Cubase SE/SL/SX Vs. Traktion

[handovergold]

Sounds like you're already sold. I hate Tracktion. That's the ugliest interface I've ever seen. No mixer. No video support so I can work on synching sound to video. Never got any further than that.

My workflow for Cubase is smooth as anything else. Learn the program, map out shortcut keys, anything is going to be fast after that.

Devon

Not necessarily sold out right...(Steinberg invented VST and licensed it to everyone else...they were also one of the first (if not the first) to bring home recording to your computer (circa amiga computers). The thing is, I've used Cubase for years and continue to do so. You've got a point...Traktion is not the prettiest thing to look at but that's the least important aspect of recording. Traktion 2 now has video support. For me, I have an older Mac G4 so the GUI grabbing up CPU is crucial. Cubase and Logic will presumedly follow in the footsteps of a simpler single page GUI in the future. It simply makes sense. T2 is really nothing like the free download or the bundled software you got when you purchased any of Makies' products. It's compatible with VST, etc. I'm still debating however. Learning is not the issue either. I'm still discovering features Cubase 5.1 has. The thing that ticks me off about Steinberg or anyone else, is that upgrades/updates are not always that significant but they still manage to extract $100s' of dollars from you every six months. I have friends with all the shit you could ever want and yet they spend equal amount of energy spending more money than they take in having alll the latest and greatest. In other words I've done more and gotten better results with less because I know what I'm doing. There is no magic software that's going to make you a platinum selling songwriter or film scorer. Anyway, I'm still not sure about whether to upgrade to SE/SL/SX versions. There have been scores of reviews pro/cons' about the releases. Most of what I've read is not that exciting or new and there are others out there (like some of the VST programmer/publishers in this forum-the underdogs) producing a greater or equal to product at a fraction of the cost. There was a time when 16track analog was more than $2k. Trent Reznor got an open door invitation record deal from a 4-track demo. House classic, 'Love can't turn around' was done on old cut and splice analog (they used an old Emu SP 1200 drum machine, not an MPC). Now, everyone is a producer at a fraction of the cost and producing tracks right out of their apartment, straight out of a box. Not everyone is selling records, however. In the end for me, my argument stems from what is sensible.

[DevonB]

The thing that ticks me off about Steinberg or anyone else, is that upgrades/updates are not always that significant but they still manage to extract $100s' of dollars from you every six months.

Little exageraged there. SX 1 was released May 2002. SX 2, September 2003. SX 3 was Dec 2004. Still no word on SX 4. The upgrades have been $150. That's about 15ish months between releases. You can validate that from here.

http://www.kvraudio.com/news/4195.html

SX 2 did give 2 new synths, which was more than 'not much of anything'. The effects are not the best. Logic does rule the roost in this aspect for quality effects and synths bundled in the box.

Seriously, look at SE and SL REAL hard. I did a crossgrade to SX for $199 I think a few years back from Logic, so it wasn't too bad. If you really don't need all the features of SX, which most people don't, then look at the cheaper alternatives. The lower end ones are VERY capable. Only thing I didn't like was only 5 inserts per track vs. 8. That's the only thing that really would affect me.

Devon

[hallaeru]

After leaving Logic behind due to incompatibilities with Kontakt, I searched quite a while for a decent and affordable sequencer for my PC. Cubase, Zynewave Podium, FL studio and others all had nice touches, but it wasn't until I tried Traktion I felt at home. I can see that some people find its looks a bit dull, but to me it's extremely efficient. It helps me keep my focus on making music, not on learning software.

[TeeLangSun]

Of all the programs I've tried, I guess I have to say that Cubase is the truth. Every sequencer has some particular ace or two up it's sleeve that I find to be really impressive, but overall, Cubase does most of what I want the way I want it to be done. That's what's most important to me. Not Synths and FX. I need a "no holds barred" sequencing environment where I can do almost anything under a single roof. Not with workarounds, but with tools that were designed to do the task. There's always room for improvement though. I think Cubase could stand to be a little lighter on the resources. Another very important feature for me that's missing from Cubase is the ability to export multiple tracks to separate wave files simultaneously. FL Studio has this implemented beautifully as does Sonar, but somehow, mighty Cubase SX3 has missed the boat on this. Lately though, a lot of people have been chiming in on the need for this over at Cubase.net so, maybe Steinberg are on top of it. I do believe that they listen to their customers these days and are interested in changing the rather bad reputation Cubase has had for being less than reliable. SX3 appears to be rock stable for me as far as crashing is concerned.

[bduffy]

You can export multiple tracks to seperate wave files in Sonar? I totally missed that. That would be an incredible feature for Cubase/Nuendo, I hope they do listen up to that!

[dry bones]

My two penn'orth:
I used to use Logic, and ended up spending far more time trying to get it to work the way I needed than making music with it. Tracktion arrived, allows me to record, mix and output without getting in the way, and racks are making things possible I'd never considered before. I'm using all the same hardware I had ( including my Nova IIX synth ) and it all works perfectly in synch.

[Armadillo]

You can export multiple tracks to seperate wave files in Sonar? I totally missed that. That would be an incredible feature for Cubase/Nuendo, I hope they do listen up to that!

EDIT:

Found it. Haven't tried it though.
http://miloandprolix.com/projects/SX_Un ... ol_0.6.zip

[AD80]

I switched from SX to Tracktion a couple of years back after I got fed up of corrupt project files and mysterious dissapearing acts by SX. Tracktion has never let me down. It lets me do what I need to do in a way that makes sense to me. But most importantly its stable and I havent had 1 single corrupt project in over two years. Thats roughly 250 projects. I havent been back to cubase.net since the switch and would never consider switching back to cubase for anything at this point. Tracktion, a decent wave editor, and EXT are an unbeatable combo for me.

[Dave Blakely]

Not necessarily sold out right...(Steinberg invented VST and licensed it to everyone else...they were also one of the first (if not the first) to bring home recording to your computer (circa amiga computers).

That would be Atari computers, i think they ported Pro16 or 24 to the Amiga but it was crap. Over the years i've worked on a lot of sequencer progs from pro24 on an Atari thru Bars and Pipes on the Amiga up thru Cubase from Atari to Pc, Logic, Tracktion etc and knowledge learned on one is always transferable to another, but i always find myself coming back to Cubase when i've "got a job on" wether this is due to familiarity having used it for the best part of 14-15 years or what, its always been rock solid for me......then again i used to work on an Atari 1040ste with no mouse and a copy of Cubase 2 for a local band years ago, so i suppose i've done my trial by fire thing and minor hiccups no longer bother me , one thing i will say about Tracktion though is that i liked it the first moment i saw it and if i was forced to use another prog i would use it.

[bduffy]

You can export multiple tracks to seperate wave files in Sonar? I totally missed that. That would be an incredible feature for Cubase/Nuendo, I hope they do listen up to that!

EDIT:

Found it. Haven't tried it though.
http://miloandprolix.com/projects/SX_Un ... ol_0.6.zip

I've tried that at work and it never works properly.

Oh - that's one thing I'd relly love them to change about Cubase; the dialogue windows that don't work like Windows' windows. You can't tab or use the spacebar properly, and that's the main reason that tool doesn't work more easily.

[AD80]

You can export multiple tracks to seperate wave files in Sonar? I totally missed that. That would be an incredible feature for Cubase/Nuendo, I hope they do listen up to that!

Tracktion has this feature aswell and it works great. I transfer sessions between Tracktion and PT all the time.

[stag]

yawwwnnn.... I use a paied for SX3 sequencer i spend 700€ on it or more just because i know Steinberg deserves every cent of the money they ask for it.

Don´t ask me how do i know it, just let me tell you about 3 months ago happened something that rendered all these discussions useless as a freezer on the North Pole.
Just support your favourite developer.

[bduffy]

You can export multiple tracks to seperate wave files in Sonar? I totally missed that. That would be an incredible feature for Cubase/Nuendo, I hope they do listen up to that!

Tracktion has this feature aswell and it works great. I transfer sessions between Tracktion and PT all the time.

Great. I'm going to try Traktion one of these days. It wouldn't run on my machine at work, but I'll give it a go sometime. Seems like it could be the next big host.

[bduffy]

yawwwnnn.... I use a paied for SX3 sequencer i spend 700€ on it or more just because i know Steinberg deserves every cent of the money they ask for it.

Don´t ask me how do i know it, just let me tell you about 3 months ago happened something that rendered all these discussions useless as a freezer on the North Pole.
Just support your favourite developer.

That's a cryptic post...you know a Steinberg developer or something...?

[AD80]

You can export multiple tracks to seperate wave files in Sonar? I totally missed that. That would be an incredible feature for Cubase/Nuendo, I hope they do listen up to that!

Tracktion has this feature aswell and it works great. I transfer sessions between Tracktion and PT all the time.

Great. I'm going to try Traktion one of these days. It wouldn't run on my machine at work, but I'll give it a go sometime. Seems like it could be the next big host.

Actually the whole point of Tracktion is to NOT be the next "big" host. Aka bloated with crap. Its not everything to everybody, but if it works for you, its simple and reliable.