anyone own cubase se ?

Pro Tools is/can be serious expenditure - yes, it is industry standard, but that doesn't make it easy to use either. I installed it, then de-installed it a few weeks later, when I realised that I just wasn't going to use it.

Cubase is notorious for being user-unfriendly, but the industry has been using it even longer than Pro Tools (if my memory serves me correctly), and those who know how to use it love it. It lasted longer on my system than Pro Tools, but only because I forgot I'd installed it...


Some alternatives that I've actually used are;

Sonar (formerly Cakewalk). I used this for years in preference to Cubase, and a pro studio I worked in invested in it and ran it alongside Pro Tools. They always went back to Pro Tools, because of the strain on CPU if you do anything half serious with multiple tracks, but found that you could layer up tracks successfully and easily, then dump them into Pro Tools - so it had a use.

I now use Sony ACID Pro 5 exclusively - it's fantastic, although it does struggle with multiple VSTs on multiple tracks. Every time we get a bit ambitious with our mixes, we find that we have to upgrade the PC... which is only a minor inconvenience really, but it does tend to happen annually.

The BIG advantage of ACID is that you can try it free - Sony provide a downloadable version called ACID Express. You can pretty much do all the basics with it - and it's not time-bombed, so you can get a good feel for whether you get on with it or not.

I find it very intuitive, and the more I use it, the more I find I can do with it.


At the real entry level, though (obviously, it depends on what you are trying to achieve), I'd recommend the bargain-basement priced MAGIX.

It's drag and drop audio-editing for those who are technically challenged, but want to crack on and write music NOW rather than waste time learning software.

I have a freebie trial version (limited to 16 tracks) that I can put onto YouSendIt for the curious. It supports VSTs, and MIDI plug-ins like Virtual synths - and even has its own drum machine.

The weaknesses are;

Beat-mapping can be an issue, so dragging a large WAV file into an existing project is a bit of a mare.

Can't buss up the tracks like you can with ACID, so walls of sound become labourious as you work on each brick in turn, and double-tracking becomes a black art.

Looks a bit Noddy - hardly a weakness, but I like my audio sequencer to feel like a serious bit of studio kit.

A bit fiddly to work with the finer details, such as correcting individual bum notes. OK, the answer is play it right the first time, but sometimes yohu just want to prototype rather than go straight to the finished product.

In other words, not suited for a full-blown studio, but ideal for getting into the art of audio sequencing without fussing about or spending a huge wad of cash.


If all you want to do is edit individual tracks, which is what CoolEdit does, then there are loads of alternatives, my favourite being WavePad - which you can still get a free download of, if you hunt for it.
    
    
    
    

Edited by Certif1ed - November 27 2006 at 08:40

Nothing to see in my studio - I've got a "hand-rolled" Dual-Core PC and a Line 6 TonePort.

Apart from my instruments and Shure SM-58, that's all I need.


My co-writer has the PC, plus Line 6 POD Xt guitar and bass + floorpedals, small Akai mixer and sampler, a rack of effects we never use, and around 15-16 keyboards ranging from Korg X5 to Novastation. Oh, and a few mikes including a rather nice AKG condenser for vocals.

And it's always in a mess, so no, we don't have any photos!


But you can have a look at my mate Barry's studio here;
http://www.thedoghousestudio.co.uk/


Note: I haven't tried ACID Pro with VSTi's, but I thought they just plugged into any audio sequencer that supports VST - or at least, output into the PC's audio stream, so you could record it that way (although I'd suspect there would be a high price in CPU to pay!).
    
    

Edited by Certif1ed - November 29 2006 at 08:36