2018: What DAW do you use?

[MikeRobinson]

Thank you for the clarification, M57.  

 

Also, I certainly do not intend to create any sort of "versus" comparison between the various products.  That sort of nonsense is irrelevant.  As is the case in all professional industries, certain products are established standards that you effectively must use, because of issues such as file-compatibility and the simple necessity of being able to produce a guaranteed work-product at the end of the day when that's what all of you, working together, are doing for a living.  (And you all just suck-it-up 😉 and  write off "license expenses" on your corporate taxes.)

 

Nonetheless – MuseScore fulfilled 100% of my [amateur] purposes and I use it constantly.  My assessment is that "it's as 'professional-grade' as I could have hoped for," and I certainly don't say this about every open-source tool that comes along!  I also find that the MusicXML format, which is its underlying native file-structure, is easily transportable among other programs (including Logic Pro X, my chosen DAW).

 

So, I guess that I'm a "spoiled MuseScore user!"  😀

Edited August 21, 2018 by MikeRobinson

[starise]

Notion which is another notation program is also probably worth a look if you use Studio One as your main daw it piggybacks nicely right into that program. I had considered Notion but I haven't decided yet. I don't want to spend too much money on notation software. I was mainly looking for something to scan scores and turn them into midi.

 

Can you tell me if any of these offer access to online sheet music libraries as a part of the program purchase? Or do they have access to scanning functions which could then be transferred into the program for construction in midi?

[MikeRobinson]

I know that MuseScore encourages a library of contributed scores, which of course are "scores" since they're MusicXML. I also know that there are many, many libraries of (public domain) MIDI.

[Olive Fromm]

i have used the same bootlegged cubase 5 for about 15 years :/

[john]

1 hour ago, Olive Fromm said:

i have used the same bootlegged cubase 5 for about 15 years 😕

 

Time for an upgrade? Lol

[Capo3tanya]

Ooo I can answer this now yae!!! I am the proud new owner of Studio One 4 Artist. 

[starise]

Congrats! You're off to a good start.

[Capo3tanya]

3 hours ago, starise said:

Congrats! You're off to a good start.

 

Thanks Starise I am SOOO excited!  And nervous lol. 

[Jakes Empire]

Ableton Live for me. It's kind of ugly, but it's superfast and easy to use. Especially the warp functions on audio clips and the way it handles samples. I used to do Logic, but I switched because Ableton seemed to be the main thing among tutorials on Youtube and I liked to follow that.

 

Notation software I use Sibelius.

[medis]

I used Ableton Live once, but when i try Presonus Studio 3 my world changed forever. In my opinion this program beat ableton in many ways  

[starise]

Jakes- I have Ableton 10 but haven't used it much. Makes sense you would go where the tutorials are. The new version changed a few things with file management and some of the graphics were changed in small ways. Most users commented that it hadn't changed very much.

If anything going to only 64 bit clipped a lot of wings. I understand that it has a good outcome eventually.

[Tennis123]

What does everyone recommend for a beginner who is not using apple products? 

[M57]

52 minutes ago, Tennis123 said:

What does everyone recommend for a beginner who is not using apple products? 

Buy a Mac. 🤣

 

But seriously.. What do you want to do?  Record just yourself? ..yourself and others? Are you looking for synth-heavy, drop in the beat-centric composing, or are you a 100% homegrown acoustic purist?  What is your workflow like, or what do you think it will be like?  Read up on the differences.  Take a look at screen-shots and watch you-tube videos of them in action.

 

OR just get a Mac and go with Logic and never look back. (that's my recommendation and I have no biases 

[Tennis123]

21 hours ago, M57 said:

Buy a Mac. 🤣

 

But seriously.. What do you want to do?  Record just yourself? ..yourself and others? Are you looking for synth-heavy, drop in the beat-centric composing, or are you a 100% homegrown acoustic purist?  What is your workflow like, or what do you think it will be like?  Read up on the differences.  Take a look at screen-shots and watch you-tube videos of them in action.

 

OR just get a Mac and go with Logic and never look back. (that's my recommendation and I have no biases 

 

Haha! That's hilarious but the way my student life is set up (aka broke) I can't get a Mac for now.

 

I'm looking to record myself and do my own bgvs too. Actually just looking to use simplistic instrumental tracks as the basis for my recordings for the time being. Then maybe when I gain some knowledge through trial and error I could add synths and experiment. I'm literally a brand new beginner. 

[Capo3tanya]

Hey @Tennis123, i'm not new to music but I certainly am to recording. Newborn baby! Check out the "i wanna mix" thread in recording/production area. I scoured it today and got some invaluable references out of it. I'm so excited!

[geographyhorse]

 I'm using logic pro.

[Rasmus Laks]

I recommend Cubase, which I'm using also myself.

But for the ones, who want to try something for no cost, I'd suggest to look for Reaper, a nice easy to use and free DAW. 

[1ndividual One]

On 7/12/2018 at 5:00 AM, starise said:

I was a bit of a daw snob at one time.

 

I think we can tend to get stuck in a rut and miss what else is out there. Now I use multiple daws. My main daw is still Cakewalk by Bandlab ( which is FREE now BTW) I once payed for it. 

I also use Studio One Professional, Mixcraft Pro 8 and Ableton Live 10.

 

All I currently use is Ableton but t since it's free I actually just now decided to download Cakewalk and try it out. 

 

Use to use Cubase and fruityloops but that was years ago.

[Fimus Tauri]

It would be a lot of help if you told us what a "DAW" is - we do not all use acronyms

[Peggy]

21 minutes ago, Fimus Tauri said:

It would be a lot of help if you told us what a "DAW" is - we do not all use acronyms

A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files.