Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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My long time friend Ross (a blind music producer) is raising money to gain access to Cubase 8 - a music production software package for the PC (self.Blind)
submitted 7y ago by shitloadofbooks
My long time friend, Ross McGregor is a blind music producer and musician from Australia, who is trying to $1.
$1.
Cubase is notoriously inaccessible for blind computer users and I have helped Ross over the years with accessing Cubase 5 (he is the only blind person in the world using Cubase). However, he is keen to keep up with other (sighted) people in the industry and take advantage of the new features and workflows in Cubase 8.
Also, our original accessibility solution is 8+ years old, hacked together and in need of an update (I'm a sysadmin, not a programmer).
Because Cubase 8 is three versions ahead, none of our original work is portable across from Cubase 5, so he is trying to raise funds to hire a software developer who will build a fast, stable accessibility solution for Cubase 8, with everything we have both learned from accessing Cubase 5.
Please help us spread the word, or let me know of any resources or information that I can pass on to him which he might find useful.
I am happy to answer any questions!
$1.
Cubase is notoriously inaccessible for blind computer users and I have helped Ross over the years with accessing Cubase 5 (he is the only blind person in the world using Cubase). However, he is keen to keep up with other (sighted) people in the industry and take advantage of the new features and workflows in Cubase 8.
Also, our original accessibility solution is 8+ years old, hacked together and in need of an update (I'm a sysadmin, not a programmer).
Because Cubase 8 is three versions ahead, none of our original work is portable across from Cubase 5, so he is trying to raise funds to hire a software developer who will build a fast, stable accessibility solution for Cubase 8, with everything we have both learned from accessing Cubase 5.
Please help us spread the word, or let me know of any resources or information that I can pass on to him which he might find useful.
I am happy to answer any questions!
impablomations 2 points
Has he considered switching DAWs?
Reaper has 2 or 3 plugins that make it compatible with most screenreaders.
Sonar is accessible through use of a couple of plugins.
If he's on a Mac then ProTools is compatible with Voice Over and almost fully accessible.
Reaper has 2 or 3 plugins that make it compatible with most screenreaders.
Sonar is accessible through use of a couple of plugins.
If he's on a Mac then ProTools is compatible with Voice Over and almost fully accessible.
shitloadofbooks [OP] 1 points
Thanks for the question!
I know he has tried Reaper and Sonar, but only version 8 of Sonar (released over 7 years ago) is accessible and he found Reaper quite limited.
Ross has used Cubase for the 10 years that I've known him, and I know he was using it before that. The old version called
"Cubase VST" was quite accessible by virtue of using a lot of native controls.
This means he has a huge amount of experience with Cubase that he doesn't want to discard.
I know he has tried Reaper and Sonar, but only version 8 of Sonar (released over 7 years ago) is accessible and he found Reaper quite limited.
Ross has used Cubase for the 10 years that I've known him, and I know he was using it before that. The old version called
"Cubase VST" was quite accessible by virtue of using a lot of native controls.
This means he has a huge amount of experience with Cubase that he doesn't want to discard.
impablomations 2 points
It must be quite a while ago since he tried Reaper, it is one of the most feature rich DAWs around. It's certainly the most customisable, as it uses it's own custom scripting engine.
Take a peek at these to see what I mean
http://www.houseofwhitetie.com/reaper/walter_themers_guide.pdf
http://www.reaper.fm/sdk/walter/walter.php
If he is unable to raise the necessary funds, REAPER might be a viable option as customising it for his use would be a hell of a lot easier than Cubase.
Another one I've heard good things about is Samplitude, a DAW developed with the help of the Frankfurter Stiftung für Blinde und Sehbehinderte (Frankfurter foundation for the blind and visually impaired).
I used to use Cubase myself, I used it from its precursor (Pro24) and Cubase itself on the Atari ST, up until Version 6. I've since jumped ship to one called Studio One - written by ex Steinberg devs as I was sick of Cubase stability issues and it being a general unstable memory hog.
Thankfully I still have some limited sight so I don't need to use a screen reader, just remapped controls and a small control surface. I'd hate to navigate a DAW without any sight at all, editing must be a nightmare - he certainly has my utmost admiration for that!
Take a peek at these to see what I mean
http://www.houseofwhitetie.com/reaper/walter_themers_guide.pdf
http://www.reaper.fm/sdk/walter/walter.php
If he is unable to raise the necessary funds, REAPER might be a viable option as customising it for his use would be a hell of a lot easier than Cubase.
Another one I've heard good things about is Samplitude, a DAW developed with the help of the Frankfurter Stiftung für Blinde und Sehbehinderte (Frankfurter foundation for the blind and visually impaired).
I used to use Cubase myself, I used it from its precursor (Pro24) and Cubase itself on the Atari ST, up until Version 6. I've since jumped ship to one called Studio One - written by ex Steinberg devs as I was sick of Cubase stability issues and it being a general unstable memory hog.
Thankfully I still have some limited sight so I don't need to use a screen reader, just remapped controls and a small control surface. I'd hate to navigate a DAW without any sight at all, editing must be a nightmare - he certainly has my utmost admiration for that!
shitloadofbooks [OP] 1 points
Thanks for all the information.
I'm talking to Ross tonight, so I'll pass on everything you have said to Ross.
I'm talking to Ross tonight, so I'll pass on everything you have said to Ross.
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