DAW's Mentioned Before Other's

[Forgotten]

Simply blaming the carpenter is also juvenile because they all work and perform differently.

are we talking supersaws again?

Boom Tish!

[chk071]

[reggie1979]

....

[reggie1979]

Simply blaming the carpenter is also juvenile because they all work and perform differently.

are we talking supersaws again?

Boom Tish!

[BBFG#]

When such a discussion occurs in our area, it usually is prefaced by, "I just started using ____, after I had been using ____, but for some reason, I keep finding myself also using ____".

Top three in most discussions around here are PreSonus, Cubase, Reaper.
When someone mentions FLS or Reason, it's generally a sign they're a cracker or plugin beggar. I expect CW will soon be added to that list.
Of course, I meet more than a few who'll just answer "Apple" and don't know any name of any DAW really. Which implies they use GarageBand. And equal to that, I've surprisingly run into quite a few that use BiaB!
Go figure. Seems only my Northern friends talk about Ableton these days.

[stearine]

So my take on this is it's pretty tough to figure out what to do.

True in my case.

If somebody who was just beginning or had very little experience and undeveloped habits asked me how to choose a DAW, I couldn't think of special general advice. Instead I'd probably ask what they have used/done so far and what other skills they have, and then sit them down at a computer, install a bunch of different programs, and observe them as they work and figure things out. Then I could say something like "Alright, so I've noticed some tendencies which suggest to me that you might prefer to spend more time in these programs, and less in those. See where that takes you." The next thing I know they're on KVR DA DAW? best plz...

[vurt]

just tell them dubtrurbo, 9 out of 10 cats prefer it.

[reggie1979]

So my take on this is it's pretty tough to figure out what to do.

True in my case.

If somebody who was just beginning or had very little experience and undeveloped habits asked me how to choose a DAW, I couldn't think of special general advice. Instead I'd probably ask what they have used/done so far and what other skills they have, and then sit them down at a computer, install a bunch of different programs, and observe them as they work and figure things out. Then I could say something like "Alright, so I've noticed some tendencies which suggest to me that you might prefer to spend more time in these programs, and less in those. See where that takes you." The next thing I know they're on KVR DA DAW? best plz...

I think it's a tough choice. For example, I'd love to use Tracktion/Waveform but it keeps poof crashing every time I've used it. And I'm not the only one, so there is a feeling out period of what you can choose. It requires trial and error and it's also easy to get caught up in the "grass is greener" category.

Case in point, I was on S1 for a little while (after a long hiatus) and it has FAR more noodly bells and whistles to Reason, but I wasn't making music with it. I was lost in a sea of features and just kinda was like "well wait a minute. Isn't the point to make music? " So I went back strictly to Reason and unless it becomes unstable, I'm staying. I miss some things badly in S1 (like the Impact XT) btw.

But again, it's taken a lot of trail and error to make that conclusion.

[Forgotten]

it has FAR more noodly bells and whistles to Reason, but I wasn't making music with it.

This is a really important point that I think some people miss - if something isn't helping you to make music, then maybe it's time to think about what WILL make you work on music.

I'm lucky to have access to a few DAWs, some keyboard/synth hardware and a handful of other instruments, but I no longer try to focus on one thing as I'm far happier just seeing what I feel like playing and just going with that, even if it's something different each time.

[reggie1979]

But it took me a LONG TIME and a TON of dalla bills to finally make that conclusion. Bitwig, Live, Cubase, even Reaper all have their strong points, but I had to basically fail with those in order to come to this conclusion.

[Forgotten]

But it took me a LONG TIME and a TON of dalla bills to finally make that conclusion. Bitwig, Live, Cubase, even Reaper all have their strong points, but I had to basically fail with those in order to come to this conclusion.

Other than the dollar bills spent, I don't think it's a bad way to find out what works for you. Sometimes you just have to try a few approaches before you figure out which tools are the right ones.

[reggie1979]

Agreed. It was worth the journey.

[machinesworking]

But it took me a LONG TIME and a TON of dalla bills to finally make that conclusion. Bitwig, Live, Cubase, even Reaper all have their strong points, but I had to basically fail with those in order to come to this conclusion.

Other than the dollar bills spent, I don't think it's a bad way to find out what works for you. Sometimes you just have to try a few approaches before you figure out which tools are the right ones.

Or you could be like me and dabble in a half dozen. I think I’ve definitely proven that DAW choice really doesn’t affect your writing style much though. I tend to write slightly more electronic sounding things in Live than Reaper or DP but that’s about it..

[reggie1979]

One thing I learned as as much fun as Live/Bitwig are, I doodle more than actually create. Though those both have linear ways, let's face it, the looping is too sexy I've decided that linear is the way to go. A lot of people are asking for a loop based thing in Reason and I'm kinda against it. I think you can do loop based stuff pretty easily, it's just a different perspective. I find Reason to be more enjoyable as far as recording, slicing, repeating, etc. It's just me.

My music style is eclectic to say the least. I use a lot of SD/SSD or maybe electronic drums. I play bass and guitar (well, kinda ) and need that aspect. Syths are essential but I don't sing So I need it to do everything well, but it doesn't need to be a master at anything, does that make sense?

[jonljacobi]

I’m linear with a vengeance, and I still always wind up back in Live despite its foibles and weird looking arranger. The interface scales, there’s minimal visual clutter, and it keeps at least the basics simple. Now that I know it decently, I just get stuff done much more quickly with it.