Opinion of sequencers...

[audiobot202]

Hi everyone,

Just a couple of general questions. I've used FLstudio, Acid, Live to sequence and I've just discovered Tracktion and am really getting into it. It's fresh and relatively simple to use.

What different kinds of sequencers have you (or do you currently) used and what have been the good and bad things about them??

Out of the lot, I'd say that working in Live 3, I was at my most productive, but FLstudio has been an old friend from years ago and was a good sketchpad, even if I hardly use it anymore. I just never used it for composition because it was always too clunky.

I tried Buzz a few times, but hated the headache inducing number scrolling of the tracker. The sounds were interesting though.

Acid was always great before version 4 for me and then the latency issues with VST instruments really turned me off. It was way too clunky then and they really should have included VST fx compatibility to make it competitive.

Right now I like Tracktion as it allows me some freedom. Although I always liked this in Muzys, the interface was terribly clunky and unintuitive.

It would be nice to see much better loop management in Tracktion though. I'd not have a reason at all to go back to stuff like Live.

Steve

[declassified]

Tracktion is the sequencer for those who hate sequencers (tm)



I used Magix Music Maker, energyXT and Tracktion. Tracktion is as easy to use as Music Maker, but with far more features. energyXT is cool, but doesn't fit the way I use to make things. Tracktion remains.

[audiobot202]

I used to have Magix Music maker Deluxe 6 and I tried it on two different systems, one more powerful than the other. On both occasions, the program was terribly slow, stuttery and just unusable. I tried all sorts of audio drivers and the results were still the same. Terrible software. Really disappointing as I had heard great things about it in CM and paid over a hundred $$ for it. It was a complete waste of time and money.

Steve

[braj]

The only two sequencers I've never needed a manual to use (at least the more basic features) have been Tracktion and Live4. I think that says a lot.

[kara]

I have used Tracktion for a while.

Now I use Live4 as sketchpad
And Ext as main host.
Sometimes I use both, Ext as Vst in Live

Rony

[audiobot202]

The only two sequencers I've never needed a manual to use (at least the more basic features) have been Tracktion and Live4. I think that says a lot.

Same here actually. Although I did need a manual to get to grips with the mixer in Live 4. I was very disappointed with that release because it seems so CPU hungry and kept crashing for me. I tweaked the settings enough so that I could work in it and worked my way around it, but then had problems recording my Juno 106 through the line in directly into Live. I've not had any of those problems with Tracktion.

Live 3 was great but I'm hoping they fix a lot of efficiency issues in version 5. That's the only way I'd ever get right back into it. It is attractive though, but I'd rather have something that is efficient, light, stable and easy to use than something pretty. Fortunately, Tracktion seems all of these things and is also pretty

Steve

[braj]

The only two sequencers I've never needed a manual to use (at least the more basic features) have been Tracktion and Live4. I think that says a lot.

Same here actually. Although I did need a manual to get to grips with the mixer in Live 4. I was very disappointed with that release because it seems so CPU hungry and kept crashing for me. I tweaked the settings enough so that I could work in it and worked my way around it, but then had problems recording my Juno 106 through the line in directly into Live. I've not had any of those problems with Tracktion.

Live 3 was great but I'm hoping they fix a lot of efficiency issues in version 5. That's the only way I'd ever get right back into it. It is attractive though, but I'd rather have something that is efficient, light, stable and easy to use than something pretty. Fortunately, Tracktion seems all of these things and is also pretty

Steve

I have had it crash twice in the month or so that I've had it, but on my P4 3.2 1GB RAM, it seems fast and nimble to me. It does lag on my 667 G4 Powerbook though.

[audiobot202]

From all the bugs posts I've read at the Ableton forums, it seems that the application is quite CPU intense, as you'd expect it to be with a live performance engine. It doesn't make it so good for non live composition though I guess with so much of the power dedicated to 'on the fly' playing.
Still, so far Tracktion has been really good for me.

[headquest]

...Live 4. I was very disappointed with that release because it seems so CPU hungry and kept crashing for me. I tweaked the settings enough so that I could work in it and worked my way around it, but then had problems recording my Juno 106 through the line in directly into Live. I've not had any of those problems with Tracktion.

Live 3 was great but I'm hoping they fix a lot of efficiency issues in version 5. That's the only way I'd ever get right back into it. It is attractive though, but I'd rather have something that is efficient, light, stable and easy to use than something pretty. Fortunately, Tracktion seems all of these things and is also pretty

Steve

I agree entirely.

I stared out in Cubase, which I stuck with up to SX1, when I jumped ship and discovered Tracktion, which is simply a fantastic piece of software by any standards.

I use Reason, which I love as a soundbank, mostly, and Audition for Audio editing and for mastering. Also for loop based tracks, for which its Acid-style approach is great and sounds top-notch.

I bought Live 2 but rarely used it, mostly because I was getting into other stuff around the same time.

The hype surrounding Live 4, combined with the long wait for T2, led to to upgrade to Live 4. To start with I was over-the-moon, but like you i have found it too CPU intensive to use for full-on sequencing. My tests, which have been backed up by others on this and the Ableton forum, show that Live 4 uses around 50% extra CPU per VSTi over other sequencers, and I suspect this is due to the fact that MIDI has been tacked on to the program without being optimised. I suspect that ABleton may be struggling to come up with a solution due to the source code note being written with full-on MIDI sequedncing in mind.

Live is great as a loop tool, and the MIDI implementation is fine for sequencing - and bouncing down to audio - loops. But to me it is VERY disappointing beyond this and useless as a *main host*.

So it's back to Tracktion as a main host, and I'm bery happy with version 1... and with the features announced for v.2

[audiobot202]

Live is great as a loop tool, and the MIDI implementation is fine for sequencing - and bouncing down to audio - loops. But to me it is VERY disappointing beyond this and useless as a *main host*.

Agreed. I think I've read some of your posts over at those forums and my experiences are similar. Like a lot of people I cannot simply afford to go out and upgrade to the latest and greatest processor....apart from the fact that the 2.6g Athlon I run is plenty powerful enough for most things I throw at it.
Live is an excellent sketchpad and looping tool which is what I enjoyed most about version 3. So, when I heard that v 4 would include MIDI and VSTi support I was really enthusiastic. But, as you suggest, the MIDI may be something of an afterthought and not integrated tighly enough into the codebase for it to be realistic as a complete sequencing solution.
Either they need to rewrite the MIDI more tightly and effciiently into the program or they simply need to take a few steps back and decide where they are headed with it. Or, I guess...in a few years time we'll probably have 5ghz CPUs that can handle all of the inneficiency and loose code of its MIDI !

I thought briefly about getting into Cubase when they did the SX upgrade path, but with previous Cubase experience I figured that this one would just have more knobs, panels and mixers...too much for me to deal with at 5 in the morning.
I firmly believe that programmers should be using the power of computers to create interesting interfaces that encourage good workflow and come up with innovative ideas for sequencers beyond the norm (ala Live and Tracktion) rather than trying to emulate some hardware synth or mixing console.

Ableton Live: Unique program with great looping tools.

Tracktion: Great looking and easy to use sequencer with many of the features I've been wanting so far...minus the crashes and slowdowns of other programs. So far.

Now, if only T2 had the ease of looping that Live does....wow....that would be something !!!

Steve

[braj]

I guess I don't tax Live4 that much. I use Reason for most of my midi sound sources, and I'm also no where near using 16 tracks myself. I'm personally just glad I don't still use a 4 track cassette recorder But I'm still waiting for T2 to see what it offers, and if the upgrade cost is modest enough. Live4 just was a huge improvement in the one place I found T1 lacking, ie. loop support.

i haven't seen this requested that much, but does anyone know if a new file browser has been announced for T2? Tackywrapper is a big improvement, but I think T2 needs something with loop previewing and custom directory links.

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

I've used almost everything, from Logic Gold on the PC, to CPA 9, SONAR 1, Cubasis, Orion Platinum.. and now Tracktion.

The only two sequencers I own any more are OPlat and Tracktion. Logic I dropped when they dropped the PC platform (f**k Emagic and Apple both, may they all rot in the uttermost depths of a frozen Hell). SONAR 1 didn't suit my workflow, it was nice but for some reason the way it wanted me to work didn't fit with what I wanted to do. Cubasis was OK but too limited for me. OPlat is perfect for my dance/trance/EBM or whatever you want to call it work, when I'm layering and using a lot of loops. Tracktion is pefect for my linear/long-form work, it works the way I want to! Full disclosure: if Logic were still available for the PC, I'd probably be using that instead.. but oh well.

I've tried the demos of Live and Podium, Live didn't sit well with me (again, more a workflow thing) and I couldn't get Podium to do more for me than give me an ulcer out of frustration...

No matter what I try, I keep coming back to OPlat and Tracktion. I've been more productive in Tracktion than anything else I have *ever* used, it just suits the way I want to do things!

[audiobot202]

I used Orion for a fair time and while the boxy composing nature of it didn't suit me (I'd been using Acid almost exclusively for ages and was sick of loops and the whole idea) I quite liked it as a tool for sketchpadding. I'd fire up a few instruments, lay down a few step sequences and have a listen and I saved the promising ones as loops. Quite useful actually, because those loops can be exported to waves and used in more ambient longer work in Tracktion.
I almost exclusively do soundscapes and have done so for a while (finally admitting to myself that I'm crap with most beats and I'd leave that sound up to those who can do it better) so the free flowing nature of Tracktion really suits me and I can record my synths straight through to the sequence which is excellent as the Juno was fast gathering too much dust !!

Steve

[vikse]

Ive been using all sequencers (and have never opened a manual for any of them..).

But mainly ive used Logic audio, which i still do (is trying to switch to tracktion right now).

However, even due Tracktion has a slick userinterface, in Logic its actually faster to perform most tasks. Ive studied user interfaces and cognition and Jules really should look into the consistency of the userinterface in Tracktion.

I think its necessary that he switch perspective and view the program from a users eyes and mind to make it more consistant and logical.

Ive started to note inconsistency in tracktion 1.6 and will but up a list of them here later.

[audiobot202]

It would be interesting to see your notes. I'm not a big fan of too many panels and buttons, so Tracktions seems like a breath of fresh air to me. The one thing I'm finding a bit clunky is the projects screen. I'm not keen on everything being listed. Is any of this collapsable at all?

Other than that, I find the UI quite consistent. The cartoony control boxes to the left are very cool and so far most things seem self explanatory.