Kara-Moon Forum

I've been absolutely beside myself with wonder & enthusiasm,regarding this Year's Winter Namm convention...so much to see and so many good prospects in new gear!

One of which(that I became aware of shortly before the convention took place),is M-Audio's Ignite DAW.M-Audio...as well as many other brands,have been bought out by the company AIR(Advanced Instrument Research) and merged into one massive conglomerate.

Since the merger,I've noticed massive renovations and in the case of this new & somewhat revolutionary software,it's like nothing I've ever encountered before.Ignite is designed for the BIAB user,but someone who wants to take it a step further and learn some rudimentary concepts of DAW functionality.

Initially,I was put off by how arcane the software appeared to be and it wasn't until a saw a Namm presentation of it...that I began to take it seriously & had a vested interest in trying it out.Ignite is absolutely free(which turns most PC users off)...but in fact,Ignite is the most comprehensive and self contained DAW that is available to PC users...that I'm aware of.

When I began to download it last evening,I was shocked at the size of the file....825 megabytes!! Ignite is a radical new concept in DAW recording,in that it has no track lanes...but rather,just a blank area that is comprised of tabs...which means that the tabs-as well as the midi data,measure markers & such,begin to appear,once you hit the record button.
It's a very free form format,because the flexibility is so versatile,mere words cannot encapsulate,how unusual...this method of recording is.

For a seasoned and conventional DAW user,some aspects of Ignite is very confusing,but the wonderful & complete array of tutorial videos will have any musician of any level,up & running in no time!As part of Ignite's unusual song arrangement configuration,there is only input quantizing(which Air calls Auto Align)...this of course,is to quantize as you go and when this button in the transport control tab is activated,it automatically quantizes everything you do.
Though this is a entry level DAW,the editing capabilties are quite impressive,such a an edit window that is a notation lane located at the top of the screen.As for sound shaping & mastering,each instrument has it's own basic parameter controls,as well as the ability to apply multi-FX.
There's also an audio import function and along with the standard 16 & 24 bit audio conversion capabilities,there's also MP3 conversion!This is my favorite feature of this DAW & quite surprising that it is included for free(my Reason DAW in total-with upgrades,cost me $569 and still no MP3 conversion).
Better still,is that Ignite offers an unbelievable amount of MP3 options,in terms of files sizes....which includes 115,130,165,175,190,225,245 and 320kbps!!My presonus S1 DAW,only has 128,192,256 & 320 and on too many occasions,I've had to sacrifice quality,in order to conform to K-M's 8MB limit...but now,not only am I not burdened with trying to figure out how to install the Lame codex in Audacity,I also have the flexibility to create the ideal file size!

Ignite of course,is not a DAW designed to give the user pro-level renderings of audio(but for me at least),it gives me a taste of Pro Tool's VST's,a means of supplementing my songs and provides me with the MP3 conversion flexibility that I've always wanted!

By the way,the installation of Ignite on your PC is absolutely foolproof and if you have a Pro or 2nd generation M-Audio midi controller keyboard,then the integration is automatic and seamless...friggin' tasty!!  :-

Correction; InMusicBrands is the parent company of M-Audio & the others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtFS-wZ97ho&list=LLwY_YKVXM0LKXWVaKEyXwHA


-Thom

Looks good. I especially like that the screens seem very direct and uncluttered.

Outrageous! :o

Almost enough to motivate me to equip one of my computers with a microsoft operating system in order to deploy this puppy. Almost... :D

What system do you have exactly?AIR's tech support forum is second to none,so I'll submit a query to them & find out if your's is compatible....if your genuinely interested.

It's all about time, man.   :P
I'm genuinely interested in Ignite, but even more interested in getting my guitar and bass chops back. Then work them 'til they're razor sharp.

After listening to some of our collaborations while assembling the Kara-Moon Audio Production Community page, I realized just how far I've let my fretboard skills slide - embarrassing :-[ 
Quality time spent with my axes is the priority now - oh, how I love to pick and grin! :-

Thanks for your offer, friend!

Oren,

Speaking of time & how it is allocated,Ignite is lightening fast to install,to learn & to create on....so when you're ready for it,I think you'll love it! ;)

Always a pleasure to assist,if I can-friend! 8)

Amen to that.  I barely have time to learn the tools I have, and try to become a better musician at the same time.  I LOVE tinkering with new things, it's an addiction, and Ignite certainly seems like a fun thing to tinker with, but man... between work, family stuff, playing tennis and sleep, I'm lucky if I get one or two hours a day to play with music these days.  Must... use... time... efficiently... :)