Do I need a 2-track editor?...

[sayatnova]

Hello Everyone,

I am in the process of putting my old programs onto a new machine and I am coming to a sticking point with BIAS Peak... I used to use it quite a bit before it died. Then mostly just used it for splitting up long cassette/vinyl sides into individual tracks (which worked great). However, I am not sure I want to put an EOL program on my machine...

Now, I am asking myself if I want to perhaps look into another 2-track editor, or perhaps just try and see if DP can do the job for me. I ask, because I do like the clear simplicity of a 2-track editors' lay-out (I really liked Peaks' lay out, but oh well...).

I am wondering how many of you are doing professional mastering work for clients with regards to a finished CD to be duplicated (DDP creation, etc)? Can technically DP do everything I need? If not, which is the best dedicated 2-track editor for a Mac (Besides DSP Quatro)?

I have asked this on another forum (http://prorecordingworkshop.lefora.com/ ... GKZT4epqG8) and am slightly overwhelmed by the options and wanted to see what some of you might have experienced. A good summary of what was mentioned:

Oh, and TwistedWave. Forgot that one.

To answer your question:
Audacity - Surprisingly capable for a free app. Broad plug-in support, including AU and VST.
Triumph - In the what-it-costs-for-what-it-does category, this is a high-value app. AU plug-in support.
LoudLAB - Haven't tried it. Reasonable price and interesting feature set but no plug-in support.
TwistedWave - Haven't tried it, but looks competitive with Triumph. Interface looks familiar, like Peak or DSP Quattro which is nice. Supports both AU and VST plug-ins.
Sound Forge 2 - Haven't tried it. Gets very mixed user ratings. Some say it's really bad, some say it's great. Probabaly depends on your workflow. Supports AU and VST plug-ins.
WaveLab - Very capable app used by pros and ME's. VST-only plug-in support.
soundBlade - Another very capable app used by pros and ME's. Supports both AU and VST plug-ins.

And DSP Quattro? Sounds like you tried that one. Venerable but in need of an update. The word on the street is the publisher is working on a major update, sure to support 64-bit. Losing BIAS was a bummer but I wouldn't hesitate to install and update Peak on a new system. afaik, it doesn't install any kernel extensions or plug-ins so it shouldn't destabilize the system in any way. I still doink around with Soundtrack Pro sometimes myself... Hope this helps.

What do you guys think?

Thanks for any help/insight, I appreciate it.

~Shea

[mikehalloran]

Need? It depends.

If you are splitting cassette tracks, DP is great. Heck, you could do it in QuickTime but you have DP. For noise reduction, RX-4 from Izotope is my best friend for this type of work (as was RX-2 and 3 before it), of which I do quite a bit.

For CD mastering, you want something else as you can't embed the required codes into DP (CD-Texts, ISRC and PQ). There's the free tool at CD Baby but most of us like the control we get by using a professional tool.

Toast 11 or 12 s available under $50 if you shop around. Although you can use Toast to split your files, I don't know anyone who does. Toast can use AU plugins. Toast 11 has a slight memory leak in Mavericks but I had no trouble in Yosemite. If you get a super deal on 11 and install it, open the folder and send Spin Doctor X to the Trash and empty (the first time you click, it asks to install a .kxt that doesn't work and crashes OS 10.8.2 and later). Toast 12 no longer includes Spin Doctor (good riddance!)

Many of us use DSP-Quattro for splitting 2-track files and CD mastering. DSP-Q is $49 for the cross-grade since you already have Peak. Yes, it's 32bit still but that isn't an issue for CD mastering. It's still Cocoa based like DP 7.24. This affects a very few plugins: any AU plug that works in DP 7.24 also works in DSP-Q (which also supports VSTs). Stephan is at work on the 64bit Carbon version now.

[bayswater]

There's not a lot you can't do in DP in some fashion, but I like DSP-Q. What it does, it does well, it's not expensive, and it's just easier to do some things in DSP-Q than in DP or Logic. Now and then, something comes up I can't figure out with other apps, and DSP-Q handles it, recently including some file conversion and 32 bit VST VI hosting. Has a nice batch processing function.

And, the author is responsive and helpful and deserves the business.

[mikehalloran]

And, the author is responsive and helpful and deserves the business.

Many of us can vouch for that one!

[billf]

I am in the process of putting my old programs onto a new machine and I am coming to a sticking point with BIAS Peak... I used to use it quite a bit before it died. Then mostly just used it for splitting up long cassette/vinyl sides into individual tracks (which worked great). However, I am not sure I want to put an EOL program on my machine...

I have Peak Pro 6 running on my new Mac on Mavericks. I had to contact Soundness to get additional authorizations, but they handled that part quickly. One thing I've read elsewhere is that they are evaluating resurrecting Peak, so a few people are contacting them on their forum and asking to see it back on the market.

[artfarm1]

I find that I can really do most anything right in DP.

But, DSP Quattro is great when you have to 'batch process' or convert a bunch of files. Very handy when you want to turn some files into .mp3's for somebody to check out via Dropbox or something like that.

But again, DP will do it all and then some for 99.99% of us!

[adriano]

Hi,

DSP Quattro user, too. Version 5 is on the way also, end of the year.
Tech support is great, too.

Adriano

[apanacci]

Just finished mastering a project on Peak 7. I do the compressing and limiting in DP8 then send the files to Peak. I do have Wavelab but have not jumped into it yet. Want to use Peak as long as I can. I am in Mavericks at this time. All works well. Wondering about Yosimite.