So I bit the bullet–joined the early adopters. My background is from the warez scene and so early adoption usually meant 0-day. Times have changed, life has changed, morals have changed, copy protection has changed 
Steinberg Sequel is not going to be cracked, at least not by me, at least not on the Mac. So with that being said, I jumped in because that little voice said GO!
AND I AM GLAD I DID.
The software is like Acid for the PC or Garageband for the Mac combined into a relatively powerful, SUPER easy to use music creation tool that will have you up and making tracks in a matter of minutes–and they’ll probably be good if your ear is even decent.
I’m not going to explain loops or interfaces or anything like that, because well, you can figure it out I’m sure. I will say this. The loops and instruments that come with the software are excellent for the $80 (student discount–old habits die hard!) I paid for it. I’m sure they will last me at least 9 months and 250 tracks, which comes out to less than a buck per track–not bad.
And lest I forget, the main reason I bought this software is that Garageband can’t import WAV files. I love Apple more than I can put into words, after unknowingly suffering in PC-ville for 25 years but I must say, their software is rather evil. They lock you into it more and more and more and more… and well, that’s a whole other rant.
Anyway, the point and the power of importing WAV files is this. WE LIVE IN THE ERA OF WEB 2.0! FREE IS THE NEW PAID FOR! Free loops, samples, and instruments, even entire synths ABOUND all over the web. I think this is an area that many people are underestimating with software like this. So even though I may run out of the loops that the software comes with, I have already downloaded 30 more that I love!
Check out these sites to see what I mean:
Sampleswap (even better loops and a great forum)
VST Central (free synths)
So what I’m thinking is this. It seems clear to those of us who spend our time in nerdy endeavors like googling “reason vs. ableton” and “best sequencer mac” that Ableton Live is the cat’s meow for most of us. I played with Ableton and I have a feeling that in 9 months I’ll be upgrading, but for the time being, Sequel is like Ableton-lite. It’s like a digital version of honing your chops or paying dues. And it’s fun. Let me repeat.
IT’S FUCKING FUN!
And when it really comes down to it, in a world where we can increasingly (at least on a digital level) do whatever we want to do, that’s really the most important thing of all!
Here are 2 tracks I made the first day I got the software. And as The Grouch said, “I like my songs, and my friends like my songs.” Word. I give it an A. And after years of warez, an A means something.
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