Which Daw do you use?

Scaler 2 General Discussion
5

Studio One Pro in my full DAW and been using it for 5+ years. I think the guys at PreSonus rock Then it would be Rolland Zen Beats, Maschine Software & MPC beats for quick sketch work and dance track type stuff.

Zen Beats is definitely the sleeper here and one I use often when exploring ideas. While a bit “toy” like in terms of interface and limited in many ways, the simplicity makes it quick, it is rock solid and it plays very, very well with Scaler not requiring some of the hoops necessary for Studio One. Rolland’s purchase a year ago and subsequent incorporation of their other mainstream instruments means there is likely a long life ahead for it. I’ve never seen any comments on Zen Beats so I suspect I’m one of the few that use it regularly (or at least admit to it) but it is a great little DAW.

1 Like
6

I started out with Maschine (the hardware controller comes with a DAW-like sequencer software)
Some people would dispute it is a “real” DAW, but I find it more focused on getting the things it can do done, and not get sidetracked by all kinds of bells and whistles. I think Maschine is optimized for performance versus production. I got Maschine because of the hardware, not the software. It has its limitations, most notably that you cannot make use of MIDI generating plugins. Beautifully, Maschine the “DAW” can be used as plugin in “real” DAWs.

Next, I got FL Studio, because it looked like a more intuitive user interface compared to the “traditional” DAWs. Over time, as I became a power user, I found FL Studio work flow tedious and limiting in some regards (for some reason that you need to have the mixer panel in focus for the midi controller to control it).

I got a free version of Ableton 10 Live (Lite), that came with another controller. I’ve been exploring and using Ableton due to its vast market share and many others who I communicate or collaborate with seem to be using it too, so it’s like a common language. English as a language is cumbersome and limited, but it is useful as a world language to connect with other people on earth, our forum here point in case :wink:

My latest acquisition was Bitwig 3. The way I mostly use music software and my MIDI controller setup is for very experimental, combinatory music instrument creation and mashups, on the fly. I have a very unique style in that I build my own ensembles out of parts, while I perform. Kinda like a modular synth user, but with software pieces and midi controllers. For that Bitwig opened a lot of new doors of opportunity, with its most flexible routing and modulation features, compared to the other DAWs I have or heard about.

I also use the iPad, but I can’t warm up to a DAW like workflow on iOS, but use AUM heavily to tie together my various iPad synths, which I also can connect into the PC-based DAWs via the iConnectMidi kit.

At this point I think I am done acquiring DAWs, and focus rather on more plugins and synth presets :wink:

3 Likes
7

Gibson did me a favour dropping Cakewalk Sonar as this made me go to Studio One pro. Prosonus gave me a crossgrade offer at the time which tempted me over.
Never looked back since and my workflow has improved greatly.
I like it that Presonus are always looking at ways to improve and listen to the customers too.

2 Likes
8

Tried and hated it immediately, like many others DAWs I tried
:rofl:

I use a computer since the eighties and I used one zillion of SW do far

One rule I always used is that if a software doesn’t work out-of-the-box without reading the manual, it will be thrown in the garbage bin, and DAWs aren’t different

Ableton (Lite 10 first, then Standard 11) came with a mini keyboard and worked immediately, while with all the others DAWs I was unable to have one sound out after having clicked anywhere :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

After about one year I also tried Reaper but hated it very soon due to the clumsy GUI and I re-sold it

YMMV

2 Likes
9

I forgot to mention that with my Android smartphone I use n-Track Pro that was selected the same way

1 Like
10

I bought Cakewalk (v2.1) years ago when the only choices of midi sequencer (no DAW’s then) were that, Cubase and Emagic Notator (Logic). I used, and still do from time to time, what is now Adobe Audition for audio editing (then called ‘Cool Edit’)

Because I had a lot of hardware, I used the excellent SoundQuest MidiQuest as a librarian and editor.

I then move to Live, and have stayed with that as my preferred choice.

Current and past gear (too much to list here) at http://www.alphabase.co.uk/music-gear-old-and-new/

1 Like
11

I’ve used all of them. Starting with Digital Performer 4 and Logic Audio V3. I used Studio One when it first came out and stayed with it up till 4. At some point I switched to Ableton Live v9 and still use that a lot. Cubase 11 is now my preferred DAW for Film work. I even tried FL studio for Mac and found it so bound up by strange work flow and bizarre layouts. I never kept going on it. There is no way I ever would have been able to use FL Studio for creative music.

2 Likes
12

I’ve been using FL Studio for many years
The earliest FL Studio is a sampling software, with a variety of wav do loop
Finally, music came into being.
Because I don’t understand music theory and like dance music, I always use it
My song structure is very simple.
But now with scaler, my music is rich
FL Studio is not suitable for me in some small places
However, FL Studio is still very strong in some aspects, such as dance music and loop

13

Actually, I used studio one twice
After the first installation, did not understand, not familiar with, deleted the demo version. About three minutes.
This time I used it for half an hour and watched the teaching of Youtube. I think studio one is great. If you have time, you can have a look.
It’s very convenient to use. It’s really convenient

14

Do not wonder strictly Davinci Resolve with Unify as VST host. For me the workflow is the best for Dialogue Scenes and a mastering in Dolby Atmos

1 Like
15

OK got it!
You are a FL vendor
:rofl:

1 Like
16

@tocan

I was just thinking that this forum seemed strangely populated by men only

Now, I am thinking that maybe other are around incognito
:grinning:

Good to know
(without any ulterior motives :wink:)

1 Like
17

:sweat_smile:
I belong to scaler :ghost: :sweat_smile: :grinning: :joy:
:kissing_heart:

1 Like
18

The DAW I use the most is Ableton Suite 10. I have everything there. But … to have multiple midi outputs in Ableton I have to use Element and loopmidi. Luckily I got (thanks to a rabbit composer :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:) a version of Reaper, which allows me to seamlessly route multiple tracks and MIDI inputs and outputs. It is very useful for me since later I export those midis to edit the scores. I also have Reason Intro. It’s fun and easy to use, but it also has problems with midi outputs. I use it as Vst in Ableton and Reaper

3 Likes
19

I’m a Reaper man myself. I used Steinberg’s Pro24 and then Cubase back in the day but after a long hiatus I was looking for a DAW and Reaper’s free trial appealed to me and my pocket. I have no particular drum to beat but I find Reaper very intuitive to use, and it’s flexibility, continued development and a very supportive user community mean I feel no urge to transfer my loyalty. So far, I haven’t found anything I’ve not been able to do in Reaper.

5 Likes
20

Ughh, finding right DAW is such a pain. In order of appearance on my hard drive: Garage Band, Reason, Ableton, Maschine, Reaper, FL Studio, Studio One. I guess FL Studio is the one that works for me the best. Still keeping Reason (because it’s just fun to play) and Ableton (for abondance of online tutorials :wink: ) .

21

I am Romanian and i saw you are interest for the Romanian Scores. You can search in Internet for “Manele”. Difficult to Play, Rhythmns are Mixed with Gypsy. I am a beginner and my husband need some Midi to Analyse this music. A lot of Influencers. And very special Limes to Play. At least i Like to Play something in Manele Style and experimenting than with new Sounds.

The same Balkan style i did not found in Scaler until now.

I use very often Plasmonic to make Sounds and can Not Play keyboard. For my Sounds i use Microtonality Scales and have arround 5000 Scales for world Instruments. IT helps to Play for example a 1500 years old flute used by Romanian sheppards.

Sorry do not speak english.

For the Moment i Work in a cover Version for a Tango. Integration of Scaler and Remidi (how to Route the Channels) is interesting because DaVinci is free.
DaVinci Studio have the most easy Workflow to produce Dolby Atmos Room Sound. You have to Play live.

2 Likes
22

After getting back into music right before the whole corona thing started, I was using FlStudio.
It wasn’t bad, but was still a little costly for my wallet. Then I heard about Reaper. I started watching some of the videos on Youtube and saw that it was really customizable. So I downloaded it and found it had a fully functioning 60 day trial period which I found to be amazing. So I started watching more and more of the tutorial videos and really got into it. I finally made the plunge after about 90 days of using it. It was only $60. then I heard about Scaler, and after about 2 months of debating, I made the plunge on that as well. It was only about $50. So all in, it cost me about $110 and I feel I have an incredible studio setup on my laptop, that grows every day with all the free VST’s available to use in Reaper. I am glad I made the move.

1 Like
23

Hi Daniela @tocan

you didn’t find in Scaler because it doesn’t exist
:grinning:

I love Balkan and Roma music (and dances here with my teacher Daniel Sandu) and I just recognized that a rhythm jumped out by accident from my experiments was suitable, but the series of chords I used was Blues here
and Jazz here

In another case, I created a flamenco tune using a Hip-Hop series of chords…
:rofl:

The moral of my story with Scaler is that any series of chords can be used, even Metal, as far as the “anima” that you infuse using pattern, pauses, quantizations, and your bare hands on a keyboard is suitable for that style

1 Like
24

Personally i have been using Ableton Live for years and it fits perfect with my needs and my workflow. I tried out FL Studio recently and I admit it is a very good DAW and I might use it as well. And I would say that every (known) DAWs on the market are good pieces of software. But as I spent years to work with Ableton Live I am now very comfortable & efficient with it. So if I would switch to another DAW I guess it would be for very good reasons. You have to strongly assess the benefit of using a new DAW because you will have to get a big new piece of skills before to be as efficient as you are on your current DAW. It might be because the new one has a new feature that you are looking for for a long time, a workflow that seems to best fit to your way of working… but as stated previously… yes check it out with a real project

1 Like