Propellerhead's RECORD

[CDS]

Originally Posted by Inca

Okay, so I just started beta testing Record. I have been using Pro Tools for the past 8 years, and used 4 tracks before that. I have dabbled on a few "real" boards, but I am no means a professional engineer.

I will say that I am really, really impressed with Record so far. I just love the workflow during the whole recording process. I recorded a quick song idea by miking up my little Blackstar cab and laid down some vocals and bass, and I was seriously stoked on the sound.

I was stunned at how well my vocals (tracked sm7 thru EM Blue) sat in the mix right from the start. Everything is super polished and the "glue" everyone is looking for, is just there on the mix the whole time. The guitars were awesome sounding too (tracked 57 thru A Desgins P1). Gave them a slight eq'ing and again, sat beautifully in the mix.

The effects sounded really good too. I have Reason 4, and it always sounds better rewire to me, but Record sounds slick.

I love having the comps, eqs, inserts, and all right there on every channel. The 2 bus SSL comp sounds pretty good too after messing with it. It will be interesting to see how that translates once on a disk.

Well, just a quick heads up from my quick experience, and I will definitely be picking it up. If anything else, this is an awesome way to write in the DAW world.

This is such a better way to explain what I also experienced than what I did in this thread. It gives you a solid and "polished" sound by default, there is no way to turn it off which is really great for one's creativity. Even with just etching out song ideas, it just sounds professional at all times.

[Inca]

Originally Posted by CDS

This is such a better way to explain what I also experienced than what I did in this thread. It gives you a solid and "polished" sound by default, there is no way to turn it off which is really great for one's creativity. Even with just etching out song ideas, it just sounds professional at all times.

Yep, you hit the nail on the head. It sounds great right from the start. I seriously haven't been this inspired for a long time. Not that I can't get a great sound in Pro Tools, but Record just has it from the very first track. I can pump out a demo that is going to sound like a professional pre-mastered track. If you have a great front-end, Record will treat you right with its sound.

The effects really do sound amazing and everything is glued together so nicely. I wish I had more experience on a real SSL board, but who cares, there's going to be a ton of guys that just know Record and will make great sounding records on it.

What really blew me away, is when I took off my headphones and listened back to my vocals on my Adam A7 monitors. I couldn't believe how they just sounded like a professional recording without doing much to them. The guitars were so crisp and "glued" to the mix too. The best part is just scrolling up and down looking at the comps and eq's on the channel and tweaking the tracks on the fly. No need to open up a plugin.

I realize some people will want to use their 3rd party plugs, and this will be a deal breaker for them. For me, I don't care, give me the sound I have been seeking and I will use it.

I will say that I did load up a default song writing template, so some of the tracks had effects and certain styles of compression preloaded. I could care less about that though, because bottom line is I was getting a sound I was blown away by immediately.

I don't know exactly what is going on under the hood in Record, but I'm very impressed, and I would buy this program right now if it were available.
I guess I can at least keep on beta testing and having fun.

[andrewj]

That all sound nice Inca, but to me the integration of hardware is a must and I think I am not the only one that wants to use hardware keys, or even hardware effects...

I hope Propellerhead Software will add support of hardware MIDI-Instruments. That can't be a tough job for them.

[Invisible T]

Originally Posted by andrewj

That all sound nice Inca, but to me the integration of hardware is a must and I think I am not the only one that wants to use hardware keys, or even hardware effects...

I hope Propellerhead Software will add support of hardware MIDI-Instruments. That can't be a tough job for them.

I 2nd that!! I have outboard comps etc... I NEED in my mixes.

[KING KOBRA]

I think in due time those in this thread who oppose Record will start to open up.It is truly
a great program.The SSl is the Best! I mean the best that I've heard so far in software based emulations.

[KingUgly]

Pretty stunned by Record just off the bat. Truly a beautiful interface. Polar opposite of my impression of Logic 8. I will say that the workflow is wonderful. Very Reason-esque. If you think like racks of gear rather than plug-ins popping up, this could be for you. Made me realize how similar Pro Tools/Logic/Cubase, etc. are to each other.

[Inca]

Originally Posted by KingUgly

Pretty stunned by Record just off the bat. Truly a beautiful interface. Polar opposite of my impression of Logic 8. I will say that the workflow is wonderful. Very Reason-esque. If you think like racks of gear rather than plug-ins popping up, this could be for you. Made me realize how similar Pro Tools/Logic/Cubase, etc. are to each other.

Man, the more I test out Record, the more I love it. I have used PT for a long time, and I almost don't want to admit that I might ditch it for Record. I'm really loving the workflow and the sound is just freaking awesome. The eq's and comps are awesome, the effects sound amazing, and Reason sounds so good in here. I wish I could figure out what it is. Maybe it's the 64 bit mix engine. I don't know, but I do know that I will buy this program immediately when released. Everything runs so smooth at 64 buffer settings too.

Maybe the SSL emulation is just the ticket. I really love working on the SSl virtual board though. Just a really sick way to mix. I know I am just spewing at the mouth right now, but seriously, I have not been this excited at a piece of software in a long time.

I am seriously like, "what the hell, am I really hearing this?"

I guess the best thing about Record, is its simplicity. It's really easy to use, and the sound is phenomenal. People will produce records with this product. Many will right it off, because they won't give it a chance. That will be there loss.

[thestereobus]

people who are hatin' on record are trippin...

it is awesome.

i own reason 4. i'll gladly pay $150 for an ssl9000k with a buss compressor on it.

as far as effects are concerned... signal flow, baby. whatever you can't do in reason, print it to pro tools!!

i've been beta testing it. i'd ditch pro tools for it except for several things record can't do...

but if i had to choose one, i'd go with record.

[Benmrx]

I was pretty stoked on Record at first. I LOVE the basic concept behind the GUI, but no integration of MIDI tracks for H/W synths or outboard gear (comp's, verbs, eq's, etc.) kills it for me. I don't need support for 3rd party plugs or anything, but do need to keep using all my hardware.

Maybe version 2?

I do hope some other DAW's take notice of the stripped down interface as IMHO we need to come full circle with DAW's. The simplicity and straight forward approach are both welcome in my book.

[CDS]

They are really going hard on development as Release Candidate 3 just came out today. RC2 was just mailed out about 3 days ago.

[andrewj]

With support of external MIDI-Gear???

[Nowak]

I finally got a beta d/l

Honestly, I don't know what all the fuss is about here, the "console" sounds OK I guess, but it's not the second coming of christ like everyone is making it out to be. I find the work flow a little fiddly and silly when it comes to the mixer, having to set up "merger" racks to create busses. This needs a bit of work to get logical.

I haven't dived in deep as yet so maybe I'm missing something still when it comes to routing. (Please enlighten me if that's the case)

Will be putting RC3 through it's paces today.

Stef

[rolo]

"HD advantage is recording 80 tracks at once if an engineer needs to record an orchestra or man a film score and mix.

If you need to transfer 48 tracks of tape to digital , then HD is the only game in town. If you need to sync 8 old adat or DA88 machines to transfer to digital, HD is the only gig.

For common music making and simple band recording, HD extra power is useless. This can be handled by the Logic, PT LE and Record apps."


I do none of these and still use my HD rig everyday... it paid for itself in two months... i work my system to it's fullest and even reach it's limits on occasion... it makes me money... but again i do none of what you say an HD rig is best at... your statements are one sided, biased and not correct by any means. sounds to me like your are speculating.
Session 8, DA88's, ??? using that as an experience base shows that you might want to do some modern testing before making comments.

[mlehmann]

You can definitely use external hardware for inserts and FXs sends/returns. Simply press Tab to turnover the rack and get access to the routing, like in Reason. From there, you can route inserts, sends and returns to and from the hardware device at the top of the rack.

[MartinHB]

Originally Posted by Shan

I'm looking forward to seeing the first hardware controller for the mixer section.

Shane

Agreed.

I think they could very well have the first Daw/Controller combination that works without the awkwardness. One where you just sit there and theres no hunting for the parameter.

I wish them all the luck with it,

[MartinHB]

To those people that complain about no VST compatibility. Your missing the point of the whole Props ideology and it would be an utter disaster if they added in VST support imho.

I very much like the fact they don't implement it. As the years go on I find that style more and more attractive. A few years ago Daws internal plugins weren't up to much but they have come a long way since then. Im beginning to make a concious effort to drop third party and it is working. I definitely dont need them as much as I thought I did.

When I had an anlog set up I didnt have 20 different types of EQs, 10 different verbs and delays. I had on one EQ for every channel on my mixer (eq) and a few bits for outboard FX. I got to know the sound I made in side out whcih took me years to cultivate. I knew in my head what type of sound i would get before EQ and adding FX. I could see the future I do miss that actually.

Im not advocating lets go back in time, I just see props angle here as an area really worth developing.

[Benmrx]

Originally Posted by mlehmann

You can definitely use external hardware for inserts and FXs sends/returns. Simply press Tab to turnover the rack and get access to the routing, like in Reason. From there, you can route inserts, sends and returns to and from the hardware device at the top of the rack.

Awsome! Is there any kind of delay compensation when using outboard gear as inserts? Does it work roughly the same way for using outboard gear on "aux sends", for reverbs and delays, etc.

[dirtboy]

Here's my take on it. This thing sounds really, really good. The console eq and compression actually sound amazing. You could easily do a great record with this no problem. There are a few issues with the console routing which they are aware of and will probably fix soon but all in all, it's very impressive. Here's the caveat though: when I walk into a studio to do work, 90% of it suits my needs yet there is always one or two pieces of outboard gear I need to get the job done which I have to rent/bring along. No biggie, just a fact of life. I understand the need for the props to keep this a closed system for stability's sake but unfortunately it relegates this, at least for me to a great demo tool only. If one day they can find a way to open it up to third party plugs (and I'm aware of the headaches that involves) it would most certainly become the tool of choice for many, many people. As it stands now however, I'd say the future looks bright for them indeed.

[CDS]

Originally Posted by rolo

"HD advantage is recording 80 tracks at once if an engineer needs to record an orchestra or man a film score and mix.

If you need to transfer 48 tracks of tape to digital , then HD is the only game in town. If you need to sync 8 old adat or DA88 machines to transfer to digital, HD is the only gig.

For common music making and simple band recording, HD extra power is useless. This can be handled by the Logic, PT LE and Record apps."


I do none of these and still use my HD rig everyday... it paid for itself in two months... i work my system to it's fullest and even reach it's limits on occasion... it makes me money... but again i do none of what you say an HD rig is best at... your statements are one sided, biased and not correct by any means. sounds to me like your are speculating.
Session 8, DA88's, ??? using that as an experience base shows that you might want to do some modern testing before making comments.

My statement is dead on. I was building and selling ProTools Mix 24 systems over 11 years ago and told Digidesign reps personally that the Digi001 was shooting themselves in the foot. So much for the shinny old days on 48th street (a NYC music mecca thing).

You could have made your same money with an LE system. But if you are using a single track for things like "vocal adlib #1" and another whole track for "vocal adlib #2" then by all means knock yourself out, but if you can't get it done with 48 tracks then there is something wrong in my opinion. No regular song of any kind should not take more than 48 tracks to make unless you are dealing with an orchestra or adding foley to film (foley = sound effects).

[mlehmann]

Benmrx: I didn't try yet so I don't know if there's latency compensation. I'll ask that question to the Props guys. And yes, you can do the same with aux sends and returns.

MartinHB: I'm completely with you on this. I almost don't use third-party plugins anymore and I find this is much more stable. And when mixing with Record, I don't miss anything. In fact, Dynamics and EQ are equal or better than anything I've used in the past, including Waves SSL emulations.

[CDS]

Originally Posted by dirtboy

Here's my take on it. This thing sounds really, really good. The console eq and compression actually sound amazing. You could easily do a great record with this no problem. There are a few issues with the console routing which they are aware of and will probably fix soon but all in all, it's very impressive. Here's the caveat though: when I walk into a studio to do work, 90% of it suits my needs yet there is always one or two pieces of outboard gear I need to get the job done which I have to rent/bring along. No biggie, just a fact of life. I understand the need for the props to keep this a closed system for stability's sake but unfortunately it relegates this, at least for me to a great demo tool only. If one day they can find a way to open it up to third party plugs (and I'm aware of the headaches that involves) it would most certainly become the tool of choice for many, many people. As it stands now however, I'd say the future looks bright for them indeed.

I agree with you, most pro guys end up renting some boxes to use in a session. This would be comparable to using a plugin by todays standards. As a developer myself, I can see how propellerheads can allow VST and keep stability. All they need to do is create a separate and desecrate "VST host rack" application which does not run in Record, but allow users to send and return (rewire?) from this external app. If the VST host crash, then Record is not affected, and the host can be started again without issues to the session.

[AlphaDingo]

Like JACK under Linux?

[Ryan Earnhardt]

I love when they are selling the software on the their website and they something like, "the compressor was modeled after a famous studio compressor". Why not just say, it's modeled after an 1176, or whatever. Seriously, they talk to people like they are a baby.

[DSpec1]

Originally Posted by Ryan Earnhardt

I love when they are selling the software on the their website and they something like, "the compressor was modeled after a famous studio compressor". Why not just say, it's modeled after an 1176, or whatever. Seriously, they talk to people like they are a baby.

Copyright issues. Universal Audio, in the 1176 example,would come back with a team of lawyers and require a series of caveats, disclaimers, non-endorsements of the program etc. Alternately, they could ask for a share of the profit.

[rolo]

Originally Posted by CDS

My statement is dead on. I was building and selling ProTools Mix 24 systems over 11 years ago and told Digidesign reps personally that the Digi001 was shooting themselves in the foot. So much for the shinny old days on 48th street (a NYC music mecca thing).

You could have made your same money with an LE system. But if you are using a single track for things like "vocal adlib #1" and another whole track for "vocal adlib #2" then by all means knock yourself out, but if you can't get it done with 48 tracks then there is something wrong in my opinion. No regular song of any kind should not take more than 48 tracks to make unless you are dealing with an orchestra or adding foley to film (foley = sound effects).

You are clearly living in the past and clueless at that. My client roster, extended as is is, would not hire me without an HD rig... you simply can't load in 90 or so tracks, load each track with high dsp eating plugs on an LE system.... your statement is again, completely wrong.

As for something being wrong with using more than 48 tracks... again, get real and get up to date. There are plenty of songs out there and plenty more to come that use a hell of a lot more than 48 tracks.

[CDS]

Originally Posted by rolo

As for something being wrong with using more than 48 tracks... again, get real and get up to date. There are plenty of songs out there and plenty more to come that use a hell of a lot more than 48 tracks.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was recorded on a 4 track and nothing made since the 1998 introduction of ProTools 24 can come close to beating that record.

I would love to hear a single non-classical song that needed 90 tracks to make, I would need at least 8 ears to hear all the glory!

[Ryan Earnhardt]

Originally Posted by DSpec1

Copyright issues. Universal Audio, in the 1176 example,would come back with a team of lawyers and require a series of caveats, disclaimers, non-endorsements of the program etc. Alternately, they could ask for a share of the profit.

Yeah that makes sense. Although now that I look at the program in more detail it's pretty obvious is the SSL stereo bus compressor. In the video they say that explicitly.

I must say that still...I watched the video on record and to me it was a little silly. I'd like to think of myself as a aspiring professional, just just someone that "jams" and "rocks out". The video tries to relate to musicians, but for me it turns me off to the program...I try to be than more than just a musician, one that isn't afraid of "complicated recording software" as the video puts it. I understand the stereo typing, but it's not something I want to become. I guess it's kinda like belittleing in some way, ie: I would never go up to Steve Gadd and tell him he "bangs" on his drums.

Other than my disagreement with how the product is marketed, I do think it opens some options, if Reason only uses need to record.

[kreeper_6]

It doesn't record MIDI.

[sardi]

Originally Posted by kreeper_6

It doesn't record MIDI.

Huh?

Of course it does. There's even a Micro Tutorial showing it in action.

[digitalson]

heres a song that has 118 tracks......

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/529668...ive%20been.wav

done in nuendo ...withe lots of external hardware