Why don't more people use Tracktion Waveform?

[dellboy]

I just dug out a really old CD that I still have and got it to load after a good clean with isopropyl alcohol. It has Tracktion 1.6 on it, and it installed and works great on Win 10.

Its very mauve in colour and has those bendy pointy arrows in the input section which I used to love but got removed in version two. I scanned a 32 bit VST folder I still have and everything loads and works. No crashes yet, just an annoying hiss because my old licence wont load.

I finally gave up on Tracktion after Waveform 10 because of crashes and VSTs not scanning and loading.

[GaryG]

"very mauve" indeed

I found it easy to work with though, I think it was v3 it went bonkers (Mackie? Very light with bright yellow bits..?)

[hlecram]

I tried to use several times prior to version 8 and found it very buggy as a lot of users mentioned here. I found it quite an interesting program and was willing to use it as an alternative to my main daw, just for the sake of fun.
I have no clue how things are going now. On a different note, I really like the company nonetheless and find their vsts nice.

Cheers
Marcel

[snjegi]

No specific reason other than lack of time and incentive. I started with Logic and have recently added Studio One to my arsenal. Open to try new stuff when I find the time. But I have no reason to complain (much) about Logic or S1.

[ferez21]

I tried my best to like it, it didnt work out, i find it to have too many inconsistencies and quirks, like different shortcuts for zooming in the arangment view vs zooming in the midi editor view, the obnoxious way it handles routings and sends, the blurry text, the half-baked Metaplugin-like thing that you can use for complex routing just to name a few.

I do like the global modulation system, but i swear it just feels like Tracktion is complicating and adding extra stages to every action for no reason, it is not as intuitive or fluid as it could have been (not just the modulation, i mean generally).

[jens]

It once was, but the non-Jules developers just weren't nearly careful enough not to kill off its original concept in the process while adding 8quite important) new features* - it's almost like they didn't (and don't) really get it themselves.
Now it's neither fish or flesh, I feel.


*e.g. there was quite a lively discussion back in the day about Tracktion possibly getting a dedicated horizontal mixer - many users (me included) really desired that in order to be able to do some stuff more efficiently. And I feel the one they finally introduced with V9 or 10 isn't nearly as elegant and fitting as some of the ideas people had were (one popular idea was to be able to temporarily change the orientation of the whole application (i.e. turn into clockwise by 90degrees)). Now it's kind of just added on top instead of really being integrated in the core paradigm.

[jonljacobi]

..but i swear it just feels like Tracktion is complicating and adding extra stages to every action for no reason...

Yeah, it often seems like they care more about adhering to the design metaphor they came up with than making stuff efficient. Far too much mousing and eye/head movement for me.

[ferez21]

Honestly I think they were just late to the game in an over-saturated market. There were already plenty of great options before they came on the scene so I reckon many were already happy with the DAW they were using.

They're at v11. Didn't Studio One or Bitwig appear much later and somehow managed to be more succesful?

That's right, but the fact is that in their latest version, both Studio One and Bitwig feel, at least to me, much more polished and coherent than Waveform. Also if I'm not mistaken, both Studio One and Bitwig are developed and were founded by industry veterans that came from well established companies such as Steinberg and Ableton.

[vitocorleone123]

I think it's one of the best DAWs on the market for making electronic music (ie not musical scores or orchestral). I'd immediately recommend it over something as ugly and hard to learn as Reaper, for example. It's very easy and straightforward to use overall. It was my main DAW from v2 through v11.

I'm trying Studio One myself, now, because it deals with external hardware better, though. That's the only reason. Oddly enough, Studio One crashes a LOT - and I mean a LOT - more than Waveform does these days.

[dellboy]

I'm trying Studio One myself, now, because it deals with external hardware better, though. That's the only reason. Oddly enough, Studio One crashes a LOT - and I mean a LOT - more than Waveform does these days.

I have owned Studio One for years and cannot recall it ever crashing on my machine. Waveform 10 crashed all the time. They must have done something miraculous to version 11 if it does not crash anymore. Which is good news of course. Well done Tracktion.

[vitocorleone123]

I'm trying Studio One myself, now, because it deals with external hardware better, though. That's the only reason. Oddly enough, Studio One crashes a LOT - and I mean a LOT - more than Waveform does these days.

I have owned Studio One for years and cannot recall it ever crashing on my machine. Waveform 10 crashed all the time. They must have done something miraculous to version 11 if it does not crash anymore. Which is good news of course. Well done Tracktion.

I have a 100% stable computer. Studio One crashes multiple times every day I use it. Least stable software I’ve ever owned.

Never said Waveform doesn’t crash - v11 has been very stable, and, as I said, crashes hardly ever in comparison to Studio One.

[THE INTRANCER]

Feels and looks similar to the old Blender GUI..

[dellboy]

I have a 100% stable computer. Studio One crashes multiple times every day I use it. Least stable software I’ve ever owned.

Never said Waveform doesn’t crash - v11 has been very stable, and, as I said, crashes hardly ever in comparison to Studio One.

The answer must surely be to stop using Studio One then, its obviously unusable for you. Common sense.

Bandlab Sonar is very good, stable, and works great with external hardware. Why not give that a spin.

[chagzuki]

Feels and looks similar to the old Blender GUI..

Yeah, it does somewhat. Curious, because the original Tracktion GUI was clearly meant to feel 'open', with rounded buttons floating over a background. When button elements join up with orthogonal lines it creates a kind of hard wall effect. I don't mind the latest GUI, I actually quite like it, but curious to note that both Windows 11 and Mac OS are moving towards the kind of open, rounded, floaty feel that was prefigured in T1.

[mcnelson]

I stopped using Tracktion as my main DAW after Mackie abandoned v3 back around 2011, and switched to Live 8. Stuck with Live ever since, but always kept my Tracktion updated as I like the guys, and as others had commented, it held a special place for me.

I gave up after Waveform 10, as nothing that was being introduced that was much of a game changer, for me and not enough to draw me back in, especially considering the bump in upgrade prices (fair enough, devs gotta eat). Firmly in the Live ecosystem for years now, but fire up an old copy now and then for nostalgia; even installed v1 a couple of years ago for fun.