Podium

[> DiGiT <]

add rewire and im all about this program!

[christianmusicmaker]

I think he means timestretching...so if you preview a loop that is 120bpm while working on a 140bpm project, will it timestretch the previewed loop to that tempo? I believe the answer is 'no'.

Yes the answer is no, although I currently use an inexpensive solution for timestretching and outright audio mangling in Podium...Liveslice. The embedded List view in Podium is still very useful IMHO. I think I can get far more mileage out of Liveslice in so many different ways than any timestretching algo in Podiums List view. It's only 49 Euros. Not sure but I think a time stretching algo may already be on the Podium future road map on the Zynewave forum anyway.

Podiums List view is also very useful for seeing the contents of a project, effectively a project browser as well. Midi files as well as audio files can be dragged from there.

- can the cursor line width be adjusted? It's rather thick, like the region indicators and does not fit with the rest of the GUI.

Someone may have already answered this but I don't think it can.

A particularly neat feature in Podium is the cursor colour changes to red during recording.

Other favourite Podium features for me are the pulsing meters and the excellent spline curves...
http://www.zynewave.com/guide/guide36_curve.htm#splines

add rewire and im all about this program!

Yes it would be a very nice addition, my current workaround is using FL as bridge to get Reason 3 output into Podium. I was most pleased when this worked.

Using FL studio as VSTi and rewiring Reason into FL I can at least bounce the output from Reason3 into Podium during playback. So it is possible to get a similar result to using rewire now, of course without full rewire functionality but Reason3 can be used (output tapped) within Podium now successfully, using FL as the 'bridge'.

[deadbeef]

I've been playing with podium, and find it very difficult to do basic things, such as inserting .wav files into the project. I can get them into the project, but can't seem to get them into an arrangement. Any tips?

[deadbeef]

Actually, figured it out more, but oh, what a pain..

[DuX]

Yep, that's what I've figured. There's something about the workflow that's always in your way in Podium. It should be more simple. I know how to deal with it now that i've read all the very helpful and classy videos and guides, and I installed 3 demos so far within a few months, and IMO it's got great coding and everything, and it isn't so complicated once you get used to it, however my opinion is that it should get even more simple and the crowd will buy it, and they will be very satisfied. it just needs a dosage of simplifying, but otherwise it's the best host there is currently [coding, stability, looks...], as far as fluency of the GUI and everything goes. The only more friendly environment is energyXT IMO, but it lacks the fluency of the Podium's GUI and some pro features... for now at least. Waiting for v2.

Cheers!

p.s. sorry, i got more than a bit pissed on a party tonight, so my language is having difficulty coping with my thoughts and similar shite... you know what I mean, hopefully

[kingtubby]

Actually, figured it out more, but oh, what a pain..

Hit ctrl+L to open a list window, navigate to the folder with your .wav files then drag and drop onto the Podium arrangement window. You can drop onto an existing track or Podium will create a new track. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Mart.

[Zynewave]

I've been playing with podium, and find it very difficult to do basic things, such as inserting .wav files into the project. I can get them into the project, but can't seem to get them into an arrangement. Any tips?

Open the list panel in your arrrangement editor (top right 'list' button). Drag the right edge bar of the list panel so the file list is revealed. Browse to the folder with your wave files. Double-click to audition and drag the wave file onto a track.

[christianmusicmaker]

Actually, figured it out more, but oh, what a pain..

Hit ctrl+L to open a list window, navigate to the folder with your .wav files then drag and drop onto the Podium arrangement window. You can drop onto an existing track or Podium will create a new track. Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Mart.

Exactly. It is not complicated at all. It's very straight forward as it is already documented in the Podium guide...

http://www.zynewave.com/guide/guide12_list.htm

The very same information is available from within Podium by simply going to View > Podium Guide on the main screen (the first screen that you see when starting up Podium) or from the Arrange editor (or arrange view) by going to View > (scroll down to)View > Podium guide. It takes seconds to go there.

There is even more information for other basic functions in Podium, in the same Podium guide just click on Getting started...once you have done this, on one single page you have simple instructions to carry out other basic functions...

1.Setting up your studio
2.Creating an arrangement
3.Using instruments
4.Using effect plugins
5.Recording audio and MIDI inputs
6.Automating parameters
7.Exporting the final result as a sound file.

Of course there is always a better way to do things but that applies to every application out there and is why music software and software in general is constantly being improved and developed. But as it stands right now Podium it is not complicated it just requires some time to read the information already available in the Podium guide as is applicable to any other host.

However it may not be simple enough for everyone (let's be realistic) but that applies to just about any other host as well, Podium is no different and provides plenty of information needed to get started in the Podium guide.

Some people may simply click through to get started with Podium using just the Project Wizard, others of course may need more time to read up on a few features and functions, this kind of scenario is not different when using other hosts.

Many find Cubase complex and bloated, the very next person finds it's complexity a doddle to deal with and has no problem whizzing around the application.

The Podium guide does not even span hundreds of pages, considering what's packed into it.

Of course lest we forget Podium also has video tutorials available from the Zynewave homepage http://www.zynewave.com covering the following areas...

Studio setup
Using the project wizard to set up your studio.
Creating an arrangement and using softsynths.


The hierarchic engine
Showcases the hierarchic mixing engine.
Managing tracks and groups.


External hardware
How to integrate external hardware devices.
Using the devices together with plugins.


Recording
Recording MIDI and audio inputs.
Bounce recording audio output tracks.


Parameter automation
Creating parameter tracks and curve sequences.
Recording and editing curves.

While the video tutorials appear to based on an earlier version of Podium they still provide a very useful visual aid for new begginers using Podium for the first time IMHO.

[papawillow]

A trap for young players with Podium is Switching the Audio Engine On / Off will load and unload your plugs. I found this out when trying to find out why I could not access my selected Vst Interface.

[Art Evans]

I tried Tracktion about three or four times until suddenly the penny dropped and I learned to love it (within its capabilities). I guess the same would be true of Podium. Trouble is, I never use Tracktion despite having 'cracked' it, and I suspect the same would be true of Podium - with every app, unless you really use it often, you don't do it justice, and the fact that you don't use it often probably means it's not the right tool for your particular job.

[deadbeef]

Podium should just allow drag&drop from explorer/etc..

I do love how people say "this isn't complicated" and "just read the [extensive] instruction manual".. Perhaps it _IS_ complicated, but you just are used to it? If it was really that simple, perhaps it wouldn't REQUIRE reading a manual, it would just be obvious. Granted, I am biassed by the way I do things, but I'd like to think to some extent I'm right..

-Justin

[kangul]

Podium should just allow drag&drop from explorer/etc..

It's already on the list and will be added ASAP.

[christianmusicmaker]

but I'd like to think to some extent I'm right..

-Justin

Yes. I think you are right. Any host must work for you at the end of the day and not because someone says it is simple or not.

So if a host does not feel right for you then it probably is too complicated for you. This happens all the time. I am only sharing my point of view here but it is not final by any means. Far from it of course. However even the simplest of hosts requires some time invested in reading a bit more about it, to get the best out of it. That is all I have been trying to say.

But if it does not feel right for you then it is probably not going to work out for you. The reality of life is that what is complicated for one person is simple for another and vice versa.

I am very cautious about recommendations for this or that and will demo extensively if possible before buying, sometimes on and off for weeks. It must feel right for me. Look, feel, stability, support, key features e.t.c all of these things must be pretty much what I want it to be or I know I will regret buying it.

No question about it though, Podium is still being improved, every music package from ACID to Sequoia is going through some sort of improvement process. Podium is no different.

[original flipper]

HI

But ... Saying that; are we not seing a major overhaul in the forthcoming XTV2 as a result (in part) of user feedback on the obscure way in which the program works?

I believe that the 'too complicated' idea is not always valid - I have tried Podium several times and faltered ... got nowhere, I tried Logic once and made music; now a lot of people say Logic is a complete 'mystery', so why would I find one works for me yet another doesn't?

I think that 'interfaces' should 'evolve' into transparent work spaces - I further believe that developers should strive to make things as obvious and simple as can be, with the complexity out of sight - for those who want to delve deeper.

I have always wondered why you can't (in many host programs) click on a midi track and get a menu item come up that asks if you want to load a VSTI (onto/into that track)? - think about it; isn't that the most obvious thing imaginable?

Flipper.

[kangul]

I have always wondered why you can't (in many host programs) click on a midi track and get a menu item come up that asks if you want to load a VSTI (onto/into that track)?

It all depends on user's taste, believe me. Personally it kills me that I can't add a VSTi in eXT's sequencer without automatical assigning it to the midi track.