Mackie release free download of Tracktion

Afro88

Mackie are currently running a promotion where they are giving away the full version of their Tracktion DAW for PC and Mac. All you have to do is follow the instructions on this page: http://my.mackie.com/profile/member.asp?t=tnfra

There are no catches, no money exchanged and no credit card details to be filled out. All you have to do is register on the website, and you will be given an unlock key to transform the demo version into the full retail Tracktion software.

Tracktion is a fully fledged audio recording and midi sequencing package, with VST and VSTi support, groove midi functions, modular vst routing architecture, project management functions and more. Details regarding the software can be found here: http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:06 am Post subject:

This is wonderful news. Do you know anything about this software? Is it any good?

mosc · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:12 am Post subject:

I was looking around the BBC site about remixing, try here, and somewhere in there someone recommended it as a low-cost alternative to Cakewalk (Sonar), Cubase, Pro Tools etc. They said it was a great program if you didn't already have a full-featured DAW.

Maybe someone has some more direct information.

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:22 am Post subject:

I just registered and got my license key thingie. I will install the software tonight.

mosc · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 8:16 am Post subject:

The fact that it runs on both Mac and Windows is a very strong plus for this software. Let us know how you like it.

Afro88 · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 4:26 pm Post subject:

The software is excellent. It takes a little getting used to (a couple of hours was enough for me to get into it's groove), but it is very well thought out has a very clean interface. The mouse wheel is used alot to scroll midi tracks and zoom in/out, and many of the features are dependant on where your mouse is located. Once you figure out how to do everything it makes alot of sense. I did some composition stuff last night with it and the system works very well. It's fast and well thought out, I could do whatever I wanted without stuffing around for 5 mins to get it working.

As for audio and midi timing, it seems rock solid to me. I usually notice some timing discrepencies when sequencing drums with midi in Protools LE, but with this program it's spot on.

My favourite feature is the "filter racks" thing. Basically Tracktion calls plugins "filters", and you can drag and drop these anywhere (including onto single clips of audio). But with a "filter rack", you can build your own effect arrangements like a modular synth. Any arrangement of vst plugin effects is possible with these "racks", and you can drag an instance of this rack anywhere.

Also, the MIDI groove functions are cool - you can build your own groove templates with a really cool editor. Quantise is well thought out too, you can quantise in any fashion (note starts, note ends, note starts adjusting the note end to stay in the same place and vice versa).

I will be using this software of compositions for sure. It's interface seems designed for composing, and the midi features are unmatched IMHO. Any post production work, like finnicky audio timing, final mixing and master eq/compression I will stick with Protools for. Sure this program is capable of performing these functions, but it helps having a dedicated mixer, and the Protools environment feels much more professional for working with audio.

edit: Thanks Mosc, I almost forgot: while I haven't tried it out yet, there are features that let you compress whole projects losslessly into single files to take to another computer (or even platform). Any project can be run on either PC or Mac as long as both computers have the required plugin effects/instruments.

DrJustice · Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:52 pm Post subject:

The main (and big) difference between Tracktion and other sequencers/DAWs, is that it uses a *single* tabbed window for everything, and that all editing of tracks is done in-place. The in-place editing means that tracks can be expanded vertically, so that e.g. a MIDI track becomes a piano roll editor without the need for opening a new window. The tracks and plugin parameters When appear in a fixed area at the bottom of the screen. (These observation are based on the demo)

The single window concept may be limiting to some and liberating to others...

DJ
--

Fozzie · Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 3:27 am Post subject:

As a long time cakewalk / Sonar user, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by this little proggie. It seems to work much smoother on my aging machine (athlon 1333). Thanks for the link, I would never have seen it without this thread.

First impression: I have to get used to the single window (duh), but it is very nice to see everything in 1 view. On Sonar 2, my computer tends to dropout while cpu usage is still very low, as it tends to get sudden spikes of activity. On Tracktion, it runs smoothly on about 35% cpu load (haven't tried heavier stuff). I'll have to see whether some of the advanced stuff (sync options etc) will hamper my normal activities, but so far I'm quite enthousiastic. Thumbs up!

mosc · Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2004 11:03 am Post subject:

I downloaded Tracktion. It's quite different from what I'm used to. I've been using Cakewalk stuff forever.

Trackion does seem very solid and robust. The UI is certainly differnt - not particulary intuitive but a powerful DAW has to have a learning curve. I'd say the curve is easier on Tracktion than on Sonar.

This software seems to make it easy to do music with clips and pluggins. All of the demos are techonish. Maybe there is a lot of great stuff deeper in but I'm going to use what I'm familiar with, Sonar and Audacity.

If I were getting started, this free program is a fanstastic way to go.

mosc · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 4:13 pm Post subject:

Looks like the offer expired Dec 31. Too bad if you missed it... Crying or Very sad