DAW Wars! - Change my mind

with industry Pro, Nick Batzdorf

Moderators: admin, mdc, TAXIstaff

User avatar
markismusic
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2018 5:21 pm
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by markismusic » Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:23 pm

Len911 wrote:
Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:41 am
I'll admit I'm biased against ProTools, and while my reasons may no longer be valid, they're very real, to me. When I first contemplated a DAW purchase, P/T was severely lacking; MIDI editing was rudimentary,

+1. I remember sweetwater recommended for me either pro tools or cubase. I remember pt came in a couple versions, the hd required very expensive interface cards and rtas plugins? $10,000 just wasn't in my budget,lol! Now they're what, aax plugins? I just never ever considered them since. I forgot tdm,lol!
Are you rocking cubase? 10k seems a bit outrageous even today for someone just starting out.

Len911
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 5351
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:13 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Peculiar, MO
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by Len911 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:33 pm

markismusic wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:23 pm
Len911 wrote:
Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:41 am
I'll admit I'm biased against ProTools, and while my reasons may no longer be valid, they're very real, to me. When I first contemplated a DAW purchase, P/T was severely lacking; MIDI editing was rudimentary,

+1. I remember sweetwater recommended for me either pro tools or cubase. I remember pt came in a couple versions, the hd required very expensive interface cards and rtas plugins? $10,000 just wasn't in my budget,lol! Now they're what, aax plugins? I just never ever considered them since. I forgot tdm,lol!
Are you rocking cubase? 10k seems a bit outrageous even today for someone just starting out.
That's the point, at the time, the "pro" version of pro tools was expensive and was geared toward pro audio studios, not someone just starting out,the semi-pro version for starting out was more native, but didn't have many of the features in other programs. Computers are more powerful today, however there are still programs that have separate dsp processing, like pro tools, uad, waves soundgrid.
https://soundcloud.com/huck-sawyer-finn
Not an expert on contemporary music

User avatar
mojobone
King of the World
King of the World
Posts: 11837
Joined: Sat May 17, 2008 4:20 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Up in Indiana, where the tall corn grows
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by mojobone » Mon Dec 31, 2018 12:08 pm

It's like the difference between ProTools Native and ProTools HD, except back then, there was no Native.
The Straight Stuff; Roots, Rock & Soul

http://twangfu.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/mojo_bone

Panzico
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2018 4:20 pm
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by Panzico » Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:32 am

I'm from the old school cakewalk days, but one of my employees got me going on FL Studio. Big learning curve like all of them, but they are very similar in function.

FL Studio can do it all, but a lot of people use it for EDM and rap beats. I've done piano solo work, country, rock, ethereal and even grunge with it.

User avatar
guscave
Committed Musician
Committed Musician
Posts: 836
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2004 3:48 am
Gender: Male
Location: miami, florida
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by guscave » Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:37 pm

I'm a bit of a gear geek and have always loved experimenting with different software and devices, but the thought of having to stop my production flow to learn a new DAW gives me the creeps... :? I went from Protools to Studio One a few years ago only because the learning curve wasn't too bad, but it still took me a few weeks to really get a good grip on it.

My advise, stick with what works best for you.

Sunset
Impressive
Impressive
Posts: 228
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:58 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Wilmington,De
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by Sunset » Fri Jan 11, 2019 5:24 pm

Mark,

Over the years the only Daw I have no knowledge of is Pro Tools( no reason why). I have switched to Cubase in the last 1 1./2 year coming over from Logic.

That being said, I have no axe to grind against Logic, Live, Dp, or other Mac based daws (yes I'm, a Mac user, so can't comment about studio one, etc)...

For me Cubase works best( and I have about 2 years of tracks sent to Taxi through Logic) ...

Reasons.. 1 workflow and optics of the daw suit me well in Cubase..it's easy to get up and running in a new project 2. The editing- midi and audio-is comfortable For me to use. 3. there is enough features for me to plow thorough all styles andI get low latency mixes every time. and very important.... 4. there is a wealth of info online and though services like groove 3 and Mac Pro video to get new knowledge.

So for me it works the best.. and I don't disrespect any other daw- having used a few-for my daily use.. it's my comfortable old pair of shoes...

John

LongBlackNight
Getting Busy
Getting Busy
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2014 6:40 pm
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by LongBlackNight » Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:49 am

mojobone wrote:
Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:52 am

It was mean, lean and clean as a whistle; it was Tracktion, version one. Tracktion 2 defaulted to all destructive edits (cuts) being moved to the nearest zero crossing, eliminating most digital clicks and pops, and P/T didn't get this, 'til version 10. T3 introduced a track freeze option that didn't really work, and after that, due to some poor decisions, it basically became abandonware, but it still worked, and I still used it, for about seven years, cuz it was still better than the alternatives, 'til versions 4 thru 7 came out, but the biggest reason I kept on was because it was designed for tracking and didn't have a bunch of confusing views/windows; it's the interface, stupid, and Tracktion's was one screen, but context-sensitive, according to what was selected, with obvious left to right signal flow, and the master section at the bottom, like any math problem you ever saw in school. I struggled for over a week with Cubase, but I could grok Tracktion 2 in less than half an afternoon. THAT is what sold me, and the workflow is slick as ever.
Hi Mojobone,

I have been a long time Cakewalk user (since Pro 9 and through Sonar 7). Recently, I updated my system to Win 10 and, to my chagrin, found that my XP version of Sonar would not function correctly (kept crashing and hanging and exhibited long latencies). I've been going through a whirlwind evaluation of DAWs: StudioOne, Reason, Reaper, Samplitude, BitWig, and Tracktion. I agree with you about Tracktion. I love the simplicity and the "well, duh, of course that's how it should be done" workflow. There are a few put-offs, which are keeping me from buying it (haven't selected my DAW yet). As one example: the audio input meter/object, which unexpectedly clips the signal at whatever input trim you set, and on top of that only indicates clipping when you set it at +5 and you hit that mark. Also, 'm a little concerned that Tracktion is functional enough to do things like serious midi editing. All that said, I may purchase it along with something else.

All in all, I have not found anything that is as good as Cakewalk in terms of straightforwardness and, in particular, simplicity and extent of midi editing. The idea of simply having all data go into a self-contained clips that can be multiply recorded or copied onto a single track, separately muted, overlaid and combined with others, and have their own envelopes is a no-brainer to me. But no one else seems to do that. They all only allow one clip to be in foreground (yes, Reason has lanes, but I find Reason's refusal to just record all the CCs coming out of my controller to be unworkable for me), and some have unusual ways of enforcing that.

As the smoke clears, Bitwig is looking like a strong contender, along with Tracktion. I have yet to try MuLab, which I will do before punching up my credit card. I was turned off by reports about Cubase that the copy protect (dongle and such) made using it unpleasant, and I don't want to go to war with my DAW just to unlock it for use. Maybe you or someone has something to add about this.

Just my 2 cents into the kitty.

Len911
Total Pro
Total Pro
Posts: 5351
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:13 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Peculiar, MO
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by Len911 » Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:41 am

LongBlackNight wrote:
Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:49 am
mojobone wrote:
Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:52 am

I was turned off by reports about Cubase that the copy protect (dongle and such) made using it unpleasant, and I don't want to go to war with my DAW just to unlock it for use. Maybe you or someone has something to add about this.

the upside to a dongle, whether e-licenser or ilok, is that you can use the software on any computer and never need to mess with reauthorizing or reactivate the software for any reason.
https://soundcloud.com/huck-sawyer-finn
Not an expert on contemporary music

User avatar
mojobone
King of the World
King of the World
Posts: 11837
Joined: Sat May 17, 2008 4:20 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Up in Indiana, where the tall corn grows
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by mojobone » Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:51 pm

LongBlackNight wrote:
Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:49 am
mojobone wrote:
Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:52 am

It was mean, lean and clean as a whistle; it was Tracktion, version one. Tracktion 2 defaulted to all destructive edits (cuts) being moved to the nearest zero crossing, eliminating most digital clicks and pops, and P/T didn't get this, 'til version 10. T3 introduced a track freeze option that didn't really work, and after that, due to some poor decisions, it basically became abandonware, but it still worked, and I still used it, for about seven years, cuz it was still better than the alternatives, 'til versions 4 thru 7 came out, but the biggest reason I kept on was because it was designed for tracking and didn't have a bunch of confusing views/windows; it's the interface, stupid, and Tracktion's was one screen, but context-sensitive, according to what was selected, with obvious left to right signal flow, and the master section at the bottom, like any math problem you ever saw in school. I struggled for over a week with Cubase, but I could grok Tracktion 2 in less than half an afternoon. THAT is what sold me, and the workflow is slick as ever.
Hi Mojobone,

I have been a long time Cakewalk user (since Pro 9 and through Sonar 7). Recently, I updated my system to Win 10 and, to my chagrin, found that my XP version of Sonar would not function correctly (kept crashing and hanging and exhibited long latencies). I've been going through a whirlwind evaluation of DAWs: StudioOne, Reason, Reaper, Samplitude, BitWig, and Tracktion. I agree with you about Tracktion. I love the simplicity and the "well, duh, of course that's how it should be done" workflow. There are a few put-offs, which are keeping me from buying it (haven't selected my DAW yet). As one example: the audio input meter/object, which unexpectedly clips the signal at whatever input trim you set, and on top of that only indicates clipping when you set it at +5 and you hit that mark. Also, 'm a little concerned that Tracktion is functional enough to do things like serious midi editing. All that said, I may purchase it along with something else.

All in all, I have not found anything that is as good as Cakewalk in terms of straightforwardness and, in particular, simplicity and extent of midi editing. The idea of simply having all data go into a self-contained clips that can be multiply recorded or copied onto a single track, separately muted, overlaid and combined with others, and have their own envelopes is a no-brainer to me. But no one else seems to do that. They all only allow one clip to be in foreground (yes, Reason has lanes, but I find Reason's refusal to just record all the CCs coming out of my controller to be unworkable for me), and some have unusual ways of enforcing that.

As the smoke clears, Bitwig is looking like a strong contender, along with Tracktion. I have yet to try MuLab, which I will do before punching up my credit card. I was turned off by reports about Cubase that the copy protect (dongle and such) made using it unpleasant, and I don't want to go to war with my DAW just to unlock it for use. Maybe you or someone has something to add about this.

Just my 2 cents into the kitty.
Well, Tracktion 7 is a free download, and you may be pleased to learn that Bandlab has a free version of Sonar which should be compatible with Windows 10, but I can't personally guarantee it.

I don't understand your issue with input trims; I adjust gain using the interface's tools and I've never encountered unexpected clipping; in fact the input meters reflect a little room for error, per the manual. I don't care for the loop record behavior, but I can very quickly work around it; my fave feature is that you can bus any track to any other track, build whatever sort of mixer you need, and drag plugins onto clips. The Racks feature is also way cool, but I barely use it.
The Straight Stuff; Roots, Rock & Soul

http://twangfu.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/mojo_bone

jwamusic
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue May 26, 2020 4:55 pm
Gender: Male
Contact:

Re: DAW Wars! - Change my mind

Post by jwamusic » Wed May 27, 2020 9:07 am

I too am a Cakewalk/Sonar user. I have used ProTools a bit, but not extensively. When I first switched from recording on tape (Tascam 85-16B 1" 16 track) to DAW in 1999 I started out using TwelveTones Cakewalk ProAudio 6. I went through about 10 versions and am now using BandLab Cakewalk. There are probably better DAWs out there, but familiarity is my reason for staying with Cakewalk. Plus, I bought me a Sonar V-Studio console Vs-700C by Roland about 10 years ago and I doubt it will work with other DAWs. I love working with a controller. It has a learning curve, but is much better than working with strictly a mouse.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests