Switching DAW Is Inspiring?

[dupont]

I have heard 1 artist say when they switched DAW it opened up a new way of working.

but you haven't met every artist out there, there may be many.

And most famous artists don't even use DAW, they hire ghost producers

[opabobby]

I switched to Studio One after 13 years of being with Reason, not because it was inspiring, but because it was lagging behind the competition.

I did the same thing some time ago. But, kind of left it on the shelf so to speak for quite a while just not wanting another learning curve at my age. But, when I finally got around to it, I fell in love with it. I'm a Sphere member now and never been happier. Of course having the Reason plugin comes in handy considering all the $$$ invested in reason resources I aquired over the years. Have been a Reason user since before it even addressed "audio". Hope you are enjoying Studio One.

[jonljacobi]

If you're using a DAW for sound creation, then yes. If you're working outside the DAW on hardware instruments, then switching is just a giant PITA. Assuming of course, you're already using the one that best fits your workflow and needs.

[machinesworking]

If you're using a DAW for sound creation, then yes. If you're working outside the DAW on hardware instruments, then switching is just a giant PITA. Assuming of course, you're already using the one that best fits your workflow and needs.

Agreed, I've used DP for years, and at one point switched to Logic for a while, then tried Reaper for MPE support. each time it was a learning curve for sure, but in the end I'm back to DP because it works, it does all the things I want a traditional DAW to do. It's tempting to bounce around, but the only time I do is for collaboration.

On the other hand, Live, Bitwig, Reason, Metasynth etc. are more like instruments to me. The sound mangling, grid, or plethora of instruments and sequencers etc. make it more like using a hardware workstation. I'm less likely to stick to one of them when I want that kind of experience, and I would relate it more to having various hardware synths etc.

[whyterabbyt]

If you're working outside the DAW on hardware instruments, then switching is just a giant PITA.

That must depend on your hardware, then, because I just dont find that at all.

[machinesworking]

If you're working outside the DAW on hardware instruments, then switching is just a giant PITA.

That must depend on your hardware, then, because I just dont find that at all.

I was trying to figure that out myself? To me the main issue with DAW switching is learning the keyboard shortcuts and where things are in submenus etc.

[do_androids_dream]

To me the main issue with DAW switching is learning the keyboard shortcuts and where things are in submenus etc.

My main issue is figuring out the quirks, bugs and general stability to ascertain whether a DAW is reliable enough for pro work. This takes considerable time that, these days, I just don't have the enthusiasm or energy for. I'm stuck now with the devil I know..

[machinesworking]

To me the main issue with DAW switching is learning the keyboard shortcuts and where things are in submenus etc.

My main issue is figuring out the quirks, bugs and general stability to ascertain whether a DAW is reliable enough for pro work. This takes considerable time that, these days, I just don't have the enthusiasm or energy for. I'm stuck now with the devil I know..

IMO and it's probably an unpopular opinion, at this point with proper maintenance most of the top 15 DAWs are fine stability wise. Almost all of the issues come from third party plug ins, and it is varied on how well a DAW handles buggy plug ins. Bitwig wins this battle hands down.

Recently opening up Live 11 it doesn't recognize the VST version of Komplete Control, and Logic after months took some time to track down what was making it hang on plug in evaluation. The point though is besides the initial drama, and incompatible plug in, most DAWs are stable enough to not be much of an issue here.

Mostly it's the time learning a new DAW getting used to its disadvantages after being thrilled with it's advantages, things like finding out that your last DAW did some things a lot smarter etc. or the plug in elephants, some DAWs react with Kontakt a lot better than others, so if that's part of your workflow, or control surface incompatibilities. Basically in most cases sticking with what you know is probably for the best unless there's strong advantages to switching.

[jonljacobi]

When I said hardware instruments, I should've said synths and instruments. Guitar, or anything you record using mics. And you guys must be far quicker studies than I am. I need to decipher the menu and dialog structure, find where all the commands are, learn the keyboard and MIDI shortcuts, figure out what the default mouse and other methodologies are, figure out what's missing, find new stuff I might like, etc.

If you don't think that's a PITA, then you have more patience or time than I have. And if there's nothing particularly new or game-changing, then why did I spend the time?

[tapper mike]

Here's a story which is about inspiration.

Recently I had my telecaster over halled. It went from a 5 position switch to 19 position switching. Replaced the pickups to ones that I preferred and had the neck worked on (fret dressing, leveling etc) It came back playing better than any telecaster I'd ever had before. I started learning classic telecaster licks and running it through my Pod Go. Tons of fun. Within weeks I was wanting another Stratocaster like the one I had in the 90's The sits in my prime spot a guitar stand next to me and I've been getting back into linnstrument playing.

I guess I'm just fickle.

How does that relate to DAW's? About ten years ago I made the switch to Mixcraft. It's been functional. It doesn't have MPE and trying to select two tracks for left / right playing (which I do constantly on the linnstrument feeding chords and or basslines with the left hand and melodies on the right) Bitwig shines in both mpe and the easily available multiple channel selection. Though often it's a pain to navigate. I'm using Bitwig 8 track 4.4.4 and considering Bitwig 5 16track. I'll never use the full features of Bitwig Studio. I have little interest in the included instruments as I have a wide variety of plugins that serve me well. As for the effects processing... Okay for what I will be using it for I'm sure it will do the job.

How satisfied will I be in a week after purchase, or two? Will it radically transform my playing arrangements etc? For me it always starts with the sound. If the sound captures my ear I'll be able to noodle to my hearts content. Next it will be workflow. I'm old I don't transition to new workflows well. I often that Bitwig is too much clutter then I remind myself of what that clutter actually means... possibilities.

[Trensharo]

I switched to Studio One after 13 years of being with Reason, not because it was inspiring, but because it was lagging behind the competition.

I did the same thing some time ago. But, kind of left it on the shelf so to speak for quite a while just not wanting another learning curve at my age. But, when I finally got around to it, I fell in love with it. I'm a Sphere member now and never been happier. Of course having the Reason plugin comes in handy considering all the $$$ invested in reason resources I aquired over the years. Have been a Reason user since before it even addressed "audio". Hope you are enjoying Studio One.

Reason is fine as a self-contained environment for beat making or songwriting. Similar to something like a Maschine or MPC, except within the confines of a portable laptop instead of a proprietary device form factor running its own special firmware.

That's how I tend to think about it. More like a groove box with more general-purpose application possibilities.

I think switching DAWs can be inspiring if you do it for the right reason and make the right choice. Getting overwhelmed going from something like ACID Pro to Cubase Pro isn't likely to spark inspiration. It's too big of a jump. Inspiration often comes from upgrades that improve quality of life and ease the friction between your intentions and the software's operational nuances when producing music. Features alone aren't really a great indicator, as adding too much can easily turn something seems popular and intuitive into a frustrating user experience, due to the steep learning curve and the user's overall lack of proficiency using the software.

If your productivity drops too much, you will not be inspired.

It's a tricky game to play, because a lot of elements involved are incredibly subjective/personal.

So, it's a nice relatively lightweight DAW to put on a laptop if I am going on vacation and know I won't want to deal with the increase complexity or overhead of others (and two hundred plug-ins, virtual instruments, sample libraries, synths, etc.). A great sketchpad with lots of very above average sounds ITB.

[Chipi]

It will sound strange or amateurish if you come from the world of pro-tools, cubase, etc. but it brought me new inspiration the Serato Studio v2 DAW for electronic music, it really is awesome for composing ideas quickly.

[machinesworking]

It will sound strange or amateurish if you come from the world of pro-tools, cubase, etc. but it brought me new inspiration the Serato Studio v2 DAW for electronic music, it really is awesome for composing ideas quickly.

Nah, people need to learn the difference between composing applications and recording studio modeled applications. Sometimes recording studio modeled applications seems like mud or no fun to write in. So I've always kept both around.

[machinesworking]

On this topic again. I'm on pre order for Push 3 stand alone. I've been migrating to Bitwig for the last couple years, lovely DAW, but as a long time Ableton user I've watched it get features still missing from Bitwig: MIDI capture, MIDI comping, a Max4Live SysEx Solution, and now a stand alone controller that has 90% of what Live on the computer can do.

I give up, sometimes I really get annoyed with the glacial pace of upgrades in Live, but I can't ignore that they're doing things I need in a DAW, a quick songwriting stand alone solution for on the go, MIDI capture and comping etc. I really like Bitwig, but for me I need a portable solution, and I don't think Bitwig will ever get a stand alone version.

[farfromsleep]

Had my first real experience with this very recently. I'd used FL Studio for the best part of a decade to the point where I considered myself pretty capable with it, but I increasingly felt like there were aspects I kept banging up against that were really limiting what I could do. I ended up trying out most of the other big names to very limited results, and was beginning to feel like maybe I was just being restless until I finally got to Studio One and it just clicked instantly. Here was basically everything I'd wanted, the stock plugins were great and it was intuitive to the point where I was making music almost immediately. That isn't to say it was necessarily better than FL, more just that it was a workflow that really seemed to work for me. Felt like a weight off my shoulders.

Whether that has any real long-term effect remains to seen, but at this moment in time I definitely feel refreshed and inspired to try out new things and that's good enough for me.