KVR Audio

DollyNipples · Post by **DollyNipples** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 8:53 pm

It is a Godsend for me. It can load VST instruments and form racks, and it's not as clunky as many other free DAWs. I've tried RaXNTraX, and goodness... it's so hard to get the darned thing to do what I want it to do even after looking at the tutorials. With Podium Free, I can pretty much plunge right in, and while some aspects of the interface are a bit wonky at first, I am getting used to them because for the most part it is very user-friendly.

I can even sidechain with a free plugin that doesn't just auto-duck based on BPM - just load a bus into the source track and the target, and you can control the sidechain gating quite easily.

Podium is more VST-friendly than Linux Multimedia Studio, though the latter is great for creating beats using samples, and people who don't want to bother with loads of VST plugins would find it quite welcoming.

do_androids_dream · Post by **do_androids_dream** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 9:00 pm

Yes, lovely DAW - wonderful interface but, critically, it's lacking any kind of audio time stretching - deal breaker for me personally. Sits alongside Reaper in terms of stability.

DollyNipples · Post by **DollyNipples** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:54 am

Which free DAW would have the capability of time stretching? Does Reaper allow you to time-stretch? Also, time-stretching isn't that big of a deal for me right now because I like to compose my own riffs and I've got loads of plugins to make all kinds of sounds.

swatwork · Post by **swatwork** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:42 am

DollyNipples wrote:Which free DAW would have the capability of time stretching?

PreSonus Studio One Free does timestretching, you could import your audio files and export them at the new tempo for use in Podium.

kurviak · Post by **kurviak** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:25 pm

DollyNipples wrote:Does Reaper allow you to time-stretch?

Yes it does

DollyNipples wrote:Also, time-stretching isn't that big of a deal for me right now because I like to compose my own riffs and I've got loads of plugins to make all kinds of sounds.

You can use time-stretching as a composing tool. I'm an electric guitarist and a lot of times I record my riff ideas with a real guitar and then use cut & pase, time-stretching to assemble new riff and then record them again.

xx JPRacer xx · Post by **xx JPRacer xx** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 4:52 pm

Reaper is not free though.

DollyNipples · Post by **DollyNipples** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 11:15 pm

Thank you both! I'm thinking of getting Presonus Free despite the fact that it doesn't support VST instruments (from what I've read). I'll also need to find out how to record vocals in Zynewave Podium without hearing them as I'm singing.

Edit: Found out how to arm for recording and bypass so I don't hear my own voice.

crimsonwarlock · Post by **crimsonwarlock** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 8:15 am

xx JPRacer xx wrote:Reaper is not free though.

But at its price point, it's an absolute steal

Passing Bye · Post by **Passing Bye** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 8:22 am

60 days unrestricted trial, cost 60 dollars, dollar a day, pretty sweet deal and you get something that worth so much more

MarlaPodolski · Post by **MarlaPodolski** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 7:45 pm

Apparently, Frits Nielsen, the genius behind this wonderful one-man DAW creation, is curently recoding the entire works. No news on how long this will take, as Frits is often in demand and employed for other related software and audio firms. His expertise is in GUI design (just look at the beauty of Podium!), and it goes on from there. He worked for TC Electronics some time ago.

So, don't hold your breath, as this could take a while, but if this ever does come to fruition ... well, DAW makers probably ought to watch out!

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 7:50 pm

Does Podium Free allocate more than one CPU core now?

Edit: I see it doesnt:

Plugin multiprocessing is disabled.

Shame, if they changed that, it'd be the best free host.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 7:50 pm

I hope that means a Mac version too.

swatwork · Post by **swatwork** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:56 pm

chk071 wrote:Does Podium Free allocate more than one CPU core now?

Edit: I see it doesnt:
Plugin multiprocessing is disabled.
Shame, if they changed that, it'd be the best free host.

If he changed that there would be less incentive to buy the full version. Compared to other free DAWs Podium Free is already vey generous - VST support, unlimited plugin instances, unlimited tracks, etc.

It also has a very good track freeze function, so that can offset the limitations of the single-core restriction if you really need it.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 2:24 am

swatwork wrote: If he changed that there would be less incentive to buy the full version. Compared to other free DAWs Podium Free is already vey generous - VST support, unlimited plugin instances, unlimited tracks, etc.

True thing, it's just that you're likely to run into trouble with the latest generation of soft synth, which can take quite some processing power. Actually last time i tried Podium, i couldn't run 2 instances before CPU melt down... should be better on the machine i have now, but still it's pretty restrictive. But surely you can't expect to have all the features of the full version, and when you're mainly recording, or working with audio, it shouldn't be much of a restriction at all.

swatwork · Post by **swatwork** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:42 am

chk071 wrote:True thing, it's just that you're likely to run into trouble with the latest generation of soft synth, which can take quite some processing power.

It's not like Podium is particularly expensive. If you can afford the latest generation of soft-synths you can probably find $50 for a full license.

Zynewave Podium Free