A better sequencer

termnl

New member
This should be the right forum, im guessing...haha.

Right now im using an old academic ver of Vegas for tracking...just set up my DAW and had been using an old BOSS unit for drums....I just dump .wav files to tracks. Decided to snag BFD for some better sound and just sequence it with an old copy of Synapse Orion....and im not very happy with it...haha.

So what im looking for is a sequencer that will host BFD (VSTi, DXi, ReWire), facilitate time/tempo changes (I would really like a seperate time/tempo map), and one that will render my sequenced tracks to .wav.

My wallet will appreciate it if I dont upgrade to cubase or the like at the moment....so if there is a nice standalone, that would do the trick.

Thanks.
 
I use Tracktion:

http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion/

You can download a fully functional demo and if you like it as much as I do it costs $80 for a copy.

It has good midi and audio functionality, is rewire capable and supports VST plugins. And yes, it will allow you to render your sequenced tracks to WAV's.
 
Thanks ssscientist.
I guess I forgot to mention that im looking for something that has a built-in piano roll editor as well. I dont have any midi gear.....just looking to replace my drum machine.
Looks like a nice prog otherwise.....thanks again.
 
Cubase is a brilliant sequencer (my choice)
Logic has a steep learning curve and is Mac only but is said to be great
Sonar is great
ProTools is a hardware/software package that is somewhat weaker on midi but the 6.7 version coming soon is said to be stronger on midi.
 
termnl said:
just looking to replace my drum machine

There's a sampler plugin that comes with the factory version of Tracktion that's a fine replacement for a drum machine. Lets you assign a different sound to each key on the keyboard up the midi note limit of 127.
 
All good advice....still not what im wanting though. Thanks, emusic, but I cant really afford any of the setups you mentioned at the moment.

Maybe I should describe what im used to.....this is on the BOSS unit I have been using.
You open your pattern editor, specify the time sig of that pattern, then program the hits on a step sequencer that is similar to a piano roll editor.

Then you open the song editor and string together a series of blocks that represent your patterns.

Then if you, for example, were using 6/4@120bpm for the first 55 measures and 6/8@170bpm for the next 20 measures, you would go into the tempo map and specify the time/tempo switch at measure 56.

Now I can accomplish this right now with the multitracker.....I just dump each section that is the same time/tempo to a .wav, zoom in, and snap each section together.....which is fine for the rough mixes since Im only dumping a stereo mix out of Orion.....but it gets to be tedious at the final mixes because BFD uses 14 channels that I dump to wavs in order to mix them in the mutitracker.

Thanks again for your help.
 
termnl. you might want to try the demo of what i use powertracks at pgmusic.com. 49 bucks for 48 tracks. heres a listing of several of many audio and midi features.....(note..for pc only)
1. editing of velocity dynamics.
2.drum grid editor velocity values. plus triplet feel.
3. handling jazz swing music. jazz fonts.
4. channel filtering and rechannelling .
5.gradual increases/decreases in tempo. tempo mapping.
6. editing of note durations.
7. 5 beat grouping of notes.
8. guitar fretboard display showing notes being played, and notation for guitarists.
very usefull for midi guitarists.
guitar tracks printed out in guitar tab format
9. printing blank staff pages.
10. slash chord ability eg..Cm/g
11. audio track de-essing and hum filter and noise gating.
12. interpreting chords from an imported midi file.
13. editing of sysex messages.sysex delay handling for synths that need it.
14. filling tracks with a drum style pattern either preset or your own making.
15. on screen pitch bender if the musician doesnt have a synth
with pitch bend.
16. jukebox KAR feature.
17. a slew of effects presets for various types of audio tracks..
like vocals, guitar, bass, drums etc etc
18. very detailed notation editing, and printing features.
including lead sheet production.
ive just scratched the surface of features.
and not even mentioned things like handling sound card latency,
endless looping, and all the other audio recording and editing features.
the product can take one through the whole song process from idea creation, through recording, mixdown and to CD.
you can also read the free tutorials in the support section.
as well as videos. also check out band in a box. used by thousands of musicians and educators. i think youll be impressed.
peace.
 
Now, now. That's like blaming the saw if you make a bad cut. You can't blame Powertracks for making those mixes so flat and lifeless.
 
if you like traktion, you can get a legit copy on ebay for under 35 bucks. they were donated to some foundation to sell for a fundraiser.

hh
 
which song didnt you like ? a lot of those songs i did before powertracks by the way. i KNOW i'm not the best vocallist but from the emails i receive most people find at least a couple of songs they really like.
i would like to know which song you didnt like....as i'm compiling a list
of which ones people have complemented me on and which ones they didnt like. by the way the new powertracks version has vocal pitch correction and harmonisation in it. but i feel its cheating to use such tools. peace.
 
maybe i'm not with it allrics this morning.. is it that your saying you found his comments not nice ? frankly i dont care. each person can have their own opinion. some people like my songs others dont. i just years ago did what i could with those songs. often under very tight constraints.
many people have done great stuff with powertracks. visit the pg musicians
web site sometime.
 
I think PowerTracks 9.0 is the best bargain out there for beginners to semi-pro musicians. $49.00 is an unbelievable deal.
 
I think PowerTracks 9.0 is the best bargain out there for beginners to semi-pro musicians. $49.00 is an unbelievable deal.
 
Back
Top