Evaluating Home Studio

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Yendawg
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2010/04/27 11:11:00 (permalink)

Evaluating Home Studio

How does one go about evaluating Home Studio? Is there a download for a demo or user manual?  I tried the Sonar 8 and I like, but I want to make sure Home Studio does the things that I'm counting on.  I can't find anything for Home Studio.  It looks like it's been quite a while since the last overhaul, so maybe it's nearing end of life?
 
Thanks.
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    daveny5
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/27 11:31:02 (permalink)
    Unfortunately, there is no demo for Home Studio and the interface is quite different from Sonar Studio and Producer.

    If you liked the Sonar 8 demo, then get Sonar Studio. If you outgrow it, you can upgrade to Sonar Producer at a discount from Cakewalk later on.

    Dave
    Computer: Intel i7, ASROCK H170M, 16GB/5TB+, Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Sonar Platinum, TASCAM US-16x08, Cakewalk UM-3G MIDI I/F
    Instruments: SL-880 Keyboard controller, Korg 05R/W, Korg N1R, KORG Wavestation EX
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    Beagle
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/27 12:07:49 (permalink)
    or you can spend $40 for Music Creator download from cakewalk and that will be very similar to SHS7.  you can then upgrade to SHS7, SHS7XL or Sonar Studio or Producer at a discounted rate.

    http://soundcloud.com/beaglesound/sets/featured-songs-1
    i7, 16G DDR3, Win10x64, MOTU Ultralite Hybrid MK3
    Yamaha MOXF6, Hammond XK3c, other stuff.
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    alexisrael
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/27 12:28:44 (permalink)
    Getting Music Creator download for 35$ is a great deal, just make sure you contacted Customer Service to get an info on the link to download full edition of MC5's Sound center (Download has only 50 instruments compared to 150 of full edition, included in the boxed version). I would not buy anything else, unless there is a special price, and because when you upgrade to HS7XL many features (such as Studio Instruments, that I got with MC5 purchase, so, after HS7XL purchase in March I have two copies of it) are included.

    Then go to Cakewalk Store Specials and grab all free products. This will upgrade you to a point where probably HS7 wont'be needed, at least for some while. remember MC5 mixing console view has built-in EQs, I missed it, prefering to work under tracks' view, and this was (in part) a reason I run short of MC limit of 25 effects (another MC5 limit is 8 synths per project and 32 audio tracks vs 64 audio tracks in HS7)

    Also go to a web site of a maker of Cakewalks' sound libraries called Digital Sound factory (DSF): here you can download a number of free sounds in both Sound Font and SFZ formats to be played with Cakewalks' free SFZ+ and SFZ players, respectively.


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    Yendawg
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/27 16:32:25 (permalink)
    I sure found the right forum. :Q)
     
    So, this Music Creator, maybe that's all I really need.  With the price and cute name I feared it would be the "notepad" version of the other products, but I suppose that is relative.  My main requirement is recording, playback, and editing of MIDI and audio.  Virtual instruments and effects aren't important to me right now (although I'm sure I'll blow some serious hours if I start playing with them.) 
     
    My story: I am "old school" and have been using a PC MIDI sequencer and analog 8-track forever.  I usually put down several tracks of MIDI stuff and then add my guitars onto that.  Most of the MIDI editing is the typical stuff: move, quantize, transpose, edit specific events/controllers, sysex.  For audio this will be the first time I didn't use an analog board to record, so I probably can't lose one way or the other in that regard.
     
    So is Music Creator just a version of Home Studio with less extras?  Are they functionally identical in regard to the meat and potatoes of recording/editing?  I welcome your biased opinion. :Q)
     
    Thanks.
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    alexisrael
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/27 17:23:35 (permalink)
    This is the question I want to (and shortly will) address to a HS product manager, who (if I am not mistaken) had a post at teh roof of the thread list.

    I actually use both HS7XL (as soon as I got it) and MC5. I recently started to record vocals (the only audio I record) by a computer in the other room. In the room where a good computer stays I have only monitor, wireless computer keyboard and mouse, as well as a stereo pair of microphones. This cut my noise level to ...I don't remember the noise level, but as I measured it, its presently about -54dB. On old computer I use MC5 with a project created with HS7 on better computer. It could be perfectly done in MC5, but I have it. Now I am sure better planning of a project would make MC5 work fuller for me with no HS7 purchase. Well, I have it as my own birthday gift at a discounted price ))) On a better computer I select MIDI instruments tracks appropriate for a vocal, and save it as a wav. I then remove soft synth (initially this is usually TTS1, also included in MC5), so older computer with MC5 does not need to handle soft synth system resources much, as only one wav file is playing as an accompaniment for my vocal. MIDI tracks are still there with staff view open, so, I can follow notes while singing.

    Based on the above my Q to cakewalk product manager is: Are Audio engines of MC5 and HS7 identical? I have a feeling this the case, as I did not have any audible asynchronization with a project opened in either MC5 or HS7.

    Check cakewalk web site for a specific list of features (I'll post it when I find it unless you do it first). What I remember that list does not specify that:

    1. in MC you can record only with one audio interface
    2. recording is limited to 48KHZ sampling rate (although it is 24 bit capable

    The differences are not only extras (that are significabtly vary between regular HS7 and HS7XL), but certain limitations that MC5 has, such as 32 audio tracks and 1238 MIDI tracks per projects.

    Again, better planning and saving a backup copy of a project with an unnecessary tracks was a solution for me a number of times before purchasing HS7 at a discounted price
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    Samara Krugman
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/28 10:42:08 (permalink)
    alexisrael


    This is the question I want to (and shortly will) address to a HS product manager, who (if I am not mistaken) had a post at teh roof of the thread list.

    I actually use both HS7XL (as soon as I got it) and MC5. I recently started to record vocals (the only audio I record) by a computer in the other room. In the room where a good computer stays I have only monitor, wireless computer keyboard and mouse, as well as a stereo pair of microphones. This cut my noise level to ...I don't remember the noise level, but as I measured it, its presently about -54dB. On old computer I use MC5 with a project created with HS7 on better computer. It could be perfectly done in MC5, but I have it. Now I am sure better planning of a project would make MC5 work fuller for me with no HS7 purchase. Well, I have it as my own birthday gift at a discounted price ))) On a better computer I select MIDI instruments tracks appropriate for a vocal, and save it as a wav. I then remove soft synth (initially this is usually TTS1, also included in MC5), so older computer with MC5 does not need to handle soft synth system resources much, as only one wav file is playing as an accompaniment for my vocal. MIDI tracks are still there with staff view open, so, I can follow notes while singing.

    Based on the above my Q to cakewalk product manager is: Are Audio engines of MC5 and HS7 identical? I have a feeling this the case, as I did not have any audible asynchronization with a project opened in either MC5 or HS7.

    Check cakewalk web site for a specific list of features (I'll post it when I find it unless you do it first). What I remember that list does not specify that:

    1. in MC you can record only with one audio interface
    2. recording is limited to 48KHZ sampling rate (although it is 24 bit capable

    The differences are not only extras (that are significabtly vary between regular HS7 and HS7XL), but certain limitations that MC5 has, such as 32 audio tracks and 1238 MIDI tracks per projects.

    Again, better planning and saving a backup copy of a project with an unnecessary tracks was a solution for me a number of times before purchasing HS7 at a discounted price
    Hello alexisrael,
     
    Yes, the audio engines in SHS7 and MC5 are identical. In fact all of the following Cakewalk products share the same audio engine, which is based on SONAR 8;
     
    • SONAR Home Studio 7 and Home Studio 7 XL
    • Guitar Tracks Pro 4
    • SONAR VS (included with VS-100)
    • Music Creator 5 and Music Creator 5 LE
    The only differences between all of these products are thinge like maximum audio and MIDI track count, included content, included plug-ins and instruments, etc. They all share the same audio and MIDI editing tools and audio engine.
     
    Hope this helps,

    Samara Krugman
    Product Manager
    Cakewalk
    #7
    Yendawg
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/28 14:25:32 (permalink)
    Neat-o.  Can you verify the sample rate and simultaneous recording limits in MC vs. HS? 
    #8
    Samara Krugman
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/28 16:43:51 (permalink)
    Yendawg


    Neat-o.  Can you verify the sample rate and simultaneous recording limits in MC vs. HS? 
    Sure.
     
    Max Sample Rate
    SHS7 - 24/192
    GTP4 - 24/96
    MC5 - 24/48
     
    Max Audio Tracks
    SHS7 - 64
    GTP4 - 32
    MC5 - 32
     
    Max MIDI Tracks
    SHS7 - unlimited
    GTP4 - 64
    MC5 - 128
     
    Max Simultaneous I/O (the number of inputs you can simultaneously record and the number of discrete outputs supported)
    SHS7 - Unlimited (well, limited only by the number of I/O on your audio hardware :) )
    GTP4 - Stereo
    MC5 - Stereo
     
    Hope this helps,

    Samara Krugman
    Product Manager
    Cakewalk
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    alexisrael
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    Re:Evaluating Home Studio 2010/04/28 16:46:18 (permalink)

    Samara Krugman

    Dear Samara Krugman,

    Thank you for your helpful note. I am so happy that I met Cakewalk in September 2009, first with MC5 and SI, then, with a number of free products (that Cakewalk offered at Christmas 2009 time). I then was dissapointed I did not accept HS7 discounted upgrade in January, but as my love with Cakewalk is apparently a mutual affair, there was an even better gift for me: HS7XL at a March 2010 discounted price right few days before my birthday, that I surely got.

    I so much love cake-working my music with Cakewalk Home Studio and MC5, and teach my daughter (8.5) music creativity with it. Thank you for this pleasure, few minor bugs are not boring me at all, as some anti-bug solution(s) come to me shortly thereafter. 

    I am so thankful to Cakewalk for moments of magic with my music  assisted by cakewalks' HS, MC, SI, SFZ, SFZ+, AudioPyro full and your other products.

    Laughing right now and so happy (with your note, too)

    Sincerely,


    Alexei Koudinov, MD, PhD, DrSci
    neuroscientist, editor


    P.S. I was thinking, why I do not love any other software that I use daily? Perhaphs, all other soft (office, browser, different text and markup language editors, etc) are tools to work, while... HS7 and MC for me are like my senses extension. My songs are my feelings, so cakewalk products are effectors of my feelings, critically essential for their shaping and release to the world, to those who I love first of all, as my music is my hobby, fan, again: feelings, and it is not for sale.
    post edited by alexisrael - 2010/04/28 17:44:28
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