READ!!! PHRAZER DEMO FIRST IMPRESSIONS -ACID Product Family

ACID Product Family

Subject:READ!!! PHRAZER DEMO FIRST IMPRESSIONS Posted by: Dick_Withers Date:11/23/2000 1:51:00 AM Let me start by saying I had high hopes for this program, especially with the Pro tools Direct Connect option and the midi & FX features. Well, SF guys, if you're listening, you're not gonna lose much sleep over this one. My opinion could change as I dig deeper into Phrazer, but right now I'd have to say it sucks. Phrazer might have a lot of potential, but it being one of the most unintuitive programs I've ever encountered, I can't tell for sure. I remember the first time I used ACID it made so much sense and was so easy to use that I nearly soiled my shorts. No such happy stains this time. First is the issue of the demo restrictions. 20 launches and/or 30 days, with no saves or renders. After 10 launches in 40 minutes, I have yet to be able to make Direct Connect work (an absolute necessity for me to use this program). The demo will expire way before I find out if this thing is any use to me at all (maybe they planned it that way). Second is the core technology. Phrazer's loop matching comes in three basic flavors. For each loop you can choose: Time stretch - similar to ACID Sliced - similar to Recycle Sliced & stretched - a seemingly promising hybrid I tried them all on a variety of loops (including Bitheadz own atrocious demo loops), and they simply don’t work. Of course it’s quite possible that I just don’t know what I’m doing, but that would more their fault than mine. Also the demo session sounds like shit. It barely plays back on my 450mHz G4. The stretching algorithm sucks compared to ACID’s. Even the slightest deviation from the original tempo created extreme artifacts, so no help there. The slicing choice, gave me the same problems that Recycle does (like the slicer missing quiet hihat hits even on maximum sensitivity), again, unacceptable. The hybrid would seem to be a good idea, kind of a "best of both worlds" thing, but it sounds like the plain sliced version, choppy with gaps if the tempo is slowed. The program didn’t seem to attempt to extrapolate missing material at all. Finally, there’s the foul interface, a bunch of disjointed windows and toolbars, splayed about the screen. So far I’ve found no way to dock or consolidate them. The whole thing feels cheesy and haphazard, like a rickety old bridge. So desperate was I to have something like ACID on my mac, I was ready to buy Phrazer if it even came close to ACID, unfortunately it doesn’t. Again, maybe I’ll discover something that will change my mind, but I doubt it. Why won’t you fking dkheads at Sonic Foundry port ACID????????????????????? Have a nice day, DW
Subject:Re: READ!!! PHRAZER DEMO FIRST IMPRESSIONS Reply by: rdpete Date:11/24/2000 3:55:00 AM LAME!!!!! I run ACID in Virtual PC on my G4, and it works just fine. I will never buy Phrazer. Not intuitive at all. Opening up the demo, it felt like I was opening Logic or Cubase. Several different windows with different functions, scattered all over the screen. ACID's interface totally kills it. The very first time I tried ACID, I had the biggest grin on my face. I got results very quickly......but not with this program. I give it a thumbs down just on the interface alone. RDP Dick_Withers wrote: >>Let me start by saying I had high hopes for this >>program, especially with the Pro tools Direct Connect >>option and the midi & FX features. Well, SF guys, if >>you're listening, you're not gonna lose much sleep over >>this one. My opinion could change as I dig deeper into >>Phrazer, but right now I'd have to say it sucks. >> >> Phrazer might have a lot of potential, but it being one of >>the most unintuitive programs I've ever encountered, I >>can't tell for sure. I remember the first time I used ACID >>it made so much sense and was so easy to use that I >>nearly soiled my shorts. No such happy stains this >>time. >> >> First is the issue of the demo restrictions. 20 launches >>and/or 30 days, with no saves or renders. After 10 >>launches in 40 minutes, I have yet to be able to make >>Direct Connect work (an absolute necessity for me to >>use this program). The demo will expire way before I >>find out if this thing is any use to me at all (maybe they >>planned it that way). >> >>Second is the core technology. Phrazer's loop matching >>comes in three basic flavors. For each loop you can >>choose: >> >>Time stretch - similar to ACID >> >>Sliced - similar to Recycle >> >>Sliced & stretched - a seemingly promising hybrid >> >>I tried them all on a variety of loops (including Bitheadz >>own atrocious demo loops), and they simply don’t work. >>Of course it’s quite possible that I just don’t know what >>I’m doing, but that would more their fault than mine. >>Also the demo session sounds like shit. It barely plays >>back on my 450mHz G4. >> >>The stretching algorithm sucks compared to ACID’s. >>Even the slightest deviation from the original tempo >>created extreme artifacts, so no help there. >> >>The slicing choice, gave me the same problems that >>Recycle does (like the slicer missing quiet hihat hits >>even on maximum sensitivity), again, unacceptable. >> >>The hybrid would seem to be a good idea, kind of a >>"best of both worlds" thing, but it sounds like the plain >>sliced version, choppy with gaps if the tempo is slowed. >>The program didn’t seem to attempt to extrapolate >>missing material at all. >> >>Finally, there’s the foul interface, a bunch of disjointed >>windows and toolbars, splayed about the screen. So far >>I’ve found no way to dock or consolidate them. The >>whole thing feels cheesy and haphazard, like a rickety >>old bridge. >> >>So desperate was I to have something like ACID on my >>mac, I was ready to buy Phrazer if it even came close to >>ACID, unfortunately it doesn’t. Again, maybe I’ll discover >>something that will change my mind, but I doubt it. >> >>Why won’t you fking dkheads at Sonic Foundry port >>ACID????????????????????? >> >>Have a nice day, >> >>DW >> >> >>

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