if there are some features lacking, the tradeoff is quite worth it.

I have never used the video features, but they are there. I also don't do a lot of complex MIDI, or need to sync to external gear, so I have never run into limitations that prohibit some from working with it.

[chagzuki]

It has the option to display a quicktime movie. Unless this has been updated that's the only format it supports.

[musiclinks]

Thanks,

I have to go to Win XP 1st (fun), Before I can take advantage of any new Hosts out there.
Cubase VST has been running well for me for the past few years. And I'm not looking forward to an upgrade because of the time I will have to take to setup my system again. Bur I need to get a faster computer and I believe I should upgrade the host and op system at the same time??

My Present computer:
P4 1.6 ghz
1 gb ram sdram
2 X 80 gb hd seagate
ati all in wonder radeon
intel mobo
pioneer dvd burner, lg cd burner
m audio omni studio w delta card not usb version
thinking of going to:
amd 3800 X2
asus p8v mobo
1 gb corsair ram
keeping one 80 gb hd and getting another 160 gb hd
keeping the ati card
maybe keeping the cd burner and getting a new dl lg burner

the old system will go to my folks.

[amyjer]

I use both Tracktion 2 and Sonar rather than Cubase but I can comment on using Tracktion for tv and music scoring. Sonar (and presumably Nuendo) has the ability to lock markers to timecode while Tracktion does not to my knowledge. This feature could be important to you if you change the tempo of your piece. With Tracktion, you will have to redo all of your markers. With Sonar (and perhaps Cubase) the software will recalculate all of your markers based on the new tempo.

Otherwise, I agree that Tracktion is a much easier program to use and the trade off is worth it. I use it whenever possible.

[musiclinks]

Yikes, yes locking markers to timecode is important, I do have tempo changes in most of the work I do.
I'll have to download the t2 demo to see if it works for me. If I like it I may get cubase sx3 and t2, t2 is only $171 CDN, pretty cheap for all the features it has IMO.
I wish Cubase SX had an upgrade price for present users, as it stands I have to pay full price for Sx3, which since I've been using cubase since 3.5. I feel is a little unfair since there is a competitive upgrade from other hosts.

[ease production]

i changed from cubase to tracktion and really like it.
it's so much faster to work in and is very stable.
there is currently a bug in the midi out commands but i am assuming and hope they will fix that quickly. apart from that there is no turning back. it also now has a 64bit mix engine. the sound quality is excellent.

[headquest]

musiclinks... it really depends on what features you want. Cubase has a lot of features that Tracktion does not yet have (and is not likely to in the near future). On the other hand, Tracktion is more streamlined/easy to use for getting ideas down.

I moved from Cubase SX1 to Tractkion and much prefered Tracktion... at first. But over time I hit the wall with a mixture of bugs/problems in Tracktion, and features that it does not have. I no longer use it at all.

I now use Ableton Live 5 (which is simply awesome - check that out too!). Again, it is not everything that Cubase is though, and does not purport to be. If you want something that is totally full on, I believe that Sonar 5 is possibly the one that does everything right now.

[headquest]

there is currently a bug in the midi out commands but i am assuming and hope they will fix that quickly.

There are bugs in T2 which I know were reported some 3 years ago (e.g. MIDI note dropping issues, Rewire issue) and still not fixed, so don't hold your breath

[Synthbuilder]

Hey Headquest, you have led me astray

I too have just ditched Tracktion and am now using Live 5.

Of course, I will blame you if I don't like it

But right now, I'm loving it.

I should say that Tracktion is obviously working well for some people. However, I found its GUI laggy, midi timing loose, midiclock non existant, no appropriate CC linking to Reason and a woeful midi editor. And the loss of the first note everytime I hit play. Maybe I'm just fussy...

Tony

[liqih]

agree with Tony, for deep MIDI use Cubase is so much better than Tracktion

[musiclinks]

Thanks for the advice everyone,
I use Midi alot, so it seems SX will be the way to go, Hate the dongle though, I have the Serial dongle in VST 5.1 and that was a hassle in the beginning, I'm hoping that the USB key is not as tempermental. There are some plugins that are pace protected, and it looks like I should stay away from that nightmare. I need something that is at least 90% stable.

[headquest]

Hey Headquest, you have led me astray

I too have just ditched Tracktion and am now using Live 5. Of course, I will blame you if I don't like it

So let's hope everything goes perfectly for you forever then...

But right now, I'm loving it.

Phew!

I should say that Tracktion is obviously working well for some people. However, I found its GUI laggy, midi timing loose, midiclock non existant, no appropriate CC linking to Reason and a woeful midi editor. And the loss of the first note everytime I hit play. Maybe I'm just fussy...

yes obviously! How dare you ask for those things

[kritikon]

I use Midi alot, so it seems SX will be the way to go, Hate the dongle though, I have the Serial dongle in VST 5.1 and that was a hassle in the beginning, I'm hoping that the USB key is not as tempermental. There are some plugins that are pace protected, and it looks like I should stay away from that nightmare. I need something that is at least 90% stable.

Certainly it's been stable for me. I haven't heard of any problems with the dongle from other sources that are actually inherent to the dongle. And the dongle is smaller than the Serial one. Even little things like the fact it's USB is a bonus...alot of PCs nowadays seem to have a front access USB port, which means you aren't forced to have your dongle around the back if you don't want it to be. Personally I prefer it out of the way at the back, but say you want to use SX in another location, you can use the front USB port so much more easily. Can't say I ever had any problems with the seial port dongle either though.

When I first went over to SX, I was very worried about registering etc...there were loads of stories about you having to be on the net to register. Turned out to be a pile of crap after all - you do have to get the Syncrosoft license etc off the net, but you can transfer it via CD or whatever into a non-interenet PC easily. (I don't have my DAW on the net, and don't intend to either).

The dongle won't be a problem. Personally, I don't know why PC users ever get bothered about them, it's a small price to pay if it impedes the crackers IMO. And I read a post somewhere in KvR about someone who bought the Korg Legacy set and loaded their license onto the Steinberg one without any problems. So it's good to know that if dongles ever become a standard, that only one will be necessary.

EDIT: i can see why laptop users might have problems with a dongle, but personally I think it's trusting to luck using a laptop as your DAW. (IMO)

[P.T.]

Hey Headquest, you have led me astray

I too have just ditched Tracktion and am now using Live 5.

Of course, I will blame you if I don't like it

But right now, I'm loving it.

I should say that Tracktion is obviously working well for some people. However, I found its GUI laggy, midi timing loose, midiclock non existant, no appropriate CC linking to Reason and a woeful midi editor. And the loss of the first note everytime I hit play. Maybe I'm just fussy...

Tony

Plus automation is a problem.

If you automate and then decide that the tempo needs to be a little faster or slower, all of your automation will be knocked out of place and will have to be redone. (I'm talking about midi here).

I'm looking for a new host. I don't think these problems will be fixed anytime soon.

The big T2 update was really about linking it up to Mackie hardware and adding instruments to make it more appealing to newbies. Bugs and features were hardly addressed at all.