Published 20/2/09
Energy XT: DAW on a dongle
The question ‘what’s next?’ is simple to ask but often very difficult to answer, especially when applied to innovation in the software industry. Some people think that the next generation of computers will not run software as we know it, rather self-installing applications that boot into their own operating environment. In the interim, a new breed of software products can be identified, which runs on flash memory and can be carried in its entirity on a USB drive smaller than a pack of chewing gum.
In terms of DAW features, Energy XT has its own built-in multi-effects processors, as well as time-stretching and pitch-shifting tools courtesy of ZPlane Development (whose Vielklang software we reviewed in SOS December 2008) but it can also host third-party VST plug-ins. As for virtual instruments, there’s a synthesizer, a sampler and a drum machine, and a full Piano Roll GUI with event list, which let the user edit MIDI data.
The question ‘what’s next?’ is simple to ask but often very difficult to answer, especially when applied to innovation in the software industry. Some people think that the next generation of computers will not run software as we know it, rather self-installing applications that boot into their own operating environment. In the interim, a new breed of software products can be identified, which runs on flash memory and can be carried in its entirity on a USB drive smaller than a pack of chewing gum.Energy XT is one such application that developers XT Software call “ultra-portable music production and recording software”. It can be excecuted from a USB flash memory drive and is multi-platform, with compatibility to run on Windows XP and Vista, Mac OS X and Linux machines. Everything linked to an Energy XT project is kept on the drive: the application; the license; audio files; and all the arrangement data, so the project can be transported easily from computer to computer and, importantly, between Macs and PCs.
In terms of DAW features, Energy XT has its own built-in multi-effects processors, as well as time-stretching and pitch-shifting tools courtesy of ZPlane Development (whose Vielklang software we reviewed in SOS December 2008) but it can also host third-party VST plug-ins. As for virtual instruments, there’s a synthesizer, a sampler and a drum machine, and a full Piano Roll GUI with event list, which let the user edit MIDI data.Currently, version two of Energy XT is bundled with certain Behringer products, such as the UMA25 reviewed in SOS March 2009. But the latest version, v2.5, is available for purchase from the XT Software web site and from music retailers. Three versions of the software are available: the standard download version costs 59 Euros (£52 at the time of writing); the boxed standard revision costs 89 Euros (£78); while the boxed Plus version, which includes Rewire support for controlling and hosting Rewire-compatible applications such as Reason and Live, costs 129 Euros (£115). Both boxed versions come bundled with a high-speed USB drive.
