Suggestions for a new DAW

In Sanity

In Sanity

New member
Hello!

So, for a year and a half now, I've been using Mixcraft 6 for everything, simply because it was cheap, and did what I needed(at the time I got it).
Recently, though, I've felt as if I'm rubbing my head against a cheese-grater every time I use it.
It crashes frequently, it's slow, it doesn't support a lot of features I want, and, above all, it is so slow!
._.

I've been looking into a few different DAWs, like FL Studio and Reason, and getting an idea of their capabilities.
But at this point in time, I don't really have too much money(not easy for a teenager with no job to buy software that costs hundreds of dollars. :l)
The most I'd be able to spend would be around $300.

I'm just wondering if anyone could suggest what they think would be the best one for me to get.

Primarily, I want something that is easy to get into, and use, can send MIDI Outputs to another channel(this was a major problem I had with Mixcraft, it made working with Kontakt a pain), and is good for working with all styles(as well as Trance, Electro and other styles like that, I do a lot of Orchestral composition for video games)
I'm running Windows 32-bit.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
^-^
 
logic7 said:
download the demos and use them at length. Make your decision based on that.
Click to expand...

FL Studio:
Pros: Supports all the features I need, easy to use, very flexible.
Cons: Lags if I have more than 4 instruments running at once.

Reason:
Pros: Good range of instruments, fairly easy to get used to.
Cons: No VST support, other than ReWire.

:/
 
In Sanity said:
FL Studio:
Pros: Supports all the features I need, easy to use, very flexible.
Cons: Lags if I have more than 4 instruments running at once.

Reason:
Pros: Good range of instruments, fairly easy to get used to.
Cons: No VST support, other than ReWire.

:/
Click to expand...

@bolded/underlined: This typically happens if you're using on-board audio instead of a decent audio interface.

Just as a test, download and install ASIO4All (ASIO4ALL - Universal ASIO Driver). In FL Studio, switch your audio interface to the ASIO4All driver and drop your latency to 512 samples (in FL, go to Options>Audio Settings).

Once you've done this, see how many instruments you can use. Also, report back with your PC specs and I'll report back with my own as well as how many instruments I can use in FL (hint - my PC would have been considered bleeding edge technology back in 2003).
 
Also check out Logic and Ableton. Both are close to your price range. I know you can download a demo of Ableton that lets you do everything except save and export. But a quick word of advice, once you pick a DAW try to stick with it and learn all of its ins and outs before using another one. Its really about how you use it and not so much what you have.

---------- Post added at 06:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:21 PM ----------

Oh sorry just saw that your using windows, cant use logic. But you can still check out Ableton
 
logic7:
Ok, I downloaded it and installed it, made it the primary device in FL, and I managed to run 6 instruments in Kontakt with no lag.
The 7th one caused huge amounts of lag.

As for specs(just copying what shows up in the Computer Properties section. :P):
Windows Vista 32-bit, 3.00 GB of RAM, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ 2.20 GHz
(is that all you needed?)


nickwright35:
I have heard of Ableton, looked into it a bit, but I'd prefer something a bit simpler, as I still classify myself as a beginner.
:)
 
In Sanity said:
logic7:
Ok, I downloaded it and installed it, made it the primary device in FL, and I managed to run 6 instruments in Kontakt with no lag.
The 7th one caused huge amounts of lag.

As for specs(just copying what shows up in the Computer Properties section. :P):
Windows Vista 32-bit, 3.00 GB of RAM, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ 2.20 GHz
(is that all you needed?)


nickwright35:
I have heard of Ableton, looked into it a bit, but I'd prefer something a bit simpler, as I still classify myself as a beginner.
:)
Click to expand...


How many instances of Kontakt are you running at once and are they running within the DAW itself (in this case, FL Studio)?

My PC is a 3.0GHz Pentium 4HT (Northwood core). This processor was released in mid-2003. My desktop has 2GB of RAM and I'm currently running a piece of shit SB Audigy2 (until I get another decent interface... long story).

I just had to downgrade the processor from the old 3.4GHz Prescott Pentium 4HT I was originally using to the one I have now due to my creaky old power supply.

Even with this, I can handle a good number of individual VST's. With the old 3.4GHz processor installed, I showed 13 plugins running with clock cycles available for a few more.

Right now, it's a matter of figuring out what's going on with your PC. There's something amiss here.
 
logic7 said:
How many instances of Kontakt are you running at once and are they running within the DAW itself (in this case, FL Studio)?

My PC is a 3.0GHz Pentium 4HT (Northwood core). This processor was released in mid-2003. My desktop has 2GB of RAM and I'm currently running a piece of shit SB Audigy2 (until I get another decent interface... long story).

I just had to downgrade the processor from the old 3.4GHz Prescott Pentium 4HT I was originally using to the one I have now due to my creaky old power supply.

Even with this, I can handle a good number of individual VST's. With the old 3.4GHz processor installed, I showed 13 plugins running with clock cycles available for a few more.

Right now, it's a matter of figuring out what's going on with your PC. There's something amiss here.
Click to expand...

I'm creating one instance, loading 7 instruments into it, using MIDI Out channels, and running them through Kontakt.
And that one instance causes lag.
>_<
 
In Sanity said:
I'm creating one instance, loading 7 instruments into it, using MIDI Out channels, and running them through Kontakt.
And that one instance causes lag.
>_<
Click to expand...


so... you're using it as a standalone instrument? This may be the problem here... Why don't you open it within your DAW?

Also, download and install Reaper while you're at it. The demo version is 100% fully functional (yes, you can save your work in it and reload it) and the price to buy it is cheap ($60 for the discounted license)

REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits

The cats on the forum there are extremely helpful and can help you get going very quickly.
 
Sorry, I should have been more clear.
I'm loading up FL Studio, creating a channel with Kontakt on it, setting up the routing, loading 7 instruments into Kontakt, and using MIDI channels to send their signal through the instruments in Kontakt.
:)

And I've heard of REAPER, but I never got around to looking at it.
I'll check it out now.
:)
 
logic7 said:
How many instances of Kontakt are you running at once and are they running within the DAW itself (in this case, FL Studio)?

My PC is a 3.0GHz Pentium 4HT (Northwood core). This processor was released in mid-2003. My desktop has 2GB of RAM and I'm currently running a piece of shit SB Audigy2 (until I get another decent interface... long story).

I just had to downgrade the processor from the old 3.4GHz Prescott Pentium 4HT I was originally using to the one I have now due to my creaky old power supply.

Even with this, I can handle a good number of individual VST's. With the old 3.4GHz processor installed, I showed 13 plugins running with clock cycles available for a few more.

Right now, it's a matter of figuring out what's going on with your PC. There's something amiss here.
Click to expand...

that dinosaur is putting in work
that goes to show us new i3,i5,i7 guys with 8gigs of RAM



-Coach Antonio
 
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