POLL: Which DAW would you choose if all things were equal?

[harryupbabble]

It would take me a month to amass 20,000 MIDI items in the first place, so how long it took to process them would be irrelevant.

I forget how long it took me to amass 20,000 midi items. It's not a month though. The midi items were random drum patterns, 1 bar in length, in 4/4 time. They were generated by a drum sequencer. I used a mouse and keyboard macro recorder at about 20 times normal speed. Maybe it took 4 days, not including nights. I could have probably done it in 1 day if I used both of my computers night and day.

Hey, didn't it take you 7 years to make one album? That's pretty good speed from my POV because I haven't made one decent song, let alone one album.

[BONES]

I took me 7 years to get around to finishing it, yes. It was already about half done when the one before it came out but I pretty much lost all interest for a long, long time. The next one is nearly done, less than three years after the last one. In fact, we really only started on it at the beginning of last year so we've made it in about 14 months.

I was thinking I'd have to find the MIDI items and download them from the web. I couldn't imagine how long it would take to make them. I am intrigued, though - what processing did you need to do in Reaper and what was the ultimate aim of the exercise?

[harryupbabble]

Processing. The drum sequencer that generated the midi files didn't care if the opened hihat shared the same time space as the closed hihat. I used REAPER to delete those unwanted closed hihat.

Ooops I was wrong. Those files weren't 1 bar long. They were 2 bars long. The first bar is for the groove pattern. The second bar is for fill patterns.

In the drum sequencer, I had to put check marks on the kick, the snare, and the hihats. But I also had to put check marks on the toms and crash cymbals.

I had to delete the toms and crash cymbals from the groove patterns but keep them for the fill patterns.

It took REAPER about 20 seconds to do all those edits. Most of the time was taken by the file saving process, about 2 minutes.

The ultimate aim of the exercise is to have 20,000 random groove patterns and fill patterns available to be dragged and dropped onto any DAW that can do drag and drop. Cubase LE 5 allows that. REAPER too. The drum sequencer generated a lot of duplicates. But I also have a software that makes sure none of the midi files are duplicates. So, every 20,000 midi files are unique. I haven't finished editing the 20,000 fill patterns yet. I'm waiting for REAPER 6 to arrive and I have distractions. Mainly speed scrabble.

I need to log off, typing noises might be keeping at least one of my housemates awake. Okay, bye.

[BBFG#]

If all things were truly equal, which I would conclude that meant features too, what would it matter?

However, after having the experience of dealing with a few of these companies, there are about three or four I would completely avoid, because being equal would either put them out of business or attract greedy investors that would implement some kind of marketing or psychological ploys to make us believe their equal is more equal than the rest.

And no, I won't waste the time stating those that some of us know as the obvious suspects.

But this should get entertaining.
Too bad I'm sick of popcorn and can't eat peanuts.

[EnGee]

The same that I have now
(Presonus S1 and NI Maschine).

[voidhead23]

i don't really understand the question...if music is a hobby, i think there are definitely options that won't punish you with their price and you might wish for one of the fancier options. But i think most hobbyists realize it doesn't matter that much, and as long as something is stable and doesn't make you angry, you can make amazing music with it. If you're really crazy about this music stuff, though, you'll probably pay everything you can (and sometimes what you can't) to get the tool that helps the most. i have, anyway.

So i'll focus on a different part of your question. i think if i was coming to the table with zero experience with any DAW, something like Tracktion's T7 would be really attractive. i actually played around with this concept earlier this year, trying to put together a workflow of cheap/free DAW + free plugins and trying to imagine what i would use if i had to start all over again with no money. The idea fell apart because T7 and Reaper kept crashing and i couldn't find a good free sampler.

At the moment, i know Live and don't really need anything else. Not perfect but it's the most perfect option i've found, and it's easy to bring onstage when i need to.

[Bombadil]

I was the drummer in my band with one!

Shouldn't that be 'drummer?'

[jancivil]

I would still choose REAPER because it let me edit 20,000 midi items and save them all, and it took only about 2 minutes.
At the time, I asked people if their DAWs could do that. No one stated "My DAW could do that". Not one person.
Not even the person who figured out how to do it. And I think he/she uses many DAWs.

Hey, what's the origin of the phrase "Different strokes for different folks"? By strokes they don't mean the medical condition, right?

Yeah, I make music with mine.

[jancivil]

I was the drummer in my band with one!

Shouldn't that be 'drummer?'

'I was drummer' opposed to 'I was the drummer'? No, I don't think it should.

[Bombadil]

No, 'drummer' in '' marks. After all, you were only hitting pads or programming.

<runs and ducks>

[harryupbabble]

Not me. I'm not focused on making music yet. I'm still looking for "the method".

My settled on method is probably going to make use of huge amounts of midi data. And it will be pattern-based but the content of the patterns will be randomized. Random drum patterns, random bass patterns, etc.

And I am finding that REAPER is great for that.

But first, I need to find the will power to quit speed scrabble for good and apply "the method", once I find "the method", that is.

[zzz00m]

Does this mean I could pay $100 for Logic, and get the Mac for free???

[jancivil]

Not me. I'm not focused on making music yet. I'm still looking for "the method".

My settled on method is probably going to make use of huge amounts of midi data. And it will be pattern-based but the content of the patterns will be randomized. Random drum patterns, random bass patterns, etc.

And I am finding that REAPER is great for that.

But first, I need to find the will power to quit speed scrabble for good and apply "the method", once I find "the method", that is.

Your avoidance strategies are the best.

[jancivil]

No, 'drummer' in '' marks. After all, you were only hitting pads or programming.

<runs and ducks>

People who play synthesizers are only hitting plastic keys activating electronics! That's not a real instrument!


I remember being so excited to have that in 1986. It cost some 900 dollars. I embezzled that money basically. Longish story, in the air courier bidness.

[zzz00m]

People who play pianos are only hitting keys that move hammers that strike strings. That is not like playing real strings with your fingers!