Just trust me

If you have a vibe, the workflow (i.e limitations) is 100% a part of it.
That's all I wanted to say

ignore the "well, actuallies" they well actually for a reason

Enjoy.

 

Can you elaborate? I tried several DAWs and I think I am settled on one or a few, but none of them really 100% satisfy me.

 

It is completely valid to work with more than one DAW when one has features you like that the other one doesn't, but can't live without the other one.

Whom I think OP wants to address is people who have worked with one DAW for a while, feel comfortable with it, made a couple of tunes with it, then one day think to themselves "hmm... what if I used another DAW?" Maybe they saw someone else using another DAW and were curious, or were swayed by the "well actually" kind of people that OP refers to... trying to tell them "your DAW's workflow sucks, try this other DAW" and such.

Then they begin DAW-hopping and waste so much time that could've been used to make music and improve their skills in the DAW they were first using.

In my case, I couldn't settle for a DAW a couple of years ago. Then, I found REAPER.

 

yes exactly.

 

What if you're thinking of changing from the producer role?

Please IM me if anyone is looking for some good wood.

 

Except when you're making the Ableton > Bitwig jump.

 

I always hear about bitwig , but I dont really understand the hype , can you explain what is so good about it ?

 

I recently switched from FL (8 years user) to Bitwig, the later is apparently an enhanced version of Ableton and it fits my workflow since I never go live (Ableton is capitalising on that), FL fits my workflow too but working with samples, rooting capabilities, automating parameters, just suck

 

My first impression of Bitwig was "this is basically Ableton with Eurorack level modulation options". Every plugin, instrument, effect, rack, chain etc. can have 37 different modulators assigned to every parameter, then have the modulators modulate each other etc. in a superbly designed workflow -if you're familiar with the Ableton workflow, in just a week or two you can feel just as much at home in Bitwig (although I was also familiar with modular synthesis, so learning how to use the modulators was very intuitive, but for someone with no modular experience, it might be slightly less intuitive).

I must admit, I used Ableton almost exclusively in arrangement mode, so I never really dived too deep into the clip launcher thing. But I'm still fairly familiar with it, and Bitwig (especially after v4 was released) has some stuff in the clip launcher that open way more possibilities.

Then there's the Grid, which is a modular workspace inside the DAW. You can build pretty much any instrument or effect with it, and it feels much less intimidating than something like Reaktor. However, I use VCV Rack for modular stuff, which in my opinion blows the competition out of the water, and the Grid's interface just isn't even in the same ballpark.

I could go on and on. I have tried nearly every major DAW in the market. During my first years I started to get slightly comfortable with FL when I switched to Ableton. It took me a good couple of years to really start to feel at home with it. Everything else I tried, I either felt lost, or the workflow seemed so opposite of what I was used to it took me 15 minutes to insert an EQ. When I tried Bitwig, it was the opposite : everything I loved about Ableton (well, not everything, I still prefer the monotone gray interface) was made better and easier to use. Imagine M4L devices integrated inside every plugin.

 

I am in the process of switching from Ableton to Bitwig too and i dont see why I shouldnt do it. Sure I will have to adjust to Bitwig a little bit, but for the most part they are similar enough so it is not a problem. Some of the modifier key shortcuts are different, but I don't mind that. The possibilities that Bitwig offers are worth it I think.

 

Change is good. Sometimes it unlocks that little spark needed (speaking as a songwriter). Studio One 6 has finally tipped my full glass of Reaper's ugly UI and uninspiring workflow....so i finally let my self go into Studio One's arms and i'm not planning to look back.

 

i agree change to reaper and never change again

 

I changed from Fruity Loops to Studio One and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. So, I would have to disagree with you.

 

When I started making music on the PC I had bought FL Studio 8, then later I switched to PreSonus - Studio One.
Until today I am very satisfied with Studio One.

 

You're not my mom, @Negro.
I'm moving to Darkwave Studio now.

 

I get it, I really do. Heck I had trouble with just an update of Addictive Drums 2 not being able to play a sample with the mouse in the same way,and it threw me out for a week!


(The bar listing the instruments in the GUI use to hit the corresponding drum- Now it takes you to the drum editing page instead)

 

Last edited: Oct 10, 2022

I agree with you, no need to move from Reaper to another DAW

 

Im sticking to Cubase mainly due to hotkeys and the overall Interface.
I think any well known DAW will work .
People sometimes get hung up on marketing way too much and fail to realize that they already have all the tools that they need to make good music.

 

Couldn't agree with the OP more. And @kh_minusone (above) does a solid job of fleshing out the thinking.

I've been leaving comments here along these lines for awhile now, attempting to get it across to people that musicians have an amazing knack for finding creative ways of killing time that would be better spent working directly on their music, writing, and performance, rather than dabbling with software. Some musicians out there may think 'time' is their friend. Sorry, it's not. In this business of music, time is the enemy. The longer it takes you to get to the end zone, the less likely you will be to ever get there. Decades in the music industry and I will swear by that point of view.

I wonder how many people here who feel the need to make changes in the software they're using have actually mastered the software they already have? The user manual for Cubase 12 is roughly 1400 pdf pages! S1? Over 500 pages! How many here have gone through those manuals and know everything you can do with those products? I certainly haven't. Have you?

Yet people will be off to the next shiny new piece of software without even really knowing what they could do with what they already have. This is the glaring problem with what goes on at sister site. The daily offerings of new toys gradually morph musicians into either technical wiz-kids or software collectors who are extremely knowledgeable about software but have little or no music to show for it. Consider this... have you ever read an album review in a consumer music magazine that discusses what DAW was used for the recording? I'll read Rolling Stone regularly, and can't think of one record review that examined that. How about on Twitter or Facebook? Regular people talking about new music releases all the time, but I rarely if ever see any of them complaining the artist really would have been better off using Reaper instead of Cubase.

Stop creating distractions. Two hours today working on a new song will in all likelihood be more valuable to you than 2 hours spent today getting familiar with a new DAW.