Virtual PC, To run Cool Edit and Fruity loops? Options

[Awesomeville]

Hello. Will Cool Edit Pro and Fruityloops run in Mac's Virtual PC? I'm currently using a PC and will be switching to Mac in a matter of days.

thanks.

[jamester]

BEWARE!

I am also a recent PC - Mac convert. I was devastated when I realized none of my former software (Acid, SoundForge, Cakewalk) would work on my new Mac.

When I learned about Virtual PC I thought I was saved. I ran out and got it the next day....

Hardly.
Bottom line, Virtual PC may be fine for running Word or other basic apps, but it is NOT meant to handle recording. Or video, for that matter.

While everything installed flawlessly, and everything worked as it should, I could not get it to play back music smoothly. I put a gig of ram in my PowerBook, allocated as much as I could to Virtual PC, ran it in Classic Mode (saves video taxing), etc... Nothing worked.

It also could not recognize my usb soundcard, and is not designed to burn cd's. I ended up uninstalling it...

Just my experience, but I wish I had just invested that $200+ dollars into new software. I love my Mac, but this transition has cost me an arm and a leg!

best,
JAMES

[rickenbacker]

Even if Virtual PC did work with music apps, the performance would be so cripplingly slow that I can't imagine it would be worth persisting with it.

Equivalent software to whatever you currently use is available for Macs. I don't know exactly what Cool Edit Pro and Fruity Loops do, but if it's editing and looping, the Mac is well served for that sort of thing. Sound Studio, Peak and Live spring to mind. As well as all the big hitters - Logic, DP4, Pro Tools, Cubase SX, Metro etc.

[nate d]

Yes, Rickenbacker is right:

As a replacement for Fruityloops, I would check out either Propellerhead Reason or Ableton Live. Live is basically Acid on crack (haha, can you really take acid and crack at the same time?), while Reason has some modules similar to FruityLoops. While not exactly the same, I think you'd get the functionality (sequencing, sample manipulation, etc.) from Reason.

For Cool Edit Pro, check out Peak; it looks and acts very similar to Cool Edit. I still use Cool Edit on my PC and the switch to Peak was absolutely seamless.

[Awesomeville]

Wow. Thanks to everyone saving me much time and money.

If you smoke crack and drop acid you must melt (but enjoy annoying everyone around you by talking about it for two hours).

I was checking Peak out; it did seem pretty silly to buy a Mac to do arty things with yet stick to Virtual PC for music. Duh.

[jamester]

I have been checking Peak out as well; seems to be the equivelant of SoundForge? A do-everything audio editor, yes?

Virtual PC IS painfully slow!

I got Reason and Soundtrack, both great but that was over $600 on top of the new computer. Soundtrack is not as good as Acid. Acid is THE BEST looping program, imho.

If you use Cool Edit Pro for multi-tracking, there are several great programs available. I am going MOTU with DP 4. But again, that's another $400 - $1000 depending on what you get.

The Mac makes you pay!

[zelen0]

Have you tried Garageband yet? I'm in absolute love with it. All the features of Soundtrack and basisc MIDI recording/triggering. It's wicked good.

[zelen0]

Give it until March, then check out Logic Audio Express from Apple. It's going to be amazing.

[rickenbacker]

Yes, Logic Audio Express (or Pro, if you've got the money) might well be worth watching, if they make all the rumoured changes like Apple Loops support. Otherwise, I'd favour Live 3 for straight-ahead looping - less processor-hungry than Garageband and way more powerful.

As for Peak 4, that's the best audio editor on the planet. No contest, the hands-down winner.