Which version to replace Wavelab or Sequoia

[bobsandifer]

Good day all of you Pyramix people
My wife and I operate a free audio school for underprivileged young adults and we specialize in a program for mixing and mastering. We are currently using Sequoia for our mastering software but it was pointed out to us, by a student, that Pyramix is more feature packed and could possibly be more economical depending on which version we need.

That brings me to the question of which version of the native software will replace/exceed Sequoia. After watching several videos I am sold but we run the school out of our own pocket and provide the students with all of the equipment they need to continue on after our program. Of course the version we purchase will be what we will use at our mastering facility but funds are always tight.

I do appreciate any help with this.

Bob Sandifer
BobSandifer.com
pitchORditch.com

[fl]

The "Elements" version looks like it is really stripped down, and is missing a lot of the features that your student was talking about.

With the "Pro" version, you get Source-Destination editing (an essential for my needs), native plug-ins, format converters, multi-channel output and video support. It is not tied to their own hardware, so you could probably use your existing audio interface/computer that you're using for Sequoia.

You can compare features of the various packs here:
https://www.merging.com/products/pyramix/software-packs

The true mother-load of information is found in the Pyramix Knowledge base:
https://merging.atlassian.net/wiki/spac ... C/overview

[bobsandifer]

Thank you Frank for the info. All seems well for the “pro” version other than Atmos support. It’s being added any day now to our current software and I doubt it will be added anytime soon to the less expensive version of Pyramix. This is one of the reasons we moved away from Steinberg products. Well, and the fact the kids needed a masters degree to use Cubase

I do like the fact that we can purchase the basic version of the software for our kids to take with them and not be tied into a subscription.

I suppose we will have to hold off for a bit.

Oh another note
We are Mac people and had to stray to the PC world due to Magix software which has been a crashasaurous Rex of a nightmare. However, we do have plenty of Intel Mac minis sitting around and based on your signature it appears you are using Merging products?

Thank you again for the help

[fl]

I first used Pyramix during the '90s when I was resident at the Banff Centre. Since 2006, when I first got my own system, I've used nothing but Bootcamped Macs with Windows (NT, then 7 and now 10) with an RME interface which connects via Firewire (ASIO). I always followed the Windows configuration guidance Merging provides so my systems have been very stable, and crashes have been infrequent. (I did discover that should the computer crash while you are actively recording, Pyramix is stable enough that as long as you allow the take or performance to continue on the machine before crashing out and restarting, all the media is on your hard disk ready for Merging's Media Recoverer software to "fix" the recorded tracks. This saved my bacon on a few location recording sessions and/or concert recordings.)

I've more or less retired and I have ceased to upgrade - especially after the minimum hardware requirements for the more recent versions (v12 and up) required a more recent processor than what I had already, but any more recent (laptop) computer won't have FW, so that would require an upgrade to my interface. I'm not doing enough work to justify upgrading everything just to remain current with Pyramix. You may find yourself in the same situation with your older hardware - you'll find the minimum hardware requirements on the Knowledge Base site.

You say you have Intel Macs for your students, and while this could be an easy way for them to get into a "Native" system, more recent versions of the program require ever more recent processors, so in order to run a version on a Bootcamped Intel Mac, it's likely you'll have to find an older version and license, probably used. I suppose such things exist for sale on sites like Reverb - I haven't looked. Best of luck working your way through this maze.

[bobsandifer]

Thank you Frank.
Sequoia has been working relatively well for us under bootcamp as well but when we changed over to the new Silicone Macs that put an end to everything. The big issue with Magix is to get the high end software you end up paying for several other program you might not need. So a 650$ app turns into 1500$. We just did an episode on our live show concerning this (100k follower) and found out that was one of the reasons many people heat to Wavelab.

We actually stay booked constantly and about 80% of our clientele are A & B level artist. It’s would be nice to get everything back on our Macs. It’s more cost effective to keep the production software on PC’s for the students since we buy those for them to keep. I wish we could afford to buy the kids Macs but it’s just not in me and the wife’s budget unless we live off beans and rice. Been there done that before.

However, Pyramix is DA BOMB. Plenty of features and the pro version is a very comfortable price. I think I might download it again and demo it. We use the newest RME products so I’m sure we will be happy. Maybe do a comparison episode between the 2 PC only products.

Now to decide between Premium or Pro for the schools Mastering workstation. Then grab another copy for my business.

[fl]

Agreed. Pyramix has always been the best fit for the kinds of audio productions I was doing, and the abilities it provides, especially when compared to Pro Tools made it a no brainer. I love the S-D editing as it allows you to do truly seamless assemblies. Having real-time format and sample rate conversion means that you can combine different file recorded on various systems into a single project with no messy conversions having to be done in between. The floating point math allows you to recover from overs, and always sounds great. The University where I was teaching went full on for Pro Tools, which I always thought was a mistake, but many institutions are convinced they need to teach their students the "industry standard" program, which I suppose is reasonable, but it's like saying that the "standard" is a 1969 Rambler American, while I'd rather drive a Ferrari...