I want a new DAW

[Foxtrot89]

So lately I've been recording more and more guitar oriented stuff, and FL studio is just insanely sketchy with how it handles such a task. So earlier this week I started fiddling with other DAW's. most notably, I started using presonus studio one (version 2, I believe.) In the few hours I spent with it, I've already learned quite a bit. The process seems to be fairly quick and simple. I've pretty much settled on it as my secondary DAW and I'm likely to purchase it in the coming weeks. I'm curious to know what other people's experiences with it are. They offer a few versions, and I'm not sure which I should get. Since I've been at music for a while now, I have a fair amount of VST's and VSTi's, so I'm not entirely sure it's worth dropping the $300 for the "pro" version over the "producer" version, which is half he price if I remember correctly.

Anybody have any input here? Should I spend the 300 and possibly not use the features or should I spend the 150 for the slightly dumbed down version? If anybody has experience with some of the "pro" features, care to share your experiences?

It's possible nobody has used the daw before. I haven't heard much mention of it, but figured I'd ask anyway.

Also feel free to suggest other DAW's and reasons you like them. Just keep in mind it's for recording live instruments and must be windows compatible.

[Nine Volt]

What is presonus?

Anyway, Reason (despite what others might say otherwise) is actually surprisingly good at live recording with guitars or vox. I don't record my guitar, so I wouldn't personally know though.

I've also heard that Ableton is very good with live stuff.

[CaptainFluffatun]

I've actually never used Studio One before, but I will skip to the suggestion portion and suggest a nifty little program called Cubase.

Cubase is one of the oldest DAW's still on the market, so they've had tons of time to fix bugs and all that jazz. Steinberg - the company that makes Cubase - actually invented the VST plugin format. Thus, it would make sense that VSTs would be very stable in the program.

All-in-all, it's a very stable DAW that I've seldom had problems with. It is also very versatile. It works swimmingly for recording live instruments. I myself use it for orchestral music, and I've heard of people making quality hardstyle and wubwub music in it as well! It's a very well-rounded DAW, and that is why I would suggest shelling out for it.

[itroitnyah]

omg why.

there are already a million threads about daws and picking and choosing one. just go back one page or two on the technique forum, and you'd find a thread or two on this exact same subject >_> not trying to make you feel bad or anything, just sayin' that people could put effort forth into finding threads about the topic they want to investigate, unless they're 100% certain there isn't a thread about the topic already.

as a brief thingy: DAWs only matter for their workflow, that's the main difference between every single damn daw in the entire world. There isn't some magical daw that will make you produce epic beats and get signed or something like that. There are some DAWs that are easier to use than others, but that does not mean anything when it comes to the quality of your music. For further details, I suggest you look for another thread in this subforum about DAWs before this thread turns into another daw vs daw thread.

As for synths that come with a DAW, that's not too incredibly important unless the synth ONLY works for that daw (sorta like the synths that come with Reason). Because you could buy a daw that you like, then synths from other daws. Although I suppose that's a lot more expensive than buying the daw that includes the synths and using that, but you generally don't want to buy a daw purely for the synths that come with it, so I wouldn't worry too much about that

[CaptainFluffatun]

A lot of the plugins that come with DAWs are crap, anyway.

Also, you could simply be polite and answer the man's question. This isn't a "DAW vs DAW" thread. This is a thread wherein we are free to suggest DAWs that we like. I see no negativity there. Sure, there may be other threads like this one, but going of on a rant on the subject is hardly the best way to go about it. Instead of berating the man, why don't you suggest a DAW that you like and include why?

[the4thImpulse]

I've also heard that Ableton is very good with live stuff.

Ableton is pretty good with audio recording but its work flow will take some getting used too, most other DAWs record audio more naturally so I would not look to ableton for purely recording purposes. (I use Ableton)


I would also suggest cubase for recording as its based off of nuendo (made by the same people) which is one of the most well crafted DAWs I've used with live recordings. I can't add to the reasons Fluffatun mentioned, I agree with all of it.

[Foxtrot89]

itroitnyah, you clearly didn't read my post. I'm almost entirely asking if the difference between the producer and professional edition of studio one is worth the price gap, though I did invite suggestions on other DAW's. I'm well aware that workflow is the main difference in DAW's and even made mention of that in OP. FL studio is slow and clunky when it comes to recording live instruments. I'm looking for something more geared towards live recording and asked opinions.

As far as synths, I could care less. I have around $5000 worth of samples and synths and I likely won't use any of the cheap stuff daw's typically come with, but things like the mastering suite (don't even know what that is or if I'm remembering the name correctly), convolution reverb, etc etc, I'm curious if they make it worth the extra $150.

None of the other threads help me out when it comes to studio one which is the main point of this thread. Suggesting other DAW's and asking why people like them is just a side note, since I'm not sure how many people even know of studio one.

That said, I'll have to give Cubase another try. That was one of the first daw's I tried. I wasn't instantly good with it so I passed on it. It's been years since, and I'm not so narrow minded/short sighted, so it may be worth a revisit.

[itroitnyah]

itroitnyah, you clearly didn't read my post. I'm almost entirely asking if the difference between the producer and professional edition of studio one is worth the price gap, though I did invite suggestions on other DAW's. I'm well aware that workflow is the main difference in DAW's and even made mention of that in OP. FL studio is slow and clunky when it comes to recording live instruments. I'm looking for something more geared towards live recording and asked opinions.

As far as synths, I could care less. I have around $5000 worth of samples and synths and I likely won't use any of the cheap stuff daw's typically come with, but things like the mastering suite (don't even know what that is or if I'm remembering the name correctly), convolution reverb, etc etc, I'm curious if they make it worth the extra $150.

None of the other threads help me out when it comes to studio one which is the main point of this thread. Suggesting other DAW's and asking why people like them is just a side note, since I'm not sure how many people even know of studio one.

That said, I'll have to give Cubase another try. That was one of the first daw's I tried. I wasn't instantly good with it so I passed on it. It's been years since, and I'm not so narrow minded/short sighted, so it may be worth a revisit.

That hasn't been answered yet? Very well...

No. Sytrus is OK, hardcore is OK, but there are better synths then them, but you'd have to download the demo of both to decide if you like them before deciding not to/to buy signature bundle. That also applies to the 3rd plugin that also comes with. Trying them out for yourself is much better than getting somebody else's opinion, as opinions will differ between person to person

Instead of berating the man, why don't you suggest a DAW that you like and include why?

<_> I swear, this forum is bipolar. Just a week ago or so, mods were telling us to start looking for threads we needed instead of constantly making repeat threads and to slow down the amount we spam, etc, but when I try to enforce it, people tell me to just let it go. Sure, I may have been overreacting a bit but that's just... ergh, this forum confuses me. I'm just about ready to give up, lol. Revert to the last save, when the only thing I had to worry about was practicing music production skills

[CaptainFluffatun]

Well if the mods are saying to do so, then I apologize.

[Foxtrot89]

My main question has not been answered. I don't want to know about FL studio as I already own it and know my way around it. With almost 100% certainty I'd be willing to bet there is very little, if any, mention of Presonus Studio One, let alone the differences and if the differences are worth the $150 price difference in editions. This is not a copy paste thread, I asked a very specific, non redundant question. A question that nobody has been able to answer, which is fine because they gave advice on DAW's they ARE familiar with that are geared toward my desired task. It's clear you have no clue as to the differences, so feel free to take your leave the thread. You gave your (irellevant) advice, just cut your losses.

[CaptainFluffatun]

If we direct ourselves to this page then we can begin to compare the Producer and Professional versions of Studio One.

"But Fluffatun, that is a lot of dots!"

No worries! We really only need to look to the last two columns of the chart, because we're only comparing those two versions.

Toward the beginning, you'll see that Producer comes with a trial of Melodyne, whereas Professional has it pre-installed. If you plan to do non-vocoded vocal work and can't sing spot-on, this might be a feature for you. If you're an instrumentalist, I wouldn't let this influence your decision. It's all otherwise pretty much the same until we get to the bottom of the features chart. These are the things Professional has that Producer doesn't:

1) Integrated mastering suite with automatic mix updating, Red Book CD burning, and digital release
2) Export to SoundCloud
3) QuickTime Video playback and sync
-----------My responses-------------
1) There are many mastering suites out there. I would look online to see what it includes, because it might be better to buy a separate mastering suite, like iZotope Ozone.
2) Exporting directly to SoundCloud is a useless thing to actually PAY for. Just render your song and upload it . . .
3) I'm not even quite sure what the "sync" part of this entails. As for the video playback feature, I'm sure you have Windows Media Player, or VLC, or really - SOMETHING that plays video. This is an unnecessary feature.



As for the effects, you ask about the reverb. If you get Ozone, that has reverb, and it works perfectly fine. If you don't want Ozone, you could always grab up a different reverb plugin. I imagine that the Studio One Professional reverb isn't light years more advanced than anything on the market. The same goes for the delay. If I understand, you have FL Studio, and therefor the FL delay. You could just use that until you can shell out for a separate delay plugin (I only say that because I already made the assumption that you might buy reverb. I don't think you want to buy all these plugins at once).

THE BOTTOM LINE:


There are differences between the Producer and Professional versions of Studio One, but they are very superficial and not worth the price.

[itroitnyah]

My main question has not been answered. I don't want to know about FL studio as I already own it and know my way around it. With almost 100% certainty I'd be willing to bet there is very little, if any, mention of Presonus Studio One, let alone the differences and if the differences are worth the $150 price difference in editions. This is not a copy paste thread, I asked a very specific, non redundant question. A question that nobody has been able to answer, which is fine because they gave advice on DAW's they ARE familiar with that are geared toward my desired task. It's clear you have no clue as to the differences, so feel free to take your leave the thread. You gave your (irellevant) advice, just cut your losses.

Well, geez. Sorry, but maybe you shoulda titled this thread something more relevant towards recording instruments live in daws.

And while you're doing that, I'll be working on learning how to read a thread thoroughly before posting.

[CaptainFluffatun]

Well, geez. Sorry, but maybe you shoulda titled this thread something more relevant towards recording instruments live in daws.

And while you're doing that, I'll be working on learning how to read a thread thoroughly before posting.

I think the title is fine . . .

[itroitnyah]

I think the title is fine . . .

Well I think that Foxtrot could have included something about recording instruments live in the title, so that things like this wouldn't happen as easily.

a title like "I need a daw for recording live" would work fine.

[the4thImpulse]

OP want his question answered so lets stop this back a forth arguing and either help him or leave.

My main question has not been answered. I don't want to know about FL studio as I already own it and know my way around it. With almost 100% certainty I'd be willing to bet there is very little, if any, mention of Presonus Studio One, let alone the differences and if the differences are worth the $150 price difference in editions. This is not a copy paste thread, I asked a very specific, non redundant question. A question that nobody has been able to answer, which is fine because they gave advice on DAW's they ARE familiar with that are geared toward my desired task. It's clear you have no clue as to the differences, so feel free to take your leave the thread. You gave your (irellevant) advice, just cut your losses.

I have not personally used studio one and therfore could never tell you about it. I did find a great summary from a site I trust and respect greatly when it comes to anything audio. Try this, I think it will help.

[Foxtrot89]

Ha! The thread is named semi-relevant because I'm not dead set on studio one, and was open to suggestions. If somebody wants to respond to the topic title without reading at least the first couple sentences that's their business. lol point taken, regardless!

On top of not trusting myself with the bullet list, I was mostly curious if anybody had experience with the mastering suite and if it was any good/worth it. I've used ozone and liked it, but it was a pirated copy and I've since stopped using pirated software/want to legally own something. I'll just say to hell with it and get the producer edition, if I don't like Cubase more. I have a decent amount of VST's as is. A mastering suite is hardly necessary if I have a fist full of other plugs already. If I end up needing ozone or something, I'll just get it with my tax return.

Thanks for the input folks, it's all very much appreciated.

[CaptainFluffatun]

yee

[Navron]

Cubase sample editor <---------

You double click on a recorded audio segment and you can:
- Pitch Correct (VariAudio)
- Edit Hitpoints
- Warp Audio
- Adjust and/or Match Tempo
- In Cubase 7: Quantize Live Audio
- In Cubase 7: Add Harmonies via Pitch Correct (VariAudio 2)

When it comes to recording and editing audio, the sample editor is godlike.

[SliZe]

To be honest, stick with FL. It's better to stick with your DAW and master it, instead of juggling between 3 DAWs and just being semi good with each one.

I tried recording a guitar for fun earlier, and for me it was quite easy to record. Sure, it's not that easy to set up, but ones it's set up it's quite good to use. Mind telling me how you tried to record the guitar (Setup, mixerstate, etc)?

Well, to recommend something, Logic is quite good at recording audio after what I've hear. I've tried it ones, and it seems to do the job fairly well. The piano roll is not as good as FL's piano roll though.

[Dabrenn]

I've done very very little Audio recording, but I haven't been wholly satisfied with the way Ableton handles raw audio. For Midi and composition, I love Abelton and everything about it; but when I work with Audio I end up just getting frustrated (although it may likely be because of my inexperience).

The only thing I can really say is to try them out for yourself.