| Soniclight |
| (Newbie) |
| 12/19/07 02:17 PM |
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Q: Sequel vs. Acid Music Studio (Pros/Cons)
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I'm interested in someone's experienced p.o.v. who has used BOTH applications in a serious, perhaps even pro or semi-pro manner.
I'm not a teenager making "bedroom studio" pop or dance tunes, I'm a somewhat old-school musician/arranger/composer who uses Cubase SX but one living on a limited disability income (read: ain't got moolah to burn on expensive libraries).
I have not yet purchased either Sequel or Music Studio but have messed around in the trial version of each one. My system is WinXP on Intel Pentium D, with maximum DDRM for 32-bit system.
General Situation
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I've had Cubase SX since it first came out (v.3 at this point) and so I obviously use that as my main music creation app and love it. I tend to play most instruments myself via my Korg Trinity workstation = record. Except drums.
I want to diversify my compositions by playing around with some pre-fab grooves and so on and make things easier for myself. I used to have Band-in-A-Box but it's tedious to use IMO. I do have a few old Keyfax drum and base stuff, but I like the idea of pushing around various instruments in inventive ways as a sort of rough music sketch pad for ideas.
Ergo I'm considering getting Sequel or Music Studio* (*I already have the freebie version of Sony Music Studio. I use Sony Vegas Pro 8 for video.
--- Acid Music Studio ---
Acid is fine for audio loops, but since I am from the old school slower tempo Pink Floyd type of style, audio loops have their limitations due to often having to transpose down which degrades samples. Using Hitpoints in SX can get a bit tricky too.
The big advantage with Acid is that it's been around a long time and has a huge online community.
--- Sequel ---
Due to Steinberg's industry leading strength in MIDI implementation, Sequel has far more loops that are in fact MIDI based and therefore transposing and tweaking are easy and free of distortions.
From what I understand, one can also open a Sequel file in SX and do the serious editing and mixing there.
Sequel is just a newborn but promising app, so there is so far no real community online for it (the forum is just as newborn).
_________________
Each application has its advantages. Your own thoughts and feedback welcomed.
| JoshMatlock |
| (Moderator) |
| 12/20/07 11:32 AM |
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Re: Q: Sequel vs. Acid Music Studio (Pros/Cons)
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Hello,
Sequel would be an easy way for you to sketch ideas. The nice thing about Sequel is when you upgrade to Cubase 4 you can open your Sequel sketch inside Cubase 4 and with Acid you cannot. All of your Sequel effects, automation, transposition, etc, will open right up in Cubase 4. Then you can use Cubase 4's advanced mixing, effects, automation, and everything else to make your track sound pro. Plus Sequel gives you access to over 5,000 loops for production.
Cubase SX 3 cannot open Sequel projects. Cubase 4 is the only program that can open Sequel projects inside it. However, upgrade offers are available from www.steinbergupgrades.com
| Soniclight |
| (Newbie) |
| 12/20/07 08:52 PM |
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Re: Q: Sequel vs. Acid Music Studio (Pros/Cons)
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Josh,
Thanks for response. Too bad SX3 won't take Sequel files.
| LoopyFruit |
| (Newbie) |
| 12/22/07 09:07 AM |
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Re: Q: Sequel vs. Acid Music Studio (Pros/Cons)
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Hi
Having tried the Sequel demo I found it to be a disappointment and soon got bored with it compared with Acid.
The loops are tied to Sequel and cannot be used in other apps., it seems Steinberg are hoping that users will upgrade to Cubase 4, I won‘t be upgrading to C4.
There is no way to rewire or use other VST’s in Sequel and this will not be further developed.
No midi file export was a big minus for me, and price wise I don’t think Sequel is worth the money when you look at what the competition offers.
A worry also for me is Steinberg’s history for dropping support for their products both software and hardware, Acid has been around for some time and is well supported with free stuff, updates and fixes.
I’d also consider Cakewalk’s P5, and try demo‘s of other software before you decide.
| Soniclight |
| (Newbie) |
| 12/24/07 12:08 AM |
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Re: Q: Sequel vs. Acid Music Studio (Pros/Cons)
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Thanks for feedback.
I have been giving Sequel more time. What fired me up with Sequel is the on-the-fly midi arranging and so on -- but as you mentioned, no MIDI export seems very counter-intuitive to me since Steinberg is an industry leader in audio-midi integration.
That's definitely tanking my hopes here since upgrading to SX3 would start getting way to expensive in combo with getting Sequel. Having a decent dual core, I'm also surprised at the drag it can have on the system -- more than my SX3! Must be the under-the-hood Halion stuff or whatever.
I've looked at some info on Project5, but already having SX3 makes much of it redundant from first impression. I definitely will have to do some more research such "quick sketch" arranging apps like these.
And there's always workarounds if one puts some elbow grease in. I'm just trying to find the best fit and price for my budget.