OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible??

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DonM
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2005/05/29 09:07:23 (permalink)

OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible??

All:
My Sound on Sound June issue showed up today with great reviews of a bunch of stuff including Samplitude 8. The article reads the hardware requirements as folows:

"Samplitude will run on fairly modest hardwarel; A Pentium II with 128 MB RAM - they reccomend a 400Mhz processor..." the article goes on to say the application supports Windows OS back to Win 98 - / I once had a Samplitude demo -

I know a bunch of folks using this AND I know a lot about the difference between minimum and production specs - but this seems ridiculus - Win 98 on a PII!

Does anybody know if Samplitude really works with modest hardware?

The other interesting comment in SOS is the reference to Samplitude's competiion, and I quote" It's closest competitors are probably Steinberg's Nuendo and Digidesign's Pro Tools, although it already has a better claim to providing a viable 'all in one' package than either of these." - Notice the Sonar Producer ommission !?!?!

-D

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    GalacticShuffler
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    RE: OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible?? 2005/05/31 13:55:58 (permalink)
    Samplitude is an incredibly efficient program. I believe it is written in assembly or machine language. I have a version on an old PII computer running Windows 98 and it runs just fine, although I would think that machine would be limited regarding the use of plug-ins.

    It is more comparable to Nuendo and Pro Tools because it is a high end audio program with limited midi features. I think it is way above Pro Tools, particularly in speed. Haven't tried Nuendo so I won't comment on that.

    I have always used Cakewalk or Sonar for midi and used to use Samplitude for audio and mixdown. However, with the improvements to Sonar I find myself using Samplitude less and less.
    #2
    daverich
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    RE: OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible?? 2005/05/31 13:57:43 (permalink)
    I tried the demo of samplitude.

    Couldn't get to grips with it at all.


    that said - it's a pretty well respected program and known for having a particular *sound*.

    Kind regards

    Dave Rich

    For Sale - 10.5x7ft Whisperroom recording booth.

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    Jim Roseberry
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    RE: OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible?? 2005/05/31 14:30:14 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: DonM
    All:
    My Sound on Sound June issue showed up today with great reviews of a bunch of stuff including Samplitude 8. The article reads the hardware requirements as folows:

    "Samplitude will run on fairly modest hardwarel; A Pentium II with 128 MB RAM - they reccomend a 400Mhz processor..." the article goes on to say the application supports Windows OS back to Win 98 - / I once had a Samplitude demo -

    I know a bunch of folks using this AND I know a lot about the difference between minimum and production specs - but this seems ridiculus - Win 98 on a PII!

    Does anybody know if Samplitude really works with modest hardware?

    The other interesting comment in SOS is the reference to Samplitude's competiion, and I quote" It's closest competitors are probably Steinberg's Nuendo and Digidesign's Pro Tools, although it already has a better claim to providing a viable 'all in one' package than either of these." - Notice the Sonar Producer ommission !?!?!
    -D


    With 'dynamic allocation' of plugin processing (IOW, a plug-in only loads the machine when its associated audio is playing), Samplitude *is* one of the most efficient audio apps that exists. Having said that, Samp v8 also has some very advanced realtime processing algorithms (RoomSimulator, FFT Filter, Noise/Hiss reduction, etc) that require substantial CPU. So yes, you can run Samp on a modest machine, but to get the most (realtime) from it, you'll want a fast machine.

    Sonar's strength is as a composition/production app.
    You can certainly edit audio in Sonar... but that's not its strongest point.

    Samp's strength has always been its 'hardcore' realtime audio editing tools (Object Editor/etc). That's why you'll see it compared to Nuendo/ProTools.

    There's a lot of 'crossover' between the major audio apps.
    Each has particular strong/weak points...
    I think a combination of Sonar/Samp is the ideal situation.
    Each fills the other's feature 'gaps'...


    post edited by Jim Roseberry - 2005/05/31 15:33:34

    Best Regards,

    Jim Roseberry
    jim@studiocat.com
    www.studiocat.com
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    CapnSpanky
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    RE: OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible?? 2005/05/31 14:37:00 (permalink)
    This is from the Samplitude website:

    Recommended hardware for Samplitude V8:

    Mastering: P3/Athlon 1 GHz

    Multitrack Recorder: P4/Athlon 2 GHz (fast HD)

    complete studio (MIDI, instruments, room simulator, effects, mixing):
    - P4/Athlon XP 2.4+ GHz
    - Graphic card with dual monitor support
    - 512/1024 MB RAM

    Recommended operating system for Samplitude V8:
    - Windows XP (use of ASIO drivers)


    I tried Samplitude because I read that some people beleive it sounds' better than other apps. I'm not interested in starting a debate or a flame war or anything like that. But I have to say that it does sound better to my ears.

    Sonar has Sampitude beat in a lot of areas... ease of use, midi, soft synth implementation, and more. But (in my opinion) Samplitude beats Sonar in sound quality, quality of included effects, and deep audio editing. FWIW, these are the areas that I would like to see the Cakewalk development team focus on. Especially, sound quality.

    Tim Wells
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    Cap'n Spanky
    From the Planet Screwball
    #5
    CapnSpanky
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    RE: OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible?? 2005/05/31 16:51:45 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: Jim Roseberry
    Sonar's strength is as a composition/production app.
    You can certainly edit audio in Sonar... but that's not its strongest point.

    Samp's strength has always been its 'hardcore' realtime audio editing tools (Object Editor/etc). That's why you'll see it compared to Nuendo/ProTools.

    There's a lot of 'crossover' between the major audio apps.
    Each has particular strong/weak points...
    I think a combination of Sonar/Samp is the ideal situation.
    Each fills the other's feature 'gaps'...


    I definitely agree, Jim. One option that intrigues me is 'Rewiring' Project 5, version 2 to Samplitude 8. This could be a killer combo. I hope to try this in the not too distant future.

    Or... if Sonar would work as a Rewire slave, as well as a host. That would also be a great option for me.

    Tim Wells
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    Cap'n Spanky
    From the Planet Screwball
    #6
    DonM
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    RE: OT:Samplitude Specs - Impossible?? 2005/06/02 16:25:39 (permalink)
    Jim:
    Thanks for the really nice comparison - I had used the Samp demo ( I think rev 7) its was nice - but you hit the note on the beat (nail on the head) about Sonar and composing at eh DAW. - Tim I didn't check the website - thanks for doing that - it's interested that Sound on Sound could get the specs so wrong??

    -D

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