Many, like myself, miss elements of analog tape recording, but it's no longer a viable option (not actively manufactured, expensive to buy and maintain, etc.). There's a reason why it's gone, but was the baby tossed out with the bathwater? Aside from the countless number of audio software designed revive the nuances of analog tape recording, there is another thing . . . FREEDOM! Some might argue that a DAW provides more freedom, but a typical workflow within a DAW also locks and confines users into a grid. I created a thread about Beat Detective and got some interesting posts and PMs, which got me thinking . . .

One suggestion: "To free yourself? Easy!!! Set BPM = 60, then each vertical bar is a second. Ignore them totally, snap to grid: off! Now you have digital tape"

Could this work? If so, what workflow would you suggest? In this case, which DAW would be most suitable? Or, would DAW choice even matter much?

Can we free ourselves from grids?

Disclaimer: I realize this is probably not something most dance genres would consider, but for live instrument-based genres . . .

 

Or find a DAW that can hide the grid. In reaper it's one click = no grid.

Personally I can ignore the grid even if it's there, but I understand what you mean, specially for real instruments. I often use my DAW as a tape machine.

 

in Cubase you can set grid color same as Project Area Background and get rid of grid

 

for decades enginers worked tirelessly to get music as close to the "grid" as possible, now in the future, completly locked in, producers and enginers yurn for the swing of gridless time. lol

 

In more recent versions of Logic Pro X, there's the option for Free Tempo Recording. One can use it to record audio and then have it aligned to a grid and assigned a tempo, or just use it like a multitrack tape recorder.
Editing applications such as Audacity can also be used like this, and a lot of people do.

 

I don't know anything about following a grid, and snap-to-grid is quantizing, which I've never fucked with, but I definitely use the metronome or click-track in Studio One, just as I've always used one outside the box. Basically? As long as my recording doesn't sound like Morrissey dying in a car fire and hits the proper timing on the way out, I'm happy with it. Plus, I can usually hit ballpark BPMs per common fives (80, 85, 90, etc.,) on an instrument, so whatever I lay down initially—keys, drums, guitar, bass, etc.—becomes the tempo, more or less.
Haha, nice save on excluding dance genres. You avoided twenty pounds of grief coming at you concerning "inorganic" electronic acts. XD

 

Yeah im pretty certain theres a way to do this in all DAWs, I know ableton you just right click the arrangement/midi window and click "none" under the fixed grid menu.