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And for our 100th topic.... DAWs of Choice...

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 2:40 am
by Malcolm Boyce
I was part of a "ProTools or Not" discussion, and it got me wondering if my take on things local are correct. I guess that most folks, including some of the more experienced, are not using ProTools locally, but in fact, some of the other well known DAWs.

So what are you using?

If you use more than one, please select the DAW you use most often, or prefer to use, and please explain in a post what your situation is.

As this thread is still very relevant, but the poll numbers are not, I'm removing the ability to add to the vote.

MB
July 2010

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 11:42 am
by macrae11
Most people know i'm an avid Protools user, HD at the main studio LE on the road. I use several other programs as well. For a lot of sequencing, beat creation etc I use Reason, and for CD creation I'm using PMCD by sonic studio.

Also for Video stuff I'm using Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:51 pm
by oddioguy
Been a Cakewalk user since it was a DOS sequencer. Stopped upgrading at Sonar 2 as my 98 machine cacks at anything beyond that, but I use Guitar Tracks 3 on the XP rig as an audio sketch-pad.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:55 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
Started on Logic 5. Was way too complex for my needs although the MIDI capabilities and plug-ins were top shelf.

McRae turned me on to Cubase for what it could offer me in terms of my needs as a composer/arranger. Cubase 4 has been my platform since it came out. Just updated to 4.1 and I have no real complaints. It does what it should do. A couple of bugs, but they get fixed as time goes.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 11:01 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
Andrew, are you using OMFs at all, and what do you think about needing the Digitranslator to get into and out of ProTools with them?

Any projects in and out of ProTools for me have been by wave files only, 'cause nobody's dropping the cash for the Digitranslator. Too bad for the users, but "doesn't play well with others" pretty much sums up Digidesign and ProTools.

Part of what I love about the DAW environment is the ability to pass projects around with great ease. OMFs are the ticket if you can use them, and considering the fact that most of the other players in the game accept them by default, Digi. expecting you to pony up hundreds for just that option seems, well.... :roll:

PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:52 am
by Scott DeVarenne
Vegas and Sonar. But I can only select one, so I went for the underdog, Vegas.
But I'm a hack and an amateur and a bed-wetter, so don't pay any attention to me.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:54 am
by macrae11
As you know Malcolm, I'm a big Protools fan. It's definitely the software for me and I like a lot of other Digidesign products as well.

However I am not a big Digidesign fan. Despite the fact that they have some great products and excellent support, some of their corporate policies baffle me.

Expecting customers to pay $500 more just for Digitranslator is IMO the worst of their sins. For example our company has had an HD rig, a Mix rig before that, and an LE rig. We also have had three incarnations of AVID currently running on a Media Composer. So in all we've spent well over $50000 on AVID/Digidesign products in the last decade. Yet we need to shell out another 5 bills just to transfer files BETWEEN AVID AND PROTOOLS!!! These products are from the same company and there's no way to directly move between the two. You can understand how many headaches this causes for us when I'm doing soundtracks for our video guy. Everything has to be done as an export, which in Protools is not so bad, but when rendering large video files it can take up some serious time in the video suite.


I'm a big Digidesign defender of the Protools bashers, but for all that I love about PT, this Digitranslator thing really makes me angry. I'm actually going to contact my Digi rep in the next month or so once things slow down around here a little bit.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 11:19 pm
by Jef
Sonar 6 Producer Edition.
Waves Diamond Bundle (plugins).
Windows XP Pro
This is the rig at Sound Expressions where I work (occasionally) as an
associate engineer. This system works really well and offers all the
flexibility and stability that we need.
I have the same set up in my home (hobby) studio.

PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:40 pm
by sammyp
The more i work, the more i love Sonar...on version 8 now....i own both Pro Tools 7/8 M Powered and in my experience they are just not in the ballpark of CPU efficiency on windows computers.

PT sucks about as much juice running a mix of audio tracks with no plugs as Sonar running a finshed mix.....it's really bizarre ....and PT 8 is a far worse offender than PT 7.....i can actually work with PT 7 on my AMD 3000 tower.......PT 8 on my new laptop sucks! - AMD dual core 1.9, 3 gigram ....and it shouldn't ....Sonar works great on this machine....it's like you need a brand new, top of the line machine just for straight ahead mixes on PT 8!?....and i use NO virtual instruments or samplers....

PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:57 pm
by macrae11
Just curious Sam, do your computers meet the Digi specs? Digidesign products are very picky about hardware. Which is great for making trouble shooting easier, but if it doesn't like something it can seriously get bogged down, if it even plays at all.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:20 pm
by sammyp
macrae11 wrote:Just curious Sam, do your computers meet the Digi specs? Digidesign products are very picky about hardware. Which is great for making trouble shooting easier, but if it doesn't like something it can seriously get bogged down, if it even plays at all.


I think so Andrew.....as i said....PT 7 on my older XP tower is actually pretty fine....it's PT 8 on my new vista laptop that kinda sucks.....response time is just too slow - playback and opening plugs etc....this thing's got 3 gig of ram......i donno....i've been in the game with PC and DAW long enough to know which program is written or coded better....that's just IMO....i personally think Digi is spread too thin with so many different DAWs on diverse hardware with support for 2 operating systems!

I'd like to make the point that with each new version of Sonar (1 new upgrade per year) .....computer minimum specs rise very little and CPU effeciency stays level or decreases....it seems PT proliferates the purchase of new computers with more more more.....

PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 9:03 am
by macrae11
Yeah I just checked. There are no supported vista laptops with an AMD processor. That doesn't mean that it won't work of course, simply means it hasn't been tested, and you might possibly have some conflicts.

I'm not trying to challenge your experience Sam, it's just that I've had the opposite experience with properly spec'd rigs. I'm still running sessions on an old 1 Ghz G4 powerbook with 1 Gig of RAM. Don't really want to do to much high def work on it, but for standard def it's still rocking.

That being said I have yet to try PT 8, and I'm not a particularly big fan of M-Powered in general anyways.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 4:49 pm
by sammyp
macrae11 wrote:Yeah I just checked. There are no supported vista laptops with an AMD processor. That doesn't mean that it won't work of course, simply means it hasn't been tested, and you might possibly have some conflicts.

I'm not trying to challenge your experience Sam, it's just that I've had the opposite experience with properly spec'd rigs. I'm still running sessions on an old 1 Ghz G4 powerbook with 1 Gig of RAM. Don't really want to do to much high def work on it, but for standard def it's still rocking.

That being said I have yet to try PT 8, and I'm not a particularly big fan of M-Powered in general anyways.



ARHG! i never realized this....i know they're awfully fussy about what they claim is supported! I wish i didn't miss PT 7.4 cause that why i had to get 8 - for vista.....if i had 7.4 i coulda put my PT 7 on my new laptop....but i stopped at 7.3 and now you can't get .4 - you have to get 8. I really want to use PT more, just for versatiliy but i need the work flow.....guess i jsut don't have the right machine!

PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:16 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
sammyp wrote:I'd like to make the point that with each new version of Sonar (1 new upgrade per year) .....computer minimum specs rise very little and CPU effeciency stays level or decreases....it seems PT proliferates the purchase of new computers with more more more.....
I know that when I "upgraded" to Sonar 7PE from 5 with the same old hardware, I couldn't believe how much more efficient the system ran. It was much less of a hog, and even more importantly, was a consistent CPU drain as opposed to the older "spike" prone monster. I was rarely able to run my CPU up to the 90% range for a prolonged period of time without losing something. Now, no problem.

The point is, this is where the developers should be focused. More consistent, efficient and reliable rigs, as opposed to new bells and whistles. Whether they've realized this or not, Cakewalk is delivering it.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 11:59 pm
by sammyp
Malcolm Boyce wrote:
sammyp wrote:I'd like to make the point that with each new version of Sonar (1 new upgrade per year) .....computer minimum specs rise very little and CPU effeciency stays level or decreases....it seems PT proliferates the purchase of new computers with more more more.....
I know that when I "upgraded" to Sonar 7PE from 5 with the same old hardware, I couldn't believe how much more efficient the system ran. It was much less of a hog, and even more importantly, was a consistent CPU drain as opposed to the older "spike" prone monster. I was rarely able to run my CPU up to the 90% range for a prolonged period of time without losing something. Now, no problem.

The point is, this is where the developers should be focused. More consistent, efficient and reliable rigs, as opposed to new bells and whistles. Whether they've realized this or not, Cakewalk is delivering it.




Exactly! They're rockin'! I love the program....i think mostly everyone loves what they learned DAW on but from year to year i dig Sonar more and more!

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:09 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
When I started this thread, I was hoping to get a decent enough sampling of the local DAW users joining in to see what the trend was/is in our area.

Why have so few chimed in with what they are using? Think you are unworthy? Think again!

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:25 pm
by Christian LeBlanc
I think I voted already...how do you tell? If you try to vote a 2nd time, would it just remind you that you already did? (I just don't want to skew the results!)

As for worthiness: if you are smart enough to be using any kind of DAW, then you qualify to vote. Right, Malcolm?

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:29 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
Christian LeBlanc wrote:I think I voted already...how do you tell? If you try to vote a 2nd time, would it just remind you that you already did? (I just don't want to skew the results!)
You could only vote once. It won't let the same username vote more than that.

Christian LeBlanc wrote:As for worthiness: if you are smart enough to be using any kind of DAW, then you qualify to vote. Right, Malcolm?
I believe you are correct.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:38 pm
by Christian LeBlanc
Well there we go, two more votes! (mine included...guess I was thinking of the 'what sound quality do you record at' poll)

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:10 pm
by Crimson Chameleon
Looks like I am "something else"!

I bought a Mackie XD-2 and it came with Tracktion software, so that is what I have been learning on here at home. It is simple and straightforward and very easy to use, so I find it to be excellent for helping me learn about recording engineering.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:24 pm
by Cubical
I wish I could get off of Cool Edit Pro 2 :oops: ...It is a sad state of affairs, but I just got turned onto "PC" recrding in the last 6 months or so! Before that I did everything on my TASCAM Studio Pro II, 4-track recorder on cassette! I shit you not! And looking back, it taught me alot but also rendered many tracks that I could not redo, completely useless with incesant hissing. People tell me that classic analogue hissing is something to savour! Maybe in time!!! Someone gave me Sonar 7, which I have been TRYING to use, but come up short, especially in the effects department and how to propperly use what is on there. Go Cool Edit Pro 2!!! (It wasnt even a choice in the voting category, that's when you know you're alittle behind!)

PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:33 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
Cubical wrote:I wish I could get off of Cool Edit Pro 2 :oops: ...It is a sad state of affairs, but I just got turned onto "PC" recrding in the last 6 months or so! Before that I did everything on my TASCAM Studio Pro II, 4-track recorder on cassette! I shit you not! And looking back, it taught me alot but also rendered many tracks that I could not redo, completely useless with incesant hissing. People tell me that classic analogue hissing is something to savour! Maybe in time!!! Someone gave me Sonar 7, which I have been TRYING to use, but come up short, especially in the effects department and how to propperly use what is on there. Go Cool Edit Pro 2!!! (It wasnt even a choice in the voting category, that's when you know you're alittle behind!)


Nothing to be embarrased about on here my friend, whatever tools you use are just that: tools. If Cool Edit works for you then that's great. It would be far more embarrasing on here if you were admitting to using a cracked version of Sonar 7. But since you aren't then we have no problems. ;-)

PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:08 pm
by Jef
sammyp wrote:The more i work, the more i love Sonar...on version 8 now....i own both Pro Tools 7/8 M Powered and in my experience they are just not in the ballpark of CPU efficiency on windows computers.

PT sucks about as much juice running a mix of audio tracks with no plugs as Sonar running a finshed mix.....it's really bizarre ....and PT 8 is a far worse offender than PT 7.....i can actually work with PT 7 on my AMD 3000 tower.......PT 8 on my new laptop sucks! - AMD dual core 1.9, 3 gigram ....and it shouldn't ....Sonar works great on this machine....it's like you need a brand new, top of the line machine just for straight ahead mixes on PT 8!?....and i use NO virtual instruments or samplers....


Apple's 64 bit processing may be the answer to the resourse hog issues in PT.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:11 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
Cubical wrote:(It wasnt even a choice in the voting category, that's when you know you're alittle behind!)
...and this thread is over two years old, so it's more than a little behind itself. ;-)

PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:36 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
macrae11 wrote:I'm still running sessions on an old 1 Ghz G4 powerbook with 1 Gig of RAM. Don't really want to do to much high def work on it, but for standard def it's still rocking.

Since we're digging up old posts in this thread, I thought I'd ask what are the specs on the computer running your HD rig at work. If memory serves your getting away on a relatively older computer aren't you?