Cross Platform Idea Share Momentum Released

[starise]

I haven't tried it yet. I'm still picking Alex's Brain about it. Momentum is Idea  capture software designed to sync with all DAWs. More details here. Brand new idea to gather music ideas and put them in any DAW totally cross platform.

 

Ongoing discussion debate here: MOMENTUM

[Richard Tracey]

Hmnnn, I don’t know about this. The way I have read it so far, it is about getting ideas out of say your iPad or phone onto a computer to use in a DAW? - depending on which DAW you use, that option is already there. For me if I create in GarageBand on the iPad, it can be put to the cloud and brought into Logic on the Mac, for no extra cost.

 

There is no Abelton or Reason or any other DAW on mobile devices that would allow you to create a part, then use this app to transfer it to say Logic. That is what I would want. I have the option of playing from my iPad straight into Logic if I want, I just have to set it up.

[starise]

I am not really as informed about it as I want to be. I intend to download it and give it a spin. 

 

While it is mobile capable, Momentum is also supposed to be able to transfer from larger daws. If I had Reason and I lived in Scotland, I could use it to get a track from someone living in California with a DAW running Pro Tools. It seems to basically be a time synced cloud based system.

 

The difference using it and using drop box or Google Drive is the file is time synced. If I have info that the track is set for a BPM of 98. The loaded track should stay at that setting in all daws.

 

I'll try and find out more about it. FWIW there is a free version with a limit of 3 files and held to mp3.

[Richard Tracey]

33 minutes ago, starise said:

I am not really as informed about it as I want to be. I intend to download it and give it a spin. 

 

While it is mobile capable, Momentum is also supposed to be able to transfer from larger daws. If I had Reason and I lived in Scotland, I could use it to get a track from someone living in California with a DAW running Pro Tools. It seems to basically be a time synced cloud based system.

 

The difference using it and using drop box or Google Drive is the file is time synced. If I have info that the track is set for a BPM of 98. The loaded track should stay at that setting in all daws.

 

I'll try and find out more about it. FWIW there is a free version with a limit of 3 files and held to mp3.

 

Tim, I like the idea of it and really think that all DAW’s need the functionality to talk to each other as standard. Everyone has their favourite anyway for whatever reason, so it’s not like they will lose users.

[starise]

Yeah, I think the main thing up in the air right now is the subscription model. Just doesn't bode well with many and I don't really blame them.

 

On the bright side,  It looks as if a person could subscribe on a monthly basis, use the heck out of it and then allow it to expire until they need it again.

 

The other issue seems to be some think it's a DAW when what it is intended to be is a means of accurate transfer. I've been too busy to give it a spin. Maybe soon I'll give it a try. If I can find someone else with a daw we could try and use it for a track "swap".

[Richard Tracey]

17 minutes ago, starise said:

Yeah, I think the main thing up in the air right now is the subscription model. Just doesn't bode well with many and I don't really blame them.

 

On the bright side,  It looks as if a person could subscribe on a monthly basis, use the heck out of it and then allow it to expire until they need it again.

 

The other issue seems to be some think it's a DAW when what it is intended to be is a means of accurate transfer. I've been too busy to give it a spin. Maybe soon I'll give it a try. If I can find someone else with a daw we could try and use it for a track "swap".

 

I like the idea of it and if it works as they state, it might make all DAW creators sit up and take notice so that we can get a universal format for the future.

 

I would be happy to download it and use the free version to try this out, but I will not be going subscription for this, it is to expensive overall. Yes you can subscribe and stop as you need, but I prefer the rent to own option that Splice is doing and can’t wait to see where it goes.

[starise]

Can't say I blame you Richard. Seems much software is going the subscription route. This might better serve larger studios doing many transfers between locations or engineers. Might make a nice way to collab with someone half way around the world too. Both parties should be familiar with the program and how it works to make full use of it.

 

I'll probably be giving it a spin soon. 

 

OTOH software will always be changing. Companies will charge for updates and upgrades regardless. Having payments monthly probably gives their accountants more stability. Makes more sense for them to commit to a fairly regular cash stream than to hope on a whim that people will just buy it. A handful of people will buy it for 29.95 for a year.  A few of those will hang on with that plan yearly. Many more will likely not feel it's worth it to continue, or simply let the sub lapse until they need or want to use it again. I probably fall into that category.

 

And I know the mentality of most musicians, they will buy it and use it for as long as they canwithout touching it, some avoiding the inevitable update/upgrade. The painful truth is it's those updates and upgrades that assure future viability.

 

Neither one is at fault in any way.  

 

It's really survival of the fittest.

[TapperMike]

A funny thing about gym memberships.  Most members don't go to the gym that they are paying for.  Some people actually join one or more gyms and then not go to them for one reason or another. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/05/what-your-new-gym-doesnt-want-you-to-know/?utm_term=.4f2bc9914676  If my rent increases  (which is also subscription based if you think about it.) were on par with added features I'd have a hot tub room and double the size of my current apartment.  On the other hand I can still use all the software that I purchased when I was running win98 on my Windows 10 computer without paying for upgrades.  

 

You're right about not using it till the next upgrade.....   I had a great time playing around with my latest version of Mixcraft for a few weeks.  Then....Crickets.  I'd rather just play guitar through my amp.   Same thing happened with my last effects pedal  which sounds great, pain to program and gets a little noisy with everything near it.  (amp, computer etc) especially when I'm playing via single coils.

 

Right now I'm still debating if I should upgrade to the latest version of biab.  The  newest features mostly consist of more realtrack styles 

As cool as that is I'm more interested in the new less cluttered gui.   I wonder how long it will hold my attention. 

 

I don't want subscription software like..AOL which even when people hated it they couldn't stop paying for it..

 

[TapperMike]

About Studios and schools  Schools select which daw to use by what major studios use.  This makes sense as if you are going to be educated in using a daw, it's nice when that daw is used in real world large scale professional studios.   An interesting thing about SZ.  We used to offer huge educational discounts to schools and students.  The student version was no different than the standard single user license.  This led to a lot of abuse via our resellers who would offer the student version to everyone.   Student versions had one caveat.  They could not use the latest update build until it was released as a full version and all languages got them.   We would have public beta testing for new features and bug fixes.  No matter how many times we would explain that the pre-releases were "FOR TESTING PURPOSES ONLY" , people would invariably use the pre release as a finalized product.  This could be a problem if the pre release had issues and had to be retracted.  

 

It also worked against our sharing community who would regularly posed "open swi's"  When you release something with a public beta aka pre release then everyone else has to have that same build.  Non english and educational builds are not available as pre releases.

It's just too much work to release pre releases in all versions.  As well students should be using the same versions as required for coursework which would be the last official build.  

 

It also made my job difficult because many would not update to the official build when it became available. Updates are free.  I would have to constantly re install the program to help users so that my build number would match theirs.  While we could have made it "auto-update" this was frowned upon by MS and several avs companies.

 

Nonetheless, The community fixated around a single product was the most active of any product I've ever been associated with.  We had a never ending stream of "open movies" supplied by users and quite a lot of collaboration with our forum users.  I don't think there will be a software community like that ever again.  People would rather post photos of cats and food on fb then engage in PS Tennis competitions.  Sad really.

[starise]

Biab is a nice thing to use if you're pushed for time and don't mind that loop kind of arranging.  Is Biab reasonably priced? 

 

Along the same lines a gym memberships, I pay for cable TV and it amounts to a fair amount every month. I don't watch a lot of TV either, although I did get hooked on one series I've been following. The amount I pay seems like a waste sometimes. Then on those bad weather days I use it and talk myself out of it.  If the money is automatically deducted form your account you might not notice it as much, so the money goes away in small amounts over time. I think marketers know once you get locked into a  routine , you'll likely stick with it for longer on an automatic payment than you would if you had a bill every month you had to write a check for.

 

In good times those kinds of things get by. In tight times, people start to look for anywhere to trim and it's the gym memberships, cable TV etc that either gets cut back or goes away. Probably a good time to be in the food/utility/educational lines of work. 

 

The model of software ownership is so much different in some ways than other commodities. It really is an evolving thing over time, yet like you say, if an old program runs on a new OS and it does everything you need, why change it?

 

I asked a few questions about Momentum and I was basically snubbed. If they can't answer a few simple questions there's no way I'm trying their demo.

[TapperMike]

I find it very reasonably priced.  What's more everything in BIAB ports to RealBand which is a full fledged daw and included with the purchase.

 

The cheap version which is pro - $129 USD

 I have the Mega pak 

http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm

 

You can add on paks after purchase.

 

You will never get loops in a daw to sound like this...

 

 

Seriously, type in chords and the real musicians play along.  Use the soloist feature and it will generate a solo based on the changes and style (same with melodist)   The drum fills and breaks automatically fall into place where you need them.  It's not a walmart yamaha psr.

 

Still I prefer the super midi tracks and standard midi tracks.

Again listen to this one and notice how while the piano / organ sound is playing in time it is altering the rhythmic phrasing as the progression develops.

 

This is not something one will get using standard loops.

 

[starise]

Pretty cool. Seems like cheating to me

[TapperMike]

After I have the foundation down and I port it into a daw.... I'll usually ditch everything but the drums and work through my own parts.

I'll still often chop the drum parts up and create fills and turnaround phrases with them.

 

 

The strange thing to me is that they've never released it as trialware.  

[starise]

You are tempting me there Mike. I have looked at Biab for probably 5 years. A friend of mine uses it for country music which it seems to excel at. I noticed they even have an Irish music set of loops or whatever it is they call them in Biab.

 

I alwasy almost get to the point where I'm going to try it and then I see something else. One of these days maybe I'll give it a try. To get into the higher versions which are probably the best versions you need around 5 bills.