Sad to say, I couldn't find any authoring software on the Mac that was worth investing time or money in. If it offers the source and destination options you require, it will make your sampling life a lot easier.I just finished a fairly big project, part of which meant I needed to create DLS1 and 2 soundbanks (which are basically the same format as SF1 and SF2) from scratch. Some conversions are also more thorough - for instance, Akai-to-Giga conversions now include filter settings. Nevertheless, CDXtract is still very easy to use, and its convert function now has even clearer context-sensitive options. However, the price rise from $79 to $139 means that CDXtract 4.0 has lost one obvious advantage over Translator, although Mac users will find that CDXtract 4.0 currently supports more formats. The new Stack, Switch and X-Fade functions are innovative, letting you create new layered programs with a few mouse clicks. Final ThoughtsĬDXtract 4.0 still doesn't offer image writing capabilities like Translator, but these are perhaps only of real interest to sound library developers. They aren't entirely intuitive to use, but tutorials will be available on the CDXtract web site. Switch and X-Fade are designed solely for HALion's Meta Trigg feature, and don't alter actual sample data - they just map it in different ways. CDXtract now lets you Merge programs from multiple locations, while Stack Mode and Controller Switching let you layer samples and switch between them according to velocity or mod-wheel position, with a X-Fade function to smoothly fade between them. The most intriguing new features are more creative. Like GigaStudio's QuickSound database, you can search using keywords like 'bass' or 'drum', which is a boon, while a Magic Player lets you easily audition files from CD-ROMs. Version 3's database has been replaced by a new one, which can store information about an unlimited number of CD-ROMs. Its own disk caching system is used when reading files, while conversion is done 'on the fly' and is noticeably faster. It can still read from most IDE, SCSI and USB drives, whether CD-ROM, Zip, Jaz or MO, and a new Virtual Drive function now lets you use Akai, Roland and Emu disc images stored on your hard drive. The New FeaturesĬDXtract 4.0 supports more sample formats than v3.6 (see box), and can convert from as well as to EXS24 and Giga formats, so you can use their libraries in HALion, for example.
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The Mac Translator, by contrast, lacks the full PC feature set.
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The PC version runs on Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000 and XP, while the identical Mac version runs on OS 8.6 and later (forthcoming OS X support will be in a free upgrade). Bernard has responded with version 4.0 of CDXtract, which for the first time is dual-platform. Chicken Systems' rival Translator (reviewed in SOS January 2002), however, could read more formats, sometimes provided more thorough conversions, and could write image files in various formats for burning onto CD-R. Last year's version 3.6 could read Emu, Kurzweil, Akai and Roland formats and save in EXS24 format. Bernard Chavonnet's CDXtract is a well-known shareware sample conversion utility.
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