DAW Query ?!!

[LittleFace]

Hi, new here but frequently check SOS' review's when buying hardware,
Anyway, I'm thinking about getting a DAW and was wondering what the best all rounder was?, I'm familiar with the functions of most analogue studio gear and can get decent results with what I have but I need more tracks and a DAW seems a sensible route to go as I'm a bedroom wannabe.

I have played with ACID Pro in the past and found it familiar to analogue recording but quickly got bored with learning a new format,

I'm looking for something user freindly,that I can download for free although I dont mind paying a couple of hundred quid for something decent if it means I dont have to upgrade a lot of hardware and preferably something with a beat generator/ drum pattern program,

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[The Elf]

Welcome!

If you're PC-based then Cockos Reaper is free to try and costs very little to keep if you like it. Can't think of a better way to get started. After that it's just about what DAW takes your fancy. Some suit some and others suit others.

[GaryM]

If you're wanting to use loops, beats, etc. then I'd recommend Ableton Live. You can download a trial version from www.ableton.com

[gingertimmins]

I'm a bedroom wannabe and I got pro tools (admittedly not HD but m-powered)
I really wish I'd gone for cubase though, I find it easier to use, easier on the eye and it has some features that I think Pro tool is missing. I'm sure pro tools is fantastic when you're a true 'pro' but for the bedroom wannabe i think cubase is better straight out of the box.

[ef37a]

Littleface,
You say you are getting a DAW and imply you need multitrack. i.e. more than 2, capability.

This means hardware and these days likely an Audio Interface.
They all come with a "lite" version of something famous, most often Cubase so you may not need to buy software at all to begin with and the supplied Cubase version also usually gives you a cheap upgrade path.

Dave.

[LittleFace]

I've been eyeing Cubase for a while to be honest and I know a few people who have it and swear by it

[The Elf]

I've been eyeing Cubase for a while to be honest and I know a few people who have it and swear by it

I'm one of those who swear by it. It's my DAW of choice, regardless of cost. It's powerful, easy to use and lacks for nothing to give you top-notch results.

There are loads of threads around concerning which is the 'best' DAW (try a search). There is no 'best', because it depends on what how it works *for you*.

If you're sure you want to go that way then, as mentioned above, buying an audio interface with a bundled version of Cubase is good advice.

[Pete Kaine]

I swear by Cubase as well, but then I've been using it since owning an Atari in my youth. I still use a lot of midi kit so it makes sense for me as that side of things is very mature compared with some other apps, but if I was moving inside of the box for instance I don't know if it would be still my choice of sequencer over say Ableton.

Pretty much all you can do is work out what you need out of it and then start asking more specific questions in the application forums. After you get down to a short list grab some demos and invest a few weekends in trying them out.

It's certainly worth digging about and trying a couple because one of them's going to have the right workflow for the way you want to use it and getting that right will help you no end further down the road when your trying to get ideas down.

[LittleFace]

Do I need to upgrade from standard issue sound cards with a DAW on a home pc or do the interfaces do all the work regarding sound ?

[thenaturallevel]

Digital Performer

[The Elf]

If you're going to do anything remotely 'serious' with audio then you should really get a respectable audio interface. This will not only give you better audio quality, but should also come with efficient ASIO drivers to reduce latency.

Things you may need to consider are the number (and type - mic/line/digital, etc.) of inputs/outputs you need (especially if you want to connect external processors), the number of mic inputs you want and whether those mic inputs need phantom power. That should give you a starting point.

[LittleFace]

I've noticed a lot of new mixer's claim to have interfaces via usb I assume this is not a sound option ?

I'm thinking about buying this as it comes with cubase

web page

[jammy jamz]

heya little face.

i have the older incantation of that device...the US-144, sans mkII or whtever.......and i have to say it works awesomely.

and the cubase that came with it worked awesomely too......but, then i had a harddrive crash, and had a bit of trouble re-registering my cubase software,

so i installed reaper (and will be paying for the license, as soon as i'm out of school, and working)...and....

reaper + Us-144 = awesome. everything works great.

if all you need is two ins, and two outs, + midi, it works like a peach. its never let me down.

and then after a while i bought the Tascam 1641, which also, works flawlessly.

now my workflow is track with the 1641, and laptop, transfer audio + reaper file over to an external, pop those files into the desktop, that i use the US-144 for monitoring, and adding anything if it needs it...works like a charm.



good luck and have fun.

[The Elf]

Mixers with in-built USB are fine. All you need to do is check how many simultaneous inputs it will allow you to feed into your DAW. A 24-input mixer may seem plenty, but if it only allows four simultaneous channels to be fed to the DAW then you’re going to run into compromises. Some beginners get into trouble when they buy an audio interface, then add a separate mixer later, believing it will expand the input count on their audio interface – it won’t.

So make sure that whatever interface you choose has sufficient inputs for your needs. A simple 2-in/2-out may be all you need for now, but if you’re thinking of recording using several microphones, or adding external effects, then you may need to think a little bigger.

The Emu 0404 gets good press in these parts, and should come in under budget, but I haven’t used one, so I can’t comment directly.

[LittleFace]

Sound,

I'm only gonna be recording a track at a time anyway, 1 XLR and 1/4 would be sufficient for what I need to send into a DAW, and I have always been happy with Tascam products, I used to have a Tascam PS5 which in my eye's the most easy to use bit of kit I've ever had, and with a bit of reading you could make some great sounding demo's

[ef37a]

"I've noticed a lot of new mixer's claim to have interfaces via usb I assume this is not a sound option ?"

Possibly but as Elf said, check how many tracks get recorded at a time, pretty rare usb mixer that does more than two AFAIK.

But the biggest drawback to almost all the usb mixers I can think of is that they only allow 16bit recording. We have not got down and dirty on technicals so far but be assured, you do NOT want to be limited to 16bits, 24bits/44.1kHz is the way to go..

The Tascam 144 gets a good rep' everywhere I seem to read as does the Emu 0404usb and that last would be my top choice.

Dave.

[The Elf]

I'm only gonna be recording a track at a time anyway, 1 XLR and 1/4 would be sufficient for what I need to send into a DAW

Nothing in stereo then?

[LittleFace]

the EMU is looking tempting as it comes with bundled software but the familiarity with Tascam might swing it,

So an interface completely bypasses a pc's soundcard and all signals in and out are through that, ie monitoring ?

[ef37a]

"So an interface completely bypasses a pc's soundcard and all signals in and out are through that, ie monitoring ?"

Abso-flippin-lootly! In fact you should disable the pc's integrated sound, in BIOS if you can and do that before you install any drivers or software for a new "card".

Do seek out Mr Walkers articles on pc optimizations for music recording.

Dave.

[LittleFace]

Cool, so I could run it off a laptop with an external hard drive then ?

and I'm assuming I can still use some of my analogue gear alongside it, like DI's and Mixers in the signal chain ?

[The Elf]

Yes, yes and yes (though, as ever, I'd advise against a mixer - it complicates things). But be aware that running an audio interface and a hard drive on a single USB buss (and even on seperate ones) may be problematical. I'm no expert on the technicalities of this - I'm a Firewire user myself.

[LittleFace]

I'm more concerned with getting the best possible signal into the software as possible, I dont give a monkeys about how the pro's do stuff, they have high end equipment and degree's at their disposal, and it's easy to get bogged down with technical stuff and having to have the latest gadget rather than actually making the music, I'm a big fan of homemade music, Jamie T is my favourite artist about at the mo who makes records in his kitchen and shed well enough for the charts without losing the songs character, If I think it sounds good through analogue gear then it's going through it, if not then It wont, I usually mix as I go aswell so I have a better picture of how everything sounds together and tweak later

I'm not gonna run it on a laptop but if I needed to I could so thats alright for me

[ef37a]

Despite The Elfs' aversion (I think he had one dropped on his head as a babe!) a mixer is probably one of THE most useful things you can buy for any projjy studio it can combine, route and organize multiple sources. Even quite a cheap jobby will have around 8 inputs of one form or another, saves you plugging stuff about.

They can act as a poor mans' monitor controller,extra headphone amp (feed a friend) and on one of the best projjy stude mixers, the Soundcraft Compact4, RIAA corrected inputs to take a feed direct from a turntable. All but the very cheapest have AUX send/ return, slot a pedal in there!

Dave.(I have two!)

[LittleFace]

I'm here for an opinion on a decent DAW not recording at the end of the day, I'll experiment when I get one anyway,not that everyone's input is not a valid point

Another quickie, do you record, track whatever the terminology is in real time on a DAW like a multitrack recorder or are you sampling yourself, by that I mean, do you record like a bar at a time, then say copy it, cut and paste etc etc ?

[The Elf]

You can record bars at a time, or import short samples, loops, hits and the like, or you can record a track for the length of the whole song. It's up to you. If your work will be primarily loop/short sample based then there are DAWs more geared toward that approach.

Recording a song externally one bar at a time would be a very laborious task - not something I'd want to undertake.

Be aware that the number of *outputs* (not inputs) on your mixer will limit the maximum number of separate signals you can simultaneously record - which is why I often advise against one.

And yes, I have a mixer too, but I bypass it for recording 'clean'.