Customer Reviews

Record Producer Deluxe

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this program to do midi sequencing and audio recording for guitar and voice. Overall I think it's a really good program for doing standard musical recording tasks on an intel-based system (on a Mac I'd expect more and pay more too). It's totally replaced my 4-track cassette recorder system since Record Producer also records midi. I'd used MOTU's FreeStyle and Digital Performer before (for college coursework), so I wanted something that would work kind of like these programs but didn't cost so much. Record Producer doesn't have the same slick setup for midi instruments that FreeStyle has - doesn't recognize my Alesis QS6.1 banks - but you can still access all the banks.

The program has a reasonably good interface for recording and overdubbing audio and midi tracks, and it's pretty easy to edit things as well. It's also very quick from startup time to recording your first track - very nice if you're in the heat of inspiration. The audio editing isn't perfect - could use some more work to give you finer control. You can edit midi data directly, and you can easily edit midi controllers and related parameters (volume, tempo, etc.). It lets you do punch in/out recording for midi and audio which I've found to be very useful. Does NOT let you edit in the musical score - you'd better go with Finale or something like that if you're looking for notation-oriented software.

I must admit I haven't tried many other sequencer programs for the PC. I just read reviews, looked at their specs, and decided on this one. I tried Jazz (a free program) and it's not bad, but not as full-featured and a bit more difficult to use.

I found the online help (mostly the FAQ from Voyetra's website) to be a lot more useful than the manual. The FAQ/online help answered all of my questions about step recording, audio recording latency (needed to set my onboard audio card to full duplex mode and updated my audio driver).

One important note though: a fast, modern processor (I'd guess at least a 2GHz Pentium/AMD) and a separate soundcard (probably any modern soundblaster thingy) would be really nice. Otherwise, you won't be able to record and playback lots of audio simultaneously (a problem I'm having with a 1GHz-equivalent AMD machine using the motherboard's sound chip (a K7SEM motherboard), though not too bad for me since I usually only record 2 tracks of audio and the rest is midi).

I sympathize with the earlier review - this program takes a fair bit of work to set up, and you have to play around a bit to get the right drivers, the right midi interface, etc. But once you do that, it's full-featured. I didn't have nearly as many problems as that reviewer did, so this is probably very hardware-dependent.

I do not recommend getting the cheaper version of Record Producer (the non-deluxe one) - it doesn't let you record your stuff to CDs and doesn't have all of the audio editing tools. The deluxe version just makes the music-making process a lot more fun.

If you've got a couple hundred dollars more, I'd suggest moving up to the more professional programs, or moving to a Mac (which is much better for doing anything audio and has much better software out for it). But this is a good intro program if you're not sure what you want yet.

After I purchased the software directly from Voyetra, I soon became aware that Record Producer Deluxe has several significantly limiting flaws for anyone other than a casual hobbyist:

1. You cannot use ANY VST/VSTI or DX/DXI plugins - there is simply no way to integrate them from within.
2. You cannot export wave files produced in RP Deluxe. For example, you might want to use a program such as Sound Forge (or any other program to apply effects or adjust EQ. Once you create something in RP deluxe, you are stuck with RP Deluxe! If you want to move to a non-Voyetra software product later, you are out of luck on moving your compositions to the new product.
3. I had a technical issue in that the timing of my digital tracking was off (with RP Deluxe ONLY, not Cakewalk products). I went around with tech support by email. Finally, they just gave up on me. I asked for a refund or even a credit, which they would not give me!
4. The digital effects (which is what you are limited to) I found to be VERY basic at best.

Overall I rate this product quite poorly in that it has a lack of even semi-professional features. I also had a horrible time with tech support. I spent just a little more money on Cakewalk Home Studio and I am infinitely more pleased with this. If you are anything more than just a casual music enthusiast, I would recommend another product.

I agree with much of what K. Wagner of Rosslyn VA wrote.

I use Digital Performer in the classroom. I noticed last year that Digital Orhestrator Pro, which preceded Record Producer Deluxe and by all accounts is the same program re-packaged, worked very much like the Digtal Performer software. I used it extensively and then decided to buy Record Producer when it was introduced. I upgraded to Deluxe when I realized I did not have all of the tools.

Record Producer Deluxe interfaces well with my equipment. No problems yet.

I have not used the FAQ page form Voyetra but I am getting close because of a nuance. I have noticed that Record Producer Deluxe arbitrarily changes my patches. For example, I assign patch 65 to an instrument but when it is saved and I load it again later, that patch may be (and usually is) changed to 64. The same goes if I assign 57, 58, 66 or 67. They all move. I have noticed that patch 68 stays in place. I don't know why this happens but it causes a sound problem when music is played back.

One other thing that I really don't like is that wave sounds are not called waves, but RPP files and can not be accessed or played like waves. There is some special set up that Voyetra has inserted that keeps you from using any of the sounds and effects that come with the program. Bummer.

The program may be hard to work with but I have not noticed as yet. I think that Digital Performer prepared me for it.

I like this program, especially the piano roll editing, and really wish that Voyetra would concentrate on improving it by maybe intergrating a form of Music Write with it, making it good for universal use, like reading and accepting all types of audio files, adding a little color to the track lines, grouping the sliders, and charging more for the good product that it is and can be. Just now, it is like a toy but very useful. It is a good place to jump off

RECORDING PRODUCER DELUXX WAS THE GREATEST RECORDING PRODUCT I USED! AND I HAVE RECORDED FOR 40 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED MANY RECORDERS UP TO 24 TRACKS ALL HIGH QUALITY, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS I HAVE SPENT ON THE RECORDERS, ONLY 69 DOLLARS FOR RECORD PRODUCER DELUXX,,,,, EXELANT EDITING YOU CAN HEAR AND SEE the sound frequncys of every track and you can shave down the tracks individually if one is too fat sounding,, IT HAS 1000 TRACKS,,,, YOUD NEVER USE THAT MUCH BUT ITS AWSUM,,, MY SONGS IVE RECORDED AND EDITED ARE ON YOUTUBE,,, GO TO YOUTUBE AND TYPE IN ryker6richard and you can hear my recordings,,, what pisses me off is i cant get this product anymore cause they discontinued the product!!!!!!! that makes me sooo angry!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE GET THIS PRODUCT BACK ON LINE

CHECK OUT MY LEAD GUITAR PLAYING ON YOUTUBE ryker6richard

One of the great, early multi-track programs of the 90's, Digital Orchestrator, never got upgraded for the 21st century. It just had its name changed to Record Producer. Turtle Beach and Voyetra started out to target at least semi-pro musicians, then changed their mind. So this program never got upgraded to accommodate VST plug-ins or the latest high sampling rates. Still, the deluxe version of this program has a beautiful, no-nonsense, intuitive interface for multitracking that also allows you to add and minutely edit MIDI (and transcribe your MIDI tracks to music notation as well). It's also one of the easiest programs for cutting and pasting little snippets of audio right in the close up track view. The built in effects are not bad and fairly easy to use, but do not include reverb. If this was 1997, I would give Record Producer Pro 5 stars plus. Alas, it's 2009 and I'm going to have to move on to something else. Somebody should buy the rights to this program and do what needs to be done to once again make it into a worthy competitor for Pro Tools and all the rest. Then I will be back!

Be wary of buying this product. It is very difficult to use and even the simplest things seem to be a problem. When I use the software, the registration page seems to pop up even after I registered. I also had problems getting technical support help. There is no phone support, and the website and FAQ is severly lacking in any help. Save your money!

The buisness discontinued the item so you could not activate the item
however the seller sent my money back and so great all i wasted was my time

This is a really fantastic product at a great price. I personally write out my scores in another program and import the midi into RPP. I also use it to record all my instruments-acoustic and electric. After getting over the learning curve, it's a breeze to use and the most practical program I'm aware of. I've tried Digital Performer, and it's nowhere near as useful as RPP. After reading the more negative reviews, the problems they encountered could mostly have been overcome by reading the help file and/or contacting tech support. The techs have always responded to me very quickly. I've never used a MIDI controller with it, so I'm not sure about how well that works. However, everything else is great. It allows for panning/EQ for every track too. The event editor allows for programming of everything-dynamics, tempo, patch changes, etc. Depending on the method used, this may not be right for soundtrack composers. The possibilities with this software are (for the most part) limited only by your hardware and your imagination.

I love this program. The only thing I don't like is that it's no longer being made. And apparently they're not making new programs.

Bought RPDlx to record midi + vocals and burn to audio CD. Using new Gateway it loads install CD, but when we try to "burn" an audio CD the software tells us we have no CD! If you read their manual (http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/record-producer-deluxe/downloads.aspx) you'll discover on page 44 of 46 a small disclamer stating they don't support some CD's (but nothing letting you know which ones). Despite emails and faxes to their tech support we have heard nothing and cannot fully use the product.
Also, the user manual is so poorly written that it took us days just to figure out how to create an MP3 file ... I'd suggest you pass on this and try something else.