How is Tracktion working out for you? My decision tomm

[original flipper]

HI

I don't use Trascktion (it is held in suspended animation) but I always thought of Tracktion (prior to the Mackie take over) as being developed in a similar (although not as prolific) way as XT - I.E. very regular little up-dates?

Maybe I am wrong or my memory is confusing it with another app?

Shame, I do think an application that is being 'moulded' in RESPONSE to relatively substantial user feedback has to be a good way of doing things - but then again; that might not put the food on the table.

I for one am just dissapointed that some of the big FR's (my one being a full screen Midi-edit view) can't be moved along ... let's face it the top dozen or so FR's from the poll I remember taking place a while back are probably features that might improve the sales of the product, keep current users happy, get ex-users back on the horse and generally help the product along.

As I said though - it is of no major concern to me as I don't use the app ... but I would certainly dig it out again if I felt that I could achieve things I currently can't ... or at least, not without pulling my hair out.

Flipper.

[shamann]

I don't really use it either. I have the NFR version, and break it out once in a while. You're right, it did go through very active development in the early days.

T2 certainly doesn't have the insider buzz like it once did, but I don't think it has a smaller userbase than pre-Mackie. For those they lost, I'm sure some new users were gained.

[pHz]

From what I can tell:

- Jules doesn't do much on Tracktion any more, but is quite active on the Juce side, which is, I think, at the core of Tracktion.

AFAIK pretty much true ...

- Mackie have other programmers involved, so unless it becomes a major money loser, I can't see them dumping it in the near future.

AFAIK very much true ...

- Have the T2 updates been any less frequent than what Steinberg puts out with Cubase? It isn't like it was during its nascent days, but I don't think it is as dire as web forum chatter might suggest.

i think T2 is still suffering from the misconception that its a small one-man show (like energyXT still is) where the dev(s) have daily close contact with the userbase and can respond to bug reports and / or feature requests on an almost individual basis ... this is no longer true since from my perception T2 is now being developed more like the bigger established 'mainstream' sequencers with a (small) team of devs working removed from the userbase (albeit with a cool 'middleman' like beno operating as liaison) ... mackie seem to be taking a longer-term view of Ts development than perhaps jules did back in the day ...

... patience is a virtue ...

slainte rob

[bugs]

The Final Mix plug is actually worth the $150. It is excellent of ochestral type mixes. Love it. So I use Tracktion NFR as a mastering tool--if they are willing to give it away, I'll take it.

Tracktion really seems to be an application designed to compete with Pro Tools LE and is very similar both in functionality and shortcomings--an application targeting performers and audio engineers, rather than composers and producers--and that may have been the development headset.

I come out of the composition tradition where score and MIDI are the tools, so I gravitated to Cubase and Logic, eventually settling on Cubase because of the implementation of ASIO and VST technology and Logic's [sic](Apple's) abandonment of the Win platform, and haven't looked back.

I am old enough that I wasn't exposed to Apple's "successful" marketing campaign targeting school children (not unlike the cigarette companies--both an egregious violation of the public trust), so I escaped the fanbot religiosity that has managed to envelope Mac users. (A friend compares Mac users to Roman Catholics and PC users to Protestants--cute analogy.) Whoops, off the topic, sorry!

[miniman]

I've made more music in the three months I,ve had Tracktion 2 than I have in the previous three years, constantly trying to avoid crashes with Cubase.
Ease of use when recording and mixing is it's biggest plus point, great value for money!

[original flipper]

HI

My initial experience of Tracktion was kinda weird - I generally get a few VST's in the host folder and play away - in this case though I dragged a bunch of Audio loops and samples into the GUI and got a tune together very quickly and was amazed ... unfortunately this isnt my normal way of working, I am really into using VSTI's and the Piano-Roll ... and that was when I found out that Tracktion wasn't (as yet) to my liking.

If I was primarily into audio though I can't think of a better host out their ... and I have had pretty well all of them at 1 point or another.

Flipper.

[Lunch Money]

That sounds interesting Greg. Do you have a link to a thread/tutorial or something?

Yup. Here it is:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 2A&start=0

Whoah... I must've messed with my soundcard's settings, 'cause I'm getting chipmunk voice out of my speakers!!

The post seems long because I was trying to be thorough, which might give it the illusion of being something complicated or involved, but it's really quite simple to do. A real beatslicer is obviously preferred (like coFX Dicer) if you can get a bug-free one, since the tutorial just takes what a beatslicer does and makes it manual instead of automatic.

Greg

[No name]

As i've said, I've bought a new DAW and I cannot hook it up yet, and therefor cannot try demos to all of the hosts on this pc because it has Windows 98.

One more question, how easy is it to record in tracktion? Record audio I mean.

[Lunch Money]

No name: There's nothing easier.

You literally point your device at a track and press "record". I'm not saying that pressing "arm" and then "record" in another host is particularly tricker (though in eXT and Live it took me a while to figure out how to assign my devices), or that this function alone makes Tracktion da shizznit, but I really like the way it's presented.

[No name]

Buying a new host is such a dillema. It's like buying a house, and all of them have something good, but they also lack something you hoped they would have. It's tricky, but tracktion surely isn't out of this yet. It's price really attracts me because right now i'm thinking of just using FL for all my heavy midi work, and tracktion for all my audio/editing work. I'll just use my VST's in FL and make my patterns, and then save them out as wav. and open them in tracktion to edit/master and record. That's the way I work now, only now i'm using Acid instead of Tracktion. It's just my preffered work flow to use FL and then another host like that. Does anyone use Fl as a VST in tracktion by the way?

[pdxindy]

i'll list them then...

Good, easy way of looping (like acid where you just pull the track and it automatically loops)

A piano roll.

Time stretching would be a plus

Something with decent FX, and will actually read my folders and show ALL of my VST's. Acid has had a problem with this.

Fairly light on my DAW. Meaning something that won't eat up all my RAM BEFORE I even open audio tracks. I'm gonna have about 750mb RAM just in case anyone needed to know,

Of course I want a host that is dependable, and fairly solid.

Oh yea, and if possible still, something with just a simple password, no f**king dongles if possible (but I doubt it).

And like FL, I want something that accepts midi devices with ease. "It's funny because I heard all the talk about how bad FL was for midi and then I got my controller and I was very impressed by how easy FL was to set up with my midi controller. I just don't want to have to go through page after page editing cc and all types of midi related shit everytime I simply want to assign my modulation wheel to something.

I'm not asking for much I don't think.


Oh, and of course something with good support, regular updates.

As to the poster who talked about buying an M audio card for Live lite, it just so happens I bought a keystation 88 and it came with it, I gave Live lite to my bro though. If it comes down to it i'll just get it back from him and upgrade like you said. He's not gonna know how to use the program anyways, he wants to learn but I doubt he ecven has time.

Thanks people, there is my list, I doubt i'll have my DAW hooked up to the net so I can;t really try out demos on it. I'll see what I can do though.

I would say Live best fits your expressed needs. It lends itself to a feeling of creativity. And if you ever like to make music in realtime, nothing else comes close. You can record, loop, stop and start clips all without interrupting playback. that is just plain fun.

[pdxindy]

As i've said, I've bought a new DAW and I cannot hook it up yet, and therefor cannot try demos to all of the hosts on this pc because it has Windows 98.

One more question, how easy is it to record in tracktion? Record audio I mean.

Download the demos, burn to CD and install on your DAW. All the talk just does not deal with the fact that some people just click with some software, and do not like other software.

There is something very nice about Tracktion. It does not get in my way, for recording audio, or recording midi. Editing Midi is functional but clumsy and not powerful.

(I have Tracktion and Live)

[diverdee]

right now i'm thinking of just using FL for all my heavy midi work, and tracktion for all my audio/editing work. I'll just use my VST's in FL and make my patterns, and then save them out as wav. and open them in tracktion to edit/master and record.

If you are going to be bouncing the patterns out as discrete loops of audio have a go at playing with the live demo.
Loading those loops into the session view slots & then creating various follow actions & semi-random happenings whilst you jam along over the top is great fun.
It's good for just setting patterns out in a linear fashion also, but using live has actually got me (finally) bouncing audio - just so that I can bang it in the session view slots & mess around to gain inspiration.
It might not be your bag, but give the demo a try.

[headquest]

Buying a new host is such a dillema.

It is indeed, and you've received lots of contradictory advice. However, a few things that should be clear from the thread:

Firstly, several people have given you a pile of reasons not to go for Tracktion. And as you said yourself:

i'm just gonna spend the $300. Better to have one host that will do 98% of what I want it to do for 300 dollars than have one that does 75% for 150 dollars.

Secondly, the host that has been recommended by the most people is Ableton Live 5. It is more expensive than your suggested price, but there are some cheaper ways of getting hold of it.

Thirdly, you might be interested to know that if you are planning on using FL Studio, then Sonar has a further advantage over the others discussed, which is the fact that like FL it is a DX host as well as VST. This means that many of Sonar's instruments/effects - including the wonderful Sonitus fx:suite - would be available to you in FL Studio as well as in Sonar

I hope this helps you with your decision.

[No name]

I actually have been considering Sonar SE after someone mentioned it earlier today. Cheap and it seems rather nice too.

I had a plan...I was thinking also that if I wanted live or perhaps cubase SX then i'll go ahead and sell my old gamecube with the games for an extra 100. I was getting rid of it soon anyways.