 Picking a main DAW |
3nigma
Newbie
Registration Date: 01-09-2009
Posts: 1
 |
|
I'm down to 3 options. Over the wintertime I'm going to be extensively learning how to create music, messing with things, etc. The question is, which DAW should I devote all of my time into?
1. Cubase SX 3
2. FL Studio 8 XXL
3. Ableton Live 8
Of course, pro-tools would probably go to top priority if I had any access to it, but for now I don't (Until I buy some M-Audio equipment maybe next year). The one I know best so far is FL Studio. I've got a pretty good understanding of it already, I just have to learn some more from tutorials and mess with some minor stuff. But yeah. Opinions? I've heard Cubase is extremely good, and Ableton is amazing as well.
But, I plan on switching from these 3 as well. I know lots of people that rewire things and using them to their preferences, so I might end up doing that, but I still need to really extensively learn one program. Thanks in advance for any replies.
|
|
|
08-09-2009 08:56 |
|
|
demure 
mastication fo de nation
Registration Date: 22-01-2009
Posts: 921
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
just go with whatever you feel comfortable with man it dont matter which you choose
they are basically all the same just a different way of workin
|
|
|
08-09-2009 09:27 |
|
|
Zugzwang
Doin' it for the love
Registration Date: 13-05-2009
Posts: 206
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
I've used FL for a couple years and I love it. However, I have not used either Cubase or Ableton so I cannot give you an unbiased answer.
What I will say though, is that your DAW should be something intuitive to use, that allows you to express yourself without having to stumble through the interface. Like if you have an idea, you can throw it down and hear what it sounds like. You don't want to have to sit there and be microscopically precise when you're drawing a note or have trouble drawing triplets, slicing breaks, etc.
So I recommend you find some trials (or torrents 
) of Cubase and Ableton, or any other DAW you are looking into, and try it for yourself and see if it's any good. Of course you will never pick up a DAW and have the ultimate workflow immediately, you have to learn the keyboard shortcuts and the interface. But if it looks promising, why not go for it? Hell why don't you write one tune in Cubase and another in FL? Who says you have to use just one DAW?
The reason that I like FL is that the interface is really the most intuitive one I have used. It's simple, and it was made to be simple, and that's what I like about it. The synths all fucking suck, the FX that come with it are horrible, but everything else is perfect for me, and that is why I use it. I use FL for the drag-and-drop sampling, the easy-breezy automation, the piano roll, the playlist etc. But the synths and FX I leave to other VSTs. Sometimes I ReWire Reason into it.
The point being that FL is NOT perfect, but my workflow is great when I use it and I have no technical issues like 'How do I route this instrument?' when I am trying to be creative.
That being said, you can achieve that sort of workflow with any DAW that you spend time with. I recommend you play around and find one that seems right for you.
But like they say, it's not the DAW, it's how you use it.
|
|
|
08-09-2009 09:27 |
|
|
m-ej
Master Producer
Registration Date: 08-05-2008
Posts: 637
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
| quote: |
Originally posted by Zugzwang
What I will say though, is that your DAW should be something intuitive to use, that allows you to express yourself without having to stumble through the interface.
|
i quite argee m8.
try presonus studio one, real easy to get along with.
__
m-ej is taking a few steps back from forum life.
|
|
|
08-09-2009 09:36 |
|
|
Crispy Liquids
Liquid Funkateer
Registration Date: 22-05-2005
Posts: 251
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
The way I see it, ableton will actually give you more posibilities in a similar working environment. Cubase on the other hand, is "accepted by all", but many methods to do simple things make me frown however, like simply creating a send track.. I heard that was really just retarded in cubase.
So if you have to choose ableton or cubase, I'd really go for extending your posibilities and take the ableton live route 
__
Crispy Liquids on Soundcloud Facebook Myspace
|
|
|
08-09-2009 10:01 |
|
|
cynik
Cp6uja
Registration Date: 15-03-2005
Posts: 5,646
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
|
|
08-09-2009 11:36 |
|
|
thechronic
admin
Registration Date: 01-11-2002
Posts: 5,293
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
Every DAW has its merits. Some are better for composing (FL Studio, Ableton), others are better for mixing and editing (Cubase, Pro Tools).
I would suggest you spend some time with the demo versions of each, see for yourself which suits you best. Every DAW works a bit differently and unfortunately you need to spend a LOT of time to get to know it well. This makes recommendations very biased, as most people would recommend the DAW they are most familiar with. If you know the ins and outs of one particular DAW all others can seem overly complex and unintuitive
I've now committed myself to dump the DAW I'm comfortable with and switch to something completely different, I hope that a change of scenery will give me new insights. But it is so tempting to go back to the old one when I need to get something done quickly...
__
If you find spam on the site, please hit the  button and select my name. I'll personally kick it to the murky depths of hell where it belongs! 
|
|
|
08-09-2009 13:43 |
|
|
CULTURE BOY
v v v iv a record missing
Registration Date: 12-01-2007
Posts: 1,415
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
|
|
08-09-2009 15:43 |
|
|
Tomos
Infidel
Registration Date: 15-04-2007
Posts: 2,276
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
DAWs are like religions. You tend to think that the one you started with is the best one.
__
MySpace | Soundcloud | Drumnbass.be | Facebook
"It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." Carl Sagan
|
|
|
08-09-2009 19:27 |
|
|
Puzzle
..zebra?
Registration Date: 27-05-2008
Posts: 724
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
| quote: |
Originally posted by Tomos
DAWs are like religions. You tend to think that the one you started with is the best one. |
So true, I'm guilty of that myself
But there's nothing I don't like about my FL, so why change?
__
SoundCloud
Facebook
YouTube
|
|
|
08-09-2009 19:51 |
|
|
brucifer
Making all the tunes your mum loves
Registration Date: 23-10-2007
Posts: 997
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
| quote: |
Originally posted by Tomos
DAWs are like religions. You tend to think that the one you started with is the best one. |
Thats why I'm an athiest then Tomos, I swapped and changed all the time when I started.
Anyway, Reason is the real god
I didn't like Cubase 3 at all, no idea what 5 is like. Live was ok, but I thought it was over rated. I know a lot of people who thought it was fantastic a few years back and have since moved on. I thought FLstudio was gash at first, but it is quite an amazing and fun program the further you delve into it.
I would choose FL, but I really like Reason, due to the fact you set things up like an analogue studio.
But in all honesty, I wouldn't choose what program to use from a poll on an internet forum, go and see them all in action in a shop.
__
|
|
|
08-09-2009 22:21 |
|
|
Saikonutta
not helpful ^^
Registration Date: 09-11-2006
Posts: 275
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
| quote: |
| The one I know best so far is FL Studio. |
| quote: |
| I don't like escargots |
idd, most of the time, u prefer what u 'know'...
imo the more different flavors you've tried, the better you can decide...
|
|
|
09-09-2009 10:36 |
|
|
BattleDrone
2161... the future.
Registration Date: 30-12-2005
Posts: 6,413
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
I have an extensive background in tracker based composing, nowadays represented in form of Renoise, it looks more complex but it works too. Not that I would try to push you into that direction, just to mention that I have experience with totaly different approaches to composing.
I tried Reason in the past and didn't like the way things are set up. After all you are in the digital world (Daw) so why mess around with cables and make everything look like it is rackmounted? If you had a background in analog gear the switch would be easier, but I'm guessing you don't have that so why bother?
Have tried Cubase 3 in the past (came in lite version with my soudcard), could not feel the approach at all. Also Ableton Live was free in lite-form. Same comment actually. There's a lot of nice stuff in there, but the interface is just "the horror" and I don't like the idea of having to rightclick all kinds of mysterious elements to find extra menus and options, I did check some youtube videos on composing with this daw.
I tried Cockos Reaper, it is very cheap and gets respect from a big crowd, but I find it hard to deal with and very unintuitive, a real inspiration killer.
I tried Presonus Studio One a couple of weeks ago and was not impressed, to me this looks like just another DAW that looks like Cubase or Reaper.
I prefer FL studio, been using it a long time. It alows me to be very creative, but the technical qualities need to improve (automatic latency compensation, track freezing,...) the mixdown is often a letdown for me, the sound seems hollow and has a slight short delayed echo on it at times. But then again I see others who manage to create fantastic tunes in FL (people like Tomos or Culture Boy to name a couple) and even some top producers like Spor seem to use it.
__
 Check my soundcloud (exclusive tracks on there)
|
|
|
09-09-2009 12:32 |
|
|
CULTURE BOY
v v v iv a record missing
Registration Date: 12-01-2007
Posts: 1,415
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
|
|
09-09-2009 12:56 |
|
|
m-ej
Master Producer
Registration Date: 08-05-2008
Posts: 637
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
| quote: |
Originally posted by BattleDrone
I have an extensive background in tracker based composing, nowadays represented in form of Renoise, it looks more complex but it works too. Not that I would try to push you into that direction, just to mention that I have experience with totaly different approaches to composing.
I tried Reason in the past and didn't like the way things are set up. After all you are in the digital world (Daw) so why mess around with cables and make everything look like it is rackmounted? If you had a background in analog gear the switch would be easier, but I'm guessing you don't have that so why bother?
Have tried Cubase 3 in the past (came in lite version with my soudcard), could not feel the approach at all. Also Ableton Live was free in lite-form. Same comment actually. There's a lot of nice stuff in there, but the interface is just "the horror" and I don't like the idea of having to rightclick all kinds of mysterious elements to find extra menus and options, I did check some youtube videos on composing with this daw.
I tried Cockos Reaper, it is very cheap and gets respect from a big crowd, but I find it hard to deal with and very unintuitive, a real inspiration killer.
I tried Presonus Studio One a couple of weeks ago and was not impressed, to me this looks like just another DAW that looks like Cubase or Reaper.
I prefer FL studio, been using it a long time. It alows me to be very creative, but the technical qualities need to improve (automatic latency compensation, track freezing,...) the mixdown is often a letdown for me, the sound seems hollow and has a slight short delayed echo on it at times. But then again I see others who manage to create fantastic tunes in FL (people like Tomos or Culture Boy to name a couple) and even some top producers like Spor seem to use it. |
no ableton b/d m8?
__
m-ej is taking a few steps back from forum life.
|
|
|
09-09-2009 13:09 |
|
|
Muad'Dib
Andrejnalin
Registration Date: 02-12-2003
Posts: 4,197
Helpfulness rating:
|
|
| quote: |
Originally posted by BattleDrone
I prefer FL studio, been using it a long time. It alows me to be very creative, but the technical qualities need to improve (automatic latency compensation, track freezing,...) the mixdown is often a letdown for me, the sound seems hollow and has a slight short delayed echo on it at times. But then again I see others who manage to create fantastic tunes in FL (people like Tomos or Culture Boy to name a couple) and even some top producers like Spor seem to use it. |
I never noticed these issues with FL. Could you explain them a bit further?
__
Thinking about becoming an Image-Line/FL Studio customer? Want a 10% reduction in price? Use this affiliate link:
http://affiliate.image-line.com/BADEBDG473
There is no such thing without its opposite
-Bene Gesserit
|
|
|
09-09-2009 13:54 |
|
|
duckmonster
Newbie
Registration Date: 13-09-2009
Posts: 2
|
|
I'm dead keen on Ableton, but sometimes find it a bit hard to really just get spazzy on the drums like I used to with the old trackers.
Tried my hand back on a tracker the other day, and just couldn't do it anymore. I think Ableton has spoiled me.
|
|
|
13-09-2009 16:37 |
|
|
|
