Pro Tools (and Avid) is expensive overrated sh*t. Imho, of course. Just because something magically becomes an "industry standard" doesn't necessarily mean it's any good.

 

for Audio recording-mixing-mastering definitiv Cubase!

 

Cubase Pro 11 !!!!

 

Recommending Sequoia to a beginner… totally sounds like a plausible recommendation… And it's so cheap, too… only about 3.000 $… and it looks so "Inspiring" as well.

 

Not focused on production (out of the box)? Focus on Recording and Mixing? Easy ... Reaper.
I am pretty sure everyone admits that reaper has the most stable no-nonsense/streamlined, best performance recording and mixing capabilities.

I always recommend trying cakewalk to people searching for a daw. Why? It is free. And it is still a full flaged daw with regular updates.

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2022

Not exactly. But for the OP, it is somewhere on the list of better options than Luna. How do you go from a PC and not using enough of Ableton to justify the 500$ (or whatever) price tag, to UAD DSP acceleration on a Mac? I bet if he posted a few songs you guys would narrow it down much better for him

 

Thanks for the responses. To be more specific I make hip-hop, rnb and pop type of music. I am not so fussed about having a barrage of features and functionality in the DAW. As odd as it may seem I need something that feels right, looks good and pleasant to use where my attention is on the music. With Studio One I felt too bugged down with issues examples are: audio clips sometimes not playing, lots of issues when rendering (clicks and pops, automations not working) I spent hours re-rendering albums because of this, and the stock plugs were just not inspiring visually (I know how it sounds is all that matters but if visuals irritate me then I just don't bother using it, no need to force it).

Whereas Ableton was pleasant overall, didn't have the mentioned problems and the visuals were appealing for me, only thing was it was a bit cumbersome on the rec, mixing and mastering side plus no ARA. Right now I am interested in Cubase so I will check it out, I don't know much about Reaper and Harrison Mixbus but I'll have a look at those as well.

Luna's workflow was the main attraction for me, and no offence, but I need unbiased opinions about it, nothing to do with hate for UAD or their practices. Mentioning this because it is hard to find unbiased information about it on the internet in general.

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2022

You would need to know someone who has Luna installed so you can really test it to see if you can handle it.

 

My words and posts have been 100% solely on my experience with the smaller units and my (2017 so current enough) MacBook Pro with internal ssd. the exact setup you bring up in your initial post. They sounded amazing and I sent them back immediately.

My personal experience with Luna is that you might need bigger monitors to cover up the fan noise from both the interface and your MacBook Pro. If you want to really overload the little fucker with some real heavy pro style load to bear, you should try out the Themionic Culture Vulture. About 2 instances in bypass, and the nice distortion you hear will be the sounds of your cpu cooking on up towards an early demise. Thunderbolt 3 40 Gb Per Second makes these 4 channels of DSP it can handle fly back and forth to the MacBook.

So I would wonder why I would subject myself to this. Logic is 200$ and not proprietary dsp hw accelerated. It's crazy how much value is packed into it. It sounded like you wanted something simple to run at a studio hoping the people who operate it can't screw the shit up. Don't worry, go to Home Depot and get fans to cool down the little Princess. if I sent this much wpm data at it, it would have rebooted twice by now. might get lucky on the UAD software misinstallation wheel of random software outcomes; and get to unexpectedly/randomly audit my TimeCapsule backup procedures.

you know it is bad when they have an official app you can use, on their support page; that you have to run to clean up their shit before you can attempt another install of luna. like you are running windows ;-D

Do you mean what it actually operates like? By the time you have Luna open successfully and running, you almost feel like you are tempting fate by doing anything in it.

Ask someone what Logic runs like on an M1 compared to this. the computer is the price of the cheaper less powerful UAD interfaces.

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2022

That sounds awful I didn't know there would be hardware issues too, from the reviews I've seen it seemed as if the new Macbooks had great performance, but that at the cost of noise and heat doesn't sound too good. I have a 2.5 years old gaming laptop and it's fan has been frustrating to deal with too. Since some of Luna's extensions run natively I was hoping they would make that possible for more plugs in the future, but in that case it might be the analog noise floor for recordings

 

Spoiler: 8 tips to make the laptop fan quieterLaptop fan too loud: what to do?

8 tips to make the laptop fan quieterLaptop fan too loud: what to do?
Luke Boehl 07/02/2020

The cooling of your laptop is constantly running at full speed and giving you a headache? Here are 8 tips to make the fan quieter.

Tip 1: Clean the ventilation slots
Because the fans that cool the laptop are constantly sucking in air, dust will also get into the vents over time. The more dust, the weaker the air circulation. The fan must therefore work all the harder to bring about the required cooling effect.

How to clean the ventilation

Turn off the laptop and remove the power cord and battery. Now take the vacuum cleaner and set it to a low level. Then carefully vacuum the air vents. If that is too risky for you, you can try to blow the dust out with compressed air spray.

Tip 2: Make laptop fans quieter with software
Programs such as SpeedFan for Windows or smcFanControl for macOs allow you to control the fans on some models yourself. The speed and thus the volume can be adjusted in this way.

Caution : Turning the fan speed down may not cool your laptop sufficiently. Constant overheating can have a negative impact on the lifespan of the device.

Tip 3: Adjust processor power management (Windows only)

• From the Control Panel, select Power Options .
• Then click on " Additional power settings " and then on " Change power plan settings ".
• From there, go to the “ Change advanced power settings ” menu.
• Look for the " Processor Power Management" in the list and open the path " Processor Maximum Performance State ".
• Choose a value between 50 and 75% . Depending on the device, you may have to play around with the values to find the right setting. After adjusting the value, your laptop will no longer work at maximum performance, but will consume less power and will no longer need to be cooled as much. Consequently, the fan is quieter. The adjustment should hardly be noticeable in normal use. If you are running labor-intensive programs, it is best to increase the value again.

Tip 4: Use an additional cooler
Whether it's a cooling pad or a high-performance cooler, such gadgets can help prevent the laptop from overheating. Cooling pads consist of a base with additional fans embedded in it to cool the laptop. So-called high-performance coolers, on the other hand, direct the warm air away from the laptop faster.

Tip 5: Look for malware
Malicious software may be running on your laptop, causing high CPU utilization. In this case, the cooling of the laptop would have to work harder to dissipate the heat generated. Either way, investing in antivirus software is worth it.

Tip 6: Close unused programs
Open the task manager or the activity monitor and close all programs that you do not need at the moment. This reduces the load on the CPU and the fan has to do less cooling work.

Tip 7: Only use the laptop on the table
In order for the laptop fan to work optimally, it should be placed on a smooth, level surface. For example, if you put the laptop on your lap or place it on a blanket, the ventilation slots will be blocked and the cooling cannot work properly. As a result, the laptop will eventually get too hot. If you want to work with the laptop on the couch, you should get a pad.

Tip 8: Have the laptop cleaned
If none of the above methods help, you should consider a check-up with a specialist. They can check the laptop for damage and, if necessary, carry out a professional cleaning of the device. If you tamper with the laptop on your own, you will lose any warranty claims and may even cause damage. If you still want to clean the laptop on your own, you should definitely have its operating instructions at hand. This can be found quickly on the Internet for most models.

Source: www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.laptop-luefter-zu-laut-mhsd.355347f1-c908-46ec-a949-24718b9e6fd9.html

 

I dont't understand, for free? I only got a few plugins when purchasing my Zen-Interface and get constantly mails to buy their other plugins for quite a few bucks.

 

I believe you can skip it
All Reaper stock plugins look a bit like this :

Price point of $60+vat is a big argument (free updates till 7.99 in 5-10 Years ) but if you can't live with the stock Plugins visuals just skip it

My gut feeling is that FL Studio (Producer) is the DAW for you.
For €189 (Free Updates for life )

Cubase if you can live with 48 Tracks Cubase Elements for €99 is an option
while Artist costs 269€ (I saw on sale for €170 some time ago)
... they charge you for every 0.5 Version skip (ATM from 10.5 to 11 €79 for Artist ) and they normally need a half year to a year for a 0.5 skip.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 14, 2022

Waveform free!

https://www.tracktion.com/products/waveform-free

 

Studio One!

 

let's break down your question then:

1) any current DAW is focused on recording vocals/instruments, mixing and mastering
2) Studio One, similarly as any decent recent DAW, is being actively developed, all those DAWs have bugs, difference is usually just at speed bugs are fixed (if at all)
3) uninspiring interface is really subjective - for some people, no interface is most inspiring, for other people 16 million colors GUI is minimum for inspiration - each to their own, I can't say what you specifically like and find inspiring
4) price is always a valid argument, if you can't justify spending money on something, then it's fair to abandon such choice and not condone piracy option - that said, there are few DAWs which are basically free: Cakewalk (Windows-only), Garageband (MacOS-only), Reaper (yea Reaper is paid, but you can keep evaluating it for free as long as you want)
5) UAD processing is totally overrated, and UAD Luna DAW won't work with any non-UAD audio hardware, so why waste money on UAD nowadays is a true mystery to me
6) if you look for a fancy looking DAW without actual functionality, then you might as well ask yourself if you focus on music or aesthetics - in which case again, your personal taste is not something I would judge and could help with

ps: no hate, just clarifying what you need to think about yourself

 

When you buy a DAW - you also buy the free support. You also support the company so that they can continue to develop the DAW in the future. It also secures jobs.

If something does not work, you should contact the hotline to give the support team the opportunity to offer a solution to the problem. Also, you should report bugs so that they can be fixed in the near future.

If you don't like the included plugins, just download some and test them if you like them.
There are as many plugins as never before and also plugins that cost nothing. You have a choice and there is no shortage.

You can change the appearance of the DAW, see the video. How to change Appearances and Themes In Studio One
https://promixacademy.com/blog/customizing-studio-ones-appearance-and-theme/

Appearance
Set the color balance for the user interface in Studio One, with separate controls for Background and Arrangement elements.

Independent settings for Plug-Ins and the Score View let you choose between Dark and Light viewing modes. Note that these options only affect certain Studio One plugins, not third-party plugins. They also do not affect Studio One plugins with a custom interface (Ampire, Fat Channel, Analog Delay, etc.). The “Colored” option links the Studio One plugin color to the Background and Arrangement settings.

Your settings can be stored as Presets and shared with other users or archived for personal use. Dozens of presets are provided so you can customize the appearance of Studio One quickly. Press [Reset] to set the color balance and viewing modes back to factory the settings.

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2022

recently tried Reaper again after a few years
while i can see why the useability of it, the sound quality just doesnt cut it
the sound of Diva, or even piano samples and stuff, is alot better on Cakewalk by far
theres just a striking lack of bass in Reaper when i compare the two
also Diva ran way better on Cakewalk that reaper, probably 50% better
cakewalk ProChannel strip is solid for something built in, and has a number of addons as well

good luck

 

Any DAW will work, you have just to try what is the best for you, feature-wise i think Reaper is the best, is the less expensive too but its not the best for beginners, probably Ableton has the best approach but i don't recommend it for mixing, i personally record and produce on Ableton, sometimes i mix and master in it too, especially for my tracks but with some clients i prefer using Reaper for mixing and mastering especially when there's a lot of tracks, it's very light on CPU, i started with Cubase but since i didn't have skills on mixing and mastering and i was doing only electronic music i switched to Reason then i passed to Ableton which is the DAW i use the most, but again depends on what you do and the way you work, quality is the same on any DAW.