DAW round-up

[Dave Courvoisier 702.610.6288]

If I've neglected to post this on my blog...I'm doing so now, and posting here too...

GREAT evaluation of some of the top (albeit most expensive) audio editing software packages on the market right now...Mac & PC.

http://www.eqmag.com/article/great-big-daw/may-09/95537

CourVO


Dave Courvoisier, Voice Actor
Las Vegas, NV
702-610-6288
e-mail: Cou...@CourVO.com
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[Griz326]

Thanks for posting this Dave. I've used a bunch of DAW software:

I tried ProTools, but ProTools was not happy on my studio computer so
I never really learned it in the short time that it was installed. It
is a really powerful tool with plenty of plug-ins (including an ISDN
plug-in) to do everything in the box, so dumping it disappointed me.

Bad .WAV files (incompatible with my other tools) from Adobe
SoundBooth force me to abandoned SB - at least for now. *I really hope
that is a temporary SoundBooth problem because I liked the interface
for session recording and quick editing. For doing dry tracks it was a
dream.*

...so I was on the hunt again for DAW with a really simple session
work flow when you posted this.

I've got Sound Forge, it seems good/functional, but doesn't really
float my boat and has limited full-on production features (it does
integrate perfectly with my video production tool, Vegas Pro); an
ancient version of WaveLab, it lacks many useful features but is a
comfortable old shoe; Cubase 5 that seems user-hostile but I suspect
as capable as ProTools (*without a doubt this comment is a learning
curve issue on my part*); Audacity, which you'd think would warm my
heart being good and free...but it has a few quirks that annoy me; and
I'm trying Adobe Audition, but it doesn't share the usability features
of SoundBooth that I liked so much.

Long story short, this article gives me some more products to try.
Hopefully I'll find one I like to use from the bunch reviewed in that
piece. In an ideal world I'd find one that matches they way I do
things, however, I'm beginning to think I'll have to change my methods
to match the software's work flow rather than it matching mine. I
guess that's not really surprising because most of the really powerful
software is designed for music production rather than audio/video
projects. On the other hand, it may just be that the learning curve on
the full-featured products is too steep for me to see how the features
might eventually complement my work flow.

Thanks for the leads on this. The article may not resolve my DAW
dilemma, but at least when I settle on the software it will be an
informed decision and I'll be comfortable that I'm moving in the right
direction as I attack the learning curve. :)

Enjoy the holiday....


On May 21, 10:41 pm, "Dave Courvoisier 702.610.6288"

[Daniel Lenard]

Steve,

What kinda problems were u having with wav. Files on SOUNDBOOTH? Aside from
some bit rate problems (Not truly related to Soundbooth) that I have
occasionally experienced, what was the issue? I'm a huge fan of SOUNDBOOTH
for Voice artists for all the reasons you mentioned (And a few more) but I
wouldn't scrap it just cuz you haven't figured out a minor compatibility
issue.

My experience so far has shown that you had better have a few tools in your
pocket in case you run into these issues. That means different software that
you know how to use for different situations. If anyone thinks they can find
the answer to all issues in one software, they aren't living in reality.

For instance, I've got Soundbooth, Garage Band, Cubase, (Just cuz I do)
Magix Sound lab (Don't laugh, it works!) Audacity, Wave Pad, and I forget
the rest. For shear ease of use, I love Soundbooth as I believe it really
was designed for voice tracking and post. Since I began using Soundbooth, my
business has grown dramatically. Its not the only reason, but I think in
combination with other factors, along with the flexibility and reliability I
get out of it, it has contributed significantly.

Dan L.

On 5/24/09 1:04 AM, "Griz326" <steve....@gmail.com> wrote:[Dan Lenard]

[Griz326]

I had SoundBooth set to take automatic updates. A few weeks ago the
program updated and then my .wav files were incompatible with my
actual production tools *at any sample rate and/or bit rate using SB
Save As*. The files do work within Windows Media Player. Sound Forge
is the only tool I have that will open these .wav files which I can
then convert; or I can save as .aif and then convert to .wav to use
with my three primary, income-generating tools.

This has been a known issue for SoundBooth for two years and is well
documented in the Adobe forums as well as on other product sites
having issues with Adobe .wav files. My attempts to roll-back and re-
install have been unsuccessful. Adobe does not have a fix. Tech
Support implies that it's not their problem (that those other programs
crash or won't load their .wav files). My (day job) company uses
million$ worth of Adobe products, so I've been using my title to see
if I can nudge them a bit.

I completely agree that it is perfect for laying down dry tracks and
editing; I never tried to use it for full-on production because I have
other tools that I use for that.


BTW - the library that one vendor believes will fix the problem has
been released. They estimate 4-6 weeks for the implementation of that
library in their product.

[Daniel Lenard]

Steve,

U using the Mac or PC version?

Dan L.


On 5/24/09 4:17 PM, "Griz326" <steve....@gmail.com> wrote:[Dan Lenard]

[Griz326]

PC version: XP.

I had no problems with SB under Vista, but the $$$ tools didn't work
happily with Vista and overall performance was unsatisfactory for me.
The OS change worked happily until the update...the rest is history.