What DAW are you using, and how would you review it?

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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    To be honest, given how slow and clunky the GUI is in Cubase I'm not really gaining much with the autofades/default fade options over doing all the extra actions in S1 anyway.  I'm going to continue to use it over the full 30 day trial, but unless there's an update fixing the sluggishness I'd be unlikely to buy a license.
    What video card have you got? I get no sluggish response - it smooth and very fast. You can customise your views and save them - it's about setting up the workflow that suits you.

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • GilgaFrankGilgaFrank Frets: 23
    I've used Cubase since it came on two floppy disks for the Atari 1040. The computer has changed to a Windows PC and it's a few versions on but it's still Cubase for me.

    I've got Reason installed but I use it more as an expansion for Cubase. Also bought Reaper but I just find it to be a badly laid-out mess most of the time, things are never where I expect them to be so I end up using Cubase every time.
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Fretwired said:
    To be honest, given how slow and clunky the GUI is in Cubase I'm not really gaining much with the autofades/default fade options over doing all the extra actions in S1 anyway.  I'm going to continue to use it over the full 30 day trial, but unless there's an update fixing the sluggishness I'd be unlikely to buy a license.
    What video card have you got? I get no sluggish response - it smooth and very fast. You can customise your views and save them - it's about setting up the workflow that suits you.

    I seem to have got to the bottom of it, went through the menu unchecking anything unecessary and it seems it might be something to do with hitpoints.  Whatever it was, it's working more smoothly now
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  • duotoneduotone Frets: 972
    StudioOne user here. Tbh I haven't spent enough time with it yet to be able to use it confidently, am still very much in the beginning stages. 

    Using StudioOne as it came with my Presonus audio interface I bought, mainly bought that one as it works with iPad & PC, most of the other ones seemed to only work with one or the other & I didn't want to end up buying another one further down the line.

    Am tempted to try Reaper due to all the praise it gets on here, but will resist and persevere with what I have.  It definitely does way more than I would need to use it for, but I guess that's the good thing, that once you have it you can pretty much use it for any project 
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Apple Logic Pro X. (Began with Logic 8.)

    @guitarfishbay What - other than lassitude or a change of host computer - prompted you to consider abandoning Logic? 
    Be seeing you.
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  • blobbblobb Frets: 2914
    Record into Cubase, mix in Mixbus.
    Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953

    Multiple issues, mostly around editing.

    No slip edit

    Fades not as user friendly as other programs

    Restrictive way of handling comping versus other programs

    Historical poor waveform drawing - though this is fixed in 10.3 for me. Previously it would draw as a blob until zoomed in super close, making it hard to see anything

    Flextime bugs - unsure if these are now fixed but I prefer slip editing by hand anyway.

    Track limit, which seems arbitrary given you can power off tracks. 

    --------

    It wasn't purely based on negatives, some of the reasons I checked out Studio One 3 were

    Scratch Pads. Super useful for A/Bing things, have used it a lot when writing vocal harmonies. 

    Instant access to Melodyne including at take level. However in practice just having slip on the event level of comping has meant I've not needed this, though theoretically it is still an advantage as Notes could be stretched in Melodyne across take boundaries.

    Event FX with recall of original audio. Kind of like an easily reversible bounce in place
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  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    edited June 2017
    Reaper here. I tried a few different DAWs when I first started with the Eleven Rack - Pro Tools, Cubase etc - and just didn't "get" it. Nothing really clicked until I tried Reaper, and everything instantly came together. The whole interface is incredibly logical to my mind, and the price is incredible for the features you get (not least the ability to split the processing across multiple machines). Not only that, but when you buy a licence you also get all the upgrades for the next two versions.

    As an added bonus...even if you don't buy Reaper, you can download the entire plugin pack for free for use with any other DAW that supports VSTs.
    Agree with all this, plus what @stratman3142 says. I've used Reaper for years and to me the layout is the most logical of all the DAWs. That said I'm hardly a "power user" - I rarely use more than 4-5 tracks for the kind of thing I record. I used Pro Tools a lot at uni, more for audio for video (5.1 mixes and all that stuff) but still not a huge fan of it, to me it just feels clunky. If I was in a proper studio environment I can see how it'd be useful though, the engineer we recorded with yesterday was a wizz with it and made it all look effortless. I'm sure you can probably get Reaper to behave in a similar way if you want though.

    Oh and Ableton is disgusting, what a cluttered horrid mess.
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  • wave100wave100 Frets: 150
    TTBZ said:


    Oh and Ableton is disgusting, what a cluttered horrid mess.
    I think you are doing Ableton a disservice - it has a different work flow to Reaper and more "time line" oriented DAWs but is excellent for throwing some loops together quickly if you are doing more "dancy" tunes. I am in the process of finishing an album, all the tracks (except 1) were started in Ableton then exported to Cubase to be finished off. I also record more song based material for which Ableton is not the best choice (for me anyway, I suspect more experienced Ableton users might not find this to be the case.)

    I also have the intention of performing some of my album live, for which I will be exporting loops from Cubase then using Ableton to play them back as required. It's all about choosing the best tool for the job.
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  • frank1985frank1985 Frets: 523
    FL studio user here...I know there are probably better DAWs out there but it looks pretty and is very intuitive.  
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  • FreebirdFreebird Frets: 5821
    edited June 2017
    equalsql said:
    I use and recommend Cockos Reaper. It's an incredibly powerful DAW at a very low price: $60.

    It can seem daunting to new users, but actually it's quite easy to use.

    The trial version IS the actual full version, registration is honour based. There is a great user community and loads of free training videos.  It supports all the usual plug-in standards and comes with a decent selection of signal processing VSTs.

    Natively it is perhaps not as pretty as other DAWs but because the theme-engine is open to 3rd party developers there are plenty of superb free themes available built by enthusiastic supporters.

    If there is a down side it's that no VST instruments are supplied.

    My only big criticism of Reaper is that is does not support MIDI feedback to controllers natively.

    It is supported when using the Mackie protocols so controllers like the Icon QCon, Panama 4 keyboard work fine with their supported implementations, but if you are using something like the MIDI Fighter Twister rotary controller, if you make a change to a mapped controller input on the screen, it is not reflected back on the physical controller's display. However recently someone has scripted a tempory(?) solution to this.
    see:

    http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=94384&page=5

    Kenny Gioia is your friend ... http://www.cockos.com/reaper/videos.php
    If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.
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  • TheBigDipperTheBigDipper Frets: 4722
    On MacOS, Logic Pro. It's more powerful than I need, in truth - I'm mainly throwing together demos and only scratching the surface. I'd still be on GarageBand, recording mic'd up audio if it wasn't that I am also using some software instruments and software drummers. Some of the stuff I'm working on has different time signatures (and tempos) within one piece - which GB doesn't support and Logic does. I'm OK with the MIDI editor but rarely edit any audio files apart from trimming them a bit sometimes. I find it easier just to do another take. 

    The Logic user interface needs a big monitor and isn't that intuitive until you've used it a bit. The free iPad control interface is useful for controlling recording when you're nowhere near the computer keyboard. 

    I've tried out Ableton (agree that the workflow is different but just as valid) and Studio One (liked that, but felt I was too far down the Logic tunnel)
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  • Logic X here. Been using since 8.

    For a value I think it's probably the best along with Reaper. I generally don't use a lot of the 'advanced' features like flex-time and so on (i make bands work for the results ;) ) so those might be lost on me a bit but the mixing features are excellent and the piano roll is the best in the business.

    Also, Apple seem to be updating it regularly with really good features; unlike their other pro apps!

    If I was a Windows user I'd certainly be using Reaper, but I've also used Audition in the past but I think that is very much audio-for-video based as far as workflow goes.

    I think Bitwig Studio looks very interesting; might trial that for fun soon.
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  • HeartfeltdawnHeartfeltdawn Frets: 22096
    I started out with Cubase 3.55 when I was at uni 20 years ago. Reaper is my preferred choice in partnership with Adobe Audition for editing audio files and Audiomulch for fucking about with sound. 







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  • mellowsunmellowsun Frets: 2422
    I miss Opcode Studio Vision. Still the best, fastest, most stable DAW ever made, and ran in tiny amounts of RAM. Great MIDI functionality too. Sadly they got bought by Gibson (of all people) and killed off.


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  • SnapSnap Frets: 6256
    I first used Cubase in about 1997 (!) and then FruityLoops, Acid and Cakewalk. I've used it since. Have been using Sonar Platinum since it came out (2015 I think) and have got the lifetime updates.

    I really like it. Previous incarnation of Sonar were a bit glitchy, but the new Sonar is very solid. Its chock full of VSTs as well - you genuienly do have all you would need in it. The bundled synths are very good, and the plugins are top notch. Its got some very neat features too.

    The compressors are particularly good, as is the Nomad bundle (brilliant range of stuff in there). The Sonitsu FX are good, as are the Cakewalk native stuff.

    Platinum comes bundled with Overloud TH2 & 3 which are good guitar suites (probably better sounding than GuitarRig)

    Mix Recall is useful - you save versions of your mix and can jump back and forth really easily
    Pro Channel - channel strips that are very extensive
    Automations for track - easy drawing in of panning and volume through a track

    The mastering stuff is very good too - intuitive and high quality.

    Downside - its big and there is almost limitless stuff to learn which can be a bit daunting. Having said that, it is very easy to get up and running quickly, to quite a high level of quality too.

    The update system is good - somthing comes out most months, and often there are good extras added in, whether that be a new plugin or feature (so its not just bug fixes etc)

    Couldn't recommend it enough tbh.

    Two of my favourite synths are Cakewalk too - Rapture Pro and zeta+2, Crackers
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  • IMC1980IMC1980 Frets: 141
    Snap said:
    I first used Cubase in about 1997 (!) and then FruityLoops, Acid and Cakewalk. I've used it since. Have been using Sonar Platinum since it came out (2015 I think) and have got the lifetime updates.

    I really like it. Previous incarnation of Sonar were a bit glitchy, but the new Sonar is very solid. Its chock full of VSTs as well - you genuienly do have all you would need in it. The bundled synths are very good, and the plugins are top notch. Its got some very neat features too.

    The compressors are particularly good, as is the Nomad bundle (brilliant range of stuff in there). The Sonitsu FX are good, as are the Cakewalk native stuff.

    Platinum comes bundled with Overloud TH2 & 3 which are good guitar suites (probably better sounding than GuitarRig)

    Mix Recall is useful - you save versions of your mix and can jump back and forth really easily
    Pro Channel - channel strips that are very extensive
    Automations for track - easy drawing in of panning and volume through a track

    The mastering stuff is very good too - intuitive and high quality.

    Downside - its big and there is almost limitless stuff to learn which can be a bit daunting. Having said that, it is very easy to get up and running quickly, to quite a high level of quality too.

    The update system is good - somthing comes out most months, and often there are good extras added in, whether that be a new plugin or feature (so its not just bug fixes etc)

    Couldn't recommend it enough tbh.

    Two of my favourite synths are Cakewalk too - Rapture Pro and zeta+2, Crackers
    Forgot to mention the Blue Tubes and Sonitus! The Nomad Analog chorus and Tempo delay and used on most of my tracks and the Sonitus multiband is suchard a low CPU hit, you can use it (gently) on most buses to tighten things up.
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  • SnapSnap Frets: 6256
    HAve you used any of the new multiband and EQ that have just been bundled> the VST3 ones? They are good, but I think they are quite heavy on resources. Sound brill though.
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    edited June 2017
    Well my decision may well be made for me.  My LDC, an AT4040, has slowly developed some kind of fault.  Took me a while to figure it was the mic due to initially sporadic presentation of the fault (loss of high end and increased noise floor), but now it's just not going to be usable.

    I've got an SM7B I'm using to do a bunch of harmony stuff but I really did like the condenser high end for the lead vocal and still have another 9 lead vocals to track with my current project... So now need to decide.  Options...

    1. Just use the SM7B, cost is zero and it sounds fine, I just preferred the high end from the AT4040. 

    2. Replace/repair the AT4040.  This seems a sensible solution as we just carry on as is.

    3. Replace with a different LDC.  This is possibly the worst, or the best solution.  Mostly because I haven't got any personal experience of using other vocal mics.  I like the idea of the AT4047 in that it should be a bit thicker and have more character than the 4040, but by the same token there's no guarantee it'd be an improvement and also it costs more.  Other than that I'm not sure what to go for.  Writing this down kind of leans me towards 2 tbh.

    Spending on a mic would mean I'd forget about Cubase for now.  On a bit of a (self imagined) time limit as the singer goes travelling at the end of next month, it wouldn't be the end of the world but I wanted to get the main vocals down before he did go, ideally I'd like to have a decision in time for resuming lead vocal tracking on Tuesday.


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  • IMC1980IMC1980 Frets: 141
    Snap said:
    HAve you used any of the new multiband and EQ that have just been bundled> the VST3 ones? They are good, but I think they are quite heavy on resources. Sound brill though.
    The LP MB and EQ? I used the LP EQ on a guitar bus in M/S configuration, helped to add some sparkle to some dull acoustic recordings. Not used the multiband or the new adaptive limiter yet, but will probably use them on the master bus for demos. 
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