Please excuse the pun in the title

Of late, I noticed this weird habit of mine- I am making one track in one DAW and then I am making another track in another DAW.

Now, I am no super-producer or musician with expertise or mastery in every DAW, but I do know my way around the three DAW's which I am juggling around- Presonus Studio One 4, Ableton live 10 and Cockos REAPER. I tried a few others but only found these to my preferences. In Live 10 I have a lot of fun producing but my potato Windows 10 PC struggles with its CPU usage. Presonus S1 also gets used often especially for my band stuff. I love where S1 version 4 is and its pretty solid but unfortunately it does not play well with a few VSTs I like. Lastly, Cockos REAPER, which was my first DAW back in version 2 so I go back to it once in a while. I test all plugins in it too. Arguably the stablest, most efficient and customizable of the three.

Horses for courses maybe. If DAW's are just tools then sometimes I guess we need to use different tools (even if it means using a tool in a different manner than intended). Or am I wasting time not mastering a single DAW? Or am I suffering from too many options (options are sometimes good but not always, ie, less is more). I am not even sure whether I want to choose a single one or just keep using the three when I fancy


While this is a weird issue/dilemma I am facing. I want to know all your thoughts and opinions on using multiple DAW's. The pros and cons. Any personal experiences and so on.

 

Daws are unbalanced. They have strongpoints for some applications weakness for others, it's perfectly normal to not find one that crosses every t.
They are tools. You need to accomplish something, well you use all the most appropriate tools you need to get there.
Different daws lead to different results because of the way they work and the way it leads you to appropriate their qualities as you see them. You're not gonna start a beat the same way in Ableton or in Reaper. You don't focus on the same elements, don't record yourself or others the same way, your entire view of the creating process is always at least partialy determined by the tools at your disposal to create. It's the same thing for any art really, the technicallity defines them too, that's usually a key element of their evolution.
Being aware of it is a good thing, as well as using it.

 

The Pun is a good one, no need to apologize. Anyways, it made me look at the thread.

That's absolutely true. We should. All of the tools available to us.
But I always find myself reverting to the daw I've used since before it wasn't a daw and was only a midi sequencer for the atari ste (yeah, cubase).
But other programs sometimes have facilities or ways of working that I find more apposite to the job i'm doing.
It's kind of an interesting discussion, but my short conclusion is:
Have as many tools available as you can, try to (learn or get advice on how to) use them adeptly and keep 'em all sharp.
It's all good.

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2018

Where as the fun and creative aspect about using 2 different DAW's can be fantastic as times...Be careful that you don't get sucked into being counter productive.

Learning and using different DAW's for most can be a time consuming and difficult a task. To really learn the great nuances of the "better" DAW's will take time.

That being said, I like dipping and dabbing in multiple DAW's that have functions
I like that another DAW doesn't.

Having variety is the "spice" of life!

 

well i also go from live to studio one, i used live since version 7 and know it inside out, but after completing a track in live i open studio one and get more inspiration, sometimes its good sometimes not, but i would suggest getting to know one DAW inside out, as for using 3 well i think that is counter productive just my opinion

 

I guess it's a compliment to ur brain (learning enough to be unsatisfied) because all DAWs are lacking in some areas. (Except Reaper obvs >_____> because Talmi will hold me down and force me to use Linux if I say otherwise <______< =) I mean, it's only recently I noticed how rubbish some parts of Cubendo are, how awkward it is to do even some simple stuff; w/ audio tracks. Well, compared to even "simple" DAWs like Ableton. I guess I try to know a lil bit about as many DAWs as I can, & maybe know a bit moar about a couple? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's kinda fun, too, learning how to make DAWs crash!

(I kinda stopped learning anything about Bitwig when I couldn't do multitimbral, have they fixed that yet?)

 

For me, this stuff is more addiction than any sensible habit.
depending how i feel on any given day, i will be flitting from 'Daw to Daw' - Ableton, FL , Samplitude, Reaper.
i know it's counter productive to keep doing this. i wish i could settle on one or (two maximum).
I love Studio One, but i also love the object editing in SAM. i love the playfullness ( and the piano roll in FL Studio) but find myself going back to Ableton for some of that apps and it's fairly simple in workflow once ou get across it. features. ( i really like the session/arranger setup). Reaper is the best all-rounder so, i don't know. so, i am a software whore. I try out everything when it comes out... Recently had a go at Waveform... Again pretty nice..
The only thing that seriously makes a difference what i use is when i am on my latop. The ones that work well on one screen will be the ones i use there... sigh. no discipline : )

 

I've been implementing a closed DAW policy of late and just listening/practicing.

 

If Cool Edit Pro supported MIDI, I never would have left it behind. All these years later and the latest Audition still doesn't. I'm sure there must be a REASON for it, but I cant use it as part of my STUDIO ONE bit. Maybe Adobe's developers need to make KONTAKT with their own customers, and see that most pros need PRO TOOLS. Or maybe that piece of software is destined for the REAPER.

 

I try to mimic my old analogue engineering days so I use Reaper for tracking setup as a Neve 8014 console (Sonimus Britson, Burnley 73) then render stems and then Studio One 4 for mixing setup as an SSL4000E/G (Waves SSL, S1 Built in Console Emu,) I find it more inspiring.
DAW's as everyone has said have strengths and weaknesses but if I had to go with my 'desert island Daw' it would be Reaper. Why? because price, it uses the least resources, can have a million plugins running, has the smallest footprint and gets the job done with FULL customisation to look, feel, or be anything you want it to be. Happy mixing everyone these are great days and we have some wonderful tools at are disposal.

 

Reaper (Initial MIDI Recordings) <------> Adobe Audition (WAV sculpting of said MIDI Recordings) <------> Reaper (MIDI editing and re-rendering) <------> Adobe Audition (Final FX chain and WAV multitrack assembly ) Repeat, until ------> Master (is happy).

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 14, 2019

Reaper for everything except melodyne. ARA 2 in Studio One is just so fast and easy for vocal correction. I can't wait for ARA 2 in Reaper which is coming soon then I can do all in the one DAW. I have to say that try before you buy is brilliant. If I had shelled out for Pro Tools I would have been very disappointed.

 

DAW cannot be same by design, and there are tons of factors to consider,
I'd grab time efficiency as primary concern and all other factors being related to it,

does it install/license/update/launch/scan-plugins/create-project/record/edit/export/render/bounce/whatever hassle-free and quickly?
is it quick to learn/customize/reset/etc?
are plugins/audio-interface/peripherials/additional-hw/additional-sw quick and easy to set up without problems?

nowadays computers are literally blazing fast, so we're usually limited by software, not hardware anymore, moreover DAWs already include complete toolset, the entire plugin hunt obsession is something extra, not mandatory;
if let's say Reaper fully-featured DAW can launch equally or faster than opening rather basic editing app like SoundForge, or even just a single plugin like Altiverb, installs fast and works reliably...
...then the crucial point becomes the learning curve - and that is debatable - is it faster to open another DAW and do things elsewhere, or learn complex workflow within one single DAW?
in my opinion that doesn't matter, if your workflow is well organized and consistent - for ex. if I record, then edit, then FX, then master - those can be 4 different DAWs because there is no need for switch-between compatibility unless I'd fck up something and would need to adjust previous stuff within the workflow chain

why limit choice to just one... ;)

 

when in doubt - simplify
DAW 1 for starting new song
DAW 2 for actually finnising the song

 

On everyday (normal) basis I use Logic, I started off using Yamaha CX-5 w/YRM-501 software, then cubase 2.0 and upwards till I got Nuendo. But if I do postprod film/tv I use Nuendo, probably because I´ve learned a certain workflow using that. Theater work sometimes includes Ableton, normally triggered via Qlab. Depending on your preferred workflow, you can benefit from using different DAW´s.

 

I used to, in past as well, but that also leads to unnecessary complexity. My latest motto is: keep it simple

 

Thats easy.. you need 2. I use Studio One for British Drama and Ableton for Funky House