The Dawless "trend"

[spaceman]

I'm sure it suits some individuals, but I can't shake the idea that it's 90% "influencer" bullshit and 10% useful, but just for having fun, not for anything else. You will spend thousands on gear and you will still end up finishing at least 50% of your track in a DAW.

[chk071]

Sounds like a worthwhile investment.

Well, "Look mom no computer" always sounded pretty pathetic to me.

[spaceman]

Sounds like a worthwhile investment.

Well, "Look mom no computer" always sounded pretty pathetic to me.

I suspect that most people sell their gear again much faster than they acquired it

[whyterabbyt]

I like the idea of doing as much as possible without a DAW doing much other than recording the audio of whatever it is Im doing. Mostly I dont even record, though, because, well 'just for having fun' is as good an endpoint as any for me.

But if I was actually trying to proceed with something 'final' I'd intrinsically want to be able to edit that audio afterwards; my tendency would be to treat it as source material as per musique concrete.

If there was something DAWless that would fit my preferences there, I suspect it'd be indistinguishable from a DAW anyway.

[spaceman]

I like the idea of doing as much as possible without a DAW doing much other than recording the audio of whatever it is Im doing. Mostly I dont even record, though, because, well 'just for having fun' is as good an endpoint as any for me.

But if I was actually trying to proceed with something 'final' I'd intrinsically want to be able to edit that audio afterwards; my tendency would be to treat it as source material as per musique concrete.

If there was something DAWless that would fit my preferences there, I suspect it'd be indistinguishable from a DAW anyway.

That's exactly it. The hands-on approach is fun to create sounds, and the 'just having fun' will/should probably be the endpoint for most people. But anyone who would actually want to finish a track (especially on a professional level) will do a lot of work in a DAW.

[whyterabbyt]

I do kinda see it ('DAwless') as the inevitable endpoint of the hipster analog modular synth wanker.

[spaceman]

I do kinda see it ('DAwless') as the inevitable endpoint of the hipster analog modular synth wanker.

It's indeed the only way to go after one realises one spent 100k on a pling ploing machine.

[spaceman]

This forum software doesn't like me

[foosnark]

I can theoretically see the appeal of just having something like an SP404 or an Elektron box and making beats on the couch.

But the closer you get to actual recording/production, the more impractical it is to go DAWless.


Some people do love to get on their computers to tell people in music forums how much they hate computers. Other people act like anything digital is poison and it was a mistake to progress past the point of cutting tape with razor blades.

[spaceman]

I can theoretically see the appeal of just having something like an SP404 or an Elektron box and making beats on the couch.

But the closer you get to actual recording/production, the more impractical it is to go DAWless.


Some people do love to get on their computers to tell people in music forums how much they hate computers. Other people act like anything digital is poison and it was a mistake to progress past the point of cutting tape with razor blades.

I think that 'influencers' being sent gear or paid to promote gear are the main billboards for the excitement around dawless. And even they can't hide the fact that they're on a constant mission to fix problems and find costly solutions for major holes in the creative process that would be fixed in 2 seconds in a DAW. "Oh damn, my new £2k piece of gear doesn't seem to want to midi sync the way I want it to with the rest of my gear. Maybe throw eurorack in the mix to solve that issue?"

[vurt]

i don't do much recording and editing these days. record straight to two tracks on pootube.

not for any ooh look at me being dawless aesthetic, but because it is indeed fun.
i just plug in, play. in the same way i did before computers became ubiquitous in music, again not for an aesthetic, just that's what being a musician/artist was when i was starting out, so that's who i am.

nothing against computers or digital, both are still involved, just the computer is very minimally used.

[FakeNatty]

DAWless? Might as well go "carelessly careerless".

Either music isn't your career so you burn all the saved money to buy a few hardware to take up the entire living room of a house you can barely afford.

Or you end your music career when your clients/colleagues send you their project files.

[foosnark]

Most people making electronic music (with or without a DAW) are doing it because they enjoy it, not as a career.

[spaceman]

Most people making electronic music (with or without a DAW) are doing it because they enjoy it, not as a career.

I know. Lots of people also just like gear and love fixing issues.

[DNnX]

I love to use hardware synths, FXs, consoles, because I love the sound of them.
However, I've never gone to DAWless. I need it for MIDI sequencing, at least.
Are there any good modern hardware MIDI sequencers which can replace the DAW one?
Tried some classic ones but it just made my workflow worse