Overview of n-track

[cerealchamp2000]

i'd like to know why n-track costs so little. is this playskool stuff or the real deal? what about 3rd paarty support, pc vs mac platforms and soundcards?

lotta questions, thanks ntrackers.

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Your non-n-Track quesion belong down in the Computer Recording and Soundcards forum...you'll get more response.

As far as n-Track goes, it's not playschool stuff. n-Track has as many and often more features than the much more expensive software. In fact I tried Vegas Pro a while ago and within a month was back to using n-Track. You can download the demo for free. Give it a try.

With the latest build I haven't had any problems running 3rd party plugins, both VST and DX. And I'm running a Delta in ASIO mode on Windows 2000... which is a great configuration, but most "big time" packages prefer and expect Windows 9x.

n-Track is so cheap because it's written buy one guy, the famous Flavio Antonioli. His market is great software at sub-entry-level prices, and he's cinched it. Nothing else compares in bang for the buck value.

However, it sometimes seems like the best kept secret in the world. Magazines won't touch it. Nobody will review it. I think there's a lot of resentment.

Slackmaster 2000

 

[Tom Hicks]

Amen brother Slack.
N-track is certainly below the radar when the names of multitrack software are discussed.I also suggest downloading the demo.
http://fasoft.com
I've been using for about a year now and the continuing parade of regular upgrades with SERIOUS new features(Slack mentions ASIO) is nothing short of amazing.Check it out.

Tom

 

[cerealchamp2000]

Do you feel corners have been cut anywhere...are there more features you would like to see? Would you be so bold to say you can produce recordings comparable to one of the household name softwares?

 

[Tom Hicks]

I spent many hundreds and a couple years as a Cakewalker (version 4-8) but 15 minutes with the n-track demo blew them away.Try it and see.

Tom

 

[Wallycleaver]

N-track is an affordable, user friendly, well thought out program. It's VST compatible so VST plug-ins work, which cost much less than pro tools plug ins or are free! Can it get you pro results............maybe depends on your experience and other gear ie mics and such.
Can it get you good results as a home recorder? Yes
Can it compete with pro tools? Dollar for dollar n-track is better BUT very few pro studios have n-track while many many studios have pro tools.

I have n-tracks, I'm migrating to the digi 001 because I can mix and do work in studios that have pro tools. If I have a hand in producing, I can do work at home and bring it into the studio. Thats all I can say about that!

 

[Slackmaster2K]

No corners cut....plus updates come out almost every month or so. Tech support is great. You email Flavio and he'll respond personally. There's also a support board over at fasoft.com with plenty of knowledgable people on it.

Here's how I rate it out of 5.

Performance: 3.5
Features: 5
Advanced Features: 5
MIDI: 2.5 (but getting better)
Ease of Use: 4
Stability: 3
Plug-in Compatibility: 5
Tech Support: 5
Useful Updates: 5
Look and Feel: 4.5
Overall Value: 5

You're probably wondering about Performance and Stability. These issues vary so much it's hard to pin them down. n-Track is usually very stable but there have been some unstable builds. Also, I've run into glitches here and there that have had me pulling my hair out...but each was resolvable. Performance-wise it's ok but I've found that the default options aren't great. I like to up the thread priority and disable some of the more "pretty" features. Then it runs well but Vegas is a little better. I typically have 10-20 tracks with some amount of DSP on all of them, be it the built in stuff or plugins. My machine is a Celeron 500 with 164MB RAM and a 7200RPM hard drive. Nothing fancy but it works well enough. I'm even doing dual monitors with the m-Audio mixer on the secondary monitor. No hicups.

For $50 you get a 24bit multitracking application with all the latest greatest features. What more could you ask for?

Download the demo from fasoft.com ... it's almost 100% enabled...you just can't mixdown and it's limited to 16bit.

Slackmaster 2000

 

[cerealchamp2000]

Last Q:

N-Trak will support B4, Reactor, Waves Bundle, Reason et all? And who's getting low latency w virtual synths?

Tanks Trackers

 

[beezelbubba]

what benefits will running the program on NT or
win'2000 bring?I've read that the program prefers
these OS,but what are the practical gains if any for
someone like me using a modest system like this:
celeron 533
96megs sdram
30gig7200rpm HD
Abit BE6 2 MB
Ensonic pci64 16bit soundcard
will I gain any performance or stability from upgrading
from win98 to NT or 2000.
p.s.MIDI and softsynth not a priority

 

[Tom Hicks]

You will get more track, more effects and less cpu to do it under Win2K. 20-30% more approx. But the real benefit is the rock-solid stability (goodbye blue screen of death).

Tom

 

[Slackmaster2K]

I'd like to stress that NT isn't for everyone! While 2000 has made an NT installation very easy to manage, it's still not as friendly as 9x. Some applications won't like it, some hardware won't like it. For the most part Microsoft has done an incredible job with hardware and software support in Windows 2000....so good in fact that I blame hardware manufacturers for any lack of NT or WDM drivers (usually).

Just make sure that everything is going to jive ahead of time.

beezelbubba, the hardware you mentioned is fine on Win2k, but you will need more memory...at least 128...anything over that offers a noticable improvement also. Also, you're not listing all of your hardware...if you have any cheap or "big brand" scanners, cameras, etc...make sure to look for drivers.

Personally I would never consider going back to 9x at this point. Windows 2000 is a breath of fresh air when it comes to recording.

cerealchamp2000, I'm not sure about all the software you mentioned, but n-Track will work with the Waves Bundle. Basically anything that's supposed to be standard should work.

Slackmaster 2000

Slackmaster 2000

 

[N8theGr8]

where can you download the 3rd party plugins? or are those the ones that come with it...

 

[LI Slim]

You can download eq and compression plug-ins made by fasoft (fasoft makes n-track) from the n-track/fasoft site. Third party plug-ins are just that; they're from other sources -- there are many. If you download a plug-in from somewhere else, the N-track software will find it when you open up the list of available effects.

BTW, this is one area where N-track has room for improvement: the plug in effects. For example, since starting with N-track, I have gotten the db-audioware compression plug in and I think it's better than N-track's.

I love N-track though, and I certainly agree with Slack, Tom et al.

 

[Wallycleaver]

www.hitsquad.com has tons of plug-ins!

 

[Gidge]

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24114&highlight=plugins

I think Hitsquad is down for awhile, but these should keep you busy for awhile....

 

[beezelbubba]

"beezelbubba, the hardware you mentioned is fine on Win2k, but you will need more memory...at least 128...anything over that offers a noticable improvement also. Also, you're not listing all of your hardware...if you have any cheap or "big brand" scanners, cameras, etc...make sure to look for drivers."

Thanx Slackmaster.I've recently icreased my ram
to 224mb.My only other hardware is a 56k modem
that has drivers for NT/2000.As for compatability with
other software/hardware,N-Track is the only important
consideration!