Waveform 10 vs other DAWs?

[xbitz]

I'm strongly considering S1 Pro too after seeing a lot of KVR users recommend it. I'm really liking Ableton's workflow right now however but with the $9.99 per month price on Splice it's very tempting. What would you say are the advantages of S1 Pro over Ableton Live Suite? (Btw speaking of prices, I'd be buying Live with an EDU license so I'd be saving like 30/40 percent which is why I'm even considering it)

^^^ macro related workflow is missing from S1 (S1 contains macro controls but they can't be automated directly), https://answers.presonus.com/3586/exten ... on-control I would suggest check this one first if u demo it and use this feature lot in Ableton Live

[jochicago]

I can get Waveform 9 for less then $50 used. Your point on price is Used vs New.

Which version of Waveform are you finding for $50? What comes with that? Keep in mind, if you are not getting the DAW Essentials plugins with it, you are basically severely handicapped as the W9 stock plugins are discard quality. Even the DAW essentials stuff is decent at best.

To be clear, this is what I meant on price:
Waveform full: $500
Studio One full: $400

And you can probably get either at roughly 50% off on a good sale (like maybe black friday). So the price comparison is really around $200-250.

What I meant is don't be fooled that those are similar packages. Is like the difference between a luxury car and a regular consumer car for the same price.

Waveform talks about loops, S1 comes with loops. Waveform talks about their virtual instruments, S1 comes with virtual instruments (IMO S1 instruments are a lot better, but it depends on your needs). Waveform talks about their premium plugins, S1 comes with better and more plugins. You may prefer one thing here or there, but overall Waveform presents itself as a similar package but it is not. Studio One is twice the value at least. Better DAW (more complete, more reliable), better plugins, better integration with Melodyne, better compatibility with commercial plugins like Waves, etc.

What would you say are the advantages of S1 Pro over Ableton Live Suite?

I can't speak to Ableton, I don't have experience with it. It would just say they are meant for different workflows. S1 is a mixer's paradise but it is not trying to be convenient for live performance or looping in general. If you need something for live performance, S1 is not the tool IMO. If you are trying to mix, you'll have a hard time finding better than S1.

[Trancit]

Which version of Waveform are you finding for $50? What comes with that? Keep in mind, if you are not getting the DAW Essentials plugins with it, you are basically severely handicapped as the W9 stock plugins are discard quality. Even the DAW essentials stuff is decent at best.

To be clear, this is what I meant on price:
Waveform full: $500
Studio One full: $400

Nah... you are comparing the full product range of the Tracktion page with just Studio One...

If you are making this kind of comparison, you have to add in the whole catalogue of i.e. Fat Channel processors too and then you end up easily with 1000,-$ for S1

Waveform itself costs about 100,- bucks compared to S1 400,-

[jochicago]

Nah... you are comparing the full product range of the Tracktion page with just Studio One...

If you are making this kind of comparison, you have to add in the whole catalogue of i.e. Fat Channel processors too and then you end up easily with 1000,-$ for S1

Waveform itself costs about 100,- bucks compared to S1 400,-

I have both W9 Standard and S1 Pro. I got pretty much a similar range in all brackets: DAW, Melodyne, some instruments, some "premium" plugins, some loops. The packages were pretty comparable in terms of depth of content. I haven't paid anything else for S1. Tracktion just makes a bigger deal about what comes with it, but S1 Pro comes with all that stuff too.

Each is going to have some key stuff. Waveform include Biotek 2 now in the Standard package, I didn't get that last year. But S1 has its aces as well, like the included channel strip has 1176 and LA2A compressors (not the best but nice to get them for free).

To be clear, I don't look at Waveform Basic as an option for $120. Without the DAW Essentials pack the stock plugins are just not good. The DAW Essentials collection (that is only decent BTW) should be default in the package, otherwise you are basically buying something without sufficient plugins. You might as well download the free version T7 and use free plugins. The saving grace for Waveform is the inclusion of the AirWindows plugins, don't know about how that's implemented, but I think all those plugins are free anyway.

BTW, since we are talking money, I don't want to devalue the products, they are definitely worth something, but as a mostly hobbyist I'm careful with my investments and I can tell you what I paid. Last year I bought S1 3.5 Pro as a crossgrade from a previous license for $175 or thereabouts. W10 Standard goes for $259, and you might be able to get it half-off at some point if you catch a key sale, so that's comparing at around $130. That's not a huge difference.

[BrokenTrance]

It has not clip launch - therefore it is a no go zone.

[xbitz]

I'm strongly considering S1 Pro too after seeing a lot of KVR users recommend it. I'm really liking Ableton's workflow right now however but with the $9.99 per month price on Splice it's very tempting. What would you say are the advantages of S1 Pro over Ableton Live Suite? (Btw speaking of prices, I'd be buying Live with an EDU license so I'd be saving like 30/40 percent which is why I'm even considering it)

^^^ macro related workflow is missing from S1 (S1 contains macro controls but they can't be automated directly), https://answers.presonus.com/3586/exten ... on-control I would suggest check this one first if u demo it and use this feature lot in Ableton Live

created a little video about how S1 can be extended with MUX to able to create at least some modulation in it

needs Multi-Instrument container in S1 to able to automate S1 macro knobs, btw. the new chord track is very nice in S1

[mcnelson]

Nah... you are comparing the full product range of the Tracktion page with just Studio One...

If you are making this kind of comparison, you have to add in the whole catalogue of i.e. Fat Channel processors too and then you end up easily with 1000,-$ for S1

Waveform itself costs about 100,- bucks compared to S1 400,-

To be clear, I don't look at Waveform Basic as an option for $120. Without the DAW Essentials pack the stock plugins are just not good. The DAW Essentials collection (that is only decent BTW) should be default in the package, otherwise you are basically buying something without sufficient plugins. You might as well download the free version T7 and use free plugins. The saving grace for Waveform is the inclusion of the AirWindows plugins, don't know about how that's implemented, but I think all those plugins are free anyway.

This is a legitimate criticism, and I think a large reason as to why the Airwindows plugins were included in W10.

List price for DAW Essentials is $159; I don't think that compares favourably with e.g. Toneboosters Track Essentials for
€20 (yes, I know it's not a perfect comparison); always thought these were over-priced and should have been native plugins. My 2 cents.

[jens]

69$ upgrade this time around? That's the final straw! I am not even going to demo it.

[jochicago]

List price for DAW Essentials is $159; I don't think that compares favourably with e.g. Toneboosters Track Essentials for
€20 (yes, I know it's not a perfect comparison); always thought these were over-priced and should have been native plugins. My 2 cents.

Agree. Waveform is seriously handicapped without them. It makes no sense that they are a separate bundle, they are not unique plugins, just the basics that should come with the DAW, and making up for serious shortcomings in their stock offering.

Compared to Tone Boosters in price and quality, the Tracktion DAW Essentials bundle should be about $15.

[mcnelson]

69$ upgrade this time around? That's the final straw! I am not even going to demo it.

In their defence, it does come with Auto Tune access, which is $99 on its own.

But otherwise agreed - this update seems evolutionary, not revolutionary; wait for the inevitable sales which are usually 30-40% off, including upgrades. Note on the website though, T7 (not free version) only qualifies for upgrade before 31st March 2019.

[jens]

I have Waveform 9 - and can't even sell my license for a reasonable sum because it's not worth more than V7 anymore thanks to their pricing policy.

I also have Melodyne 4 Studio and don't give a rat's arse about Autotune (or any other included content, for that matter). Never asked for it either - and they call it "basic" themselves after all.

They can really go and f**k themselves. They upped the upgrade price with each new version (i.e. each f**king year).

[jens]

Let's see for how much longer this company survives - I'm ready to celebrate.

[fedexnman]

Wow .....

[Steve Bolivar]

Wow .....

Beat me to it.

I don't think it really makes much sense to compare prices on DAWs based on what additional content is included. I use Waveform and got S1 during Xmas sale for $177. I would have gladly paid half and skipped all the extra plugins and libraries. Between iZotope, AAS, Komplete Ultimate, various others and VST Buzz deals I have all the additional content I need. At least Tracktion gives you the option of buying less of what you don't need.

My gripe about S1: you can't roll out loops in the arrange page by simply grabbing the end of a loop and dragging.

[aMUSEd]

69$ upgrade this time around? That's the final straw! I am not even going to demo it.

In their defence, it does come with Auto Tune access, which is $99 on its own.

They should release a version without it - I hate autotune. For that matter who needs Subtractive etc too - I just want the basic DAW