What is the deal lately with software companies wanting to break everything. First we had Vista which was as the kids say an epic fail. That seemed to open the door for PC side companies to release buggy software. Most recently Sonar 8.
For full transparency, I was recently (right before 8's launch) turned down for a job with Cakewalk/Roland. I do not hold any grudge and probably would have turned down the job based on relocation problems. Also I received both my copies of Sonar 8 for free. I won a contest and also got another through PR ties.
Unfortunately, Sonar 8 sucks balls.
This is the first time I've had to consistently go back to a previous version to guarantee I would not look like a fool in front of clients. I've been a loyal customer since Pro Audio 2 or something (at the age of 8) and his is the first time I am genuinely upset about the company being to capricious.
After two patches (8.0.2) I am still experiencing terrible issues that could embarras me horribly in front of a client. Most horrifically, moving of regions based on the tempo grid are often not correctly snapped.
Cakewalk, who told you to break your software? Was it Roland?
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Why do you run around and break everything?
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Excited for Sonar 7
Sonar 7 was released last Friday and as you might know I've been a loyal Cakewalk user for over a decade. Of course the Sonar forum has been flooded with rhetoric regarding the new release. Some of it is rather creative in fact. The downside is that more time is spent ranting than helping others out. Whatever.
It does look like a nice new set of features will be there. Cakewalk even produced a few videos:
Smart MIDI Tools
Integrated Step Sequencer
CD Ripping
Each of these seem like really useful features but in my opinion the biggest (and longest overdue) upgrade is the side-chaining feature. If you are unfamiliar with the notion of side-chaining it is basically using one audio source as a controller for a device or plug-in that is effecting a different audio source. The most common application is for de-essing an overly sibilant vocal but it is also the basis for many other effects. The most radical effect I can think of which requires side chain support is vocoding.
Of course there are other new toys and if you want to learn more about them you'll want to click on these words right here.
So yeah, I'll be upgrading this puppy as soon as I got the scratch.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Hardware Powered Plug-in Comparison: UAD-1 vs TC Powercore
Ok, so maybe you read my last post about the new computer. One thing I neglected to mention was that I included two UAD-1 cards in the mix. For those of you not familiar with the technology, the cards basically power specially designed effect plugins that emulate vintage gear. The plug-ins are greatly lauded within the digital audio community and are available only when you have the cards (PCI or PCI-e) installed in your computer. I purchased two since I got a deal from a friend and also they came with lots of credits towards buying the premium plug ins.
Anyway I have been using the plugs and have been greatly impressed. Unfortunately, my monitors are still set up at my old DAW so I've only listened through headphones. Speaking of the old DAW, I had installed another hardware powered DSP processor that I liked on that one, the TC Electronics Powercore. Since I was feeling like taking a break from my current project I decided to do a quick little mixing test to help me get aquainted more with the UAD-Plugs.
I put together a very simple and short little diddy with no effects and then went into mix mode. I tried to stay as close as possible in the applications of the effects while still trying to make it sound good. Here are the results:
Mix with UAD-1 plugs
Mix with Powercore plugs
Of course this isn't exactly scientific but i feel like the UAD-1 plugs had a bit more balls while the TC plugs were a bit smoother. The powercore in the old computer is not even available anymore but it seems that they offer the same plugs on their current Powercore models. You can buy more plugs for the powercore but with the amount of credits I got to spend at the UAD store I ended up paying about the same while getting some of their premium plugs.
UAD-1 Plugs used:
Powercore
Overall the UAD wins in my book. The plug-ins are straight forward and powerfull. I particularly like the interface of the eq's. One can get used to working in a DAW environment where every eq has 6 or more bands of fully parametric crap that really doesn't do anything. When you are presented with a three band eq like the UAD-1's Neve 1073 that actually has a lot of power to shape your sound it is very refreshing.
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The New Computer
Well, the old box just wasn't cutting it any longer. For those of you who may not know I'm a PC user and have been with the same Pentium 4 2.1 GHz for going on 3 years now. I've done countless projects on the old machine and she has seved me quite well. However it has become apparent that rendering times have become ridiculous and I am needing render submixes of groups just to be able to progress on larger projects.
With a lot of help from the good people at Micro Center, various forums (particularly Cakewalk's) and sites like this, there is now a bleeding quick (at leat by my stantdards) monster in my basement ready to devour the audio insanity I am about to barrage it with.
Brief Specs:
- Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.8GHz
- Intel D975XBX2 Extreme Desktop Board
- 4GB RAM
- 10,000RPM System Drive 100GB
- 750GB project drive
- 300GB sample drive
Building it was a bit of a daunting task but luckily I was not alone. My father and I took a few days to put it together. His experience goes back to when a 3.5" floppy drive cost about as half as much as what was spent on this entire project. This however was a new animal even to him. Of course when we were done building, getting XP (yes XP, we ain't touching vista yet) installed was quite a mess. Apparently when installing a fresh OS on a machine that is otherwise blank the only way to get the OS to install is to boot off of a floppy drive. WTF!?! Luckily my dad was able to donate a spare drive he had lying around and problem solved. Now the thing runs like a dream.
The one bump in the road is that the old single processor has a fairly large long term project working on it. I could just role the entire project over to the new machine but there are a few important plug ins in the project that I don't have on the new one. Plus, the idea of changing horses in mid stream just kind of irks me. If it were just a recording session I would do it but this is a fairly involved composition and sound design project.
If anybody would like to share experiences of building their own machine please do in the comments section. I would like to hear about it.