The Domino Effect: New interface and software switch

[StrangerNY]

I've been mixing 'in the box' since pretty much forever, and I've been pretty loyal to one DAW for nearly 25 years - I've used Acid Pro since back in the Sonic Foundry days, followed them to Sony and now to Magix. But reading a thread here got me interested in finding a reasonably priced control surface, and after looking around I decided to grab a Zoom R16. The extra attraction of the R16 is that it's also a digital multitrack recorder, which I can see coming in handy for recording rehearsals and the odd live gig.

I got the R16 last week and set it up, and for a few days I wrestled with trying to make it work with Acid Pro with no luck. I'm a member on Magix' support forums and posted there to see if I could get some help, but their support isn't all that great. So until someone answers over there I'm sticking my toe in the water and trying different DAWs.

The R16 comes with a full version of Cubase LE, so I downloaded and installed it. Not only could I not get the R16 running in it, I couldn't even get Cubase to recognize the R16. Eventually I'll go back and try again, but I wanted to familiarize myself with the R16 so finding a DAW that would let me do that became a priority.

I had installed a registered copy of Reaper on my machine a couple of years ago but never really opened it up, so I figured it was worth a shot to see if I'd have any luck. After watching a short Youtube video the R16 lit right up. So for the last couple of days I've been setting up projects for my new original stuff in Reaper. This has allowed me to familiarize myself with the functions on the R16 that will let me finish the current material.

And to be honest, I'm kinda digging Reaper. There's a bit of a learning curve for me after using Acid for such a long time, but I've been able to find the functions I used most in Acid and get friendly with them. My plugins all seem to have shown up in Reaper - I've only lost a couple of Magix plugins that I'll miss, but I'm sure Reaper has pretty good replacements.

I haven't tried actually recording anything yet, but I'm sure that'll be pretty problem-free. I do have some cleanup to do on the new tracks, so I'll probably get into that next week, along with getting up to speed with EZDrummer 3, which drops on Tuesday.

So the Spring 2022 version of my little project studio looks like this.

Dual HP monitors (I found the meter bridge background online and thought it looked like a cool optical illusion)
Behringer Truth powered monitors (just can't kill 'em)
Yamaha SO-3 keyboard
Mooer GE-200 modeling board
Zoom R16 interface
An ancient Kurzweil sampler
Alesis Sample Pad Pro for programming EZDrummer
Behringer 4 channel mini headphone amp
An old Oktava condenser mic

It's a little on the tiny side, but it's getting the job done.

I guess I'm going to stick with Reaper for the time being, unless someone over at the Magix forum enlightens me as to how to get the R16 working with Acid. Really not expecting that to happen, though.

- D

 

[drumtime]

MAke

I've been mixing 'in the box' since pretty much forever, and I've been pretty loyal to one DAW for nearly 25 years - I've used Acid Pro since back in the Sonic Foundry days, followed them to Sony and now to Magix. But reading a thread here got me interested in finding a reasonably priced control surface, and after looking around I decided to grab a Zoom R16. The extra attraction of the R16 is that it's also a digital multitrack recorder, which I can see coming in handy for recording rehearsals and the odd live gig.

I got the R16 last week and set it up, and for a few days I wrestled with trying to make it work with Acid Pro with no luck. I'm a member on Magix' support forums and posted there to see if I could get some help, but their support isn't all that great. So until someone answers over there I'm sticking my toe in the water and trying different DAWs.

View attachment 978624

The R16 comes with a full version of Cubase LE, so I downloaded and installed it. Not only could I not get the R16 running in it, I couldn't even get Cubase to recognize the R16. Eventually I'll go back and try again, but I wanted to familiarize myself with the R16 so finding a DAW that would let me do that became a priority.

I had installed a registered copy of Reaper on my machine a couple of years ago but never really opened it up, so I figured it was worth a shot to see if I'd have any luck. After watching a short Youtube video the R16 lit right up. So for the last couple of days I've been setting up projects for my new original stuff in Reaper. This has allowed me to familiarize myself with the functions on the R16 that will let me finish the current material.

And to be honest, I'm kinda digging Reaper. There's a bit of a learning curve for me after using Acid for such a long time, but I've been able to find the functions I used most in Acid and get friendly with them. My plugins all seem to have shown up in Reaper - I've only lost a couple of Magix plugins that I'll miss, but I'm sure Reaper has pretty good replacements.

I haven't tried actually recording anything yet, but I'm sure that'll be pretty problem-free. I do have some cleanup to do on the new tracks, so I'll probably get into that next week, along with getting up to speed with EZDrummer 3, which drops on Tuesday.

So the Spring 2022 version of my little project studio looks like this.

View attachment 978626

Dual HP monitors (I found the meter bridge background online and thought it looked like a cool optical illusion)
Behringer Truth powered monitors (just can't kill 'em)
Yamaha SO-3 keyboard
Mooer GE-200 modeling board
Zoom R16 interface
An ancient Kurzweil sampler
Alesis Sample Pad Pro for programming EZDrummer
Behringer 4 channel mini headphone amp
An old Oktava condenser mic

It's a little on the tiny side, but it's getting the job done.

I guess I'm going to stick with Reaper for the time being, unless someone over at the Magix forum enlightens me as to how to get the R16 working with Acid. Really not expecting that to happen, though.

- D

make sure you have the most recent drivers. Also you can call Zoom and they will help you get it working. A nice lady there spent about 1/2 hour on the phone with me and helped me determine that I needed the new drivers, even though all of my stuff is old.

 

[StrangerNY]

MAke

make sure you have the most recent drivers. Also you can call Zoom and they will help you get it working. A nice lady there spent about 1/2 hour on the phone with me and helped me determine that I needed the new drivers, even though all of my stuff is old.

I did the same to get it working as an audio interface. That much works with Acid, but I really wanted the control capabilities. The young woman there was very helpful getting my audio back, though.

- D

 

[Eastbound71]

Im about 50 days in using Reaper and have been very happy with it. One good thing is that there are a ton of tutorials online, or you can also look up simple questions on the forum. This reduces the chances of getting held up by a simple problem

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on EZdrummer 3, and how that goes for you. I have EZ drummer 2 and the free upgrade to 3 coming up. I think EZ drummer 2 was lacking in the variety of beats they have available

 

[StrangerNY]

Im about 50 days in using Reaper and have been very happy with it. One good thing is that there are a ton of tutorials online, or you can also look up simple questions on the forum. This reduces the chances of getting held up by a simple problem

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on EZdrummer 3, and how that goes for you. I have EZ drummer 2 and the free upgrade to 3 coming up. I think EZ drummer 2 was lacking in the variety of beats they have available

I usually program my own beats using the SamplePad Pro, so I rarely use the 'canned' beats. The cool thing about using Acid was I could just open a MIDI track and assign EZDrummer to it and could build out a drum track without much of a problem. It remains to be seen how that's going to work in Reaper, but I'll try to figure it out this week.

How'd you get the EZD3 upgrade for free? I had to shell out 80 bucks to get it.

- D

 

[Mouth]

There is a ton of support for reaper with just about every question you can think of answered.

This one points out a few key tempo and playback quirks.

 

[StrangerNY]

There is a ton of support for reaper with just about every question you can think of answered.

This one points out a few key tempo and playback quirks.

Thanks! I've noticed that Reaper support is pretty good. I had a couple of questions while running a quick mix that I found the answers for right away.

Meanwhile, I'm on Day 5 of getting no response whatsoever on the Magix support forum. My decision might already be made here.

- D

 

[Ben Harmless]

I am fully a Reaper fanboy. Should you choose to stay, then welcome aboard!

If you like all of what you've seen, and you like external control options, then I recommend checking out the Reaper Web Interface. How about having track or transport controls on your phone? It's a game-changer, especially if you record yourself anywhere other than sitting in front of your DAW (e.g. drumming or something).

I know what you mean about sticking with a DAW that works. I have a friend, who as far as I know is still using an airgapped 15-year-old Windows computer with an early version of Samplitude on it. He makes a living. Why change?

 

[codamedia]

The R16 comes with a full version of Cubase LE, so I downloaded and installed it. Not only could I not get the R16 running in it, I couldn't even get Cubase to recognize the R16. Eventually I'll go back and try again, but I wanted to familiarize myself with the R16 so finding a DAW that would let me do that became a priority.

Does the R16 have two modes of operation like the R24 does? Standalone and interface mode?

On my R24 (when I owned one) I struggled until I learned about the two modes. Once I started the unit in "interface mode" it was recognized immediately by my computer and DAW.

 

[StrangerNY]

Does the R16 have two modes of operation like the R24 does? Standalone and interface mode?

On my R24 (when I owned one) I struggled until I learned about the two modes. Once I started the unit in "interface mode" it was recognized immediately by my computer and DAW.

It does. I bought it primarily as an audio interface/control surface, but I'll probably pack up a bag of mics and take it out to record a friend's band before long to see how that works.

- D

 

[FortyEight]

I've been using Reaper for about a year and I don't plan to look elsewhere. But I started with Audacity so my experinence with DAWS is pretty limited. I think reaper does a good job though and people make some very high quality sounding music with it.

 

[StrangerNY]

I've been using Reaper for about a year and I don't plan to look elsewhere. But I started with Audacity so my experinence with DAWS is pretty limited. I think reaper does a good job though and people make some very high quality sounding music with it.

I'm pretty impressed with it! I like the ability to save effects chains - makes it a lot easier to move from track to track and keep consistent settings on vocals and overall mix.

- D

 

[FortyEight]

I think my only complaint is that my drummer got another DAW with his presonus (now I forget which one, studio one maybe?) interface and the reverbs seem a bit better. Like a bit more professional sounding. But most of the time he sends me a reverb bus track with his drum tracks and I send it all to him. PLUS, he went back to using reaper, but dl'd the reverb plugins from that DAW. So like you say he can use plugins from the other program no problem with reaper.

 

[StrangerNY]

I think my only complaint is that my drummer got another DAW with his presonus (now I forget which one, studio one maybe?) interface and the reverbs seem a bit better. Like a bit more professional sounding. But most of the time he sends me a reverb bus track with his drum tracks and I send it all to him. PLUS, he went back to using reaper, but dl'd the reverb plugins from that DAW. So like you say he can use plugins from the other program no problem with reaper.

All of my plugins migrated to Reaper without a problem, except one - a plugin called Vandal SE, which came with Acid Pro. Too bad, I was getting some really gnarly bass tones with it.

I've been using Boz Digital's Manic Compressor as a substitute. The distortion isn't as good, but it's giving me a nice full sound on bass tracks.

- D

 

[Ron R]

It does. I bought it primarily as an audio interface/control surface, but I'll probably pack up a bag of mics and take it out to record a friend's band before long to see how that works.

- D

That's been my primary usage of my R16, and it's been great. I'm stating the obvious here, but the big key is making sure you don't introduce digital distortion with your input levels.