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Thinking about getting a DAW. Recommendations for a beginner?

#41
I'm a fan of Reaper. The learning curve is a bit steeper than others, but it is very powerful, and simply can't be beat in terms of bang/buck. $60 for two major versions.

The other thing I would suggest is getting a presonus interface that includes Studio One Artist. Looks very nice and polished, but due to my years of Reaper experience I can't muster the energy to learn it enough to do a proper comparison.
 
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#42
Another vote for Reaper here. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, and I still learn something new every time I use it, but for only $60 it's hard to beat.

Possibly the most difficult thing for me when learning was searching for how to do certain things. You know what you'd like to do but don't know the jargon so a google search can be difficult but most answers are in the Cuckos forum or on youtube.
 
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#44
Many Pro Tools user's have switched to Reaper FYI In PRO studios ! good PRE's and MICS are a must IF you want a good sound from actual sources vs plugin instruments ?? not sure if what you plan on doing so ??
For bass a GOOD DI or Sans amp or similar is fine. I would record direct ( DI/Sans ) Plus mic a cab/amp , always ended up using the direct signal .
 
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#45
Cubase would be my first choice. Excellent DAW.

Reaper is very good to and very cheap. It's easy to learn the basics but if you want to get the best out of it there's a rather steep learning curve compared to many other DAWs. It's very deep but lots of functions that I personally find necessary for a good workflow are buried deep in menus and it took me quite a bit of tweaking with the setup before I was comfortable with it. Cubase is much better out of the box and my personal favourite.

Pro Tools if you want the easiest way of bringing your projects to most commercial studios for mixing, overdubs or whatever.
 
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#47
mike buzzetti said:
Many Pro Tools user's have switched to Reaper FYI In PRO studios ! good PRE's and MICS are a must IF you want a good sound from actual sources vs plugin instruments ?? not sure if what you plan on doing so ??
For bass a GOOD DI or Sans amp or similar is fine. I would record direct ( DI/Sans ) Plus mic a cab/amp , always ended up using the direct signal .
Click to expand...
Remember this guy's a beginner. Interfaces have pres... Plugins have full amp sims.... I agree that pre's are good. But when you are just getting started... That's a whole other ball of wax... Then you have the Pre Gains and output... Interface pre, gain, pad, roll off, polarity switch... Etc... If you've been doing it for a while.. sure...
But first time?
Again... I agree with you... Just maybe down the road.
 
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#48
JamesDeGrandis said:
Remember this guy's a beginner. Interfaces have pres... Plugins have full amp sims.... I agree that pre's are good. But when you are just getting started... That's a whole other ball of wax... Then you have the Pre Gains and output... Interface pre, gain, pad, roll off, polarity switch... Etc... If you've been doing it for a while.. sure...
But first time?
Again... I agree with you... Just maybe down the road.
Click to expand...
Ya true !! keep it Simple stupid KISS
 
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#50
If friends, bandmates, school programs, or the people who you aspire to work with use a certain DAW, choose that one.
It's not easy to flip around between them. Sharing projects is a breeze when you're on the same platform.
I won't recommend a specific one because everyone just tends to recommend the one that they use. They are all fine
 
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#52
For a beginner, I would recommend Audacity. You will experience success quickly and be able to dig in right away and create tracks right away. I have used Audacity, Ardour, and Ableton (my son has a copy and likes it) and finally settled on ProTools simply because other collaborators I work with are using it. It sounds like I need to try Reaper.
 
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#56
Do NOT buy a cheap USB interface/soundcard thinking it's a good deal. Absolutely not a Behringer. Very poor drivers(if the model has even one!) and terrible hardware design. Issues right and left, non-stop.
I had to exchange my PreSonus for a friend's Behringer for a project for a short while. The thing is not even usable for proper media playback IMO. Total PoS.

Go for the cheaper units from PreSonus or Focusrite to begin. M-audio used to be good but not for a decade or so, not anymore.
 
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#57
TeaTime said:
Scarlett 2i2, Reaper.

Any of the modern DAW will get the job done. Pick one and dig in. I went with Reaper because it seemed there were a lot of good tutorials for the absolute beginner, but also plenty of depth for the more advanced. I've not been disappointed.

Plugins eat system performance, especially when applied to dozens of tracks. Look for tutorials on how to mitigate that.

And for the love of music - do final mixes into speakers, not headphones.
Click to expand...
Solution to plugins eating resources... more resources!
128 GB of Ram and a dual Xeon helps with this problem... End of tutorial...
Wait... Budget is an obstacle?
Hmmm... uh.... Maybe you should...uh... Out board gear? That's cheap right?
 
#58
In terms of USB interfaces, my first was a Tascam US 122 MKII. It was OK when it came out, but was rapidly outdated in terms of features and better performance. Current entry level quality units are the Scarlett 2i2 and the Presonus Audiobox USB 96, both recommended in this thread. One thing to consider is how they will work for your needs. I've owned a Scarlett 2i2 and would have kept it had I known I would eventually want a small interface to do tracks in my home office. Recently I picked up a used Audiobox 96 unit for that purpose. What I learned is that the XLR\1/4" combo jacks on the Audiobox do not support line level inputs - keyboards, drum machine, etc... and I had to pick up a standalone DI box to convert line level to low z.
I think the specs and features on the Scarlett are a bit better, while the Presonus has a better price point. Either are great to get started with. The Behringer UM2 is a "dual" unit that sells new for about $40. There's lots of options out there. Once you get started watch out for the new "DAS" effect ;)
 
#59
tothemax said:
What I learned is that the XLR\1/4" combo jacks on the Audiobox do not support line level inputs - keyboards, drum machine, etc...
Click to expand...
That's interesting, because I use the XLR / ¼" combo jacks on my Presonus Audiobox USB for both instrument and line level stuff and it works great with no issues. Just recently I recorded some stereo tracks from my keyboard workstation using both input jacks and it worked fine.
 
#60
Basslice said:
Welcome to the recordingverse @mjcarp79 . A few questions:
  1. What kind of music do you want to record (band, solo, live, other)?
  2. Related to above, how many simultaneous channels do you need?
  3. What kind of computer do you have or want to have (Windows/Apple)?
  4. What kind of instruments do you want to capture (bass/guitar, vocals, midi, drum kit, etc)?
  5. What will your recording space be like?
  6. What is your general budget?
Click to expand...

Sorry it has taken me awhile to answer your questions. It is pretty indefinite at this point.

The most I can imagine using would be two channels. I play bass (only bass), and my teenage son is just starting to play guitar (electric). We have been jamming and coming up with little "mini song" ideas. We have been wanting a means to capture these little ideas.

I have a basic home computer with windows.

Right now it just guitar and bass, but we will most likely want to incorporate a basic drum machine at some point.

Recording space would be in living room or bedroom, near the computer.

Budget is indefinite, but fairly small. Probably not more that a couple hundred dollars.

Thanks!
 

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