KVR Audio

Danilo Villanova · Post by **Danilo Villanova** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 12:50 pm

Hi, so recently I bought Reason 10 and it's everything I need in terms of creative workflow but I'm thinking of getting a second DAW for mixing and mastering and I'm torn between these two DAWs.

Samplitude Pro X3 Suite goes for very cheap in the forum and Cakewalk is free which makes both of them attractive. I've tried both of them but not enough to make a decision. I like Cakewalk's GUI way better but I see myself getting used to Samp's. ProChannel in CbB is awesome but included FX in Sam seem to be top notch.

Which one of these two would you choose for mixing and mastering? which one has a better workflow? better stock plugins? automation? routing? ease of use? stability?

Thanks

jens · Post by **jens** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 3:28 pm

The only Reason I see in regards to using Cakewalk or Samplitude over Reason is that they have mixer snapshots.

Reason on the other hand has the SSL (9000) console emu built-in though, so if you don't need the snapshots I'd go with Reason.

Reason's other included FX are all top notch as well b.t.w. .

https://www.propellerheads.com/de/reason/mixing

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/propell ... ience.html

toonertik · Post by **toonertik** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 3:44 pm

I have and use both and to throw another into the mix (

) is Harrison's mixbus, (which can be bought real cheap if you get the demo and wait, they will make a no_brainer offer ).
By far the most advanced is Samplitude for it's Audio handling and extensive tools for manipulating audio files, as well as it's included plugins (the Vandal and Analog_Moddeling series were created by Sascha, now at U-he). I also prefer the GUI but that is just a personal thing.. and as far as I can tell does NOT affect the sound output

If you get the Sam suit you also get SoundForge and Melodyne elements... oh and a very good (but complex) Sampler with a pretty good library (70Gigs).. last year they also includes Spectral Layers4.. very useful if still included. It is another way to look at a sound file and manipulate it... sort of poor Izotope RX thingy, I guess.
Mixbus has it's own sound (not talking here about engine and nulls etc.. but the way they do the summing with their saturation etc ) but is not so elegant in the looks department.. still nice to have for those occasional mixes tho.

Mastering in Sam is good ))) or Sound forge )))

Danilo Villanova · Post by **Danilo Villanova** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 4:06 pm

jens wrote: Sat Dec 15, 2018 3:28 pm The only Reason I see in regards to using Cakewalk or Samplitude over Reason is that they have mixer snapshots.

Reason on the other hand has the SSL (9000) console emu built-in though, so if you don't need the snapshots I'd go with Reason.

Reason's other included FX are all top notch as well b.t.w. .

https://www.propellerheads.com/de/reason/mixing

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/propell ... ience.html

Yeah, Reason's mixer is cool but you can't hide tracks or create folders which can get messy in big projects. I would like something more advanced for engeneering tasks than Reason provides. I still love it more than any other DAW for composing and I love the included effects on the rack. Anyways, I'm mixing something in Reason now so maybe I'll get used to it. Thanks!

Danilo Villanova · Post by **Danilo Villanova** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 4:09 pm

toonertik wrote: Sat Dec 15, 2018 3:44 pm I have and use both and to throw another into the mix ( ) is Harrison's mixbus, (which can be bought real cheap if you get the demo and wait, they will make a no_brainer offer ).
By far the most advanced is Samplitude for it's Audio handling and extensive tools for manipulating audio files, as well as it's included plugins (the Vandal and Analog_Moddeling series were created by Sascha, now at U-he). I also prefer the GUI but that is just a personal thing.. and as far as I can tell does NOT affect the sound output
If you get the Sam suit you also get SoundForge and Melodyne elements... oh and a very good (but complex) Sampler with a pretty good library (70Gigs).. last year they also includes Spectral Layers4.. very useful if still included. It is another way to look at a sound file and manipulate it... sort of poor Izotope RX thingy, I guess.
Mixbus has it's own sound (not talking here about engine and nulls etc.. but the way they do the summing with their saturation etc ) but is not so elegant in the looks department.. still nice to have for those occasional mixes tho.

Mastering in Sam is good ))) or Sound forge )))

Thanks for chiming in. Yeah, SAM's included instruments are a strong consideration including Independence which has more than a few usable sounds. Also love those pop brass! If you could mix and master in only one DAW, would you choose SAM or Mixbus?

toonertik · Post by **toonertik** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 5:21 pm

SAM..
It has the advantage of included plugins... BUT it is also a comprehensive audio editor in it's own right. I don't know how far you have got into this side of the program but it has a few cool features.
Also I prefer to create in SAM.. but hey, I got Mixbus for $19... nice to have around.. it's fun .. sometimes.

Danilo Villanova · Post by **Danilo Villanova** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 5:50 pm

toonertik wrote: Sat Dec 15, 2018 5:21 pm SAM..
It has the advantage of included plugins... BUT it is also a comprehensive audio editor in it's own right. I don't know how far you have got into this side of the program but it has a few cool features.
Also I prefer to create in SAM.. but hey, I got Mixbus for $19... nice to have around.. it's fun .. sometimes.

And Cakewalk, with the ProChannel, doesn't get close to what I can acheive in SAM in terms of mixing? And audio editing? Is there any specific feature that SAM has that CW doesn't?

Yeah, Mixbus looks cool and I'll probably get it in the future but I feel it's only got one way of doing things and doesn't look good on a laptop screen.

toonertik · Post by **toonertik** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:21 pm

The CW Pro Channel is ok.. it has some good stuff from OverLoud and other things.
SAM's audio editing leave CW behind tho. It offers both destructive and real_time/non_destructive editing.. it s far far more comprehensive than CW's. You really need to read both the help file (bit limited) and the manual, which is some 1200 pages...
just a bit of light bed time reading, I guess... pffffffff.

Mixbus .. well if she were a girl, I'd leave her in the pub (omg.. that is so sexist but I don't mean it that way... hmmm or do I)
Personality could win me over and Mixbus has lots of that .. so maybe I would stay in the pub for a few more drinks.. you never know

Seriously.. have a read on SAM's manual.. so much to discover!

Danilo Villanova · Post by **Danilo Villanova** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:27 pm

toonertik wrote: Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:21 pm The CW Pro Channel is ok.. it has some good stuff from OverLoud and other things.
SAM's audio editing leave CW behind tho. It offers both destructive and real_time/non_destructive editing.. it s far far more comprehensive than CW's. You really need to read both the help file (bit limited) and the manual, which is some 1200 pages...
just a bit of light bed time reading, I guess... pffffffff.

Mixbus .. well if she were a girl, I'd leave her in the pub (omg.. that is so sexist but I don't mean it that way... hmmm or do I)
Personality could win me over and Mixbus has lots of that .. so maybe I would stay in the pub for a few more drinks.. you never know
Seriously.. have a read on SAM's manual.. so much to discover!

Thank you! I'll consider everything you said in my decision.

toonertik · Post by **toonertik** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 6:33 pm

Do as I have done and keep all 3..
Variety is the spice of life...
BUT I use SAM most

Winstontaneous · Post by **Winstontaneous** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 7:52 pm

I don't own Samplitude, but if I worked mainly in Windows I would. The Object Editing paradigm in Samp/Sequoia is by far the best implementation of per-item/region based editing I've seen in any DAW including such a feature (I'm most familiar with Logic and Reaper).

toonertik · Post by **toonertik** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 8:05 pm

Yeah.. I did think of mentioning that but you really have to use it to appreciate it and it's not easy to explain ..

Reaper does have a similar paradigm but SAM has been like this from the get go way way back 1995 on PC I think, certainly 1997 when I discovered SAM.
The main thing I find lacking (although they,Magix, have included in SAM 4) is the auto_lanes as in Reaper and the auto_items.

jens · Post by **jens** » Sat Dec 15, 2018 11:22 pm

toonertik wrote: Sat Dec 15, 2018 8:05 pm
Reaper does have a similar paradigm but SAM has been like this from the get go way way back 1995 on PC I think, certainly 1997 when I discovered SAM.

Tracktion/Waveform as well has been completely object-orientated right from the start.

Samplitude vs Cakewalk for MIx/Mastering