Another vote for ableton live. After a short learning curve you can do a lot with it. And after that time investment you will never grow out of it IMHO.
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DAW for stupid people
- Thread starter Chicory Blue
- Start date
I use Audacity because it is stupid easy and fast to record a track, and ot runs fine on my crummy little netbook. I don't do anything else with it, though.
Audacity is hard to beat for sheer simplicity. If you want something that has a bit more functionality and is free Tracktion is a good alternative. In my (admittedly rather limited) experience there's an initial period of "Why the f**k is this godd*m thing not working!" involved with pretty much any DAW; so sticking with Studio 1 for the time being and following a few tutorials might work out eventually.
Otherwise there's a list with some others here.
Otherwise there's a list with some others here.
Thanks so much for the advice, all. You guys rock.
A little backstory- when I went I first purchased the USB interface, I did a quick googling (while at the store- it was a whimsy purchase), and saw that my two best options at that moment were the blue Audiobox that came with Studio One and a red unit that came with Ableton. Ableton seemed to be peoples' preferred program, but the Audiobox was blue, and the blue thing always wins in my world.
I downloaded Audacity tonight and it seems to be pretty much just what I was looking for. Hearin' what y'all are sayin' about getting acquainted with something real (such as the good thing I already have), and you aren't wrong- I should totes get this knowledge under my belt if I hope to make something serious someday.
But for now, I just wanna hit "record" on the good thing I've got going, so Audacity's doin' it for me in the right way.
You guys rule, as always.
--^@
A little backstory- when I went I first purchased the USB interface, I did a quick googling (while at the store- it was a whimsy purchase), and saw that my two best options at that moment were the blue Audiobox that came with Studio One and a red unit that came with Ableton. Ableton seemed to be peoples' preferred program, but the Audiobox was blue, and the blue thing always wins in my world.
I downloaded Audacity tonight and it seems to be pretty much just what I was looking for. Hearin' what y'all are sayin' about getting acquainted with something real (such as the good thing I already have), and you aren't wrong- I should totes get this knowledge under my belt if I hope to make something serious someday.
But for now, I just wanna hit "record" on the good thing I've got going, so Audacity's doin' it for me in the right way.
You guys rule, as always.
--^@
I got a free version of Ableton lite when i got an interface. Whilst i was able to get started easily with it and get some tracks recorded i couldn't work out how to get multiple takes onto a track.
I the then got determined to get my head around Reaper and I'm so glad i persisted. It is so good, and quite easy once you get the basics worked out.
Yay!
If you ever find that you want more functionality i would highly recommend Reaper. It works with pc or Mac and you can export wave files to be used with most other DAW's.
Audacity and Reaper easy! I'm as dumb as they come with recording etc and I made a decent recording with Reaper and EZ Drummer 2. Used a Pre Sonus interface $99.00 plugged my Fender Jazz Deluxe in a Radial Passive JDI into the Pre Sonus, sounded fantastic not much work at all, my Guitarist bud laid down the keys and guitar for me however.
- Jan 26, 2014
- 1,525
- 1,946
- Disclosures
- I teach lessons and perform live music in and around San Diego CA. Sometimes I even make money doing it!
All true, but when I needed a simple, intuitive recording platform, that was easy to use with drum machines and create my own loops, Ableton was it. Sonar does WAY more, but it's just not intuitive. Sometimes menus decide not to work, controllers decide not to work, it's obnoxious. For simple, old school tracking, I still recommend Live, but yes, it's not a full on, multi buss, take lane enabled DAW.
They're all kind of the same now, more than ever. I'd dig in and go down the rabbit hole with whatever you're using, and it will translate to others. I'm sort of a Logic "power user", having used it professionally since it was just a midi sequencer, but I can get around in PT, Cubase, etc. very well if I have a little time to acclimate. I agree with Funky Monk--just use it everyday, ALL THE TIME. If you're ever stuck on something don't blow it off--sort it out right there on the spot one way or another..
An often overlooked full-featured DAW is Ardour. It runs on Linux (so it's entirely free and open-source), has a lot of available plugins, online tutorials, support forums, etc.
Thanks for confirming. I wasn't 100% sure if it was because it was a lite version or my complete lack of DAW knowledge at the time.
If you're needing beat loops, or play electronic type music i believe that Ableton is a good choice.
When i was looking around for a decent DAW i questioned some pro-muso recording friends (one of whom runs a decent higher level studio) and the thread on Facebook must have had nearly 100 responses from people who know recording and I was surprised how many people said that they all do very similar stuff in slightly different ways these days.
- Jan 26, 2014
- 1,525
- 1,946
- Disclosures
- I teach lessons and perform live music in and around San Diego CA. Sometimes I even make money doing it!
Haha, yes, my complete lack of knowledge at the time made Live a good choice, I kinda want to go back to the easy days
. My layman's understanding is they don't support multiple takes and busses because they focus on making their product stable and reliable for live performance. You'd think in 2017 it wouldn't be a huge issue, but I couldn't code in BASIC if my life depended on it, so I'll just toddle on my merry way. Maybe I should just try reaper.
I just recorded my first cover today with Reaper. Seemed pretty simple to me once you get the Audio Interface set up to interact properly with Reaper, after that it was just hit record and off you go. I can't say I've used too many more complicated features though.
Too bad GarageBand is out, it's exactly what you describe, plus when you're ready you can easily graduate to Logic.
Reason has an interface that looks like a 19in rack, where you can add/remove mixers, effects, synths... then you go to the back of the rack and plug patch cables from one piece of "gear" to another. Pretty fun and intuitive.
Cubase LE you can get free a lot of places, less intuitive, but cheap and more stictly a mutlitrack recorder (although it is a VST host as well).
Ardour I love but it's not ready yet. At least on any setup I tried it on, ymmv.
Reason has an interface that looks like a 19in rack, where you can add/remove mixers, effects, synths... then you go to the back of the rack and plug patch cables from one piece of "gear" to another. Pretty fun and intuitive.
Cubase LE you can get free a lot of places, less intuitive, but cheap and more stictly a mutlitrack recorder (although it is a VST host as well).
Ardour I love but it's not ready yet. At least on any setup I tried it on, ymmv.
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Don't fall into the grid thinking. It will suck you in and make your music lifeless like modern pop. Just press record and play, use it like a tape machine. You can also get a zoom multitrack or something like that with no or minimal editing features. That said, Pro Tools is probably the easiest full fledged software to learn the basics of, especially coming from an analog background, since it's setup up is like an analog console. Ableton is good for midi, but it sounds like you aren't into that.
The problem with DAWs is that they force you, like it or not, to think and play the way they are setup, just like google forces you to surf the internet in a certain way. I myself use high quality analog multitrack tape, even though i have a full 16 track pro tools and logic setup. I just find it's more creative for me to just press a button and play, single takes. Once you start to realize you have an infinity of takes and comps at your command, you start to think less about playing in the moment. Even when i record bands digitally, I have the tape machine running in the live room to remind them to be on their A game here and now.
I'm a GarageBand user and have found t intuitive and simple to use. You said you have a PC (I won't get into how a Mac is a PC) but you will find a used Mac for less than many DAW packages and it will include GarageBand - even if it doesn't it costs €10.
Otherwise there are free options such as Audacity which are very functional but not necessarily so user friendly.
Otherwise there are free options such as Audacity which are very functional but not necessarily so user friendly.
+1 for Ableton Live! It is a full fledged DAW with elastic audio, vst plugin support, automation capabilities, etc. etc. etc. In my experience, it rivals Reaper, Pro Tools, Logic, and all the others. Ableton can mix down in any bit rate and you can synchronize video directly inside the program easily.
It's also extremely easy to get the hang of, like you said, thanks to the excellent tutorials and the fact that anything you put your mouse over, it will explain to you exactly what it is and does. It's a real deal DAW.
Studio One is not that difficult to learn. . . not anymore than any of the other digital recording platforms...they all do the same thing with just a different arrangement of similar functions within their specific display layouts.
Watch some You Tube instructional videos.
That said, I've been on Pro Tools since 1997 and will never part with it.
Watch some You Tube instructional videos.
That said, I've been on Pro Tools since 1997 and will never part with it.
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