What's the one feature your DAW has, found in no other, that you wouldn't want to live without?

[Kongru]

Not quite the same, the benefit of the resample track is that you can record modulations while the audio is playing. For example, moving knobs on a midi controller. You can also record multiple tracks at once without routing anything.

Well, in Bitwig you can just:
- solo the track(s) you want to resample (which you have to do in Live too),
- arm the Master track (!!!),
- hit Record,
- tweak the parameters on your synths or FX while recording,
- drag the audio clip from Master elsewhere (which will create new audio track, if you drop in in empty space)

I'd say that's comparable, no?

That is pretty similar actually

[jclosed]

One of the things I would not want to do without even a minute, is the Control Room in Cubase. It's my priority number one feature. It makes live so easy once you get used to it.
Followed by (but not in order of importance): Logical editor, Chord Track, Chord assistant, Note Expression and the Score Editor. There is far more, but I leave it at that.

For Bitwig it is the Grid, Modulators and Hybrid tracks. Of course in general the I like the "feel" that does remind me of my old "love" - Project 5. I always hated that I had to switch screens in Ableton Live between session and arrangement mode. In Bitwig it's all in one screen, just like Project 5. Much, much better!

And that are the two main DAW's I use. I do use other DAW's now and then (mainly Reason), but not often enough to say they have really "unmissable" features I can't live without.

[Trancit]

Just one track type for audio, MIDI and buses alike.

DAW is REAPER, of course.

...and Bitwig

Wrong...

The OP forgot to mention that in Reaper there is just one type of track...

Bitwig cannot group into a normal track (bus yes but not group) and Bitwig has seperate FX channels which cannot be done with normal tracks (workarounds with Audio receiver excluded)...

Well, in Bitwig you can just:
- solo the track(s) you want to resample (which you have to do in Live too),
- arm the Master track (!!!),
- hit Record,
- tweak the parameters on your synths or FX while recording,
- drag the audio clip from Master elsewhere (which will create new audio track, if you drop in in empty space)

One of the things I would not want to do without even a minute, is the Control Room in Cubase....

This...
A Control Room or in Reaper Monitoring FX are very very underrated...

Many people forget to mention that with these workarounds (record the master instead of having a proper "Mixdown selection" feature) you get into devils kitchen if you forget to turn off the master fx...
Bitwig and Ableton are both still in stoneage regarding to such simple tasks... they are lacking as well as a simple mixdown function for multiple clips as a monitoring chain/control room...
Recording the master is so 90´s...

[mcnelson]

Sure it' not unique, but I'm quite partial to the audio>midi functions in Ableton Live, especially convert audio>harmony; it's far from perfect, but it does allow me as a guitarist to get chords into Ableton that I'd otherwise have to sit down and puzzle out on a keyboard first, and that's a real buzzkill for my creative process.

[antic604]

Bitwig cannot group into a normal track (bus yes but not group) and Bitwig has seperate FX channels which cannot be done with normal tracks (workarounds with Audio receiver excluded)...

Semantics. I never understood why one would want a bus that's not a group/folder track at the same time. Also, in Bitwig, you can put midi and audio clips on Master, Group or FX track, so in practice they're no different than 'normal' tracks

[antic604]

Many people forget to mention that with these workarounds (record the master instead of having a proper "Mixdown selection" feature) you get into devils kitchen if you forget to turn off the master fx...
Bitwig and Ableton are both still in stoneage regarding to such simple tasks... they are lacking as well as a simple mixdown function for multiple clips as a monitoring chain/control room...
Recording the master is so 90´s...

Right. Show me how you can in Reaper - on single track - split the audio in frequency bands and apply different effect chains into each band. Or how you can feed a VST synth with midi running through randomly chosen 1 of 4 different MIDI FX. Or how you'd feed 3 different VSTs with MIDI on the track, with VST chosen depending on the frequency content of another track that is also randomly generated drone from native modular system that's fed by CV from Eurorack modular...

[Trancit]

Right.

Very good... ...Insight is the first step towards improvement!

Show me how you can in Reaper - on single track - split the audio in frequency bands and apply different effect chains into each band.

This is very easy in Reaper as each track can run an unlimited number of channels where you can route plugin inputs and outputs freely...
... no point for Bitwig... sorry

Or how you can feed a VST synth with midi running through randomly chosen 1 of 4 different MIDI FX. Or how you'd feed 3 different VSTs with MIDI on the track, with VST chosen depending on the frequency content of another track that is also randomly generated drone from native modular system that's fed by CV from Eurorack modular...

1. Reaper provides automatable bypass and for every automatable parameter there is a built in modulation system providing random too... you see... no problem...

2. I cannot tell exactly how you would do this but even if I am no Reaper fan I have learned one lesson: If something is possible it´s possible in Reaper for sure the one or the other way...

Please don´t start a feature comparison between Bitwig and Reaper... this you would loose easily...
I would guess with all it´s scripting and macros, Reaper is about 100 times more powerful and flexible as Bitwig...

Reaper isn´t very user friendly and has more in common with rocket science than with making music but it´s the most powerful piece of software in audio world for sure...

The reason why I made this initial post about your statements I already stated before and it happens over and over again...

Please Bitwig user guys:
You´ve got a great DAW there which looks very nice and works quite well too... but please stop acting like it would be god´s present to the humans...
What Bitwig does did others already before Bitwig was a wet dream of the devs... so please stop spamming every thread like "Bitwig does it all"...
It doesn´t and it isn´t better in any way and no, at the very end it doesn´t do anything new... it only makes it a bit more accessable and with pretty animations...
Every DAW has it´s main focus... others focus more on arranging and a fast workflow leaving creative parts more up to 3rd party plugins ...
Daws like Bitwig, Ableton and perhaps Reason provide a well featured choice already out of the box, which are well integrated and offer perhaps 2 or 3 features others cannot do...

Every approach has it´s advantages/disadvantages... which one fits is everybodies own choice...

I personally belive in a strong DAW than in a big amount of native plugins...
Bitwig and it´s modulation system cannot provide anything which other MPE compatible DAWs with the matching plugins cannot do too...

I cannot say the other way round would be the same...

The other DAWs bring so many features on the table (because they didn´t wasted their time with implementing things other plugins already offer) that i.e. Bitwig cannot compensate at all as there would be e.g.:

- macros
- scripting
- ARA
- control room/ monitoring chain
- much much more useful commands like the already mentioned "Mixdown selection"
- normalizing audio clips
- groove quantizing for midi and audio
- waveform peak zoom (visually raising the visibility of audio waveforms)
- Chord track
- enhanced midi tools
- inserting plugins to multiple tracks at once
- GPU loaded GUI
- rex support
- ...
and about 10.000 other things...

If I go through all these points I cannot really understand how a single Bitwig user can believe and state this software would be a godsend and tell about it over and over again and at every opportunity...

Don´t get me wrong... it´s a great DAW like all others too but please shut off this "god mode"

[antic604]

Please don´t start a feature comparison between Bitwig and Reaper... this you would loose easily... I would guess with all it´s scripting and macros, Reaper is about 100 times more powerful and flexible as Bitwig...

Ok, but it still looks ugly, no skin will help and you need to go through a deep-diving course to use its labirynthine menus & settings

Perhaps let's exclude Reaper from this thread, because otherwise it doesn't make much sense

[Trancit]

Ok, but it still looks ugly, no skin will help and you need to go through a deep-diving course to use its labirynthine menus & settings

That´s true...

[fedexnman]

Seems most features are in almost every DAW now or something similar ... I think you have to hand it to Bitwig , Tracktion/Waveform , Reaper , Mulab ,and StudioOne for keeping the big boys busy ...

[highkoo]

FL Studio Peak Controller, by a mile.

That's just Envelope Follower available in Reason, Live or Bitwig

The Ableton resample track.

Most DAWs can use other track's output as their audio input.

Just one track type for audio, MIDI and buses alike.

DAW is REAPER, of course.

...and Bitwig

And your point is..?

[antic604]

FL Studio Peak Controller, by a mile.

That's just Envelope Follower available in Reason, Live or Bitwig

And your point is..?

My point is read the subject of this thread again. Slowly

[highkoo]

I dont have time for that.

[Unaspected]

Where FL Studio differs is the mapping formulas. Being able to take any modulation source and apply it anywhere as many times as you like whilst being able to mathematically change how it operates at each different destination without having to load a new modulation plugin is a feature that I haven't found in any other DAW.

A few other DAWs offer envelope followers but without the combination of mapping formulas or transfer functions, you are limited to adjusting how the control signal behaves via plugins. Also noting that smoothing can be applied uniquely for each link. So the entire response can be reshaped without loading more plugins - and without any setup because it's part of the DAW.

[BONES]

Ok, but it still looks ugly, no skin will help and you need to go through a deep-diving course to use its labirynthine menus & settings

Which one are you talking about, Bitwig or Reaper? I found Bitwig almost impenetrable and it's UI was no oil painting.

Where FL Studio differs is the mapping formulas. Being able to take any modulation source and apply it anywhere as many times as you like whilst being able to mathematically change how it operates at each different destination without having to load a new modulation plugin is a feature that I haven't found in any other DAW.

Gee, I wonder why that might be? I can't imagine why most of us would prefer not to have to invoke mathematical formulae in order to make music.

A few other DAWs offer envelope followers but without the combination of mapping formulas or transfer functions, you are limited to adjusting how the control signal behaves via plugins. Also noting that smoothing can be applied uniquely for each link. So the entire response can be reshaped without loading more plugins - and without any setup because it's part of the DAW.

Someone please promise to shoot me in the head if my music making process ever devolves to this level.

Anyway, there are so many things about Orion that no other host software can manage that it's far too depressing to list them all so here are a few highlights:

Wasp;
A proper mixer that shows you everything all at once, in one place;
Drumrack's ability to load a loop and have it stretch to match the song tempo;
Stability, Cubase constantly wrecks projects;
Wasp (yes, I miss it at least twice as much as anything else);
The simple ability to assign my own colours to tracks, not half-a-dozen shit ones some other idiot chose;
Closing an instrument window to delete it; and
Simplicity. No other host software is anywhere near as quick and easy and looking at some of the absurd features listed in this thread, I understand why.