To those of you who already switched or are seriously thinking about it ...

[DaveO]

This became a lot longer than I first expected, so I'll apologize up front for the long post. That was kind of a thinking-out-loud thing, so even though it got long, I'll probably come up with even more questions as time goes on.


So far I haven't had TOO many problems with n-Track, but then again I haven't upgraded in a while. I'm still at 3.04. It's not that bad but every once it a while I go through a bad stretch that makes me consider trying another piece of software. One of them was last night. It crashed several times just opening it, and twice it crashed the PC and I had to reboot. Luckily I haven't really that much material yet, only a few new tracks that I hadn't yet saved.

So here are a whole bunch of questions:

- For all the complaints I've heard about stability, I haven't heard anything about the EQ and compressor plugins. I noticed last night that I'm a few rev's behind on both. Has anyone had any problems upgrading them?

- Assuming I switch (no plans just yet), how do I get songs into the new package? Just importing the WAVs is one way, but then I'd have to go through the pain of lining them all up in the new package. If I remember correctly, mixing down an individual track will give me a WAV that is as long as the entire song. That would mean I don't have to line up tracks in the new package, but doing that for every track in every song will be tedious at best.

- How painful was it getting things to sound right again? I'm guessing I'd have to take notes on all the effects settings and then try duplicating them in the new package.

- How much re-mixing was required after switching to get things sounding the way they did (assuming they were "perfect" before you switched)?

- What other kinds of things would be involved? Did you guys just leave n-Track on your PC and continue to use it for your existing material? Am I making a bigger deal out of this than I need to? Did you even bother trying to capture your old material?


And just in case anyone brave enough to try it hasn't noticed yet, version 3.1.8 is now available for download.


_________________________
Dave O.

[Slackmaster2K]

Dang, I hope this forum doesn't turn into a "let's ditch n-Track" discussion group! What have I started??? hehe

At any rate, yeah mixing down each track is the best way to go.

Starting over in a new piece of software is basically going to require that you dang near completely remix the entire project. Yeah it would be a good idea to note your levels, and if you can use the same effects in both programs, you should note those settings (or save them as effect presets if possible).

It's a big deal. I would leave n-Track installed and not touch your completed projects.

Slackmaster 2000

[DaveO]

Originally posted by Slackmaster2K
Dang, I hope this forum doesn't turn into a "let's ditch n-Track" discussion group! What have I started??? hehe

At any rate, yeah mixing down each track is the best way to go.

Starting over in a new piece of software is basically going to require that you dang near completely remix the entire project. Yeah it would be a good idea to note your levels, and if you can use the same effects in both programs, you should note those settings (or save them as effect presets if possible).

It's a big deal. I would leave n-Track installed and not touch your completed projects.

Slackmaster 2000

Slackmaster, that's pretty funny. I never thought about it like that - the n-Track forum moderator is leading the "Ditch n-Track" parade! I hope none of the FASoft board regulars see this thread. You already got into enough trouble with them a few weeks ago! :P


I'm not seriously thinking about switching just yet, but if new builds keep causing more problems than they solve I think I'll be forced to consider it. Even though the package isn't perfect, it still has plusses that make it really attactive. Price is the obvious one, and features are a real close second. The learning curve required to learn a new product is another.

But then I thought about how to handle existing material and was kind of surprised this topic hasn't gotten more discussion. Replacing software packages at work is something we always consider VERY carefully before proceeding and I figured replacing n-Track would raise the same kinds of issues. So..... I asked.

So what about the FAsoft plugins? Have people had good experiences upgrading them?

[shackrock]

yep, ultimately thats what i have slowly begun to do.

i use ntrack still now as my main thing. however, i've found CEP to be pretty nice as well.

so, slowly i am doing "test" projects, and learning on CEP.

but still use NTRACK for anything "real" as of now, because i still know how just about everything works on that.


ntrack's new features are working just fine over here.

[Sangram]

Have I been missing a lot?

I'm at 2.3 (demo) still.

I just mixed three projects with it, and I don't use that many plug-ins or effects, and I don't feel like upgrading yet because it's not worth it.

I find n-track fairly stable, but since I'm not at 3.0 (I d/l'ed the demo, wasn't worth the cash and it crashed a lot) and I have fairly decent spec hardware, so I dunno what the problem is.

I'm also getting good results with my old and outdated Acid Music 2.0, which Sonic Foundry still supports, and efforts to move me up to 3.0 and 4.0 Pro versions have been unsuccessful.

I'm also at Windows 2000, which is two years old. Heck, it works for me. If I don't find a compelling reason to upgrade, I won't...

I just prefer stability and known evils than new and unknown problems, so I'm very cautious at upgrading, but that's just me...

What kind of problems have been going on? Lemme just hop over to the Fasoft forums and have a looksee...

[benson812]

I'm a regular at the fasoft board..........don't worry your (our!! ) secrets safe with me...........

Hey mac,limey............ guess what?.....

jeez,i've noticed a few regulars of ntrack users group over here,hello shack!,trying to get,let's say,a more independent view!!

[DaveO]

Well, I haven't made any decisions yet, benson!

I actually check the FAsoft boards somewhat regularly too, but I tend to post a lot more here since this site covers a lot more bases. Not that 320+ posts in three years is a lot.

I only asked the question because I've been a little skittish about doing upgrades lately. Like I said, the version I have hasn't been too bad so I've been able to keep working with it. I just get nervous and decide against upgrades when I see a lot of problems with later releases. Don't get me wrong. Overall I've been VERY happy with n-Track, and I still am happy.

I also just got Falvio's email that 3.1.8 just came out. I'll be watching that one pretty closely for a while. I really do want to try an upgrade since there have been quite a few cool features added over the last year or so. Probably the biggest issue I have is a lack of time for playing and recording, so I've held off on upgrades and dealt with 3.0.4 rather than trying to tweak and hack at something I don't NEED (yeah, I WANT-need it ,but I don't NEED-need it). You won't be attempting a pre-emptive ban of me on the FAsoft boards, will you?!