DAW software for a New User

[Elbutcho]

I'm thinking Studio One Artist or Pro but this is only because I have a few friends with the PreSonus boards.....

I've never tried recording anything so yea pretty clueless

[fretless]

everybody loves Reaper , there is a wee learning curve but dive right in you'll work it out . Get your system tweaked and your interface hooked in and burn . I use Cubase , it was my first DAW ages ago when it first came out . I bought the book Cubase Power and it was a great help in the beginning . These days you can spend countless hrs on the tube and learn a ton . Nothing and I mean nothing is more rewarding then being able to track your musical ideas when ever you feel like it. All the best .

[Schweezly]

I like Mixcraft for something basic and very easy to use. It's not that expensive and works with most interfaces. You can check out a free trial I think for a week or something.

[colejustesen]

I like Reaper, but I find that I would like it better if I had a multiple monitor setup as far as GUI. On my 15 inch laptop screen, I feel sometimes a bit congested. I own it and it works great, plus it is super cheap and they constantly update it to fix bugs. You really can't go wrong with Reaper. That being said I really like Tracktion too. It is a bit more intuitive to my mind they way its GUI is laid out. I feel that it is a great DAW with lots of power if the user really wants to dig it (same goes with Reaper). As far as the Studio One software, I really liked this when I used it on a trial basis. The only reason I didn't get it was because of the price tag, I know it isn't expensive in the world of recording, but for what you get in Tracktion and Reaper at their prices it was hard for me to justify. I really liked it though!

The only thing that I didn't like about Tracktion (coming from Reaper) was there was no built in bridging for 32 and 64 bit plugins. I was able to get some software that allowed my 32 bit plugins to be used inside the 64 bit environment, so that wasn't a huge deal. Reaper has this built in and you can use 32 or 64 bit plugins regardless of what environment the DAW is designed to run in.

Cole

[RustyMetal]

It does get kinda cramped on a small laptop screen. Used LCD's are pretty cheap.

[colejustesen]

It does get kinda cramped on a small laptop screen. Used LCD's are pretty cheap.

I do have another monitor that I could use, but I cramped for space on my desk as is... I have been bouncing around some ideas of how I can set it up...

Cole

[RustyMetal]

Elbutcho and Cole, it really helps to have a 2nd monitor if you can fix up the space for it. If your laptop has an vga/dvi/hdmi connector on the side (my Dell does) then you don't need to worry about a docking station or anything, just hook it right up. I looove mine.

[Schweezly]

I really need to see if I can run a 2nd monitor with my laptop

[RustyMetal]

I have heard that you can hook a monitor to the usb if you have a usb lcd. But it sucks for motion and video. A monitor that will be used for mostly still images or whatever could work. A usb lcd should be plug-n-play. I don't really recommend it though.

Edit: I should say that many monitors have usb(s) connections but they are just a usb hub or extender, not a video type input. afaik

[GuitarBilly]

Reaper would be my first suggestion. I am still learning the in/outs of the program, coming from using Sonar for many years, but I am finally getting the hang of it. In terms of performance, it is much better than Sonar and much lighter on the CPU as well.

[NinjaRaf]

Another vote for reaper. I switched to it from Sonar in like 2008/2009 and havent looked back.

[Ostinato Rubato]

Reaper, cause I just fall in line with what the majority of GAB determines to be best.

[Noizemaker]

I use FL Studio and I think its great!

[ibenhad]

Reaper and then get the Pro Tools theme. I hate Pro Tools but love Reaper with the Pro Tools theme. Seems weird I know. Support community for Reaper is awesome too and it is light on the wallet. FL Studio is pretty cool too but learning a more traditional DAW will help when you go to other studios that use Pro Tools and such.

Added note - Reaper is not a pig on PC resources either and doesn't need crazy hardware specs to run well. You won't waste days of your life tuning it in my experience.

[RustyMetal]

Reaper and then get the Pro Tools theme. I hate Pro Tools but love Reaper with the Pro Tools theme. Seems weird I know. Support community for Reaper is awesome too and it is light on the wallet. FL Studio is pretty cool too but learning a more traditional DAW will help when you go to other studios that use Pro Tools and such.

Added note - Reaper is not a pig on PC resources either and doesn't need crazy hardware specs to run well. You won't waste days of your life tuning it in my experience.

Words of wisdom from the new guy. Reaper does all the stuff Pro Tools does, just with different names for the tools. I tried different themes, and a few of them look really cool. But I always end up coming back to the default theme. I'll add another vote for Reaper - especially for new users.

[DNW]

For a new user, I'd probably say Reaper. I've used it a bit and found it a bit tricky, but that's more because I just don't have the experience with it. I've always used various versions of Cubase over the years. I was thinking of switching to Logic with my next upgrade, but I've decided I'm just gonna build a crazy bastard computer and get the latest Cubase instead. But from my few encounters with Reaper, the basic functionality was certainly right there and easy to use.

For a new user, without years of experience already with any DAW, Reaper would be a great place to start. And even if you end up going to something else later, it's not like you'll have lost a lot of money on Reaper. And it's not like learning Reaper in the meantime will be completely pointless for other DAWs later. There are certainly differences between the DAWs, but the basic functionality is just a matter of where they've put them and what they've named them. When you start getting into fancier functions and personal preferences in workflow, then the differences will be more important. But you're not going to get to those fancier bits and discovering what you prefer for your own workflow unless you start somewhere.

[neilrocks25]

Yeah a lot of people love reaper here, I have it and it is good, most of it's very cheap to buy the licence.

Personally though I prefer Cubase.

[Reverse Entropy]

I really need to see if I can run a 2nd monitor with my laptop

You should have an external video connector. Once your laptop and the monitor are connected and are on (running your OS), you have a function key somewhere that shows an icon of a laptop and a monitor. By using a shift/function/apple key and pressing that icon key you switch between the laptop display, the external display or both. Then you can set your laptop display to EXTEND DESKTOP and your external monitor becomes an extension (extra space).

The nice thing about Reaper is it supports EVERY format of audio, EVERY format of software plug-in without having to buy some "gold version" or "producer version." You get it all in the basic package. I'd get it just for how nicely it works with VST plugins.

[RustyMetal]

I really need to see if I can run a 2nd monitor with my laptop

You should have an external video connector. Once your laptop and the monitor are connected and are on (running your OS), you have a function key somewhere that shows an icon of a laptop and a monitor. By using a shift/function/apple key and pressing that icon key you switch between the laptop display, the external display or both. Then you can set your laptop display to EXTEND DESKTOP and your external monitor becomes an extension (extra space).

For people that have Windows, in you monitor settings window, just click the 'extend desktop to this display' check box. Also the DisplayFusion software Free version is great for managing multiple monitors, wallpapers, etc. With it on my main desktop, my TV is my 3rd display. Great for showing slide shows and videos to friends and family.

[bdubbs]

I'm just starting out and looking at reason essentials just because it has guitar models and enough plugins to get me going. Should be enough but we'll see. $99 seems reasonable. Anyone try it out?

[bdubbs]

I'm also looking at mixcraft 6 right now. That and Reaper so far are my favorites for what i'm going to purchase. Any info would be helpful.

[JerEvil]

Logic Pro is the easiest DAW I have ever tried. It is certainly more intensive than what I use it for but you can plug, play and mix with about 30 minutes for poking around.

Of course, it requires a Mac.

[RustyMetal]

I'm just starting out and looking at reason essentials just because it has guitar models and enough plugins to get me going. Should be enough but we'll see. $99 seems reasonable. Anyone try it out?

Have you read this thread at all? Reaper comes with more professional quality plugins than you will ever even try out. And all that is free for 60 days, then $60 or just the same nagbox until you do decide to buy it. Big deal.

[bdubbs]

I've used Reaper, its alright. Looking for something that has decent guitar effects built in. Mixcraft 6 is the winner so far. Reason got nixed because it doesn't do VST or VSTi.

[colejustesen]

That Mixcraft Pro looks nice, though I haven't used it to say otherwise. I know you are looking for built in VST plugins, but there are tons of free ones that work fantastic! Reaper's built in plugins are pretty nice. I especially like the eq, compressor, and delay.

Only thing I didn't see/read for the Mixcraft is whether or not it has a built in bridge for using 32 and 64 bit plugins. Reaper does this flawlessly, whereas Tracktion (which I really, really like) needed a program so that I could use 32 bit plugins in my 64 bit DAW environment. If you go Mixcraft, I would be curious of your opinions on it, especially ease of use.

Cole