Switching DAW Is Inspiring?

[cryophonik]

I use Logic almost exclusively these days (except Wavelab for mastering), but used to hop DAWs a lot. I used multiple DAWs primarily because I worked with several different collaborators and each one used a different DAW. So, I was constantly switching from Sonar to Pro Tools to Studio One, but also used Cubase on occasion and, at a later date, my main collaborator switched to Ableton, so I followed suit. I have to say, I did find it sorta of refreshing to change gears, but these days, I don’t really collaborate anymore and so I stick mostly to Logic, but will occasionally play around with Ableton or Studio One just to switch things up a bit.

[dupont]

it is like ice cream flavors? If you always eat the same flavor, will never know you prefer vanilla over chocolate !

[Serhii Kot]

it is like ice cream flavors? If you always eat the same flavor, will never know you prefer vanilla over chocolate !

And then, you find out you are equally like both, and also a strawberry one. In the past, it was easy, you bought a chocolate one and were happily eating it.

Now, you are hesitating to make a choice, and ice cream is not that appealing now. And even if you bought vanilla ice cream this time, you wonder if it was the right choice...

(The Paradox Of Choice by Barry Schwartz)

[BKSchatzki]

It's hard to have such a subjective discussion, because I really do think sometimes people switch DAWs and find home. Others switch DAWs and go back once the honeymoon is over. Others leave DAWs entirely to find their inspiration. I really think we spend too much time thinking about DAWs. I'm very guilty of it myself, check my post history.

But for me, nothing beats feeling like you have a song completely written with just piano and voice. I used to use Sibelius and notate all my writing because of my formal background. DAWs are cool, but I haven't ever felt the "spark" with a DAW the way people on the internet keep saying they get, and good for them honestly.

I kind of wish I didn't even know other DAWs existed. Honestly, that thing that happens when a professional endorses a certain product, well, that's got more to do with the fact that they extract the most from the tools they have, then some special sauce the tools have.

[pdxindy]

it is like ice cream flavors? If you always eat the same flavor, will never know you prefer vanilla over chocolate !

With my one DAW I can create an endless variety of musical flavors.

[ThomasHelzle]

I used to use Cubasis AV, then Cubase VST in the early days and hated it - it was such a clumsy hodgepodge of dozens of windows and settings and stuff - more like a spreadsheet than anything musically inspiring.
Finally with version 4 I switched to Ableton Live and for the first time felt like the software was supporting me instead of fighting me.
I used Studio One on the side since the arranger in Live was very bad.
But then v8 dragged along, the experience with the devs in the beta was disgustingly stupid, their responses again felt more like people creating a spreadsheet than a musical tool.
I tried pretty much every DAW available, but none really fit me.

Then Bitwig came along and from the first images on the initial website it felt just right.
I met the team at Musikmesse, became a betatester and since then I dropped all other DAWs.

So yeah, I think hopping can make sense if the current tool doesn't fit or one outgrows it, I also think it can make sense to use different ones for different tasks, but it can also happen that one finds the tool that just works, and even small flaws just aren't important enough to use anything else.

Cheers,

Tom

[hhuang9611]

Interesting to see many people have had similar experience. Although I guess I will wait to see if I finally found home at Logic or I opened the pandora box of "owning all DAWs"

[Bombadil]

The only reason why I can see someone 'needing' to learn more than one DAW is working in Professional studios. Then, ProTools, Logic, and Cubase are the biggies, afaik.

[machinesworking]

It should be said that all opinions on this are subjective. Objectively someone can know 5 languages so 5 DAWs is not impossible.

I've always used 2 DAWs, from DP and Reason rewired to Logic and Live, (and now DP and Bitwig), there's some advantage to one or the other. There was nothing like Lives time stretching etc. when it came out, and Reason 1-2 were super CPU friendly, you could not run as many VSTs in your DAW as you could run racks in Reason.

To this day IMO there are two varieties of DAWs: sampler, sequencer, workstation style DAWs, and home recording studio modeled DAWs, The line is blurrier every day, with great step sequencers and plug ins in various DAWs, DP Logic etc. getting clip launchers, mixing improvements in Bitwig and Live etc. but even then, the actual experience is vastly different using DP, Studio One, Logic etc. to Bitwig, FL Studio, Live, ReNoise etc.

The old school DAWs give you every feature, maybe not 'best in class' but every feature, NRPN, SysEx, film scoring, sheet music tabs, event lists, VCA faders, multiple windows, window sets etc. etc. etc. The newer ones do not, but what they do give is better integration for the most part, control surfaces have extra features in Bitwig and Live etc. , they have modern ways of dealing with plug ins, don't glitch as much when messing with the interface while the sequence is running, and generally the things they do implement are set up logically, WYSIWYG etc.

IMO there's always reasons if your music is varied to run both types of DAWs at times. It's advantageous to not go overboard for sure, knowing a DAW inside out is a huge advantage, so personally that's what I do, I stick to a mastering, mixing, traditional recording DAW for more traditional songs etc. and a modern DAW for faster production in modern workflows. It's not set in stone, sometimes I write traditional style composing in Bitwig and sometimes modern electronic in DP, but I rarely jump between them barring bringing finished rendered tracks into DP for mastering.

[jocknaethick]

I get my inspiration from the tales I hear from people, the landscapes around me, my own life's trials and tribulations. This inspires me to sit with one of my instruments and try to capture the feelings these experiences evoke. When this happens, I turn to the tools if I feel it is worth recording, but TBH, I can't imagine any of these tools providing the inspiration to create in of themselves (although, conversely, if the tools are unwieldy and clunky, they sure as hell have the capacity to kill inspiration)

[syntonica]

I use MuLab as small and sporty DAW. Between the simple and quick layout and lack of useless junk, it's great to lay down ideas quickly. It gets a little overwhelming on larger projects where I have to go into dozens of third-party plugs to do the thing better than the built-in ones. I have Logic X as my full-blown DAW for backwards compatibility, mixing and larger projects.

I think the point of this is I find creativity flows best when the software gets out of your way and let's you just work, which I find with MuLab. I only use Logic if I have to... If your DAW keeps getting in your way, then maybe you should go out and find yourself a little side DAW that does the thing your main DAW refuses to do for you.

[Uncle E]

Studio One and Luna are nice because they’re straightforward and fast to work with but they’re missing features (especially Luna) that are in Bitwig and Ableton. I use Maschine to bridge the gap.

[vurt]

I get my inspiration from the tales I hear from people, the landscapes around me, my own life's trials and tribulations. This inspires me to sit with one of my instruments and try to capture the feelings these experiences evoke. When this happens, I turn to the tools if I feel it is worth recording, but TBH, I can't imagine any of these tools providing the inspiration to create in of themselves (although, conversely, if the tools are unwieldy and clunky, they sure as hell have the capacity to kill inspiration)

i kind of agree, im at a stage, were i don't even switch the studio on, unless im inspired already.
even if the inspiration is "well ive never tried module a in to module b" so this is where i differ, as it can also be the tools that kick it off, but not in the same way as the op. there has to be the idea first!

what did people do with 4 tracks?
"im gonna use a different brand of tape, i need inspiration!"

[hhuang9611]

Hmm... Maybe it's because I mainly (actually only) do electronic music, my inspiration all comes from software/hardware I use. It could also be that I mostly do one genre, Trance, and my goal of making a track is not to necessarily capture a feeling I have or express something, but rather, I'm just trying to finish a nice-sounding track that at least myself can enjoy, and hopefully some label might be interested in releasing it too.I have been suggested before that I shouldn't confine to one genre, but I like how it can give me a guide instead of just limiting me.

This might sound less ideal than what musicians are supposed to do, I guess? (Express feelings/emotions through music) But personally I really enjoy this process, because I make something I like very much and it feels so great when other people like it too. Fun fact, I often name my track at the very last stage, based on what the track actually makes me feel. I tried it the other way around and it totally did not work for me.

So I guess it would make sense that switching to Logic from Ableton feels inspiring to me: I'm inspired by what software/hardware I work with, although I'm yet to figure out if it's just honeymoon period or Logic indeed glues with me better.

[vurt]

This might sound less ideal than what musicians are supposed to do, I guess?

apologies, i wasnt trying to say "i was doing it right, youre doing it wrong"
the only thing musicians are supposed to do, is make music.
how they do it, well, thats as individual as the musician themselves

was just saying where i am at the minute.