DAWs

[spidersbass]

so instead of hijacking someone elses thread i decided to start another one.

whats a good program to mix in? i don't record straight to computer, i use the old school ADAT's and do the final mix on the board. BUT, i'm about to undergo my bands first demo and hopefully lead into an album and i want to be all nice and pretty with glits and glammer. so i'm going to convert the ADAT files onto tracks on a DAW

right now i have Cubase LE. haven't had much time to mess around with it. i also have my eye on Tracktion by Mackie. it looks good on the demo, easy to work with, but the demo version doesn't let me finalize my mix onto a CD and play it on my system... computer speakers only go so far.

thanks for any insight

 

[laboitenoire]

Hmmm... Cubase is pretty good. Also, I like Cakewalk's Sonar Home Studio. Pretty easy to learn, and it has tons of effects you can add to liven up a relatively flat mix. Also, if you have a mac (which you probably don't, seeing as you use Cubase), you can just use Garage Band.

 

[spidersbass]

bump anyone?

 

[chrisp2u]

Though there are differences in features and efficiency amongst the DAW software out there, you can get good results from any of them if you take the time to learn them and have a basic understanding of ITB mixing (like gain staging). The quality you can achieve from most all of them is pretty much the same.

I've used at least a half dozen or more different DAW apps (in various versions) over the years including ProTools LE (still my primary), Ableton LIVE, Logic, DP, and more recently Tracktion. They've all had pluses and minuses... some of them just didn't work for me right away (just didn't feel right)... others I felt needed time to warm up to. The LIVE and Tracktion interfaces were a bit weird to get used to at first after using other stuff for so long, but they actually seem pretty intuitive once you play with them a bit... just a differnt workflow than most other DAW's.

Ultimately, it's mostly subjective and depends on your needs and the processing power you have available. To find what you're most comfortable working with download as many different demos as you can or try them out somewhere until you find something that clicks for you. You'll probably be most concerned with the interface (ease of use), processor efficiency, and included plugin effects/signal processing... so compare and choose.

Good luck.
---
c

 

[Ronan]

Why not just use the ADATS and the board. I never do any mixing inside the computer.

 

[Zinkff]

I currently use Tracktion and really like it. It does take some getting used to the interface since they took a unique approach, but once you get it, it is quite easy to work with. It also comes with some very nice plug-ins to add 'glits and glamour'. But as was said previously, any of the programs will do the job just fine. It is very difficult to tell any difference between them sonically.

For a low budget approach you could try Reaper. It is getting very good reviews and is supposed to be stable. You can download a fully functioning version. By the way, getting a stable program and system is the most important 'feature' of any DAW. Do a little research on recording boards to see if people are having problems with their hardware/software combos. FWIW, Tracktion is pretty stable for most.

 

[winston]

Another Tracktion fan here. I find it really easy to use--more like an overgrown 4-track than a fancy computer program. I'm really looking forward to v.3 which will feature ACID/Apple/REX loop support. $150 is a great price for Tracktion and IMO it does a lot of things as well as programs 3 times the price.

I also use Energy XT and have messed around with the demo/light versions of ACID 6, Live 5, FL Studio 6, and Cakewalk. Download as many demos as you can to see what features you really need before buying.

Are you using Mac or PC? Tracktion, Live and (I think) Cubase work on both. Cakewalk/ACID are PC only, whereas DP and Logic are Mac-exclusive.