So New To Producing I Have No DAW Software! Which do I start with?

[JohnnyDon't!]

Someones been reading too many blogs haha. yes AVID is a joke to deal with, never had to deal with em though so i dont care. But they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. And either way thats what the DUC forums are for. But pro tools isn't going anywhere and it never will. The only reason AVID are being dicks right now is because they know that people dont have a choice. Their demographic is a lot bigger than bedroom producers, they have the studio and post production market on more than a lock. Their milking it and they're dicks for it, but it doesn't take anything away from the software, which is all i care about.

You make no sense, whatsoever. First you say I've "been reading too many blogs" and then you agree with what I've said. And then you go on to spout a bunch of entirely erroneous information, like when you say that "people don't have a choice" when it comes to DAWs. Are you high?? There are more choices now than there has EVER been: Logic, Cubase, Nuendo, Ableton, Reaper, Ardour, BitWig, Reason...the list goes on & on. Also, maybe you should do some reading and inform yourself: Avid is in SERIOUS trouble and will probably not survive this decade, so good luck using ProTools with all yer "speed" after that. Making a statement like "All i care about is the software, not the people sitting behind it" proves you are fairly clueless: ANY software IS the people sitting behind it, period, both in terms of the engineers writing the code, all the way up to the CEO/CFO/etc. making terrible business decisions, including their horrendous customer service policies.

Just to provide some facts here: Avid's stock has dropped 85% (yes, EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT) since 2006, and they were kicked off the NASDAQ last year because they didn't file their financials in time. Also, while ProTools *was* the industry standard, in the past 5-7 years a LOT of pros have switched over to Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, and even Reaper as their main systems, maintaining a ProTools system only for ease of compatibility with other studios/engineers/producers. So that nullifies your idea that ProTools mastery will provide you better job opportunities than mastery of Ableton or any other DAW. In my experience (which is quite a lot; I've been recording/producing/writing/performing for just under 25 years and music has been my main source of income for well over a decade), your skills as an engineer or producer are what provide job opportunities entirely regardless of what DAW you've mastered, as anyone with a solid foundation in audio engineering can achieve stellar results with any DAW.

Here's a link to a good article which will shed some light on the situation for you: Is Avid OK…Or Not? What the NASDAQ Delisting Really Means to Pro Tools Users | SonicScoop - Creative, Technical & Business Connections For NYC’s Music & Sound Community

All that being said, if you like ProTools the best, more power to ya. Like I said a few times in this thread, it's all about what the end user finds most convenient and easy to use; nothing else really matters, until the company that makes the DAW you love folds up and disappears forever. (Just FYI, on a topic unrelated to this paragraph, ProTools doesn't own the rights to keyboard shortcuts; EVERY SINGLE DAW ON THE MARKET utilizes them.)

I could make quite a few other points regarding the drawbacks of ProTools versus other DAWs but at this point it feels like beating a dead horse.

Lastly, if you think the nonsense occurring with Avid's business structure is "politics," you are sadly mistaken. I'm not sure you could be more incorrect.

 

[peaceforeber]

I suggest Studio One from Presonus, it's very great for beginners and easy to use with a drag and drop interface. Also, if you're midi keyboard happens to break like mine did, you can use the desktop keyboard or laptop keyboard to make your beats as well. I am absolutely in love with Studio One. But I do suggest purchasing Studio One Producer because Studio One Artist 2 isn't compatible with third party vsts

 

[deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup]

You make no sense, whatsoever. First you say I've "been reading too many blogs" and then you agree with what I've said. And then you go on to spout a bunch of entirely erroneous information, like when you say that "people don't have a choice" when it comes to DAWs. Are you high?? There are more choices now than there has EVER been: Logic, Cubase, Nuendo, Ableton, Reaper, Ardour, BitWig, Reason...the list goes on & on. Also, maybe you should do some reading and inform yourself: Avid is in SERIOUS trouble and will probably not survive this decade, so good luck using ProTools with all yer "speed" after that. Making a statement like "All i care about is the software, not the people sitting behind it" proves you are fairly clueless: ANY software IS the people sitting behind it, period, both in terms of the engineers writing the code, all the way up to the CEO/CFO/etc. making terrible business decisions, including their horrendous customer service policies.

Just to provide some facts here: Avid's stock has dropped 85% (yes, EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT) since 2006, and they were kicked off the NASDAQ last year because they didn't file their financials in time. Also, while ProTools *was* the industry standard, in the past 5-7 years a LOT of pros have switched over to Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, and even Reaper as their main systems, maintaining a ProTools system only for ease of compatibility with other studios/engineers/producers. So that nullifies your idea that ProTools mastery will provide you better job opportunities than mastery of Ableton or any other DAW. In my experience (which is quite a lot; I've been recording/producing/writing/performing for just under 25 years and music has been my main source of income for well over a decade), your skills as an engineer or producer are what provide job opportunities entirely regardless of what DAW you've mastered, as anyone with a solid foundation in audio engineering can achieve stellar results with any DAW.

Here's a link to a good article which will shed some light on the situation for you: Is Avid OK…Or Not? What the NASDAQ Delisting Really Means to Pro Tools Users | SonicScoop - Creative, Technical & Business Connections For NYC’s Music & Sound Community

All that being said, if you like ProTools the best, more power to ya. Like I said a few times in this thread, it's all about what the end user finds most convenient and easy to use; nothing else really matters, until the company that makes the DAW you love folds up and disappears forever. (Just FYI, on a topic unrelated to this paragraph, ProTools doesn't own the rights to keyboard shortcuts; EVERY SINGLE DAW ON THE MARKET utilizes them.)

I could make quite a few other points regarding the drawbacks of ProTools versus other DAWs but at this point it feels like beating a dead horse.

Lastly, if you think the nonsense occurring with Avid's business structure is "politics," you are sadly mistaken. I'm not sure you could be more incorrect.

Just to add to what's being said here, the current state of the "industry" leaves no room for exclusive and elite ways to do things. We're no longer in the era of mass production of track after lifeless track to sale to consumers that made Pro Tools a necessity in any studio. It was different when you were getting multiple tracks daily and the compatibility was needed to make the "best" of your time. At this point, It doesn't matter what you use, what matters is that you're making good songs. As the industry collapsed, less "Pros" kept their PT rigs updated, Avid lost money and took it out on the smaller customers by forcing you to have no choice but to update, that lead to alot of people abandoning the software.

I say this as an owner of PT11 who will not update to 12 because I really get no use out of it these days. Everyone who records here(and that's lots of people)agree the stuff we're doing in Reason is lightyears ahead sound wise(again, not because of the tools, but the way I personally work in Reason). I've also noticed more and more guys sending me stuff to mix are mostly using Logic(to the point I may buy it just for compatibility), and from there it trickles down to tons of other stuff(Studio One, Sonar, Cubase, and nowadays, Pro Tools falls in with these others because of how much work and money for updates it takes to get a version that will run with an updated OS).

I once would absolutely argue that Pro Tools was an "industry standard", but nowadays, you either use it because you love it, or because you've never done enough "industry work" to realize it's no longer a factor. It's as prehistoric as the idea that a mixing console is an "industry standard".

 

[KelevraOne]

What type of music do you plan to make? Do you see yourself more as a dj, beatmaker, remixer or musical artist? Do you plan to work with others a lot? One of the easiest to learn if you're just making beats for right now would be Fl Studio due to all the help videos out there.