Poll: How many DAWs do you use?

[festeringheap]

I don't think any DAW user can speak accurately for any other DAW user. We can only speak for ourselves. We all have different needs and in the process of learning our tools, we all learn different habits.

What is with this calm measured logical post here? Unacceptable!

[Topcheese]

There is nothing wrong with using a single DAW to cook up new music for people to feast upon. Does a chef only use a microwave oven to cook meals?

We all can cook food that we can eat, but it is the people that can master a variety of methods of cooking who can serve up the most memorable meals.

So you cook all of your food up in your trusty old crock-pot, and put all of your eggs in one basket, so life is good.

All I'm saying is that using other DAWs help influence what you cook up, dare I say you only need one to feed the people.
Food for thought.

Sorry, but that is a bad analogy. Any DAW or host or whatever you want to call it, even limited freeware like Mulab free, is much closer to being a kitchen than a crockpot.

I don't even really know where to begin, except for to say that If you can't stand the heat get out of my crockpot. We are not talking about the studio/kitchen, but the tools that are in that kitchen/studio we can use to cook up world class meals.

It doesn't matter if you pirate the crockpot off the street, it will not make you a master chef. You might be able to cook up some wonderful meals, but it has nothing to do with the "kitchen."

Edit: I mean Per Se, because we know that it would be tough to cook a world class meal in a 7-Eleven kitchen. Have you seen the DAWs in that place!

I am sorry, but I have no idea what you are trying to say here.

All I was saying was that a DAW is not remotely analogical to a crockpot. No decent cook depends on a crockpot to do anything more than keep food (almost) warm. You can't cook a decent meal with it at all (sorry Mom!).

I wasn't arguing with whatever point you were trying to make, because I am still not sure what it was.

Could you express it with fewer metaphors?

Yeah I know I'm not that good with them, but I do love to try and have fun with them. A crockpot is something that you can cook a meal in, and if you don't know how just search the Internet for recipes. I can cook a meal anywhere, so a kitchen is more like a studio where I can pretty much call my bedroom a studio.

The DAW is more like the Microwave, the Stove/Oven, and the crockpot in your kitchen. I could have a basic stove, or I could have one with all of the bells and whistles.

A DAW at least must be able to do one thing, and a "kitchen" doesn't have to do anything, because I could make my bathroom my kitchen. I'd still have to have my DAW to be able to cook something up other than stank.

Edit: Thank you for your patience. Mulab Free is like using a hotplate to cook your meal in your dorm room, yes it will get the job done. We all do what we gotta do!

[MikeMcKew]

Personally I think it's good to know how different DAWs operate, even if you don't full on use multiple. Personally, I regularly use two (Pro Tools and Reason) and I'm learning a third (Studio One). I feel like becoming "DAW-agnostic" is a good goal, to where you can create in any DAW because you know the basic principles. That said, knowing the shortcuts and features of each doesn't hurt either.

[Michael L]

Mulab Free is like using a hotplate to cook your meal in your dorm room

No, MuLab Free is like having a professional kitchen with all the latest stainless steel appliances, international cookbooks and gourmet ingredients, but you are allowed to cook only one meal at a time.

[Hink]

No decent cook depends on a crockpot to do anything more than keep food (almost) warm. You can't cook a decent meal with it at all (sorry Mom!).

please forgive my ot, but after just eating boneless chops with JD BBQ sauce and vadalia onions prepared in my crockpot I protest. I make great chili, beef stew and one of my favs chicken cordon blue in the CP as well.

boneless chix breasts, ham, swiss cheese and cream of mushroom soup. Flatten the chicken out thin with a meat hammer, roll each piece up with a slice or two of ham and the swiss. Stack those up in the crockpot like firewood, cover in the cream of mushroom soup, set to low and in 4 hours it's awesome

carry on

[pekbro]

I cook pretty much everything in a crockpot, actually. I find it conducive
to my habits and schedule. Right now, I'm eating chili I made in my crockpot.

[EnGee]

Don't talk about food please! I'm on a diet

[Halonmusic]

FL Studio 11 and energyXT 3. I also have LMMS and Ardour installed.

[ckoe]

Meanwhile I use only one DAW called Reason.

[poleda]

1

[justin3am]

I find it surprising that more than half of people responded, say they use more than one. I guess KVR users are not representative of all DAW users, but I still expected fewer. I took a look at the stats for Nektar's user registrations and more than half of our registered users also list more than one DAW.
That doesn't necessarily paint a picture of DAW users, as a whole, but it's an interesting and useful metric.

[Psuper]

I find it surprising that more than half of people responded, say they use more than one. I guess KVR users are not representative of all DAW users, but I still expected fewer. I took a look at the stats for Nektar's user registrations and more than half of our registered users also list more than one DAW.
That doesn't necessarily paint a picture of DAW users, as a whole, but it's an interesting and useful metric.

I think most everyone who produces music on a computer owns or at least tinkers with multiple DAWs. I have many myself, having run the gamut of trying and buying them over the many years I've made music. However I don't believe most people actually utilize multiple DAWs the way we would envision them doing so. Sounds hip I suppose...

having 4 DAWs cracking out beats,
bouncing tracks, much applause for my multitask feats.

But the logistics of producing music with 2/3 or more DAWs is fairly counter-intuitive, counterproductive, and generally a pain in the ass. Its certainly feasible, and in some cases even necessary, just not the nirvana of smooth sailing and mass production people would like you to believe.

[poleda]

For most people, having multiple DAWs allows them to procrastinate on actually finishing and releasing completed songs.

[festeringheap]

I find it surprising that more than half of people responded, say they use more than one. I guess KVR users are not representative of all DAW users, but I still expected fewer. I took a look at the stats for Nektar's user registrations and more than half of our registered users also list more than one DAW.
That doesn't necessarily paint a picture of DAW users, as a whole, but it's an interesting and useful metric.

Well, like you posted earlier:

I don't think any DAW user can speak accurately for any other DAW user. We can only speak for ourselves.

Absolutely, and If anyone had read the thread, they'd see a ton of reasons why multiple DAWs worked for that poster.

If you want to do video/movie work, you cannot work in Reason alone. You need another option.
If you are doing anything with surround sound, you can't work in Reason alone. You'd need another option.
If you are doing orchestral scores, you cannot work in Reason alone. You'd need another option. Reason is not optimized for multi-sampled instruments currently.
If you want to mix with metering and EQ tools, you can't work in Reason alone, unless you want to spend a ton of money in the Propellerhead Shop to buy the tools you need. Other DAWs have a much better mixing/mastering environment. I own Reason. I could have bought a bunch of Rack Extensions a while back, but chose to put that money towards buying Logic Pro X. And stayed on Reason 8.

Some DAWs inspire your creativity. Reason works for me in that regard. I can put stems into Logic to sweeten up and use the tools at hand. Which literally they are - Pretty much use the stock plugins. Can't touch Alchemy for a synth. Awesome granular capabilities there! Drummer sounds great too.

So, I use 2 DAWs. Actually when recording live, it's always Reaper on laptop. Lightweight. Stable. Has never crashed. Dead easy to set up.

So 3. For me.

I could write a big red number three like our newest Kvr member psuper did a few posts earlier. but. like. why?

it's entirely possible to continue to work in more than one DAW, there are no polygamy laws about DAWs.

Over 60 % of the polled would agree with that.

[festeringheap]

oh, ha, i meant poleda. of course .