Most CPU efficient DAW with VST support and recording

[DollyNipples]

Which one would you recommend? And should I try Reaktor? Also, sorry for sounding like a troll in a couple other threads - I am a bit grumpy at times and I want to know if I'm spending my money on something that's CPU efficient, doesn't hurt my eyes, and has a lot of features that I want.

- User-friendly midi controls and sequencer
- Built-in instruments and effects that I will use, mostly ones that make great ambient sounds or some good vintage style sounds. Yes I know there's plenty of vintage sounds, but I love the spacy sci-fi feel of some of these instruments - like what I've heard in aehnatron (sp?) and other songs created in Buzz. I also dig instruments like the Alieno and HG Fortune's masterpieces, and anything that has some sort of warping automation.
- Low latency. I have tried to record riffs live, but I've kinda gotten used to just entering the notes either by clicking or by typing them out on the keyboard because I just can't get the notes to play quickly enough.
- Modular synths, so I can customize them and maybe make some cool arpeggio synths like the ones I've seen in a video about Reaktor:
- User-friendly automation that I can control with benzier curves and LFOs, and won't hog resources
- Low-latency voice recording.

I'm not picky about colours or track icons, as long as the interface is fairly easy on the eyes. Also, I probably would buy Cubase if the service is good, and the prices are fair, once they get a better DRM feature. I'm not totally averse to it, but if I were to buy that program, I want to make sure I'm not spending a bunch of money on a brand name. I want to be able to navigate it well, and I've had some bad experiences with file navigation for samples before. I've also lost serial keys before, and that was rather frustrating.

Also, oddly enough, I do like the interface of Buzz because it's modular and I love to build stuff. The instruments do sound great, but I'm still figuring out many of the built-in synths and effects. I do like how it also has some samplers and a sort of sample browser. Are there any commercial programs that have synths and an interface like Buzz, but better?

[THE INTRANCER]

You have various options but Presonus Studio One Professional & Reason's Rack / Reaktor or Renoise & Reason's Rack / Reaktor are options in which you could consider.

Studio One has a low latency playback/recording system which you can balance.

Studio One has a huge sample library provided with the program that you can download in individual packs from your account. Around 30 Gigs worth with the professional version.

Studio One Pro has a Multi-Instruments feature which is similar to Buzz in that it uses a node approach in building up layers of instruments which can be routed in different ways such as triggered vie an arpeggiator. Audio such as from samples on the track can be split vie frequency level through a node based system also. Adding Reason's modular rack system or even more focused component CV Rack plugins to this layer system with a highly optimised and relatively easy but comprehensive to get into DAW which is constantly pushing forward with new features and fair upgrade pricing is really a safe bet to provide much of what you want and need. It has step-time note input editing which is similar to tracker like programming.






If you want to enter at a lower cost and get closer to the tracker like environment of Buzz then Renoise should fit what you are looking for. The GUI can be rescaled now so using it is far better than it once was. Don't be scared off by how small everything that this guy has his GUI setup at or how dark it is in the second video, the first video will show you. If you are use to trackers, Renoise should come naturally to you and adding Reason's Rack to the mix would open up the door to you for a lot of creative options at much lower combination of costs, than the initial cost of buying Studio One at it's normal retail price. Blackfriday sales or vie the second hand market can save you quite a bit of money though. Addng Reaktor to any additional DAW provides a practically limitless amount of options but rescaling for high resolutions is not without it's problems you may find.1080p resolutions is normally what you are looking at, for GUI's of ensembles to be legible in regard to text.

If you go the Reaktor route, be prepared to spend months in that environment in learning how to build instruments. New options such as Blocks are there but it's not the same as building an instrument from scratch.

[Passing Bye]

MuTools MuLab

[DollyNipples]

Thank you for the advice! Studio One looks like a good and I have been eyeing Reason for awhile. Also, do you remember Soundforum Synth? Pretty cool free softsynth from waaaaaay back in the day.

[machinesworking]

If you were on a Mac I would say Logic. If not, then Studio One.

If CPU efficiency is taken out of the equation perfect fits would be Bitwig and Live. They both are less efficient than Studio One, Logic, Cubase etc. but the built in Reaktor like environments with Max4Live in Live Suite and the Grid in Bitwig, are right up your alley. Personally that's the direction I would head in, built in environments (especially the Grid), negate some of the CPU issues these DAWs have being "real time" compared to Studio One, Logic etc.

To dive into this. Most big DAWs (Cubase, Studio One, Logic, Sonar, Reaper), are roughly the same CPU efficiency wise, maybe 10% difference. There are other DAWs though with varying degrees of efficiency , MPC 2, Reason, Bitwig, Live etc. Those DAWs have different reasons for this, Bitwig and Live both do a "real time uninterrupted audio engine" thing, so less glitches when tweaking the arrangement while the sequencer is running, you can add an instrument to the arrangement without any interrupts etc. Live use is easier. It's a trade off. Personally I really like the real time nature of Live and Bitwig, and don't mind the 20% or so CPU hit they have not using tricks like Reaper does to get more out of the CPU.

[EnGee]

My favourite DAW, that ticks almost everything, is Bitwig.
That said, IMO, you can't go wrong with any other DAW these days. However, no DAW is perfect but every one has its beauty and advantages over the others.

My suggestion is to make an actual music in each, then experience yourself all the points you mentioned. No one can help you really choosing your DAW IMO

[DollyNipples]

Reaper is pretty good for those who can't afford much, as it's very lenient with people who don't register it. But yeah, I love the modularity of Buzz and Psycle - the instruments are so versatile and customizable. I also like Cakewalk and Soundwave... but would you recommend those?

[Roman Wisniak]

Bad topic. Should be, "What CPU is DAW efficient for VST and recording"...

[THE INTRANCER]

Reaper is pretty good for those who can't afford much, as it's very lenient with people who don't register it. But yeah, I love the modularity of Buzz and Psycle - the instruments are so versatile and customizable. I also like Cakewalk and Soundwave... but would you recommend those?

On these forums, Soundwave is rarely ever mentioned... it's really not that popular I don't think because it's GUI is just strange and looks like an old version of Blender, the 3D program. My experience is that it's pretty horrid with dealing with plugins and higher than 1080p screen resolutions with plugin sizes being off and no scaling properly such as with effect plugins. The basic effects that comes with it are really basic control wise compared to other daws but at least better looking than Reapers. It's not a bad looking DAW and it's one you could get use to, but it's one that I think you'll move on from quite quickly in finding something more from.

Cakewalk By Bandlab, is like a development team trying to drag a big old horse through the mud and trying to run with it. The question is whether you want to sit on it.. A lot of people moved on from it, and whilst you can produce whatever you like with it and has many features. It's really missing something in regard GUI features like plugin thumbnails that other daws have for example. It's a DAW that's being maintained rather than being developed in any real significant way.

[Dasheesh]

your first two responses are the way.

[DollyNipples]

Reaper is pretty good for those who can't afford much, as it's very lenient with people who don't register it. But yeah, I love the modularity of Buzz and Psycle - the instruments are so versatile and customizable. I also like Cakewalk and Soundwave... but would you recommend those?

On these forums, Soundwave is rarely ever mentioned... it's really not that popular I don't think because it's GUI is just strange and looks like an old version of Blender, the 3D program. My experience is that it's pretty horrid with dealing with plugins and higher than 1080p screen resolutions with plugin sizes being off and no scaling properly such as with effect plugins. The basic effects that comes with it are really basic control wise compared to other daws but at least better looking than Reapers. It's not a bad looking DAW and it's one you could get use to, but it's one that I think you'll move on from quite quickly in finding something more from.

Cakewalk By Bandlab, is like a development team trying to drag a big old horse through the mud and trying to run with it. The question is whether you want to sit on it.. A lot of people moved on from it, and whilst you can produce whatever you like with it and has many features. It's really missing something in regard GUI features like plugin thumbnails that other daws have for example. It's a DAW that's being maintained rather than being developed in any real significant way.

You are right about that... Cakewalk seems kinda wonky with MIDI routing, or maybe I'm just not that familiar with it. Took me awhile to get the hang of how to get my tracks to play the sounds I wanted them to play. It was a total headache! Also, the drum machine and piano rolls don't have the most user-friendly interface. Thing is, I really like how there are now actually a lot of good free DAWs that at least meet some needs for today's beginner producers. I really didn't have much when it came to DAWs back in the early 2000s. Yes, there was Psycle and Buzz, but it took me awhile to get the hang of those, and of Modplug Tracker. Tuareg was probably the easiest and the most fun for me. Made a few songs with it but honestly, they sucked because I still had a lot to learn... and I'm realizing that even today I still got lots to learn when it comes to music production.

[EnGee]

So you don't want most cpu efficient DAW! You want the most "pocket" efficient DAW! You should have said that

In that case, just download Cakewalk and be done with it

[DollyNipples]

So you don't want most cpu efficient DAW! You want the most "pocket" efficient DAW! You should have said that

In that case, just download Cakewalk and be done with it

I already have Cakewalk, but I'm also starting to earn more money and I may start splurging once my cash-flow improves. Besides, it would be awesome to have one of those better programs, because while free DAWs are nice, they are all missing something. Even LMMS is missing quite a few things FL Studio has. I just want to get something more advanced, and these free DAWs still don't quite cut it. I want something more user-friendly and more CPU-efficient than even the freebies.

[Timfonie]

What if you wrap plugins in an efficient host which is a plugin in an inefficient host?

Lets say you have Cubase (relatively ineffcient), load an instance of Mutools Mux (relatively efficient) and load vst instruments in Mux. Will these instruments run with Mux's efficiency or with Cubase's inefficiency?

[EnGee]

So you don't want most cpu efficient DAW! You want the most "pocket" efficient DAW! You should have said that

In that case, just download Cakewalk and be done with it

I already have Cakewalk, but I'm also starting to earn more money and I may start splurging once my cash-flow improves. Besides, it would be awesome to have one of those better programs, because while free DAWs are nice, they are all missing something. Even LMMS is missing quite a few things FL Studio has. I just want to get something more advanced, and these free DAWs still don't quite cut it. I want something more user-friendly and more CPU-efficient than even the freebies.

You need to explain more. Like what exactly you need in a DAW? What are you missing in Cakewalk? What kind of music and what kind of tools you have (software or hardware)?

The answers will help to know which DAW might suite you better. If you know exactly what those advanced things you are after, then tell us what are they. Every DAW has an edge over the other in some specs and workflow.

I also suggest to look at the "intro" versions. You can save a lot of money this way, but sure you are sacrificing some specs in the "Pro" or full version. The best so far of those "cut" versions, IMO, is the Artist version of Studio One. You can find it really cheap in the 2nd hand and it only miss few things from the Pro version.
There are others as well:
Cubase Elements, Live intro and Bitwig 16. FL Studio Producer is also a great DAW (little bit more than an intro version, but it is a full + Sytrus synth). Reaper 6 is a great one as well. You can use some free great tools and synths to fill the gaps.

Demo all of them first and take your time. Then choose the most inspiring you. Don't care about CPU, they are mostly all very similar if you don't use heavy CPU plugins.