DAW Journey thoughts and opinions

[vitocorleone123]

Once I started getting hardware, I found Tracktion/Waveform more limiting overall (though Studio One Pro has some stupid limitations here and there, too).

Out of curiosity, what hardware do you use that surpasses what a DAW could do?

Waveform’s handling of hardware has improved, but it wasn’t very good at managing the latency when I switched to Studio One. Didn’t matter what hardware - any hardware was handled with more complexity to set up but more ease to manage in S1.

Tracktion has been very focused on leveraging software synths and effects.

[careyletendre]

I keep changing DAWs like I was getting paid for it and I complain all the time (because all of them in my opinion have unbelievably thoughtless and even outright stupid flaws) and I am convinced that those who don't complain are the ones who get very little done (because many flaws tend to only reveal themselves once you create more than just a few bars of music).

Also my assumption is that I am amongst the most productive folks on here, so there's that... and by the way - as most DAW talk on here and also in other places - this thread is a lot of noise and very little signal. I could be wrong, but I think not a single actual feature has been mentioned so far. (Which makes me even more convinced that none of you guys actually get a lot done ).

This is one of the most insensitive and dismissive comments i've read in a long time.

[pdxindy]

I keep changing DAWs like I was getting paid for it and I complain all the time (because all of them in my opinion have unbelievably thoughtless and even outright stupid flaws) and I am convinced that those who don't complain are the ones who get very little done

The ones who don't complain get more done cause they aren't wasting their time fruitlessly complaining in forums.

[Jac459]

this concept that there is a correlation between people complaining about their DAW and the amount they a achieved must be the dumbest thing of the month in KVR (and it says a lot).

Yeah, agreed. I use Reaper and that f**king DAW gives me enough to complain about even before pressing the play button. But I'll buy another license when the time comes. It's like any relationship, you learn to live with the flaws because nothing is ever 100% perfect.

Yeah true....

(Except bitwig of course )

[Jac459]

I keep changing DAWs like I was getting paid for it and I complain all the time (because all of them in my opinion have unbelievably thoughtless and even outright stupid flaws) and I am convinced that those who don't complain are the ones who get very little done

The ones who don't complain get more done cause they aren't wasting their time fruitlessly complaining in forums.

Respectfully, you can't comment on this one pdxindy, your primary DAW is bitwig, so it is easy to be happy

More seriously, I remember being on Reason Studios and loving it for some part and being very frustrated for some others.
Bitwig fit way better my use case, I am aware it is not the best for everything but for my use case, it is perfect and without any flaws or limitations. (well, v4 was perfect, v5 is beyond that ).

[Jac459]

I keep changing DAWs like I was getting paid for it and I complain all the time (because all of them in my opinion have unbelievably thoughtless and even outright stupid flaws) and I am convinced that those who don't complain are the ones who get very little done (because many flaws tend to only reveal themselves once you create more than just a few bars of music).

Also my assumption is that I am amongst the most productive folks on here, so there's that... and by the way - as most DAW talk on here and also in other places - this thread is a lot of noise and very little signal. I could be wrong, but I think not a single actual feature has been mentioned so far. (Which makes me even more convinced that none of you guys actually get a lot done ).

This is one of the most insensitive and dismissive comments i've read in a long time.

I think somebody is just playing with chatGPT and is asking how to be a d..k in a forum.

[? ? ?]

Once I started getting hardware, I found Tracktion/Waveform more limiting overall (though Studio One Pro has some stupid limitations here and there, too).

Out of curiosity, what hardware do you use that surpasses what a DAW could do?

Waveform’s handling of hardware has improved, but it wasn’t very good at managing the latency when I switched to Studio One. Didn’t matter what hardware - any hardware was handled with more complexity to set up but more ease to manage in S1.

Tracktion has been very focused on leveraging software synths and effects.

I misunderstood you. I thought you meant using hardware to replace your DAW. Nevermind me, nothing to see here.

[bilrobins]

Quick update: Following my original post, I stopped using Studio One due to it having an odd graphical 'lag' issue (on my system) that caused me to start looking at alternative DAWs (I still think S1 is generally a really great DAW). I hadn't tried Ableton for a couple of years and decided to give it a go. Much to my surprise, some issues that bothered me previously had been resolved and I very quickly really clicked with Ableton. I've now been using it for about a month and I'm very much enjoying it. Very fast and fun workflow for me, looks good in 4K with good display and zoom options. I've sold or stopped using all other DAWs and I'm very happy with Ableton. The free Ableton 'Lite' version is really great for giving it a proper test.

[jancivil]

Not to be contrarian or reactionary (really) but I don't have a "DAW journey" to speak of and I'll say why. If you can forgive old person storytelling time, which may be of some interest to y'all.
I first dipped my toes in the DAW waters knowing nothing, in 2003.
I come from a couple of areas prior to this:
I switched my major from Applied Guitar to
#Electronic Music Composition
IE: The lab at SFCM which came out of the Tape Music Center (Subotnick, Oliveros et al). (I was interested in tape rather than the Buchla; this was I believe the 200. but {CF: West Coast synthesis} this had no keyboard.)
You won't believe how equipped is that school today. I feel like applying.
Cutting-edge resources to design and polish your portfolio
Technology and Applied Composition Program

and #the recording studio; trying since I was a kid to make a record. At SF I met a band of musicians and particularly its composer*; this resulted in daily free improvising, and recording that; the goal being composition in real time. We recorded a couple of things at Mobius ...

Anyway I began to come back to life, got my crazy check finally in '03 and was shopping for a computer [sequencing] way to compose. (I did some things ca. 1986-87 on the original MacIntosh, notation program out the serial port to MIDI, 2 synths and a drum machine.) The only thing I'd heard of was Pro Tools. So I'm in Guitar Center and asking questions and another customer overhears and sez, "No, no, you don't want Pro Tools, you have to have extra hardware to use it, and it gets real expensive. You want Cubase."
So I bought Cubase (SX 1.06). (I also bought Reason 2.5. I had a blast with the latter playing Maelstrom, pretty psychedelic.)
I stared at Cubase for like a year, it was overwhelming. I checked out a book in the library; I printed out the entire manual, 700 pages.

Eventually I got the drift. I didn't have to cut a piece in a whole take (my keyboard skills were never anything, albeit the one time I *had* to cut it in the studio because *the usual suspect was on tour - my own compo in 4-part harmony - I nailed it, sweating bullets.);
I could do it bit by bit and edit! The universe opens up.

So. I think it was at SX.2 where Cubase came out with the Time Warp feature. So you have a recording, whether audio or MIDI and instead of predetermining the tempo and fitting to that you make the timeline fit what you did; by finding downbeats and dragging a barline to that spot.
The demonstration I saw on Youtube took a regular rock song (Pretenders, I'm Special) and from the audio clip determined the tempi. Rock steady, yeah? The BPMs are all over the place, because music be like that.
So now I know what to do. I play the thing in and instead of pretending to know out of the blue what the metronome marking or BPM is I just do the thing. And I do some things with rhythm improvising I couldn't say what they are. So the shackles are off! Before this I was recording things ignoring what the timeline was entirely. I set the timeline to SMPTE and if I needed to futz with the time I would go into bars 'n beats mode and insert or delete bars, little tiny bars of 64th notes and like that. I got my early things together like that, what a mess the project would be.

So, for quite some time subsequently there were no other DAWs that did this. I believe it was Samplitude Pro X ca 2011 that more or less did it. Logic has something similar.
It really is essential to how I create music. Even my long-tones spacey music is timed and measured today. If I know exactly what the times, time signatures are, I have clarity in what the next part and so forth is/are. I trained myself to competently execute tuplets, or every number up to 20 where there's mostly redundancy, so when I improvise there are mysteries to solve because I go for it. What if a second level of time (eg., a 9 in the time of 4) extends past a barline? What are barlines? I find out.

And, if I want to fabricate, Cubase quantize template provides for every tuplet, and for every tuplet on top of triplets or the dotted note basis!
Now, Logic has its own approach and even provides for nested tuplets (I've had to devise ways and means; even as it doesn't directly have that in that window, already we have two ways i just described) which might be something but due to other issues (I've had a couple of versions) it would be that whole going back and forth trip... and the method = time consuming.

SO: the upshot, the why I don't switch, is I'm not going to use Samplitude which is on the other platform even if I have enough reasons. And I don't think like that, I don't look_for deficiencies (or am very driven reading about features) and when they occur, ok, I'm a problem solver.
So the whole 'You can make your music in any DAW' is not actually true, for me. I don't wish to adjust my whole modi operandi in order to be less free. Also, up to quite recently, the ease of connection to VE Pro or not (a very clunky workaround with Logic, eg; at the time I tried Digital Performer there were problems) will have kept me on Cubase or Nuendo. There are botches, there is the not fixing a bug until the next paid version historically, but it's good enough; with the particular workflow I'm on about superseding everything.

[syntonica]

I get tons of music and audio work done with Bitwig. I’m often under a tight deadline as well, so if it had a flaw that prevented me from working quickly, I’d have discarded it long ago.

I don't doubt any of that - but then again Bitwig is one of those hosts without ARA, so for those who use a lot of audio... (it has a Grid though... )

You don't need a better DAW, you need a better singer.

[jens]

I get tons of music and audio work done with Bitwig. I’m often under a tight deadline as well, so if it had a flaw that prevented me from working quickly, I’d have discarded it long ago.

I don't doubt any of that - but then again Bitwig is one of those hosts without ARA, so for those who use a lot of audio... (it has a Grid though... )

You don't need a better DAW, you need a better singer.

Sorry, but all you do is to proof beyond doubt that you have zero clue of what you are talking about.

[syntonica]

I get tons of music and audio work done with Bitwig. I’m often under a tight deadline as well, so if it had a flaw that prevented me from working quickly, I’d have discarded it long ago.

I don't doubt any of that - but then again Bitwig is one of those hosts without ARA, so for those who use a lot of audio... (it has a Grid though... )

You don't need a better DAW, you need a better singer.

Sorry, but all you do is to proof beyond doubt that you have zero clue of what you are talking about.

That's it. I'm done with humor on this site...

[jens]

oh snap!

Sorry, I really thought you were being serious - I must have read something along those lines at least a couple dozen times here and elsewhere...

[Jac459]

I get tons of music and audio work done with Bitwig. I’m often under a tight deadline as well, so if it had a flaw that prevented me from working quickly, I’d have discarded it long ago.

I don't doubt any of that - but then again Bitwig is one of those hosts without ARA, so for those who use a lot of audio... (it has a Grid though... )

You don't need a better DAW, you need a better singer.

Sorry, but all you do is to proof beyond doubt that you have zero clue of what you are talking about.

That's it. I'm done with humor on this site...

For what it is worth, your joke made me laugh , you should totally continue with humor on this site.

[kritikon]

I'm with Jan on this, except in only 1 line. Never had any "journey" with any DAW the last 34 yrs