KVR Audio

nixis00 · Post by **nixis00** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 7:35 am

Hallo guys,

I'm currently on Cubase v5.1..which is getting 'old'...

I'm looking x something new...I don't know if its worth it..

I need a complete sequencer, much like cubase, that gives me flexibility to load different VSTs without trouble and gives me good hands-on approach on the mixing..audio part is important.

I'd like to have all the features of cubase at least.

I'm not looking for anything 'professional' like pro-tools or similar, I'm a home musician and I tend to mix some live inst. with virtual VSTs.

I can spend some money, if its worth it, but maybe I could get some very good stuff x cheap.

Thank you,

PS of course it needs to be fully ASIO compatible etc.etc...

ByE+

AD80 · Post by **AD80** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 7:44 am

Try this host. Cheap, Simple, and Powerful.

kara · Post by **kara** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 7:45 am

You could have a look at Tracktion.

It is my favorit.

Rony

Lunch Money · Post by **Lunch Money** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 8:04 am

Well,

Out of the dozen or so reasonably popular sequencers available, you will find advocates for each and every one of them. If it's simplicity you want, then you need look no further than Tracktion.

If you're already comfortable with Cubase 5.1, you could do worse than follow the upgrade path, or just abandon it in favour of the less fully featured Cubasis.

Cakewalk's Guitar Tracks is getting into the more expensive price range, but features a nice new interface and a decent bundle. It fits the "mixer and recorder" paradigm a little more carefully than Tracktion.

Ultimately, I can't imagine a better solution for you than Tracktion, but that's partially personal bias, as it's my preferred sequencer.

Cheers,
Greg

smart · Post by **smart** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 8:14 am

Give them all a try and see what you like. I'm a FL Studio user primarily and would reccomend it to anyone, but I know that lots of people use Orion, Tracktion, etc.. See which one fits you best.

Lunch Money · Post by **Lunch Money** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 8:23 am

Always good advice. Most sequencers offer some sort of demo.

SuitcaseOfLizards · Post by **SuitcaseOfLizards** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 4:14 pm

I tend to switch back and forth between Tracktion and Orion Platinum as, depending on the kind of music, each one has its strengths and weaknesses.

For a few VSTi mixed with live instruments, you can't go too wrong with Tracktion. I use Tracktion for my guitar/bass/vocal tunes, with a little keyboard backing - excellent for working with basic audio tracks, good ASIO support, and quite stable on my Windows 2000 PC. Performance for audio and VST plugins is quite good on my 2.53GHz P4. I find MIDI editing in the piano roll fiddly, there can be issues with plugin delay compensation here and there, and it needs a decent step sequencer, but other than that it's a good app at an EXCELLENT price. For tracking in guitar and bass over premade drum loops (which is how I work with it), it can't be beat!

If you're going to do anything loop-based, you might consider Orion Platinum. Audio recording is supported, ASIO support is good, supports VST and DX plugins as well. Not all that easy to just sit down and track in stuff linearally, though, due to the pattern-based architecture, but it can be done with a slight amount of additional overhead on the musicians part. Platinum comes with a crapload of goodies as well, a decent set of built-in instruments and drum kits - enough to get going with. Once you learn it, and get used to how it functions, it's actually incredibly easy to get ideas recorded in short order (I tend to use it as a "musical scratchpad").

Lots of choices, and as Lunch Money said, there are demos! Try 'em and buy 'em!

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:58 pm

What about Cubase SE ? I think it's going for $99 or so. It's "entry level" compared to SL or SX, but it may fit the bill.

Doug

jeffn1 · Post by **jeffn1** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 6:16 pm

Sonar cross-grade is another option. . .

JeffN

simondsouza · Post by **simondsouza** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 6:19 pm

I'm with the majority of views here - I've just bought Tracktion.

I was a cubase user for years, but couldn't be bothered learning the new SX version of Cubase. And I was tired of all those windows!!!

The one downside for Tracktion, I found, when switching from cubase 5.1 to it, is that the quantize is not as sophisticated - although I can imagine that it will get better in future releases. Basically, you have to make up your own groove settings (very simple to do), and sometimes the quantize settings behave erratically!

However, the work flow is great and it encourages creative thinking.

I downloaded the demo a played around with it for a month before buying it, alos check out the forum - T has a dedicated and vocal user base.

And it's $80 - that's a steal for something so beautifully simple and effective.

FLStudio is also great, I've owned that since the early days, but it's not for recording live instruments.

Good luck

Simon

Rack Bitz · Post by **Rack Bitz** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 6:48 pm

give everything a try
they all have demos
find what you like
oh im also on tracktion

LoRez · Post by **LoRez** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 6:49 am

nixis00 wrote:Hallo guys,

I'm currently on Cubase v5.1..which is getting 'old'...

I'm looking x something new...I don't know if its worth it..

I need a complete sequencer, much like cubase, that gives me flexibility to load different VSTs without trouble and gives me good hands-on approach on the mixing..audio part is important.

I'd like to have all the features of cubase at least.

I'm not looking for anything 'professional' like pro-tools or similar, I'm a home musician and I tend to mix some live inst. with virtual VSTs.

I can spend some money, if its worth it, but maybe I could get some very good stuff x cheap.

Thank you,

PS of course it needs to be fully ASIO compatible etc.etc...

ByE+

How much can you spend, roughly, and what exactly do you mean by "a hands on approach to the audio"? What you mean by this could be a big factor as to what is right for you. But again, as everyone has said, try the demos. Just make sure that you give each demo the time and effort it requires to actually learn the application enough to properly judge it. Contrary to test taking, your first impression is not always the "proper" one.

Sicklecell666 · Post by **Sicklecell666** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 7:01 am

I see [vst's], but not [vsti's], & no mention of midi, with a mention of audio.

If that is correct, try the free Krystal sequencer. I've heard alot of good things about it. It's audio exclusive & will not handle midi, but you can use vst FX.

If you can wrap your head around it, try eXT, as that's gonna be THE sequencer here very shortly. But don't let the initial learning curve stop you from messing with it; it's worth it in the end. It's a perfect compliment for Orion Platinum 5.5 for me at the moment, which I use for damn near everything I do.

Ja.x · Post by **Ja.x** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 8:07 am

A kind of I'm in the same boat as nixis00: looking for another sequencer. So far I worked with Muzys, so you can see why I must move sooner or later

I tried Tracktion, it almost does the job for me (it lacks the pool of loops that Muzys has), but it has a kind of "clumsy" piano roll (which I use a lot in Muzys) and the overall look is toyish. I HATE

it's look. Period!

I also had a look at Podium (a complete mess, if you ask me), N-track... but so far nothing is so workable like Muzys on the midi side

and it's the lack of hard disk recording that is pushing me out of it

At this stage I can't recommend it; not for sale now, anyway.

Lunch Money · Post by **Lunch Money** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:08 pm

I find it so strange when people say Tracktion looks like a toy, whereas applications with graphical screws, photoshopped 'brushed aluminum' panels, and fake 'look at me, I'm a 3D record button' transport controls are supposedly professional-looking.

Clean, easy on the eyes, and doesn't get in the way of work. To me, that's professional.

On the other hand, you're more than right about the MIDI.

I need a good sequencer. pls help