looking for: the ideal sequencer

esther · Post by **esther** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:14 am

hi everyone,

a week ago I got a lunar card with 4 dsp's. now I am looking for the best sequencer to accompany it.

I started my humble carreer with propellerheads reason, which is still the tool with which I can cope best. To broaden my horizon (and to use vst's

) I bought abeton live. It's a great program but the chemestry between the both of us doesn't quite fit. I simply _cannot_ produce anything longer than 2 to 8 bars, I hate loops.

(I read the manual, yes, the problem stems from deep inside myself)

I know Cubase but it's a bit too stuffed with features for my taste and I heared it's simply too big to run properly/smoothly/crash-free on standard PC's like the mine.

Now, I'm looking for a simple sequencer with wich I can
-trigger the scope devices + midi automation
-record audio from various sources (scope devices, external gear, mic...)
-rewire reason or at least be able to run them in sync.

I want a straight-forward time-line/ sequencer like the one I had since birth in reason but with the above mentioned features.

can you advice me something?

esther

BingoTheClowno · Post by **BingoTheClowno** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:22 am

What a trully excelent question!
Try this list:
http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Multimedi ... equencers/

I would say the major players are Cubase and Sonar.

I would go with Cubase since they are the original developers of ASIO and VST technologies.

If you want something inexpensive, take a look at Orion Platinum. It has everything you need to put togheter a song in no time. Very intuitive.

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 1:22 pm

tell me if you succeed - that thing must be the holy grail...

Energy XT is anything but intuitive
Reaper's rendering engine seems to screw my sound (ok, might be the Wave drivers and not the program itself)
SAW Studio is a tiny bit too expensive
etc,

cheers, Tom
ps: anyway, Reaper by Cockos is really worth checking

BingoTheClowno · Post by **BingoTheClowno** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 5:44 pm

astroman wrote: SAW Studio is a tiny bit too expensive

You never cease to amaze me Astroman

I just took a look at this SAW Studio and I was stunned

It is seldom that I hear any software company boasting about programs designed in asembly language but if one does and it works I am impressed!

This thing is super fast!
If only VSTs would work smoothly as in Cubase I would consider it.

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:33 pm

Bob (the author of SAW) says that he used assembly language in the first place to circumvent the shortcomings of M$'s programming interfaces, as that's (more or less) your only option.
If I remember correctly it's in the chapter about the company's history or so...
Everyone watching the demo during NAMM (?) thought it was a fake because it was impossible to get that number of tracks out of a machine those days.
The sequencer makers following the 'traditional way' with standard programming libraries couldn't believe their eyes...
You know, my point has always been programming quality AGAINST clock-rate hype

I'm a bit torn between Reaper as the more intuitive tool and SAW as the more productive solution, once is initial learning curve is mastered.
Of course Reaper is a no-brainer considering it's price/performance ratio.

cheers, Tom

esther · Post by **esther** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 12:57 am

thanks to all of you for your answers

I will go with reaper, as it's cheaper (check my freestyle-rhyme

)
it seems to be exactely what i was looking for (as far as i can tell after playing around for 10 minutes)

i hope i can have my easy worflow of creating midi-seqs, trigger the scope synths and record the audio back into reaper................................... ( I _love_ reading manuals!!!

)

anyway thank you for the tip!

FrancisHarmany · Post by **FrancisHarmany** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 4:46 am

BingoTheClowno wrote:
astroman wrote: SAW Studio is a tiny bit too expensive
You never cease to amaze me Astroman

I just took a look at this SAW Studio and I was stunned
It is seldom that I hear any software company boasting about programs designed in asembly language but if one does and it works I am impressed!
This thing is super fast!
If only VSTs would work smoothly as in Cubase I would consider it.

I think the guys from FL Studio also use lots of assembly. For me FL Studio & Scope are a beautifull team : )

BingoTheClowno · Post by **BingoTheClowno** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:45 am

astroman wrote:Bob (the author of SAW) says that he used assembly language in the first place to circumvent the shortcomings of M$'s programming interfaces, as that's (more or less) your only option.
If I remember correctly it's in the chapter about the company's history or so...
Everyone watching the demo during NAMM (?) thought it was a fake because it was impossible to get that number of tracks out of a machine those days.
The sequencer makers following the 'traditional way' with standard programming libraries couldn't believe their eyes...
You know, my point has always been programming quality AGAINST clock-rate hype

I'm a bit torn between Reaper as the more intuitive tool and SAW as the more productive solution, once is initial learning curve is mastered.
Of course Reaper is a no-brainer considering it's price/performance ratio.

cheers, Tom

The problem with M$ is that it seems that their goal is not to streamline and optimize their software but to chock the new CPUs with complex abstract layers and wrapers on top wrapers.

What's even more astonishing about the SAW Studio is their recomended minimum system requirement: Pentium II 450MHz,

, I don't think there is a sequencer developer that can go that low. Neither they can provide a package like that in under 7Mb.
My only grievance with SAW Studio is its handling of VSTs instruments. First, to really make use of VST instruments, one needs to add the MIDI Wrkshop (300$) and then there is the issue of adding ini files for each VST that is not installed in their folder. If they would integrate seamlessly MIDI sequencing with their audio console that would make a kick ass program.

BTW, you can check out their tour guide video here.

valis · Post by **valis** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 3:59 am

Sounds like the same issue as most Linux applications for audio & midi (lack of integration).

esther I was going to recommend Reaper as well. I think Tracktion is interesting but Reaper has already surpassed its functionality in many ways imo, and it's only been in development slightly under 2 years (or over, I forget). I think in another 2-3 years that app is going to be great, and anyone willing to get into it now will only benefit imo.

Zer · Post by **Zer** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:06 am

or try podium: http://www.zynewave.com/