Free host?

[aMUSEd]

Personally I find the tracker aspects frustrating to work with but you don't have to and I have heard great music created in Buzz and there are some great Buzz machines too.

*veers off topic* Mneh. I've never understood why the tracker style cursor / numbered patterns approach to fitting patterns into a timeline isn't a standard option for more conventional sequencers. I'm really glad that I've moved to EnergyXT, but I do still miss being able to lay out the skeleton of a tune as fast as I can type...

Well for me I don't sequence stuff much either - I play music and record what I play, chop it up and layer it etc, and occasionally tweak the midi if a note or two are off. I find the whole idea of using a computer keyboard and mouse to create music sterile as I play what I feel generally.

[DWb]

Well for me I don't sequence stuff much either - I play music and record what I play, chop it up and layer it etc, and occasionally tweak the midi if a note or two are off. I find the whole idea of using a computer keyboard and mouse to create music sterile as I play what I feel generally.

Well, it obviously depends a lot on what sort of music you're doing. It's the sort of thing that tends to be more useful for loop oriented dance music than for, say, a guitar and vocals type set up. But you could plausibly want to (for instance) record a drum or bass loop with some variations and fills by whatever means is most natural to you, and then lay them out in a repeat and vary sort of pattern throughout the tune? I'm talking about laying out the clips that you've already entered rather than sequencing the notes themselves.

I dunno, I'd just have thought that there were enough people out there that do need to do this sort of thing that and improvement on the curent duplicate / copy / paste method would be a pretty good selling point.

Aaaah, you wait till I (learn C++ and learn DSP and have a lot of free time and) write my host.

[pHz]

... if jo had done it id expect something a little MORE ...
slainte rob

If you look beyond the somewhat bland gui this sequencer is already FANTASTIC, Rob.
It has almost all the features eXT lacks and vice versa.

well ... i tried it BRIEFLY last week (not sure how many beta versions that puts me behind though) and was far from impressed TBH ... just didnt 'click' with me at all ...

slainte rob

[Ozpeter]

I'll predict that Reaper will one day shake up the audio multitracking software market to its very roots. Get past the (current) look of it, and the feature set is quite remarkable (and look again tomorrow!).

[pHz]

tried it again after posting yesterday ... still dont like it personally (nothing i cant already do and dont see anything in it that excites me for the future) TBH but horses for courses ...

slainte rob

[grymmjack]

I'm using a warez version of Cubase SX 3 and I know it pretty well. But I do tend to steal *way* too much software. I'm thinking I could maybe do a cleansing of sorts and switch to free software. But my first problem is the host! I could handle using free VSTs as there are a lot of them, but I couldn't handle using a super shitty host. Is there a decent free one out there?

Jimmymus,

This is your very best bet. It's free, VST(i), and multitracks and does midi. I've tried it and it works pretty well. Be patient and give yourself a little bit of time to figure it out. It's actually pretty good. AND if you want to upgrade to the current version, it's only like $10.

http://www.aplusfreeware.com/categories ... ltaSP.html

I tried Frieve too, and it has potential, but it's still buggy. DeltaSP seems pretty solid. The link is to the last freeware version -- the one I tried out. This should work for you.

--Sean

P.S. If you are looking for something really simple and easy to use, try VstSeq. I've talked to the developer, and he plans to expand it to work as a full host, rather than a "two measure" host. It's good on CPU too.

The DeltaSP looks like a instrument, he's looking for a host? Or is the featured screenshot misleading?

Nevermind. You didn't take the time to go to the original page. If you are going to link something shouldn't you do that to give the author the chance to demo the product in the way it should be? Some people will be assuming the same thing (and may not be as keen to notice the "homepage" link)

Anyway, thanks for the link.

[pHz]

http://www.rocktave.com/deltasp/screenshots.rock

slainte rob

[grymmjack]

Just another suggestion, not free but.... I got myself a new midi-keyboard from Ediroll and it came with Sonar LE which is quite a capable version of the full package (so far the only real limitation I found is the 8 VSTi max limit). As far as I know it is bundled with all the new Ediroll keyboards so if you haven't got a keyboard yet this is something to consider. I got the 61 keys version for just 280 Euro. Together with a fully working version of Sonar that is a steal to me

If you choose a smaller version of the keyboard you get even lower prices

Sonar is good too but personally I hate the necessity to use an external (and annoying) wrapper to access VST(i)'s from the program. It is great to have such a thing but I have to believe there is some performance hit and that the exernal adapter software isn't 100% perfect so there has got to be some plugin compatibility issues.

For a midi sequencer and outboard gear, sonar is great. Just isn't the simplest/most elegant integration of VST ever. I hope for the day of native support. I can't imagine why they didn't add it. It seems to me the Cakewalkian developers are lazy and wont budge on something until the conformist professional herd forces them to do so. That said, does it cost money to integrate VST into an app? The SDK is free, etc.. It took them 3 major versions to integrate ASIO -- up until I think Sonar 2 or 3 they hadn't had it even available, forcing everyone to use WDM drivers and their kernel streaming instead. It's that kind of move the developer makes (ignoring the future/declaring it knows best all things regardless of standards) that ruins a product and loses users.

Anyway, my 2 cents. I'm sure someone will vehemently disagree.

Opinions are like assholes.

[grymmjack]

This is a very powerful, free, modular, sequencer + all the synths and effects and everything you will ever need.

It is VST and ReWire and ASIO compatible: just have to get used to the REALLY quirky interface--especially with MIDI--but I know many people who use it.

If your computer can run Cubase SX3, then you can use this.

Yeah, if I wanted to get into free trackers, there are a lot to choose from:

Skale
reViSiT
Psycle
Open ModPlug Tracker
BeRo Tracker
AXS Win Tracker

and of course, as you mentioned... Buzz.

Personally, I don't enjoy the tracker interface. I find a piano roll much more intuitive. But as you say, they DO exist and they ARE for free.

--Sean

ReViSiT gets my vote. After I had help getting it working, it's the coolest thing for a tracker since sliced bread -- tracking in T2 and cubase is about the most fun I have had in a long time. Doesn't say much about my life eh?

[stefancrs]

... if jo had done it id expect something a little MORE ...

slainte rob

If you look beyond the somewhat bland gui this sequencer is already FANTASTIC, Rob.

It has almost all the features eXT lacks and vice versa.

I'll predict that Reaper will one day shake up the audio multitracking software market to its very roots. Get past the (current) look of it, and the feature set is quite remarkable (and look again tomorrow!).

I haven't actually tried it out, but I read the feature-set etc. Seemed to be quite similar to Podium, or am I wrong? Jens, you should know!

[audiojunkie]

I'm using a warez version of Cubase SX 3 and I know it pretty well. But I do tend to steal *way* too much software. I'm thinking I could maybe do a cleansing of sorts and switch to free software. But my first problem is the host! I could handle using free VSTs as there are a lot of them, but I couldn't handle using a super shitty host. Is there a decent free one out there?

Jimmymus,

This is your very best bet. It's free, VST(i), and multitracks and does midi. I've tried it and it works pretty well. Be patient and give yourself a little bit of time to figure it out. It's actually pretty good. AND if you want to upgrade to the current version, it's only like $10.

http://www.aplusfreeware.com/categories ... ltaSP.html

I tried Frieve too, and it has potential, but it's still buggy. DeltaSP seems pretty solid. The link is to the last freeware version -- the one I tried out. This should work for you.

--Sean

P.S. If you are looking for something really simple and easy to use, try VstSeq. I've talked to the developer, and he plans to expand it to work as a full host, rather than a "two measure" host. It's good on CPU too.

The DeltaSP looks like a instrument, he's looking for a host? Or is the featured screenshot misleading?

Nevermind. You didn't take the time to go to the original page. If you are going to link something shouldn't you do that to give the author the chance to demo the product in the way it should be? Some people will be assuming the same thing (and may not be as keen to notice the "homepage" link)

Anyway, thanks for the link.

The link wasn't even attached to the developer's web site! It's the LAST FREEWARE VERSION! I linked to the download site. If you want to go to the developer's site, that's where the commercial version and demo's are. He wanted FREE.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

--Sean

[audiojunkie]

Just another suggestion, not free but.... I got myself a new midi-keyboard from Ediroll and it came with Sonar LE which is quite a capable version of the full package (so far the only real limitation I found is the 8 VSTi max limit). As far as I know it is bundled with all the new Ediroll keyboards so if you haven't got a keyboard yet this is something to consider. I got the 61 keys version for just 280 Euro. Together with a fully working version of Sonar that is a steal to me

If you choose a smaller version of the keyboard you get even lower prices

Sonar is good too but personally I hate the necessity to use an external (and annoying) wrapper to access VST(i)'s from the program. It is great to have such a thing but I have to believe there is some performance hit and that the exernal adapter software isn't 100% perfect so there has got to be some plugin compatibility issues.

For a midi sequencer and outboard gear, sonar is great. Just isn't the simplest/most elegant integration of VST ever. I hope for the day of native support. I can't imagine why they didn't add it. It seems to me the Cakewalkian developers are lazy and wont budge on something until the conformist professional herd forces them to do so. That said, does it cost money to integrate VST into an app? The SDK is free, etc.. It took them 3 major versions to integrate ASIO -- up until I think Sonar 2 or 3 they hadn't had it even available, forcing everyone to use WDM drivers and their kernel streaming instead. It's that kind of move the developer makes (ignoring the future/declaring it knows best all things regardless of standards) that ruins a product and loses users.

Anyway, my 2 cents. I'm sure someone will vehemently disagree.

Opinions are like assholes.

ASIO has been in Sonar since version 2. Sonar is now on version 5. VST "IS" integrated. Judging by your statements, it's been a tow or three versions since you've even looked into Sonar. The staff at Cakewalk are actually very good at listening to people's requests.

But that's OK. You don't have to like it.

--Sean

[grymmjack]

Is it integrated without the need of an external adapter? I admit I have not tried the latest and greatest version so I could be wrong there. The last version I had tried was Sonar 2 (I got pretty mad about the upgrade price to v2 and tried it only as a demo) and from what I recall there was no ASIO back then either; but I don't really care to argue this, and I could definitely be wrong as my memory sucks.

Anyway, please can you tell me how vst "IS" integrated? In detail? Is it intrinsic finally without the need of the adapter?

[grymmjack]

Anyway, thanks for the link.

The link wasn't even attached to the developer's web site! It's the LAST FREEWARE VERSION! I linked to the download site. If you want to go to the developer's site, that's where the commercial version and demo's are. He wanted FREE.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

--Sean

Relax man. Surely you have better things to do with your time than justify yourself to the likes of me right?

To clarify; my post was not an attack on you, I was simply pointing out that it was confusing to casual parties (myself), and a more comprehensive post could save some time (for those of us(myself) who do not know better and your introduction served as an initial impression to the product(again myself)).

However, this possibility -- the initial introduction to a new product -- being potentially the case(again mine) and as part of my reply tried to convey; [from the standpoint of the actual developer it would PROBABLY be more proper and appreciated to link directly to the official product page in addition to mentioning the LAST FREEWARE VERSION (yes, even though the freeware site you mentioned has a link to it -- some people wont catch that fact)]

Anyway, please in the future do not take things seriously or personally from me. I was not trying to pick at you, in fact I was trying to thank you, and if there was any negative or critical comments there I tried to avoid such an interpretation by using emoticons.

So thank you for the link. And if you were offended by my comment I apologize. *hug*

Sometimes things get lost in translation still you don't need to hit me with sticks

[audiojunkie]

Anyway, thanks for the link.

The link wasn't even attached to the developer's web site! It's the LAST FREEWARE VERSION! I linked to the download site. If you want to go to the developer's site, that's where the commercial version and demo's are. He wanted FREE.

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

--Sean

Relax man. Surely you have better things to do with your time than justify yourself to the likes of me right?

To clarify; my post was not an attack on you, I was simply pointing out that it was confusing to casual parties (myself), and a more comprehensive post could save some time (for those of us(myself) who do not know better and your introduction served as an initial impression to the product(again myself)).

However, this possibility -- the initial introduction to a new product -- being potentially the case(again mine) and as part of my reply tried to convey; [from the standpoint of the actual developer it would PROBABLY be more proper and appreciated to link directly to the official product page in addition to mentioning the LAST FREEWARE VERSION (yes, even though the freeware site you mentioned has a link to it -- some people wont catch that fact)]

Anyway, please in the future do not take things seriously or personally from me. I was not trying to pick at you, in fact I was trying to thank you, and if there was any negative or critical comments there I tried to avoid such an interpretation by using emoticons.

So thank you for the link. And if you were offended by my comment I apologize. *hug*

Sometimes things get lost in translation still you don't need to hit me with sticks

Sorry. bad morning. I was snappy. Thanks for the explaination. No hard feelings?

--Sean