DAW
 

Just wondering what's the popular software among the community is. Vote :D

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What the **** why isn't Ableton on there.

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I'm more interested in learning how people make their sounds, and/or what VST/VSTi people use. :[

Personally I use FL Studio, but hate it.

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Why? FL is amazing.

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Who uses the sequencer anyway? I still think FL has the best piano roll and you can do EVERYTHIIINGG in it with super ease.

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I use fl myself. I find it much easier to put down my ideas on there and modify the sound to exactly what I want.


or ya know....LSDJ but who the **** uses that

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FL is pretty awesome. Confusing at first but an easy learn.

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I guess I just suck at using it then. :S

Any suggestions on plugins to create your own sounds? I'm just stuck with VSTs and crappy plugins that sound terrible. (When I specifically want a certain sound, I can never find it)

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get soundfonts

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:| Have lots already.

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Renoise crew uppinhere.

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EXACTLY.

Even the simplest task: Lay note, resize it, then delete it.

FL: Click in piano roll, click on edge of note and drag, right click on note.

Reason (if I remember correctly, it's been a while): Choose pencil tool, click. Choose arrow tool, drag edge. Choose eraser tool, click.

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Admittedly, EnergyXT's piano roll is *ALMOST* as good. What makes up for it is it's internal drum sequencer which is the one thing FL doesn't have, or rather, it has but its far more complicated to set up.

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EDIT: I forgot to crop the velocity at the bottom. :'(

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Sh*t you're so right dude, lemme go add it

lol I forgot that one, and its a major DAW - good looks

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Calling Live Ableton is like calling Cubase Steinberg or FL Studio Image-Line.

Anyway, I agree about FL's piano roll being the best, but I think Live beats it out on everything else. Dunno too much about any other DAWs really.

Edit:

A little off-topic, but I might as well post this. It's kind of hard for someone to just straight -tell- you how to make synths/pads, etc., because honestly that's a skill on its own. What I can suggest is that you download How to Make a Noise and read it top to bottom. It's extremely in depth and its knowledge basically spreads over every synth/plugin out there.

As far as VST instruments and effects: my favorite two (free) VSTis are Cygnus-SF and Synth1. I also suggest getting reverb and EQ plugins if you use FL because FL's reverbs don't have a Hold feature, and FL's EQs don't have L/R or M/S modes. I suggest Freeverb or Ambience for reverb (both free, Ambience takes a HELL of a lot of CPU though). I haven't found a good free EQ (haven't looked), but FabFilter's Pro-Q is really good.

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Making sounds? Give me ES2. That's all I need

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SGM v2.01

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Wow a lot of FL users :P

I used FL from 4 all the way to 9, then switched over to Logic in about '07 :D

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Daaaaaaammmmnnn. Thanks :D

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FL's definitely my DAW of choice... Been using it for very nearly four years, now, and though I know how to use a lot of its features qutie well now, I still am not the best mixer. Takes time to really master any DAW.

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FL is my choice as well i have been experimenting with it recently and love it better than my old one

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I have only ever used FL Studio, seemed the easiest to me. Using it now infact, I mainly use Nexus and Zeta with some sounds made in 3xOsc and vengence packs.

Edit - Never heard of Cakewalk, but shouldn't Garage Band be up there as a choice??

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There are a lot of DAWs that aren't named (no luv for trackers up in hur).

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I sequence in FL rewire via Reason. Honestly, FL's sequencer is probably the best I've ever come across. Piano Roll is just epic, though the soundscape and the layout of Reason is pretty awesome too. . I guess I use both, they're amazing in their own right. :)

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FL due to ease of... everything but trying to get used to Reason once I get my Midi Controller :)

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i use logic at school so i guess that

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i'm a FL user

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Gonna say this right now: In this day , the DAW that you use doesn't mean anything, it's how you use. Four years go, that statement would be a simple dream.

That said, I still use FL Studio. Version 9 fixed all the memory leak issues that were causing my major projects to idle at 90+ CPU usage.

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FL Studio 9 FTW :)

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I wish this were the same for me. It's probably my fault that all my projects eventually get botched though. The Smart Disable macro helps a little bit but isn't a permanent solution.

I just wish FLS had a Freeze Track feature. or Freeze insert or something. I just want stuff to be frozen. );

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I've been trying out Reaper lately. Seems like pretty good software for merely $40 (personal license).

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I use AL for everything except FL's tasty piano roll

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BUZZBUZBUUZBZZZZBZBZUBZBUZZZZZZZZZZZzzzZzzZZZZzz

FL here too.

edit: oh you're zoomed out, oops

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Yeah man I was just wondering what different users were most at home in.

My philosophy is, "It's the chef, not the kitchen"...same ish like "a carpenter never blames his tools" etc

In fact, I started producing with FL, back when it was Fruity Loops 4.




lol 4.

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iirc, Xanopticon's liminal space album was made in FL4.

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well there you go - the chef and not the kitchen

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Oh wow, that looks absolutely sexy. I will definitely give this a go once my workstation is back up and running.

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I've heard good things about Reaper. I also heard that Kettel uses it (at least somewhat). I'm gonna try the demo as well. :> It'll likely become the Renoise of linear-based DAWs, as far as price goes.

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QFT.

One of the most complex albums ever created (IMO) made on one of the most primitive DAWs at the time.

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I am into FL Studio but I have been thinking of trying out Ableton or if I go mac I'll give Logic a shot.

When I go into recording I'll switch but for now FL Studio has the best Softsynth + Piano Roll combo out there!

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I use FL Studio and Renoise. Messed around with Ableton/Reason.

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Just learned that Benn Jordan prefers to use Reaper, FL Studio, and Nuendo in that order.

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Readin' up on Reddit eh? 8)

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FL Studio+Reaper = POWER!!!!!!



I do not think this disorganized interface :-(
FL accommodates a lot to me :B

Grettings from CHile 8-)

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Can't believe I'm the only vote for Cubase. I use Cubase/FL, FL is much easier to swing through for me, but if there's something I can't seem to get done with Fruity, I can in Cubase. That DAW can do anything.

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Renoise 2.7 beta is out now! HNNNNNNNNNNNGGGG.

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...does anyone even use an actual instrument on this site? Jesus...

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Define actual instrument. I have an analog synth that I mess around with, gonna get a cable and make some patches and shit. B)

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Uh, this is a thread about DAWs. A traditional instrument is NOT a DAW.
I'm a moderately experienced piano player (as in I can play Chopin's Nocturne in C# Min.), but I usually keep that separate from my electronic music.

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Me too.

I also play guitar and can play drums if I have any in front of me, but I consider my skill with DAW's and VST's two different thing. They benefit from each-other. But you can't say i'm not a real musician because I make my sounds turning knobs. I'm tired of that argument. And especially don't have it in this thread.

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Hmm. Interesting thing about DAWs and VST. I wanna know what would be the best program if I wanted to write classical music/wind band/film score and that whole genre, with very good quality intrument sounds (probably expensive plugins) - and I want to be able to use a piano roll-type input, MIDI, etc.

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Fl Studio + NI's Kontakt 4 W/ Piano, Cinematic, and Orchestral Plug-ins.

FL Studio because it now has the option to export to musical notation sheet. (Will have to edit things like sharps and flats it got wrong of course), but also because it has an amazing piano roll view. I haven't found anything I like better, and viewing ability is very important when you doing a lot with a piano roll.

Kontakt 4 because it has very clear and professional sounding classical pianos, cinematic instruments, and amazing orchestra instruments that are tweakable within Kontakt.

Its kinda expensive though. You could also buy Komplete 7, which comes with all that, a lot of pianos, and 23 other Vst's and effects from Native Instruments for a hugely discounted cost, (you save 2000 something dollars).

FL Studio Homepage: http://flstudio.image-line.com/ ($199 or $299, depending on how many native VST's/Effects you want)

Native Instruments Homepage: http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/

Kontakt 4: http://www.native-instruments.com/#/...cer/kontakt-4/ ($400)

Komplete 7 (what I have): http://www.native-instruments.com/#/...er/komplete-7/ $660 (You save $2687) (comes with $60's In "NI Bucks")

If you need a cheaper alternative. Get a DAW that has a piano roll, a pattern view, and a soundfont player (or you can download one for free) and get classical piano soundfonts, violin soundfonts, and anything else you want. A great place for free soundfonts is HammerSound.

Hammer Sound Homepage: http://www.hammersound.net/ (I suggest Pianissimum on the last page under "pianos")

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^

Thanks for the response. ^_^ I'm in the process of trying lots of different things. Right now I am finding lots of good sounds which I'm hoping I can combine well in a DAW. I'm also looking into buying a good, 88 key midi keyboard and synthesizer since (besides piano rolls) I compose best while playing.

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You're in luck! I just graduated berklee with a dual degree in Film Scoring and Contemporary Writing/Production

Your DAW of choice should be something you feel comfortable with. Each DAW has its strengths and weaknesses when it comes to Film scoring/notation - with the exception of Reason...which has only weaknesses hehehe ;)

But on a serious note, there's no doubt that your sample library could potentially be the deciding factor for what work you get in the industry. For the best orchestral sounds, you're looking at companies such as EastWest, Project SAM, Tonehammer, Vienna Instruments to name a few. For more contemporary instrument sounds, Native Instruments offers a s***-ton of different sample packs you can purchase and download all for use in Kontakt or Kontakt player - which imo is one of the best sample players out there. To completely build your library with the instruments that would get you industry standard sounds and prepare you with any kind of work you may be asked to do, you'll be spending a really large amount of money - not all at once, but eventually. (PS, buying samples is like buying crack. you'll never be satisfied with just one pack)

For notation, I've been using Finale since around 2001 and have no problems with it. Everyone else who hates Finale, uses Sibelius (which I hate). They both do the same thing - people say Finale is harder, but that's because they typically don't take the time to figure things out in it - either way, notation is notation, so choosing what software you notate with is up to you.

Berklee teaches film scoring by using "Digital Performer" which is one of the DAW's i hate the most. It's extremely powerful, and allows you to do a ton, but I just hate using it. It has a ton of useful tools for film scoring, such as the abilities to create punches and streamers (not gonna explain what those are if you dont know), as well as really good sequence/chunk management. For stuff that I score not related to school though, I use Logic - simply because I just like it better.

Message me for more info on that stuff, and I'll be happy to answer - here's a clip of a rescore I did for one of my projects, done a few months ago (in Logic)

http://www.vimeo.com/22886204

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Thanks for the info, merkury. ^_^ I've definitely been finding that it'll take time to gather the right sounds and instruments to build a strong library, not to mention money both for the sounds and the programs needed to work with them - but I absolutely value your advice. I actually feel very pleased and fortunate to know that you're coming from Berklee with a degree from such a new and exciting program and that you're part of THIS community as well.

Again, thank you very much for the wisdom.

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I'm totally in love with 2.7! I can't stop watching automation scroll when playing a song now lol!

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I use Renoise as well!

omfgxxx I want this new version so hard!

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Bit of a bump, but I recently got Linux and now I'm looking at a tracker called Sunvox. Anyone know much about it? I haven't touched it as of this post lol.

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Bump cause my dad wanted to get me some software and he's cheap, anyone know which would be better out of ACID Music Studio 8 and Music Maker MX/Samplitude Music Studio MX?

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Don't get either Justin. How cheap?

EDIT: My reasoning: I've have both and have touched them once. I actually uninstalled them from my computer just because they didn't have much to them. (ACID is just awful though).

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Famitracker

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FL Studio hands down for me.

A DAW is a DAW. ProTools / Logic / Ableton are all good as well; they are the industry standard for a few different types of music production.

I personally love FL 10's workflow. Easy VST support. Easy patterns and track management. The latest version has made it even easier to automate. Anyone who is looking for a DAW should be looking towards FL 10.

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Who in the fuck is using ProTools in here. (Saw only 1 person using it.)

ps, I use FL10, Ableton, (can't call Audacity a DAW but I make most of my kicks in there) and LMMS.

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audacity lol

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Didn't want to make a thread for this but i thought it was cool, "Power-users" list on Imagelines website displaying all of the huge audiophiles that use fl, like Seven Lions, Savant, Deadmau5, Avicii, Feed Me, etc
http://www.image-line.com/documents/powerusers.html

Edit: and benn jordan lol

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they should add me to their "power loser" page ;)

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the amount of people who use FL is kind of depressing

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it's almost like FL is a good tool, who'd have thought

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audacity should be on the list js

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is there anything reaper can't do compared to fl?

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Sweet, I've been meaning to buy reaper considering the good things i've heard about it haha

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I came in here expecting a picture of an adorable kitten or something based off the thread title. Looks like I can't judge a thread by its title :P

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That'd be D'AWH :)

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Been learning Cubase 7 and so far it has really been an awesome tool.
Is there any input on it I could have compared to some other DAW, I haven't explored any of the other so far.