Rax 2.0 , a music utility program from plasq , the creators of Comic Life , bring in the same form of easy access to practical melodious tool and outcome plug - ins that Apple ’s Front Row provides for music , videos , and picture . With a virtual mixer , a facility for create usage songs and set , and a full - screen OnStage mode with backup for unrecorded visualiser , this radically redesigned raw version make playing resilient music with your Mac easier than ever before , for both the casual player and the gigging professional . It act as a digital hub for instruments , effects , and visuals in the studio apartment and on stage .
Managing instruments and effects
The principal screen in Rax is a virtual mixer , into which you could easily add Audio Unit ( AU)-format musical instrument and effect spark plug - Indiana , like Native Instruments Kontakt or iZotope Trash . That means , regrettably , that Rax wo n’t work with the instrument built into software like GarageBand 3 ( ) , Logic Pro 7 ( ) , and Ableton Live 4 ( ) , though you could use MIDI synchronization via MIDI clock messages to run Rax alongside those plan . ( The MIDI communications protocol include timing substance that can be used for synchronization with software and hardware that implement get / sending those messages . )
Rax ’s potent suit is its ability to manage and switch between compounding of plug - ins . you’re able to put up sets of songs in betterment , which might include layer and break synthesizer plug - Hoosier State for a keyboardist , or unlike sets of computer software effect for a guitarist or vocalist . Each song can include text notational system ( like “ do n’t forget the bridge ” ) , prerecord MIDI files , and presets . The one thing you ca n’t do is record MIDI , meaning you ’ll still necessitate to use a program like GarageBand for sequencing .
Going OnStage
Musicians have been loath to take laptop computer on stage because it ’s a difficult billet to utilize a mouse . Rax ’s solution is OnStage , a full - covert mode with visual feedback you’re able to see at a glance ( it pass on you a simplified interface that can be manipulated in a assortment of ways ) , and the ability to easily swap between your song preferences via mouse , keyboard , a MIDI controller , or your Apple Remote .
That alone might make Rax utilitarian , but for the adventurous , the software can also follow your playacting with real - time , interactive 3 - D visuals . you may use the sort of include visuals , or ramp up your own in Quartz Composer , Apple ’s devoid developer tool . The visuals are accelerated on any Core icon - capable graphics card so that most late Macs can campaign sound and visuals at the same time .
Macworld’s buying advice
If you ’re look for leisurely entree to music sparking plug - In without a mint of distraction , or need a fashion to quickly select practical instrument and essence on stage , plasq ’s Rax 2.0 is a must - bargain . Its major drawback is that you ca n’t use it if you rely only on feature like the live loop playback of Ableton Live or the panoptic exercise set of instrument and effects in Logic Pro . But if you have a wad of third - company chew - indium and want to access them without these high - end programs , or are interested in using Quartz Composer for unrecorded visuals , Rax could be an essential part of your musical toolkit .
[ Peter Kirn is a composer and instrumentalist and the author ofReal World Digital Audio(Peachpit Press ; 2005 . ) ]
