How did you manage to switch DAWs?

[THE INTRANCER]

When the developer stops listening to the demands of the user, when you the user have exhausted the capabilities of the tools provided and have established your key goal in the direction you want to take your music and the means in which to achieve that goal with the tools you have identified that lay elsewhere. The last question is, how much are you prepared to pay for it, if anything. With all these things established, the switch is easy. At the end of the day, you choose the tools which make your job fast and easy without the pain unless you're sadist..

That's how I switched from Reason to Studio One after 13 and half years. If Presonus doesn't keep it's eye on the ball, I won't hesitate to switch again.

[lfm]

One approach more than 10 years ago was to go all 3rd party stuff in daw - and never use stock plugins or content at all. This makes switch just about learning some on automation and stuff in the new daw.

The actuall sound shaping tools I don't have to relearn then. And you never have to select daw for what stock plugins or content is offers - just go by workflow and stability.

[frnsh]

and never use stock plugins or content at all

Actually a great point. I really got used to the stock plugins of my old DAW and using those in the new one feels pretty weird and consfusing.

[Ah_Dziz]

I learned how to sequence and edit in cubase and Cakewalk when I was a kid. I ended up going with cubase due to their early adoption of vst plugins. When I started doing work for pay I was expected to use/ deliver protools sessions. I found it to be a pretty short learning curve. Since then I have used (to some extent) Reaper, Bitwig, Reason, Logic, Maschine, ableton, Plogue Bidule, FL Studio, and MAX/MSP, while still using cubase for my main DAW. Not many of those environments use concepts that are “different” in any real way. I’ve found that most of the things I learned early on are all still there in each workflow. If you are dead set on changing to a new DAW, just keep working at it til it works. They mostly all have the same features, so with a bit of manual referencing you should be home free.

[thecontrolcentre]

bought new host, opened host, recorded stuff.

This ^^ ...

[Psuper]

If you have any decent amount of music produced over a significant time period, its a gigantic pain in the ass. If not, then sure its as simple as just picking something and going with it.

Prior 2k was mostly hardware, so in early 2k with digital I settled on Cakewalk and Reason. Then Sonar and Reason rewired. Then Reaper with Reason rewired. Then just Reason. Then Reason and Reaper. Now just Cubase (with Reason Rack).

I won't go into details on thy 'why' as it was simply a matter of DAW capability vs what I needed to do. I wanted Reason to be my main DAW but it never cut it -- just a constant uphill battle.

Its just too much to ask using multiple formats, multiple saves, mid files, wavs, etc its impossibly frustrating regardless of how you attempt to do it. I can't imagine anyone who does any serious amount of work in DAWS not running into the nightmare of organizing or loading them. I used to have rns files, cakewalk files, reaper files, etc some wrapped together, most not due to the way you have to load them. Took me almost a year to go through all my old files and convert them just to pure .mid files and wavs and 7zip each one individually after reloading Sonar for just that, 50% of my effects were missing, on and on.

Anyone telling you its easy to switch didn't make much music in their prior DAW.

So my tip would be -- backup *everything* from your old DAW in those accepted formats (mid, wav, etc). Then switch. Anything already produced don't try to import to a new DAW just call it done. Anything half baked, convert only the good possibles. Everything else just keep as backups for a rainy day.

[vurt]

If you have any decent amount of music produced over a significant time period, its a gigantic pain in the ass. If not, then sure its as simple as just picking something and going with it.

yeah, i only had thousands of tracks over a 20 year period, so the switch was easy

[thecontrolcentre]

Anyone telling you its easy to switch didn't make much music in their prior DAW.

Bollocks. I've been making & releasing music since before there was such a thing as a DAW. If you actually finish tracks, then switching is a non issue.

[vurt]

Anyone telling you its easy to switch didn't make much music in their prior DAW.

Bollocks. I've been making & releasing music since before there was such a thing as a DAW. If you actually finish tracks, then switching is a non issue.

yup, i can see an issue if you want to continue an older piece or remix.
but there are ways, out put midi files, audio files.
its only impossible if you make it so

[vurt]

its no different really to opening a new project.
ok at first, some things might not be where you expect them, but nothing is hidden so deep it cant be found.

[Psuper]

Anyone telling you its easy to switch didn't make much music in their prior DAW.

Bollocks. I've been making & releasing music since before there was such a thing as a DAW. If you actually finish tracks, then switching is a non issue.

yup, i can see an issue if you want to continue an older piece or remix.
but there are ways, out put midi files, audio files.
its only impossible if you make it so

I already covered those points in the same post he quoted it from.

Regardless, 'd like to be introduced to the musician who has nothing but finished tracks! Last I heard he was roaming the deep forests while people were trying to get photos of his giant hairy feet.

[vurt]

theyd be better looking on the bongs
.

20200718_175348.jpg

i can see my house there

[Ah_Dziz]

Switching DAWs doesn’t mean that all the other ones (DAWs) you spent your time and money and efforts on will just delete themselves from your hard drive. You can export sessions as audio and midi if you are going to switch mid project. I still have zipdrives and samples along with midi sequences if I have an urge to recall something from 20 years ago.
I wouldn’t suggest switching hosts if you aren’t done with your current work or if you want to approach it from a very different angle.

[EnGee]

I managed well from switching from Bitwig to Ableton Live.
I used S1 little beside Bitwig, but now it's rare to open it.

Sometimes it is greener on the other side. Not much greener but little bit more as Live Suite with Push 2 has a nicer workflow/contents for me. No live or professional usage though.

If I use a DAW for living, I would think much more before switching, and even then it would be a slow move after testing and measuring what I could gain (practically) from such move.

[zerocrossing]

I used Digital Performer for years, but then I switched to using a PC for a plugin effect (Möbius) and at the time there was no Windows version, so I was on the hunt. I wanted something that could slave to an external MIDI clock, and I tried a bunch of DAWs and the only one that worked reasonably well was Live. In the end, I didn’t actually use that function, but I instantly took to Live... I think it was version 4. It just made sense to me. I kept at it until version 9. When they announced that 10 would not have MPE compatibility and still no polyphonic aftertouch, I said, “enough.” I did a bit of research and found that Bitwig did what I needed and was somewhat similar, so I bought it and instantly sold my Live 9 license. That’s how you move to a new DAW. Burn that bridge.