The Songwriter Forum - songwriting reviews, tips and chat
Songwriter Forum => Recording => Topic started by: mikek on February 19, 2017, 10:50:55 PM
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i started out with cakewalk long ago. never really clicked with me. i had a heck of a time making heads or tails of it. someone on a forum recommended a product called n-track audio which i used for awhile. made a lot more sense to me than cakewalk but it was a bit clunky, and crashed frequently. after that i tried Reaper and liked it enough that i made the purchase and have been using it ever since. it is a well written app and has good support, lots of online tutorials, etc. overall its great, but sometimes i find it very complex. many deep menus in which i can get easily lost. today, i've downloaded a free app that came with a recording interface i purchased not long ago, Abelton Live ~ lite. it's installing as i type this post.
what is your favorite DAW?
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It's Logic Pro for me Mike. As I have said in a previous post. I loved Logic 8 which I really understood quite well. I'm now working my way through a Logic Pro X book. My interface is a line 6 KB37 keyboard and I run Addictive drums too. I'm doing my best to reignite my passion for music, writing and recording once again. I don't ever think that Ai'll stray from Logic.
Paul
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i've heard that Logic is the most affordable, best alternative to pro-tools. is it correct that logic is mac only?
i'm on an older windows 7 notebook
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I read that too Mike. Logic is bought via a download from the Apple Store. It no longer comes boxed with manuals and discs as previous versions did. I guess that's how the price is kept low. It's still extremely powerful and versatile.
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I am a Cakewalk SONAR Platinum user
I wrote the review of Sonar X2 for "Future Music" magazine so it was a great exercise to formally review all of the features
LOGIC was a bit of a game changer for the DAW market as the low price point has limited what other software companies can realistically charge for their DAWs
All DAWs have their own strengths & weaknesses - but audio quality is usually the same
It is more about "feel" and "workflow" when choosing a DAW IMHO
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I just didn't have the cash for anything but Reaper but I've grown to befriend it. I've never found anything that I wanted to do that it couldn't. There are a few annoying workflow issues - but I suspect they all have them to a greater or lesser extent and for me I doubt the investment in learning a new system would compensate for any possible advantages.
I'm also very glad to have gone with a DAW from the outset rather than something less powerful and Reaper made that possible for me...
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Thumbs up on Reaper for me as well. $60 well spent
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Cakewalk,
If you read the reviews the differences between DAW's is narrowing all the time as they mature.
Regardless of which one you needed to invest in learning how a DAW works. For me changing from analogue gearI wanted a PC based one, I had probably 6 months of frustration and now 4 years on its second nature. It doesn't interfere in the recording process and is quick and stable.
:)
Neil
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I use Podium Free for the obvious reason...but I really like it. It's nice to work with and has done everything I've wanted it too so far. It doesn't come with loads of bundled stuff (bit like Reaper) but there's plenty of good stuff out there anyway...just makes the process a bit longer not always having things on hand and having to search them out.
Cool brushed metal-look interface too which is essential.
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I'm a long time Cubase user but have recently moved to Mixbus32C, it sounds great and dead easy to use... :) :)
Don't hardly use any 3rd party VST's now....just delay and verb :)
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Logic since 1995.
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...
Garageband
*hides*
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I've been a Cakewalk Sonar user for almost 10 years now I think. It's true that the major DAWs have basically converged and all are so powerful that most users will only use a small fraction of the features/VSTs / effects etc.
What I do like about Sonar Platinum, apart from its familiarity which allows me to work quickly, is that if I ever get stuck there is a FANTASTIC users' forum. The guys on there are so helpful, and issues are answered within minutes normally. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Cakewalk's own technical support which is not so good at present.
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Cubase for me. The first one came free with the Behringer mixing desk I bought. Started with Audacity and moved on. Cubase suits me and haven't felt the need to try anything else.
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I use Magix Samplitude. I started with their products years ago and found that, once you are used to one DAW, it's tough to switch. I purchased Cake Walk/ Sonar but never got around to using it. Likewise, a friend I was collaborating with got me to purchase Reaper, but in the end we both switched to Samplitude.
It has a lot of built in functionality, including a good library of Drum/ Instrument loops. The biggest drawback is that the documentation reads like it was machine translated from German. (Magix are a German company.)
I also once purchased a "Samplitude Pro" upgrade but found that it didn't really offer anything much extra that was useful to me.
My biggest wish would be have a built-in "live" drummer that automatically played along and in time. (I have BFD3 but have not yet mastered it ...)
Kevin
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Audacity does the trick for me, free, simple to use and for a beginner has the basics so is a free chance to get to grips with EQ, high and low pass filters, reverb and more I'm yet to attempt.
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I use Reason, and there's pretty much no real reason that I use Reason other than the fact I liked the way Reason rolled of the tongue and I thought their interface looked nice.
How much wood would a woodchuck....
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Hi all,
Cubase pro, currently 8.5, been using it for years since the day of SX.
Went logic pro X for a bit but went back to the old faithful. (maybe if I stuck at it) but old habits die hard
Andy
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Hi,
I've used Propellerhead's Reason ever since it came out. We are at version 9.5 now which i have and version 10 was released recently which i might upgrade too later on. For me it allows me to do everything and then some. It is pretty comprehensive.
It now has VST support and they work great too! It's a solid piece of software and i would reccommend it to anyone.
Johnny :)
Take a look at it here...
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Hi,
I've used Propellerhead's Reason ever since it came out. We are at version 9.5 now which i have and version 10 was released recently which i might upgrade too later on. For me it allows me to do everything and then some. It is pretty comprehensive.
It now has VST support and they work great too! It's a solid piece of software and i would reccommend it to anyone.
Johnny :)
Hi JohnnyUK.
I used to love reason but they took a long time to catch up with the other DAWs, ie, VST support.
Reason 5 rewired to Cubase,Opened up a lot of sounds. great combo.
But I agree, the latest versions are there with the big guns,
You cant beat the old classic, Rebirth, spent hrs twiddling the buttons on that.
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Used to use Cubase but switched to Reaper and haven't looked back.
I also use WaveLab for restoration and mastering
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I'm a Magix Samplitude Pro X3 Suite user, it's really not easy to use but has a load of features and the same engine from the Broadcast quality DAW called Sequoia. I'm only using about 20% of what it can do, but that's cool as I know it should do it if i need to in future.
I don't know anything about any other DAW, so I can't comment on them. I like the way one can wave edit an object in SoundForge directly from the DAW.
Made in Germany so it's well thought through, albeit the manual is pretty hard to understand, and absolutely humungous (3 big Ring binder folders), There's a guy on YouTube called Kraznet, who has done loads of helpful videos, so I learned a lot from him.
Nice mastering setup too.
Would recommend a load of RAM and a big SSD
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It depends on what I'm doing. If I'm just recording a vocal track to send out for production and mixing, I use Audacity. Not really a true DAW, but I find it perfect for laying unaltered vocal tracks.
If I'm going to do any kind of "messing around" with my tracks, though, I use Reaper. I can cut out bits wherever I want and everything stays where it belongs (in Audacity it always jumps back to close the gap...weird). And I can apply any kind of effects and save it and reload it later and take them off if I want (Audacity hides them somehow and makes them part of the track so I can't figure out how to separate them back out).
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Hi,
The bottom line here is NOT what DAW we use. They all work great!
It's all about the initial song idea and how we develop that idea and then go on to present it in audio form for the listener too digest. To me it is all about how we present our musical ideas in song form to help those listening make that connection to our song etc..
Johnny :)
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Logic Pro X for me. It really makes it very easy to start something and turn it into something professional very quickly.
Got a lot of time for GarageBand as well.
Used to use Cubans a long time ago but much happier with Logic.
All DAWs feel like foreign country when you first try them tho :)
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I use Reaper because it seemed to be the cheapest of the pro DAWs. I have been using it since I record and mix music and am liking it even more as time goes by. It is ridiculously powerful for its price, the Reaper community is huge and very responsive. I am regularly visiting pro studios and see other works on ProTools, Cubase etc. but I have yet to find something I can't do with Reaper.
IMO all well-known DAWs are good. It doesn't really matter what you choose, what matters is that you take some time to learn its features, shortcuts and particularities so you can be efficient at what you're doing.
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Hi,
The bottom line here is NOT what DAW we use. They all work great!
It's all about the initial song idea and how we develop that idea and then go on to present it in audio form for the listener too digest. To me it is all about how we present our musical ideas in song form to help those listening make that connection to our song etc..
Johnny :)
Reaper it is, then!!! Do you have any recommendations for a microphone?
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An old version of Garageband - 6.0.5. Works for me!
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I use Cubase - currently Artist 8.5
Mainly, it's because I'm used to how it works, not because it's better than other ones. I've been using Steinberg stuff since before there was a Cubase (anyone else remember Pro24?) - and they have had far too much money from me over the years >:( but I am familiar with it, so it works for me.
I've used Reaper, and that's good too and much cheaper. Nearly gave up on Cubase last time I had to upgrade, but in the end I wanted something I knew and so could use to quickly capture new ideas, and not have to think too much about the software.
I think most of not all of them are very good these days - just need to find the one that works the way you do!
Dave
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I use a line 6 audio interface with Ableton live suite which has lots of interesting features and plugins to keep me busy for a lifetime untill i will master them :)