Well 3.0 is now posted on the Emu website - available for download purchase, or order (if you want a CD), and has a 7-day free trial with the dl version.
My impressions from running it on my system - absolutely fantastic! This is a very major, very cool upgrade for Paris - from graphic EQs (with draggable curves), drag and drop channel settings (EQ, etc), channel/fader/aux/EQ groups a nice integrated audio editor, MIDI, OMF support, etc, etc. and a very sweet looking new GUI. These are just the basics of 3.0. I for one see this as a major leap forward for Paris in the DAW world.
Comments
Hi Jamey - 3.0 is a very nice upgrade. A correction from above
Hi Jamey - 3.0 is a very nice upgrade. A correction from above I just noticed - I was wrong about the wave editor - it handles dual-mono (stereo) files - you just have to drag them as a pair from the audio list - pretty easy to do but I missed it first time around. There are some Waves compatibility issues on the Mac side, but may be less Paris' issue than the non-standard VST implementation of Waveshell. From what I read, the PC side is very solid all the way around.
The big, platform neutral, additions for me are track grouping, graphic EQs, the wave editor, track/selection rendering with/without plugins (VERY NICE and fast - non-realtime, as in seconds for a full length track), and multiple inserts on Aux buses (chaining). The time stretch tool is easier than Logic, PT, (and perhaps Acid in some ways) for stretching loops to fit, and faster than most of the above. The quality of stretched audio isn't quite up there with Celemony's new software, or other dedicated TCE software, but quite useable for loops and such considering how easy it is to use. The graphics are very nice - probably the most functional, eye-catching interface for any audio app, but that may be subject to opinion and taste. I think it is moving towards being a highly regarded, and even elite DAW.
Sonically it is the same. Too many mixes would be altered to ch
Sonically it is the same. Too many mixes would be altered to change existing DSP algorithms. The audio editor is basic compared to SF, CEP, etc (probably more like Logic's wave/audio editor), but fits the bill for most tasks - you have gain change, normalize, reverse, cut, paste, copy, snip, insert, delete, etc., region markers for setting selections for an operation, plugin rendering (yep - pull up a VST/DX plugin and render it on the file in the editor (no audible preview in the wave editor that I know of unfortunately) - or just do it from the main editor/mixer where you can hear it - there is a command to render with or without plugins - very nice for processing a track with a CPU hog plugin). There are still things I would use Sound Forge or Cool Edit for (specialized processing, final mastering cuts and fades, etc.). The wave editor is mono only, since Paris works in split/single files and does not use interleaved stereo formats, which could be a little bit of a hassle with stereo pairs, but still workable. Considering that simply having a wave editor is a time saver, that becomes a minimal shortcoming.