[MartynRich]

Hello all

I´m back after a number of years away from the forum and trying to find the best DAW to start recording again. I used to use Logic but for various reasons, that´s not an option any more. I now have a laptop running Windows 11, 8GB RAM and a 3.4GHZ processor. I´ve tried a few DAWs out - for some reason I could not get Reaper to recognise my MIDI, despite searching forums far and wide for a solution. It just wouldn´t work. I´m currently on the trial version of Pro Tools Ultimate but the audio is constantly crackling, which I think is down to my processing speed but it doesn´t matter because I won´t be paying out for the full version in any case.

Budget is very limited so any suggestions would be gratefully received. Thanks!

[pompeyjazz]

Hi Martyn. I’ve never had any issues with midi on Reaper. Maybe I could try and help you if you pm me. Cheers, John

[MartynRich]

Hi John - you´ve been suitably PM´d. Cheers

[pompeyjazz]

Hey @MartynRich I didn’t receive anything. Did you send it to @pompeyjazz

[Boydie]

@MartynRich

Welcome back stranger!!

Have you got an external interface or are you trying to use the onboard sound in the laptop?

If internal, my first recommendation would be to invest in an audio interface that has all of the ins and outs that you would require - I would personally recommend Focusrite or Presonus for a good “bang for buck”

As far as DAW....

I think that CAKEWALK BY BANDLAB is FREE! Which is effectively what used to be SONAR PROFESSIONAL, a fully featured DAW that used to be around £300ish quid!

This was established after SONAR was discontinued, so I had to transition to PRESONUS STUDIO ONE, which I have found rock solid, fully featured and lots of support available

You are doing the right thing by trialing them as you need to find a DAW that suits your style - so that it can effectively “get out of the way” whilst you create

Good luck, and let us know what you went for....

[MartynRich]

Thank you!

So I have a Rubix 22 interface and a midi keyboard, both connected separately by USB.

I think I have some RAM issues with my laptop. It does have 8GB but I´ve noticed that my son´s gaming programs are using up a lot of space so I have to make sure I shut down those processes before using the DAW. I tried various ones, including Cakewalk and Reaper but in the end I´ve managed to get Waveform Free working for me. No issues with connecting MIDI or Audio and it seems to be a pretty good DAW.

One thing I am on the lookout for now are free plugins. I have all the ones I need for production but I could really do with some good instruments, especially piano/strings etc. I currently have the Spitfire plugins but would like to expand them to get more sounds.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

[cowparsleyman]

@MartynRich - Good to hear from you Martyn, glad to hear your still making vibes. I'm with @Boydie here, I find Studio One is really easy to use and a lot of the things which can put people off is pretty easy, and more importantly well documented, I know it aint cheap, but they do a monthly subscription version called Sphere which will do you for life, and it includes everything they do, including instruments and all their plugins...

As for free instruments, I can't say but I remember TAL doing something free, other good cheap VSTi's (Virtual Instruments) are from Cherry, I have a Polymoog emu and it's very capable.

You mentioned Spitfire, they are also very good, I'm using them on a single I'm producing for someone at the moment, so it doesn't always man cheap is bad,  it normally menas that you can't do as much tweaking, for example there is a VSTi called Garritan CFX, a very good grand piano, there is a lite version for about 80 quid and a full version for about 150, apart for the insane number of sample per note, there are so many tweaks one can make that it's more likely that you'll balls up the sound rather than making it sound better, so don't boiterh spend huge wads. Spitfire is fine, the Mrs Mills, and Felt piano all sound great.

Look forward to hearing your stuff Martyn

Rich

[Wicked deeds]

I've just bought a zenbook, thinking of switching from Mac as I'm tired of upgrading and the considerable expense . I'm on my third machine. Is Cakewalk really free and how difficult will I find the learning curve, having used Logic forever?

Paul

[Boydie]

@Wicked deeds

I believe Cakewalk is still free:
https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk

I wrote the review of SONAR X2 for FUTURE MUSIC magazine - and even then it was a great piece of software

I don’t have experience of Logic, but Cakewalk/Sonar is extremely straight forward and pretty standard as far as DAWs go - with some excellent features

Being quite well established means there are LOADS of video tutorials available - keep an eye out for those by Craig Anderton

If you have any specific questions, please ask here and I will see if I can remember...as I switched from Sonar to Studio One when Sonar went bust (and before it was reborn by BandLab)

Good luck

[Bankie]

I've used Cakewalk for many years - bought Cakewalk Sonar, then moved to the free version after Gibson nearly killed it. I was forced into Macs and Logic when I did a sound production course, and did find it very frustrating, being used to the more forgiving and flexible Cakewalk interface. I'd say it's pretty easy to get going with - you should be able to use the basics quickly, then use the more advanced stuff as you need it, and Google nearly always gives you a quick answer when you want to know how to do something. I really love the screensets - with the press of the right hotkey, I can switch between having everything set for mixing, or another screenset for recording, or another for (for example) writing the string sections in piano roll view.

I'm possibly biased because I've used it for so long, but there is very little I wish was better on Cakewalk. The only thing I can think of is the lack of ability to link automation between tracks (it can be done if you draw your controllers in piano roll, but not if you prefer the cleaner automation lanes, which I do).

I could enthuse or chat about Cakewalk all day, but I'll stop there

[Wicked deeds]

@ Boydie and @Bankie. thank you for your replies.  It's quite daunting for me at the moment.  I've been a Mac user for ages.  To start again seems a huge learning curve but I'm now finding that my quickly outdated Mac can't run a number of plugins etc:  most recently Waves backing vocals.  Things that help me to produce at speed.  I have a new laptop that I've just ordered so will certainly explore new options.

thank you

Paul

[Boydie]

@Wicked deeds

If all of your plugins are available for PC, then you should be up and running pretty quickly

My transition from Sonar to Studio One was helped tremendously as much of my workflow used different 3rd party plugins - so at least these were familiar from the get go

Once you suss out the “ins and outs”, the routing (most DAWs are the same as they follow a mixing desk setup) and the keyboard shortcuts for play, stop, rewind and record - you are pretty much home and dry

Good luck - and it seems you have a load of support “on tap” from myself and @Bankie if you get stuck

[Wicked deeds]

@Boydie  The majority of my plugins are straight out of the Logic Box.  I believe KONTACT allow the user to activate their licence on two different computers.  Not so sure about waves.  Something I will look into in the coming weeks/months.

Thanks

Paul

[Bankie]

If you go with Cakewalk, when it comes to the crunch, I'd be happy to do a screenshare to show the basics if you wanted that. I'm sure you'd find the common stuff (arming tracks, recording, copying, moving, etc) really easy and quite similar to most DAWs. And there will be a few things that you'll find really handy to know off the bat regarding recording modes and what you can do with clips to keep your projects super-tidy.

No pressure and in your own time - just give me a shout if you want that at any point and we'll work it out from there.

[Wicked deeds]

@Bankie, apologies for my late reply, just finishing a six day shift cycle. I'm really tired this morning. Thank you so much for your kind offer. @Boydie, thank you too, I'm going to dig out your review.  After much consideration, I've bought a really high spec Mac so won't need to relearn my skills. I've always made do with low spec machines to keep the cost down. However, I work hard so have treated myself to something special.

Many thanks gentleman. I really appreciate your help.

Paul