What's a nerse?
 

If $150 isn't too painful to drop and you kind of sort of liked the concept of X2 but were annoyed with the execution and half bakedness of the program then it seems worth it. I've found something else to use for the things X2 is being a jag off about and don't seem to have been fixed in X3. $150 is too much for what would amount to a patch for me and the money is better spent elsewhere. X2 is fine for mixing so I'll use it for that. I'll take my editing business elsewhere... for now.
 
and something about munkees... or becan... wouldn't want to go off topic.

The music field isn't cheap even for a modest home hobbyist but
if $150.00 is "painful" then I can't help but think the entire process
could be hazadous to ones health.
I'd recommend oil painting or something that wasn't so..."painful" maybe.
 
FWIW I also think X3 is much more than just a "patch" but I realize that workflow,
added features and system performance are factors in ones evaluation.
 
Fortunately for me the $150.00 for the upgrade was nothing when I consider that
with X2 being useless to me and possibly having to invest in "starting over".
That combined with the fact that X3 is a milestone in the version transitions makes
the upgrade a fantastic deal...and I believe many other than myself are realizing that.
 
I think the bakers worked out many major issues and know they can focus on tweaking
it. I base that not only that X3 is working so good for me but from what I'm reading there
are many others that share the opinion that it is pretty darn solid and a great version with
all that it has to offer.
 
I do hope things work out for you Beepster so you can have some stress-free recording time.
I know that feeling all to well....and I did take my own advise for over two years now...geeze
it took a long time to get back in the saddle. Now I have to learn how to ride again.
 

"Oil painting"  Hehe...

LOL...
I did! 
Many years ago there was a guy named Bob Ross that
aired on PBS every weekend and I would drink my morning brew
and watch him paint. I'm talking for a few  years I enjoyed it.
One day I remarked to my wife that I could do that.
Sometime later there was a pile of painting goods and she said, prove it.
 
I did. I don't know how many are hanging in houses. Got bored with it though.
 
This time instead of dealing with all the X1 and 2 BS or oil painting I built a
24' x 30' shop and filled it with tools (that worked...lol) and built
7 guitars 1, 5-str.bass and a lap steel (to date)...
 
I know by getting away from it saved me a lot of grief...and no telling how many
computers!
 
Ya gots to know when to fold 'em. :)
 
 

Hi, Spacey. I've noticed you are quite a bit happier with your new setup which is great. I've only had a chance to listen to one of your songs over on the song forum but you are quite the talent and the world is better off with you being able to create unhindered by misbehaving doodads. Looking forward to hearing anything new you come up with.
 
As for me... I occasionally think I may have made an error by investing in upgrading all my gear due to the cost. In reality though it was either that or spend the rest of my life rotting away sitting on my butt going insane while being a drain on society. Can't have that. I'm too young and driven and it would be a terrible disappointment to all those who care about me and those who looked up to me when I was still a strong man. Life ain't nothin' without hope, purpose and at least a little bit of joy, all of which my music has and continues to provide.
 
Not to lay a sob story (self pity is useless and not really my thing) but I've met some incredible challenges to get to this point. I lost my big boy career(s) due to a freak, previously undiagnosed genetic illness so all my income vanished. It was too expensive to stay in the city so I sold everything, paid off my debts, said goodbye to all my friends and made a goal to rebuild smarter and better. I was owed a significant chunk of money that I was hoping would help me coast through until I could get myself set up with some help and whatever was leftover would go towards building up a more modern studio set up (my old rig was dying and horribly outdated). People have bought my music in the past and paid me to teach lessons so instead of wasting time doing lengthy courses to try and get an education for new joyless jobs that may or may not exist or I may not even be physically able to do by the time I'm finished I figured I stick with what I know, love and has worked before. Music. Added benefit was I could do it all from home on my own schedule which is necessary as I never know when my body is going to screw up. The people who owed me the money decided to rip me off. That screwed everything up but I couldn't do anything about it and frankly was so mad I just had to let it go because it was making my health worse. I secured my meager pension, paid off any new debts and started researching/buying what I needed. I get about $1000 a month which well over 2/3rds of has gone to rent. I've had to move twice in the past year both of which moves cost me over $700 each. Somehow... and really when I crunch the numbers I really do not know how I did it, over the course of the past year and a half I've invested over $3000 into my studio. Keep in mind this is not a luxury or a hobby for me. I intend to pull myself out of poverty with it. Even a couple extra hundred bucks a month to me would make an enormous difference in my lifestyle but ideally I want to become completely self sufficient again. I despise being a leech (even though I probably haven't come close to soaking up what I've paid in various taxes over the years... but that's not the point).
 
So the thing that gets me is after all that Cakewalk can't even be arsed to patch X2 opting instead to raise their upgrade price. X3 does sound like it's worth the money with all the extra doohickeys but I don't need that stuff. They also didn't fix the things that have been giving me problems and now that people have been sitting on it for a while I'm starting to see the bug reports trickling in. So being completely financially exhausted, still needing a couple more key components for my set up and literally hungry $150 for something that probably won't do what I need it to just... well I'll say it... it pisses me off. Not sure how often you wander upstairs but I generally try to remain upbeat and cheerful. Even in light of this I praise what I feel are positive things Cakewalk has done with X3 and I don't even think this is their fault (I blame corporate shenanigans in the background). It's a business and they gotta make their dough. As a customer though and someone trying to set up a business myself I can't get caught up in the hype or emotion lest I make a mistake. There is absolutely no room for mistakes in my world. $150 would take me several months to pay off and currently what I desperately need is a VRM box ($100). Then I really need to start saving money so I can afford stuff like getting into the songwriters guild, SOCAN and whatever other royalty collection/musicians collectives/advocate groups that might help me along. Then there is the matter of manufacturing and distribution which I'll have to do myself at first and since I'll be putting together some books there is copyright and publishing costs. I've even considered patenting my methods which is BIG bucks. So the struggle is far from over and I was hoping my hardware/software stuff would be dealt with by now.
 
A helpful forum member saw where my concerns were and PMd for more details (as I was specifically trying not to take a dump in the punchbowl) and showed me how one of the competitors deals with a few of the functions I've been having problems with. It's looks way better and more importantly is supposed to work as advertised. This is a much smaller investment than the upgrade to X3 Pro so although I am loathe to learn another platform just to do a few processes I just need to get the work done. X2 will be used for its strengths which for me is mixing. Perhaps if X3 turns into the powerhouse X2 should have been and I have the money then I'll upgrade because there are a few things I would like access to but really they are not crucial to accomplish my specific goals.
 
tl;dr... I'm broke, tired and cranky. ;-)
 
Anyway, I hope you've been well and I'm looking forward to hearing some more of your musical creations. Cheers.

Well that was a little longer than intended. Oops.
 

Beepster I know what it's like to start from scratch. I had to in 1990. Fortunately I
had my health...that and determination...maybe more of instinct to survive.
 
My music is nothing more than a hobby although before 1986 I was
a serious musician making a very nice supplement income. As I previously mentioned I
know it's not cheap even for the hobbyist.
 
I know that it is important for one to prioritize even when funds aren't tight and it
is very upsetting when one faces a set-back when a purchase fails, for any reason.
Not receiving satisfactory resolution is salt to the cut. The depth of the cut is what we
each evaluate and respond to.
 
I can see where my advice, although it worked for myself as a hobbyist, does not help you.
What I hope helps you is that you knowing that there are people that do understand, care and
hope you get the tools to continue and succeed.
 
I just built a lap-steel. I think it's a nice one. If it will help I'll mail it to you and you can sell it
here, there or anywhere. PM me where you'd like it to go and receive it with my best wishes Beepster.
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks for all the input my fellow Becaneers! Due to sudden updates and status of and on the state of the VA, my retirement check, and where I live I may be forced to relocate. I suppose I will wait and see before I upgrade.

bayoubill
Thanks for all the input my fellow Becaneers! Due to sudden updates and status of and on the state of the VA, my retirement check, and where I live I may be forced to relocate. I suppose I will wait and see before I upgrade.

 
 

what happened ,, did the van get towed????