Riffworks Standard and Riffworks Professional

[JohnN]

Welcome my fellow Canuck...yes you will be a RW addict very soon!

Thank you. Actually, I am an Aussie but have lived in Ottawa for 20+ years. It's good to make your acquaintance.

I'm currently listening to Riffcasts and am totally blown away by the quality of the musicianship.

I swear pooterpatty is Steve Morse under a pseudonym.

[Timejunkie]

Oh yeh there are some very hot musicians on here...just amazes me.

20 plus make you a canuck in my eyes...I am originally from Croydon, England...moved to The Great White North when I was 5.

Gald to see you here my friend if you need any help just say the word...the folks here are top notch!!!

[pooterpatty]

Thanks for the compliment John, but I'm not even qualified to carry around Morse's guitar picks for him.

Again, good to have you aboard, and we're looking forward to hearing your Riffcasts and maybe even seeing you on the Rifflink

[AirmanSwi]

I agree, the talent level here is phenomenal. We are the new indie rock. It's just a guitarist, Riffworks and an internet connection. Doesn't get more indie than that.

[riffer7777]

great idea im all for it. give that man a banana !!!!!

[ShredRex]

Shred your alive!!!!!

Oh yeah I am still around, lurking mostly and posting from time to time

[JohnN]

Thanks for the compliment John, but I'm not even qualified to carry around Morse's guitar picks for him.

Again, good to have you aboard, and we're looking forward to hearing your Riffcasts and maybe even seeing you on the Rifflink

As a bass-player, I am an acceptable guitarist. It's not my chops as a guitarist which have problems, it's my brain. I can think about how I want to play a solo, but I just cannot do it as well with a guitar in my hand - especially in front of a recorder. I used to have really bad "guitar store block". But not as a bassist - go figure.

I am listening a lot to the work here, just to relax about playing into a recorder.

Speaking of Steve Morse picks, pooterpatty - want one? I think I have two.

JohnN

[cwight]

John, re your point 3 above. You can do quite a bit on the transition from one riff to another already by tweaking the info bar on individual layers within riffs, or by adding effects to individual layers. One trick I often employ for tricky transitions is to lay down a chord/note/ at end of one riff and at the start of the next, then make sure you set the levels and effects identically; this help blend the two riff together. You can also do neat fades of individual notes with the info bar which allows you to say, end a solo in one riff but have it sustain over into the next.

It's nowhere near the level of sophistication people are suggesting for a professional version, but hope it helps.

[yahsteck1]

It's a natural progression on a timeline in my opinion, but as a business, they have to make sure there's a market for it, and I definitely think there is.

I would like to make one point. I think Riffworks Standard needs to stay where it is, price-wise and functionality-wise. When I first bought Riffworks, it was because of the low price and the integrated drums. At the time I was not confident in my songwriting ability (I still struggle with it!), and as such wasn't willing to sell a non-essential organ just to finance recording software.

If Riffworks hadn't been priced where it is, I would never have bought it, meaning I never would have met any of the great people on this forum who have influenced and inspired me more than they know, and all of the song ideas that Riffworks has allowed me to record would remain just that - ideas.

Group "huge" everyone

[Coul10]

Hey Rick,

Your point is very good. How about if they kept this software for the starters and make a "more advanced" software for us veterans? It's a kewl idea because new customers will buy the Standard version and We will purchase the upgrade. Then the beginners will become more advanced then they will buy the upgrade. It's a win-win situation for Sonoma.

[pooterpatty]

Speaking of Steve Morse picks, pooterpatty - want one? I think I have two.

Sure John!


cwight's got a good point there about using effects to smooth the transition between riffs. If you're primarily a bass player, you probably won't be using many effects. For guitar riffs, you can use just a little bit of RW's delay (many times I'll use the default settings, with the Master Level around 7 or 8 o'clock). If you use it sparingly enough, it won't be very noticeable but will still smooth the transition. I don't use the reverb much for this as I think it changes the tonal character of whatever layer it's applied to just a bit too much.

It's good to see a sho-nuff bass player here - most of us are guitar players who dabble in bass. No I didn't forget about ThrobbyRobby, he's the dude!

[JohnN]

John, re your point 3 above. You can do quite a bit on the transition from one riff to another already by tweaking the info bar on individual layers within riffs, or by adding effects to individual layers. One trick I often employ for tricky transitions is to lay down a chord/note/ at end of one riff and at the start of the next, then make sure you set the levels and effects identically; this help blend the two riff together. You can also do neat fades of individual notes with the info bar which allows you to say, end a solo in one riff but have it sustain over into the next.

It's nowhere near the level of sophistication people are suggesting for a professional version, but hope it helps.

I finally recorded my first few riffs, and I figured out that my second or subsequent riff was always the best with respect to continuity with the previous and next riffs. And your trick is why.

It means I have to lay down Intros and Outros, but that is no biggie.

Thanks
J

[RiffLearner]

I'd like to add to this thread with a thought on feature enhancements. In this emerging age of software updates via download, instead of via packaged versions, the opportunity exists to move to a more agile-based release method -- meaning, more releases of smaller magnitude.

And frankly, this is a potential win for both users and Sonoma. Say, for example, that you have riff copying done, and maybe another one or two features -- you can release it as a 2.0x upgrade, and charge $10 for it -- the users get this much desired functionality now, and Sonoma gets continued income infusion sooner than waiting for a major upgrade. Then when the punch in/out brackets are ready along with a couple of other features, release as another minor upgrade, etc.

The big releases (that are typically loaded with a wide variety of bugs from multiple functionalities) are really a result of the previous distribution model, which was software packages in boxes, burned onto CDs, etc. But in this new internet download model, you can release updates, fixes, etc whenever you want, and hence increase the ability to generate a steady revenue stream for the company, and increase the excitement and satisfaction level (and capabilities) of the user community, which in turn increases customer loyalty.

So from my view, bring on the minor upgrades, I'm ready!