Official T2 Notice

[pHz]

1. You HAVE received something useful. It's called Tracktion, and if I'm not mistaken, it's the product you paid for. While we all hope for future upgrades, what we actually paid for is the product at hand.

oh so untrue

thats right jens ... when i paid for tracktion it was SO MUCH LESS than it is now ...

slainte rob

[AD80]

I think that the general response to this topic will create a more hardened corporate approach towards the users, which is the opposite of what people say they want.

You're probably right. It'll go from no new info, to minus info. They'll start taking back some info we already knew.

[jens]

Remember when you first got it and you appreciated it? Try doing that again.

I remember IT like it was yesterday. I was gonna wait until we had junction filters to buy hahaha. If it was up to you we probably still would not have rack-filters. He probably would have saved them for T2. Nothings changed tho, I still love tracktion and think its very cool. My signature hasnt changed. Its by far my favorite host. Doesnt mean I dont want it to advance tho.

sigh - the good ol'days

[Sage]

1. You HAVE received something useful. It's called Tracktion, and if I'm not mistaken, it's the product you paid for. While we all hope for future upgrades, what we actually paid for is the product at hand.

Point. But keep in mind I'm not complaining about the purchase or the quality of the software, and I'm not saying I didn't get my money's worth. I'm simply criticizing one of Mackie's marketing decisions.

2. I agree that such a policy would set them apart from their competitors; however, that's just our personal view on marketing, and not necessarily the right one. I'm with ya, but I don't think that gives us the ability to impose that opinion on a company. I wish!

Sure, but that doesn't mean I can't offer the suggestion, right?

I think you'll find that ease of use and a great user base is what Tracktion was built on. Frequent communication from the developer was a sweet bonus, but I personally bought Tracktion before even knowing that Jules frequented the forums. When I found out, I thought, "cool!" but that's about it. K-v-R is not the sum of Tracktion's users. Many will have found out about Tracktion through other avenues, and for them, having Jules active on this forum will not have been a selling point.

Ease of use is the main factor that drove me to Tracktion, without a doubt. Everything else is icing on the cake. But consistent and frequent updates and communication from the developer was definitely a secondary selling point for me. And more importantly, it's a fantastic tool to keep users happy, keep them talking, and attract more customers. So while you are correct that it's not a selling point for most, it's a very effective marketing tool.

HOWEVER, the original point was that some of us (I'm not the only one) simply wanted a quick word. We got it. We've been told that development is continuous and there is clearly a goal of making a finished product.

In what universe was this ever in question? That T2 is still in development should never have even been something that required reassurance -- if it was, then that puts the issue of customer communication and service in an even worse light, and reinforces my point.

I agree that there could be more, and that it could be more specific. But it's not like we've totally been left out in the cold, so getting all whiney is a bit of an overreaction to what seems to me (at least) to be pretty standard developing and marketing procedure.

At the crux of it, we're all a bit disappointed that we're not receiving "extra-special" treatment, but I think it's childish to whine when we ARE still receiving standard and polite treatment. Ben has always been rather polite and accomodating, and it just irks me that it's being thrown back into his face by some people.

1. Standard for the industry, sure. But not standard for Tracktion. If anything, the current level of communication is incredibly substandard, considering the program's development history. I still say this is a missed opportunity for Mackie.

2. Dismissing a valid criticism of the decline in communication and service as "whining" means never requiring the situation to improve. I'm tired of seeing people who have legitimate issues with the level of service from a company (any company) get harangued by fanboys more interested in keeping the gods appeased than fixing a problem that they might not personally care about.

Nobody's throwing anything in Ben's face. I'm not suggesting a boycott here, nor am I getting irrational about the issue by threatening to drop Tracktion as my sequencer of choice. I'm saying that this is an area in which Mackie can and should improve, that it will benefit Mackie in the long run, and the more people who agree, the more likely they are to listen.

[Aleatoric]

nice! Thanks Beno! Just be sure to test extensively in both platforms to make it not only groundbreaking but stable as well! Thanks for the words

[headquest]

I have reason to believe that Tracktion makes other hosts seem cumbersome hence people stick around but then get frustrated when all their needs are not met.

It's about music for me, and for this T1 is still the best of the bunch to get the job done.

Well that's certainly been my view, and I've previously been a big advocate for Tracktion. The thing is now that all the major hosts have made "workflow" the theme of their latest updates. Especially Cubase, which has certainly made strides with SX3 in terms of getting the job done more efficiently than before. Remember that many of us came over to Tracktion from Cubase SX1, which was famously full of bugs and problems. Now we can see that Cubase SX3 has implemented the "inline editing" that we love in Tracktion. And we're being offered upgrades to SX3 for around £100. Can you not see the temptation? There is a marketing and sales war going on here, and Mackie may lose.

Sonar 4 has also taken that program a step further in terms of credibility as a major player - no-one can doubt that Cakewalk totally mean business in terms of providing the best feature/cost ratio among the big players.

And Live 4 has undeniably changed everything. Live was easy and very cool before, but the MIDI implementation is inspired. For pattern sequencing it has totally delivered me from the spell that FL was steadily weaving on me!

This Summer/Autumn the game has moved on. Tracktion will have to respond conclusively to the new state of play, or it will die. I'm in favour of it dramatically rewriting the rules again, as it has before. But we can't deny that by influencing the other players to get a grip on workflow, Tracktion has now served its purpose and had its day.

[rpc9943]

dude I could have typed the same thing... lol


Official tracktion 2 news.

They're still working on it and Jules hasn't been around. Thanks

RonC

[simpletim]

AD80, All your points are well taken. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. When I said people sound like ingrates I may have overstated my case. I have tried not to participate in these types of posts. I will not participate again.

[AD80]

I have tried not to participate in these types of posts. I will not participate again.

You should participate as much as you want . If anything, more people should participate. How else are we gonna fill up time until T2? By making music? I dont think so.

[valley]

If anything, more people should participate.

as you wish.

[Mr. Tingle]

The thing is now that all the major hosts have made "workflow" the theme of their latest updates. Especially Cubase, which has certainly made strides with SX3 in terms of getting the job done more efficiently than before.

The majors are never going to touch Tracktion because T has been designed from scratch on the concept of workflow.

Tracktion will have to respond conclusively to the new state of play, or it will die.

Not at all, it should take it's time and play it's own game. It comes bundled with about 3 leading sound cards, it's getting everywhere! People have just got caught in update frenzy.

[Breakpete]

I actually don't want constant updates like in the old days of Tracktion or current times energyXT.

Updates need to be carefully structured and planned, with thought to the future. I get the feeling this was not the case with early Tracktion, and this is why T2 is taking such a long time.

I also think this may be the future of energyXT. Planning is the boring part of a systems development process for most coders, and so they often will not spend enough time planning their software. The thing is, planning is also one of the most important parts of development.

I think Jules and Mackie are taking their time doing this properly. Mackie is an established player in the music business. They don't want buggy software in their product line, which is why they probably will test it properly before release.

Essentially they are saying, "We won't release T2 just because everyone else are releasing their updates. T2 will be here when it is finished". Why do you think SX3 has tons of bugs? Because Steinberg put it out before it was finished (yes, testing and bug fixing is part of delivering a finished product).

Personally I asked for someone to tell me things were "going along nicely". I got just that, so thanks!

[rpc9943]

We definitely pay attention to all of your great feature requests, and we are all doing our best to make Tracktion 2 as groundbreaking as possible.
I'm positive that everyone here at KVR will like it; Jules is definitely outdoing himself again with Tracktion 2!

Look what he's saying here- is it true that all of our speculations will be met? He is saying hes positive, that leaves little room for doubt, that everyone here at KVR will like it. If this is the case, I think we're going to really freak out for a long time once this comes out...

ROnC

[soma]

Anyone one from the buzz scene starting to get pictures of Buzz2 forming in their heads? I think I've been checking the web every day since 1998 for updates on Buzz 2... Lol Oskari still claims it's in the works.
I guess this post from Beno does help eleviate some of my worries that T2 was abandoned or scrapped. (Did allthose monkies quit or was their country invaded by groundhogs?)

[rpc9943]

well i emailed jules and know he's still working... stop a worryin

RonC