Rax for Mac User Reviews

• 3.0 stars

  "Has GREAT potential, abandoned by developer?"

  November 14, 2011  |   By sonicraft

  Version: Rax 3.0

  Pros

  Great concept: bring all of your software instruments and effects into a live performance environment
  Great feature-set, ways to route MIDI controllers to mix features, flexible mixer environment.
  VERY logical interface and concept. Great ideas for built-in support, etc.
  Seems very efficient on CPU.
  An affordable alternative to Apple's MainStage (which requires a Logic license).
  Has recording features, audio playback, and simple sample playback
  Create "repertoire" with a master song list and as many "set lists" as you need
  "Songs" load as quickly as your plug-ins can.

  Cons

  Well over a year since the last revision (June 2010) has the developer given up?
  Not enough sales?
  Two bugs have been on their forum for months:
  Level faders don't work (on my rig)
  initial AU scan fails (workaround: reboot computer and restart)
  all that would take is a little window on first launch recommending restart before next launch.
  Remote controls are ONLY global, there isn't a way to have remotes that only apply to a specific song
  You cannot view forums unless you own the software-- now that I own the software I can tell you there are old bug reports that are unanswered and unresolved. That's all you need to know.

  Summary

  I really need this program to work. For live, you want a program that is solid (i.e., not buggy) that you can count on for an important gig.
  
  It looks like it is not a very popular program so the developer does not appear to be actively working on it. That didn't stop them from charging me $79 for cripple-ware.
  
  I had no way of knowing --prior to purchase-- that Audio-Engineering will happily sell a program at full-price that they are no longer supporting/developing.
  
  If I hear from Audio-Engineering in the next few weeks and resolve this issue, I promise I will return and update this review. If not, you might think twice before kicking down $79.
  
  Updated on Dec 23, 2011

  UPDATE:
  After a couple weeks, support said the fader issue is a conflict with NI's Kontakt, which breaks Rax's faders. Rax must be relaunched sans Kontakt to work again.
  
  FYI, Apple released MainStage2 in the App Store (as a separate app from Logic Pro).
  
  At $29, MS2 is feature-rich & flexible. Without purchasing Logic Pro, MS2 includes ALL of the amazing Logic VI's & FX plugs! Steep learning curve. Good docs. Fixed velocity for on-screen kybd.
  
  Rax ($79) is user-friendly, intuitive/logical, and easy to use. It is a live host for your own AU and VST instruments & plug-ins. The program needs only a few fixes & tweaks to be a viable alternative. The user who likes uncompromised simplicity program will like Rax. Support and development are slow.
  
  For me, Rax was a disappointment, as I paid full-price for cripple-ware. Still, I managed to use it on a series of gigs, so it wasn't a complete bust. Unless Rax fixes the fader issue sometime soon, I'll just reconfigure my sounds in MS2.

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