DAW under 400e with audio record + pianoroll + "good" instruments? Not only for beginner!

[antic604]

...

Ok, awesome! So I'd definitely recommend 2nd hand Studio One 4 Pro and you'll be left with 200-250eur for some additional instruments. The audio effects that it has are great, but instruments are pretty limited (but good, nonetheless).

Have a look if this is something you'd want. They have 30 days fully featured demo.



https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... y2IUIEVhlB

[chk071]

Studio One Pro is only 275 € new at the moment, so, you might as well consider just buying it new. Even leaves space for another software synthesizer maybe.

[antic604]

Studio One Pro is only 275 € new at the moment, so, you might as well consider just buying it new. Even leaves space for another software synthesizer maybe.

I bought it 3 times, used. So that's the way to go, IMO

[SLiC]

Another vote for Studio One

Both come with good instruments built in and good content- Studio One is just more accessible in my opinion despite having all of the advanced features you will ever need.

[chimp_spanner]

How important is it that it's under 400? My vote is split;

I'm a Reason guy. One might say "fan boy" haha. But for just a hair over 400 you'll get a very decent/capable pitch editor plus slice editing and comping for audio, a literal stack of effects to play around with and some great presets and stock instruments (acoustic drums, basses, modular synths, wavetable, granular, etc.). I know some consider the interface in Reason to be a bit daunting but really, it's just like any other DAW except it keeps all its instruments and effects in a virtual rack, rather than in slots on a channel.

Live 10 Suite is also currently 30% off until May 20th. I got it for 377 and the amount of stuff you get is just crazy. Really cutting edge sounds, and a lot of modularity and expandability as your needs and capabilities grow. The only thing is that for audio editing, you might come unstuck. It has no pitch editor (well, you can automate pitch shift inside a clip but it's not like melodyne or vari-audio), and no comping. It does have warp point editing though. It might do for now but later if you find yourself doing more elaborate audio recording, you might be limited.

I also have FL Studio 20 but honestly I've not touched it. Maybe because the Studio edition is missing a lot of stuff and 700 to get the top tier version is not at all on the cards for me. Also I personally find the interface super confusing. I know a tonne of producers user it - obviously it just hasn't clicked with me. Still all three of these have trials available. So get em downloaded, fire up some tutorial videos and see which one grabs you!

[SoundPorn]

I would keep learning Reaper at the moment since it's demo last forever and is a great software to know your way around for recording, mixing and mastering. Like lately I been making beats on Serato Studio and importing the stems to Reaper for mixing. Great workflow.

But when it comes to new EDM and Hip Hop producers I would suggest the best kept secret is Waveform Pro. It's workflow, midi tools, chord track, arrangement tools, groove doctor, can all basically write a song for you lol. It also comes with Melodyne essential and Autotune artists. It's an absolute steal for the price and you can use the extra $300 between Plugin Boutique and Waves buying what's on sale. Also don't forget a Loopcloud or Splice subscription but Loopcloud 5 is a must have either way for samples.

[fmr]

There is a thing that really pisses me in Waveform. If you have the piano roll opened, it doesn't scroll with the music. I don't remember any other DAW where this happens.

I can't believe they didn't fix that yet.

[apoclypse]

This is tough one. For me if you want a DAW that is has a lot of features, synths and effects on the PC, then Live may be the best option especially with the sale going on right now. It has a lot of cool instruments and effects and is pretty powerful with M4L. Bitwig is also an alternative but for newer users it may be a more complicated than it needs to be. My personal favorite is Studio One. It's just so straightforward and easy to use, but it's a no frills type of DAW. It has effects and Instruments, but they tend to be more utilitarian than inspiring. They are nothing to write home about.

On the Mac (and I know the OP said they are on PC but) Logic is the hands down king of bang for buck. Effects, Instruments, Loops, features. All of it for $299. Not to mention that Apple keeps updating the darn thing for free pretty much every year. They've added everything from new sampled instruments to even new synths and effects within the span of a few years. There is really nothing that touches it imo. It's just a little old school in parts.

[masterhiggins]

$199. If you buy the EDU bundle you also get FCP and MainStage for free. It doesn't get much better than that.

[kavin2134]

To OP:
I will give u these following suggestions: (in order of ascending preference)
3.Acoustica mixcraft pro (150$) + a couple synths or samplepack/presets
2. FL Studio producer edition (199$) + couple synths second hand from forum and samplepacks
3. Studio one pro (150 second hand) + many second hand plugins and samplepacks, presets,etc

Not logic because pc. not live as thats not what youre looking for. youre looking for simple straight to the point Daw. try these three and pick one.

[Eclectrophonic]

Judging by what you've said:- you have a mic and record vocals only, you want good instruments, make EDM and will buy some VST's. I think for price, you're looking at Cockos Reaper or Image-Line FL Studio.

Reaper is only $60 with a 90 day free trial and FL Studio has 4 editions with varying prices, instruments and things you can do with the daw depending on the edition. The best bang for buck for FL Studio is the Producer Edition, it's fully functional but some instruments and effects (sadly good ones - Harmor / Transistor Bass (303 Emulation) / Transient Processor etc) missing but is only £153 ($187). For £230 ($281) you can get a slightly better version - Signature Bundle.

FL Studio has probably the best piano roll (midi editor) of them all, many will agree here I'm sure. So for EDM (I'd say Hip-Hop and EDM are FL's forte) it is probably gonna be your best option. It can also be used as a VST within Cakewalk By Bandlab (which is free) or Reaper (as they have VST support) too if you so wish. You can record audio perfectly fine in it but just lacks some things, comping for one. It does have punch in/out though and you can open audio in Audio Warp (Newtime) and manipulate (it has downbeat markers, warp markers and groove markers) and paste it onto the playlist (arranger / sequencer) - https://www.image-line.com/support/flst ... ewtime.htm.

For bass + other sounds, you have 3xOSC, FLEX, Fruity DX10, Groove Machine Synth, Mini Synth, Autogun and Sytrus both included in Producer and Signature Bundles. FL's downside is, it has a very different approach to most other daw's on the market as it was originally a drum loop program (Fruity Loops) which has grown into a filly fledged daw over the past 12 or so years so it behaves in it's own way but once you get your head around it, it's very good.

Reaper. Reaper is very good. I am just learning it at the moment. Has every feature I've been looking for so far. I've used Reason for years and it has easily 100 features more than that. It is a bit lacking in it's GUI but there are some amazing themes you can download (for free) and they are amazing. Imperial Theme, Logic Next / Logic 3.77 and the FL Studio (Beta2) to name just 3. It is fully customizable with macros and scripts too which is great. Biggest flaw, only 1 synth in it and that synth and all the effects are plain boxes with no GUI which really lets it down but you can load VST's in it.

[brozobob]

Seriously, if money is an issue, just download Cakewalk, especially if you are on a PC. It has everything you need at a high level, except for your instruments...there are some basic strings, keys, drums, included & the Pro Channel gives you Compressors, Tape Emulation, Reverbs, etc...and all of this is FREE. The new version is extremely stable, YMMV, and they continue to put out bug fixes on a consistent basis. I wouldn't think twice about it. This leaves you will cash to pick up a few plugin suites that will get you going.... If you are on a Mac, get Logic. I literally have them all, except FL Studio...so I cannot speak to that workflow. I could make an argument for every DAW out there, so you need to start downloading trials and see which one works for you, and eventually, you will own them all like most of us on this forum...it is a sickness and an addiction. They are all playgrounds, and when you get bored with one, you move to another, and on and on and on.