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Opinions on Recording Software?

5/3/1999 12:43 PM
MJ Harnish	Opinions on Recording Software? I'm currently looking at buying some real multi-tracking software for my PC setup. Right now I've been fooling with Cool Edit Pro SE (which has all kinds of features hobbled making it really annoying to use) and a demo version of Cakewalk Pro Audio 8.0. Anybody got a suggestion on what to look at? Right now I've got it narrowed down to a couple choices based on the recommendations of Gadget Labs (I want to avoid compatability problems obviously) and what I've read. They are: 1) Cakewalk Pro Audio 8.0 - I found a great price ($226 from BuySoft.com) on it and so far I like the layout though I don't have much experience working with it yet. The midi features are a big plus as well as the established user base... 24 bit recording is a plus since my Wave 8/24 has the capability. 2) Cool Edit Pro - I'm a registered user of Cool Edit 96 which I like a lot and CEP (well the SE edition I have at least) seems pretty good and it does offer 24 bit recording, but since it's hobbled I've also found working with it rather frustrating. The included effects are also nice but my guess is that these are pretty unspectacular compared to TC electronics stuff and probably won't cut it in the long run. Finally there's the lack of midi integration. I have NO midi experience but I would like to have the ability to use midi stuff and have it integrated into the recording package. The upgrade price for CEP would be $249. 3) Cubase VST (or VST/24) - Cubase has a really good reputation and also packs a lot into the software including built in notation. Based on appearance, it seems to be the most pro-oriented and appears to pack a lot of power into the software. However it's pricier than the other two (anybody know where to get a good price), it seems to be more processor intensive, and I'd have to go with the VST/24 version to get 24-bit recording capabilities. Price is a factor here since I can't afford to layout $1000 for software (I'd rather spend $250 on the recording software and another $250 on a good plug-in). Any suggestions, experiences, or thoughts? Thanks. MJ

5/3/1999 12:43 PM

MJ Harnish

Opinions on Recording Software?

I'm currently looking at buying some real multi-tracking software for my PC setup. Right now I've been fooling with Cool Edit Pro SE (which has all kinds of features hobbled making it really annoying to use) and a demo version of Cakewalk Pro Audio 8.0.

Anybody got a suggestion on what to look at? Right now I've got it narrowed down to a couple choices based on the recommendations of Gadget Labs (I want to avoid compatability problems obviously) and what I've read. They are:

1) Cakewalk Pro Audio 8.0 - I found a great price ($226 from BuySoft.com) on it and so far I like the layout though I don't have much experience working with it yet. The midi features are a big plus as well as the established user base... 24 bit recording is a plus since my Wave 8/24 has the capability.

2) Cool Edit Pro - I'm a registered user of Cool Edit 96 which I like a lot and CEP (well the SE edition I have at least) seems pretty good and it does offer 24 bit recording, but since it's hobbled I've also found working with it rather frustrating. The included effects are also nice but my guess is that these are pretty unspectacular compared to TC electronics stuff and probably won't cut it in the long run. Finally there's the lack of midi integration. I have NO midi experience but I would like to have the ability to use midi stuff and have it integrated into the recording package. The upgrade price for CEP would be $249.

3) Cubase VST (or VST/24) - Cubase has a really good reputation and also packs a lot into the software including built in notation. Based on appearance, it seems to be the most pro-oriented and appears to pack a lot of power into the software. However it's pricier than the other two (anybody know where to get a good price), it seems to be more processor intensive, and I'd have to go with the VST/24 version to get 24-bit recording capabilities.

Price is a factor here since I can't afford to layout $1000 for software (I'd rather spend $250 on the recording software and another $250 on a good plug-in). Any suggestions, experiences, or thoughts?

Thanks.

MJ

5/3/1999 1:19 PM
MJ Harnish	As a follow-up to my question: The best price I've found for Cubase VST is $269. The VST/24 version is $489. MJ

5/4/1999 12:53 PM
Joe Fuzz	I went through this process a couple of years ago before I selected Voyetra's DOPro. Unfortunately, I've found DOPro to be way too buggy for me to recommend to anyone. It does MIDI and WAV audio together at a resonable price, but again, the GPFs are simply too frequent for me to recommend the software. Based on the 3 you've outlined, I'd go with Cakewalk Pro Audio. You've touched on 2 pluses: MIDI and WAV together plus the user base. A third thing I found when I did my research is that a lot of the multitrackers were ports from the MAC -- the only 2 "native" Windows multitrackers I found were DOPro and Cakewalk. (Cool Edit Pro wasn't around a couple of years ago but I wouldn't have considered it anyway because it doesn't contain MIDI.) BTW, if you don't have Cool Edit 96, get it. I find it absolutely invaluable for editing WAVs. It's shareware -- not all features work at once; they all work, just not all features are available at the same time. The noise reduction is amazing. This is the program I edit all of my samples with, then import them into DOPro and loop loop loop! If notation is important to you, I recommend getting a good notation package. Let the sequencer sequence and the notator notate. My experience has been that you get some rudimentary notation features in the sequencers -- good enough for many things -- but for truly professional results, they don't even come close to something like Finale. I have also heard of a shareware multitracker called (I believe) Powertracks Pro or n-tracks. You may want to do a search out at shareware.com. Finally, if you're a student or a teacher/professor, don't forget to mention this. Almost all of these packages will have an educational price break, sometimes a couple of hundred dollars. The thing to watch out for with educational discounts is you may be limited on your upgrade options; some manufacturers won't allow their educational versions to be upgraded at all. Check first! I'd be interested to hear what you decide to use and why. Good luck!

5/4/1999 12:53 PM

Joe Fuzz

I went through this process a couple of years ago before I selected Voyetra's DOPro. Unfortunately, I've found DOPro to be way too buggy for me to recommend to anyone. It does MIDI and WAV audio together at a resonable price, but again, the GPFs are simply too frequent for me to recommend the software.

Based on the 3 you've outlined, I'd go with Cakewalk Pro Audio. You've touched on 2 pluses: MIDI and WAV together plus the user base. A third thing I found when I did my research is that a lot of the multitrackers were ports from the MAC -- the only 2 "native" Windows multitrackers I found were DOPro and Cakewalk. (Cool Edit Pro wasn't around a couple of years ago but I wouldn't have considered it anyway because it doesn't contain MIDI.)

BTW, if you don't have Cool Edit 96, get it. I find it absolutely invaluable for editing WAVs. It's shareware -- not all features work at once; they all work, just not all features are available at the same time. The noise reduction is amazing. This is the program I edit all of my samples with, then import them into DOPro and loop loop loop!

If notation is important to you, I recommend getting a good notation package. Let the sequencer sequence and the notator notate. My experience has been that you get some rudimentary notation features in the sequencers -- good enough for many things -- but for truly professional results, they don't even come close to something like Finale.

I have also heard of a shareware multitracker called (I believe) Powertracks Pro or n-tracks. You may want to do a search out at shareware.com.

Finally, if you're a student or a teacher/professor, don't forget to mention this. Almost all of these packages will have an educational price break, sometimes a couple of hundred dollars. The thing to watch out for with educational discounts is you may be limited on your upgrade options; some manufacturers won't allow their educational versions to be upgraded at all. Check first!

I'd be interested to hear what you decide to use and why. Good luck! :-)

5/4/1999 9:33 PM
MJ Harnish	Yes, I've decided on CW Pro. We fooled with the demo tonight and all instantly liked it much better than Cool Edit Pro. I've also done a fair amount of research on Cubase VST since my post and a LOT of people complain that it is very buggy and unstable. I'm no power user so I don't think I'm going to hurt by CW for a long time... As for Cool Edit '96; I have a registered copy. I've used it at work to record EKG (yes you read correctly) and it does an incredible job... coupled with a Turtle Beach Maui card we get virtually no noise and the signal quality is better than machines costing over $2000... Notation ins't important... Thanks for the info.

5/4/1999 9:33 PM

MJ Harnish

Yes, I've decided on CW Pro. We fooled with the demo tonight and all instantly liked it much better than Cool Edit Pro. I've also done a fair amount of research on Cubase VST since my post and a LOT of people complain that it is very buggy and unstable. I'm no power user so I don't think I'm going to hurt by CW for a long time...

As for Cool Edit '96; I have a registered copy. I've used it at work to record EKG (yes you read correctly) and it does an incredible job... coupled with a Turtle Beach Maui card we get virtually no noise and the signal quality is better than machines costing over $2000...

Notation ins't important...

Thanks for the info.

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