Advice on DAW for Creating Music...

Harpo84

New member
Hi - I'm making a second attempt to getting into making electronic music. Not really interested in recording. I had a go a long, long time ago with Reason but didn't get too far.

I really liked plugging synths and samplers into the drum machine in Reason and the whole old school hardware and cables aproach but felt that maybe Reason was a bit lacking in the more modern side of things. Example: pitch shifting and slicing / time stretching always felt like a serious fudge. No VST support. And the mixing and workflow side seemed a little awkward.

So I'm wondering if it might be worth trying something else. I've installed demos of ProTools, FruityLoops, Cubase, Sonar and Ableton but instantly realised that it's going to take me a LONG time to figure them all out. Can you give your opinion on the pros and cons of each for the kind of thing I'm trying to do?

Thanks!
 
Reason 7 may address all of your concerns - have a look at the demo for it and see for yourself

I personally use a variety of daws - cubase, reason, reaper, audacity, band-in-a-box, fl (rarely), pure data
 
I'd say go with fl studio.. It's extremely easy to use once you learn what your doing.. but that probably can go with any daw you use..
 
FL is definitely the easiest(doesn't make it the best)

Presonus Studio 1 is user friendly with a simple interface/sequencer and the drag and drop
feature makes it really stand out.

Sonar is a little more complex but once you get the hang of it it's not too bad.
The interface is a little jumbled at times,depending on what you're doing,but it's one of the
better D.A.W's i've used.

Reaper is also pretty straight forward and easy to use.

Pro tools and Acid are solid.Of Course.I would use Pro Tools for external recording and
mixing\mastering.
Acid is very underrated.And is just as good as any D.A.W available and it's easy to use
as well.


I never really got into Reason or Abelton because of their sequencers.
And not being able to use VST's in Reason was a turn off.

But at the end of the day you have to decide what's easiest for you.


Peace
 
FL Studio is a great DAW, very complex and versatile in this new edition. I work with FL Studio from version 3, now is 11. It's a very good program to those who want to work and make original tracks from scratch not just using loops and samples. Is good for any type and music genres. YouTube is a great source to take your first lessons in FL Studio, there are also many forums and blogs with very good tutorials. I also work in Reason, Cubase, and a little of Ableton but FL Studio remain my first love. You just need determination and hard work, result will appear soon for sure.
 
I looked at Fl Studio 11 and laughed at the inclusion of the Ruby programming language. Since when did you have to program music lol. I know i made the right decision
 
only goes to show that your particular approach to production is not the same as others - if you use max/pure data/reaktor as an algorithmic composition or synth development environment, then you understand why including ruby kind of makes sense
 
It's a very good program to those who want to work and make original tracks from scratch not just using loops and samples.

So you can't make tracks from scratch in other D.A.W.s?
You can only use loops and samples in other D.A.W.s?

Peace
 
I have a tendency to roll up my sleeves and tinker with all kinds of scripting because that's the kind of person I am, as such I tend to gravitate towards programs that have a certain degree of complexity compared to programs which are straight forward and basic to use but lack the features that give me the most control over what I am doing.

Some people take the time to learn keyboard shortcuts and set up macros and some people stick with the simplicity of the mouse, everyone approaches music production in different ways.....it's just that my way just happens to be right, so if you want to be awesome like me you should all switch over to Cubase.
 
Any program will do the trick its a matter of finding one that will work for you. While its not really a DAW I am really enjoying Maschine 2.0 it gives me most of what I need to make the music I want to make. If I had audio tracks and a way to make stereo recordings mono fast it would be perfect for me but might not be for you. Check out Reaper also.
 
I have a tendency to roll up my sleeves and tinker with all kinds of scripting because that's the kind of person I am, as such I tend to gravitate towards programs that have a certain degree of complexity compared to programs which are straight forward and basic to use but lack the features that give me the most control over what I am doing.

Some people take the time to learn keyboard shortcuts and set up macros and some people stick with the simplicity of the mouse, everyone approaches music production in different ways.....it's just that my way just happens to be right, so if you want to be awesome like me you should all switch over to Cubase.

After reading all of that, it took me by surprise that you don't use REAPER.

Cubase is pretty high up there in customization potential, but REAPER absolutely owns everyone in that category -- WALTER theme engine, Python support, DAW extensions, tons of hidden actions and macros waiting to be bound to keystrokes or MIDI commands, SWS extensions, etc.

-Ki
Salem Beats
 
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After reading all of that, it took me by surprise that you don't use REAPER.

Cubase is pretty high up there in customization potential, but REAPER absolutely owns everyone in that category -- WALTER theme engine, Python support, DAW extensions, tons of hidden actions and macros waiting to be bound to keystrokes or MIDI commands, SWS extensions, etc.

-Ki
Salem Beats

The thing is I already had Cubase set up the way I wanted long before REAPER came on the scene, for example I put in a lot of time creating MIDI device panels for most of my MIDI hardware which are also laid out to match my MIDI controllers and my MIDI hardware is connected via MIDEX interfaces which use Steinberg's LTB protocol to deliver the lowest possible output latencies...and I got a pile of patch scripts and drum maps, plus there is very little I can't already do using my wireless keyboard or MIDI controllers...in fact these days my tinkering is more centered on my plugins than my DAW.
 
The thing is I already had Cubase set up the way I wanted long before REAPER came on the scene, for example I put in a lot of time creating MIDI device panels for most of my MIDI hardware which are also laid out to match my MIDI controllers and my MIDI hardware is connected via MIDEX interfaces which use Steinberg's LTB protocol to deliver the lowest possible output latencies...and I got a pile of patch scripts and drum maps, plus there is very little I can't already do using my wireless keyboard or MIDI controllers...in fact these days my tinkering is more centered on my plugins than my DAW.

Yeah, REAPER and Cubase definitely hold the #1 and #2 spots when it comes to personalization potential.

-Ki
Salem Beats
 
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I suggest Cubase. It offers VST Support and also has some great quantize features. Cubase 7 has some great new features and if you choose to add vocal textures it comes with some great sound editing effects.
 
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