While it is true that Brad’s videos are definitely excellent, I can see the need by new users for a truly supportive series of classes on the basics - leading slowly up to the more advanced topics - with the aim being transformative courses that really get a live performer, live streamer, folks wanting to use Cantabile for recording or use Cantabile as a host for VST instruments or effects up and running quickly.
We should cover the basics available in the Lite version, and also help folks needing the features in Solo and Performer get everything working.
THEN the meaty stuff!
I will commit to getting this started this week. I already have roughed out a curriculum plan, but I welcome any input from ANYONE - Beginner, Intermediate, or fellow Gurus alike - on things that would be great to have covered. This will be a work in progress for a while.
BTW - [Beginners, definitely avoid this playlist (!)] - here are all the videos and edited webinars I’ve done already that are available at my YouTube channel, including several (most?) of Brad’s walkthrough videos in that same playlist: Cantabile 3 Video Tutorials and Webinars - YouTube
Just so you know right away, content in courses in this school platform can be audio, video, documents, text with links, PDF’s, PowerPoint slides, tests, quizzes, file downloads, and image content, plus a few special education-style ones (SCORM).
One of the problems I’ve had with what documentation and videos I’ve seen, is that it was rarely clear to me which license versions supported which features.
Added to that, the videos were generally recorded on a giant monitor, with far more resolution than the one I use to watch them - which limits me to 720p video. I haven’t upgraded in quite a while, but in 3.x, a 768 line monitor is enough to use it. Watching someone’s 4k monitor reduced to 720p, doesn’t work well at all.
Attention span is a problem too. It’s easier to follow if videos are broken up into short segments, not Hollywood blockbuster length.
The difference between the versions is listed here: https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/compare. I normally find that Brad and Terry are very specific about what version they are working in when they present in videos, where did you miss that information?
I’ve watched some, but not all, of Brad’s videos, because I was finding them hard to follow. I’ve made some attempts at using the online documentation. In general, I’ve struggled to work out if what I’m reading applies to my Solo license, or actually given up.
I also tried to learn about new features mentioned in email newsletters, and struggled to find out whether they applied to the Solo license, wondering whether it was worth paying for a new one. On one occasion, I asked. In the end, I concluded they didn’t, as a rule, apply to anything but the full license, so I haven’t bothered paying to make mine current - which means paying as much as if I’d never bought one, apparently.
I’ve just had a look at that “compare” list. It’s too broad and not specific enough to be of any use to me, as an existing user, trying to build my knowledge. It seems to be intended to help people choose a license version, but it’s really of no help to me.
Help is coming, but it will not be overnight…it takes time to sort everything out. We understand your frustration, as we also went through the same process. Be patient and keep an eye the forum for updates.
That’s okay. I’m not in any rush. Apart from picking up one or two tips, I think I’m still at the same level of understanding of Cantabile that I was, shortly after first getting physical knobs assigned to a VST through Bindings, which is what I bought the Solo license for.
I understand the push to sell the expensive full license, but I really don’t think my occasional usage warrants spending the money for that version. A better understanding of the one I have would be welcome though.
The other limitation is if documentation talks about a feature that requires a minor version number later than the last one I was allowed to download, with my now expired license. I appreciate that’s a minority problem, and it’s not really practical to add the specific version number to each feature being discussed. It does get frustrating though, when I find promising documentation then find it doesn’t seem to apply.
I understand your feelings. The thing you have to remember, and I am sure you will understand, is that the members of this forum are simply that…members. There are several people well versed with Cantabile. Others are not, but they do know the inner workings of their particular rig. I could not sit here and tell you the limitations of each version, but I know much of the features of the “Performer” version, which includes all features of the other versions.
With that said, I will also say that the members answering questions do so, with what knowledge and little time they have. They are not obligated to answer anything, but do so because they care to help others. My suggestion is that someone asking for help, should be obliged to state the version they are using to help us know what we are dealing with, before we give an unrelated answer. I don’t think a member needs to answer a particular question, and automatically give extra answers relating to other versions. Hopefully, the “Beginner’s Class” will be a reference for new members with different versions. If it proves successful, I am sure it will be expanded to more difficult features.
Yes, I appreciate the members are just members, but I wasn’t talking about the forum. I haven’t spent a lot of time in it, though I have occasionally searched it to see if I could find an answer to something.
I was mostly talking about the online guides, https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/guides/ and the video guides I’ve watched. I was offering my perspective on what’s lacking, in the available official documentation, because it seems relevant to this topic.
I am structuring my “School of Cantabile” so that the beginner classes cover features available in the Lite, Solo and Performer versions.
Then, there will be an addendum course curriculum with only Solo features being taught. Those features, of course, are also available in Performer.
Finally, we will go into Performer-specific tools and capabilities.
In all three cases, we start with the rudimentary basics and build upon those, so skipping around is not advised, and in fact, I will make prerequisites just like at any school. (I am a retired college professor, so I know how people like to jump past the basics to the “cool stuff” and then get muddled. I’m not going to permit that to happen.)
Well, I can’t promise to have that degree of determination, or patience, and I certainly would have skipped around the beginner course, to see if there was anything I don’t already know, after using it for a few years in an uninformed manner.
I wish you success with it though, and I certainly will look at the Solo course, when it’s ready.
It just occurred to me that when you (Andy) refer to version, you mean version number, where I thought you meant lite/solo/performer. I think what you are after (when specific features were introduced) is only available in the emails - I don’t see a large audience for that information, to be honest.
I’ve referred to both, but when I said “minor version number”, I was referring to the actual version number, or release version, yes. I also said “I appreciate that’s a minority problem, and it’s not really practical to add the specific version number to each feature being discussed…”.
The main confusion, when I’ve read documentation, or watched a video, is knowing whether it only applies to the Performer license version, only to Performer and Solo, or to all three.
