Review: Magix Sequoia 11
Like the Californian giant, Sequoia stands tall and imposing in a forest of audio applications.
1 June 2011
Review: Robin Gist
In the interests of full disclosure, I need to state that I am a long-time Magix Samplitude user and fan, but apart from experiencing Sequoia in use at both Benchmark and 301 Mastering in Sydney, this is the first time I’ve had a chance to put it through its paces hands-on!
Sequoia is the flagship PC application amongst a series of audio products from Magix that includes Samplitude, Samplitude Pro, Vandal, a suite of high quality VST plug-ins and the entry-level Magix Music Maker. Sequoia comes complete with all the Magix plug-ins included, and as such, is a ready-to-go DAW application that will allow you to tackle any audio job big or small. From the simplest voiceover to a complex multitrack recording, MIDI sequencing with soft instruments through to audio post and red-book CD and DVD audio mastering, Sequoia can do it all.
As well as the inclusion of the aforementioned plug-ins, Sequoia distinguishes itself from its binary stablemates by the addition of a powerful four-point editing system, OMF/AAF import, SDII import, DDP support, 12.0 surround mixing, EuCon protocol, radio content management system integration and a raft of extensive video and networking options. Unlike other top-end audio apps, Sequoia also offers a high degree of visual and general customisation that enhances both workflow and creativity. Let’s have a look at some of the more interesting features that set Sequoia apart from the pack.
LOVE HANDLES
Both Sequoia and Samplitude use the concept of object-based audio editing, which is a very powerful feature in its own right. The individual visual objects that represent every audio segment in a project have five handles each. This intuitive approach works at the most basic of levels – the top horizontal handle of an object controls its volume, manipulating the top left handle controls fade-in time while the top right handle – yes, you guessed it – controls the start point of your fade out. The final pair, the bottom left and right handles (not love), delineate the start and end points of the audio segment within the object. Then, more specifically, in ‘time’ and ‘pitch stretch’ mouse mode, the bottom right handle controls the amount of time stretch while a new central handle – that appears only when you’re in this mode – moves vertically up and down to set the pitch.
You can apply plug-ins to each individual object, EQ them and group them. You can cut them into the smallest size you like and even have a different range of effects or EQs on each one, which is very useful in a mastering situation. ‘A different EQ for every word of a chorus’ I hear you say – easily done. You can do this, keeping all the objects on one track, apply further processing at a channel level and do it all in real-time without having to bounce, render or use up extra channels for different effects! You can even burn a CD straight from the multitrack session without having to bounce down. This is one very powerful app.
HIT FOR FOUR
At the top of Sequoia’s distinguishing features list would have to be the four-point editing system. This feature allows you to set the ‘In’ and ‘Out’ edit points on both source and destination tracks and then perform the edit in one operation. It also works with multitrack files as well as allowing for differing source and destination tracks. Within this function are the sub choices of inserting the source material and shifting the subsequent material in the edit to the right or overwriting existing material with the source material.
Working in conjunction with four point editing is the multi-synchronous editing function or what Magix calls ‘MuSyC’. The object of MuSyC is to minimise time spent searching for similar passages of music that you might want to audition within a project. This feature gives you an overview project window that lets you see primary source material that has been recorded as multiple takes. The takes are analysed for musical similarity and then ordered as individual visual objects. You can then easily audition these takes synchronised to an edit point within your main project. As you can imagine, this is a very powerful feature that has the potential to speed up workflow considerably.
NEED TO KNOW
The De-Noiser Plug-in lets you tailor your own noise reduction.
IT GOES UP TO 12?
I am not aware of any other software that allows you to mix in surround using up to 12 channels. You could probably fudge something with auxiliaries or buses in other applications but Sequoia is good to go if you get that call to mix the next huge Hollywood blockbuster in glorious 12-channel surround and have it done by last week. All other variants of surround configurations, for your less urgent smaller-scale projects, are of course available as well.
The screenshot (overleaf) shows the surround editor with the movable mix position ‘M’ indicated by the orange dot and the surrounding 12 channel positions with their relevant levels. I wish I had a 12-channel monitor system just to listen to and experience the journey of the sound of the ‘AT’ automation curve I drew in the editor! The surround editor can also operate in different visual modes that include sound field, angle and panning law modes that all offer great visual representations of complex positional mixing tasks.
SUITE PLUG-INS
The restoration suite native plug-ins are worth a mention and consist of a de-noiser, a de-clipper, a de-hisser and a combination de-clicker/de-crackler. The de-noiser lets you sample your own noise or select from a list of presets. It displays a multi-plot graphic representation of the process – pretty standard in most de-noisers these days, but this plug-in also lets you draw, either free hand or assisted, a filter EQ curve directly onto the display giving the user great flexibility and control over tailoring of the noise sample.
As you can see from the screenshot on the previous page, there is plenty of control over artefact suppression, which is essential and helps fine-tune the quality and transparency of the noise reduction. I found this plug-in worked very well on all kinds of material – from noisy electric guitars to hissy vinyl transfers.
The other restoration plug-ins in the suite are similarly designed, each with graphic representations of their functionality and each doing a great job for its intended purpose.
FINAL FILES & FORMATS
Continuing on with some of the other more interesting features and further to Sequoia’s mastering capabilities is the program’s ability to export the final master as a DDP file. Disc Description Protocol is a proprietary format used to specify the contents of optical discs including CDs and DVDs. The main advantage with a DDP export is you can FTP the file. You can send it directly to a production facility and of course to the client(s) who, with the aid of some software, can check an image of their final production CD or DVD master.
Sequoia can also import and export AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) and OMF (Open Media Framework) files without the need to purchase any extra ‘translating’ software. These formats will be familiar to anyone who has worked in post-production and the ease with which Sequoia handles them means projects can be exchanged quickly and painlessly from other platforms.
The Surround Editor: with this tool you can pan things like never before… or simply use it as an Etchasketch.
FLOATS MY BOAT
Some of the things that initially attracted me to Samplitude way back at version 1 were floating-point processing and the option to use any PC-compatible hardware that I liked or, more realistically, could afford. The audible benefits of floating-point processing are well known and Sequoia takes full advantage of this architecture using selectable 32-bit floating-point internal processing at all the standard sample rates up to and including 384kHz.
It is fair to say that the sound of most studios using a DAW is more greatly affected by the choice of monitors, converters, consoles and, of course, the acoustic design of the space it’s in, rather than the ‘sound’ of a certain piece of software. However, after using different audio apps in the same studio for a while, you can start to hear the differences between them, subtle as they may be. In this respect, Sequoia would have to be the most sonically pristine of all the apps I have used to date, no doubt due to the increased digital headroom that 32-bit floating point internal processing provides for. This level of fidelity is obviously extremely important in a mastering application.
TALL TIMBER
Sequoia is used by a number of very well known mastering houses around the globe and for good reason. With the power of native processing increasing all the time, the reliance on and the need for costly proprietary hardware systems is diminishing and as I mentioned before, Sequoia will work with any PC audio hardware of your choice.
In looking at some of Sequoia’s more distinguishing aspects, I have only scratched the surface of this very powerful program and if you visit the Sequoia website there is a downloadable PDF which lists all of its numerous features. Clearly the power contained in this application is beyond the requirements of most. However, if you’re after a program that can handle virtually any audio job thrown at it, then you should take a very close look at Sequoia.
RESPONSES