Recommend a DAW for a noob

[Econ]

Looking to set up my first home studio and need recommendations for a DAW that would be manageable for a person with no experience in recording. Price is not a problem. I will run it on a Mac Pro.

 

[Vrad]

After trying every major DAW out there since the 90's, I'm on Pro-Tools.

 

[Econ]

Is Pro Tools very difficult to master? I have no previous experience with a DAW.

 

[Vrad]

Is Pro Tools very difficult to master? I have no previous experience with a DAW.

All of the DAW's work in a similar fashion. They're all really really deep, but it's easy to get started. Pro-Tools is no different in that regard.
A lot of the "Mastery" comes from just recording and mixing experience regardless of the DAW used.

 

[DrewJD82]

If you're already on a Mac, have you tried messing with GarageBand at all? If you have, then I'd HIGHLY recommend Logic Pro X. The learning curve will be a little easier for getting started and then once you're into it, you can jump into the deeper parts of the program. Logic's stock plug-ins are pretty slick, as well. I've got almost $4K in plug-ins, tons of different delays.....my favorite one is still Logic's stock Stereo Delay. In the year and a half that I've been using it, I haven't had a single issue of "What the fuck his happening right now?" and any question I've ever had regarding the software can be found on YouTube.

 

[Dale B]

Logic

 

[Econ]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll definitely check Logic.

 

[Dale B]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll definitely check Logic.

What kind of audio interface are you going to be using?

 

[RaceU4her]

ive never used any others but Reaper has been fine for me. there are tutorials on youtube for anything i want to learn

 

[JerEvil]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll definitely check Logic.

Man I LOVE Logic Pro X. I’ve tried ProTools, Reaper but Logic is perfect for my needs. Studio One looks solid as well though...

 

[Econ]

Apogee Duet

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll definitely check Logic.

What kind of audio interface are you going to be using?

 

[dirtyfunkg]

I've been using Logic for several years. I used ProTools and Cubase before that, but Logic has been really awesome.

I second the suggestion of trying out GarageBand also. Depending on what you're doing, GarageBand is a very powerful program in itself.

 

[JerEvil]

I've been using Logic for several years. I used ProTools and Cubase before that, but Logic has been really awesome.

I second the suggestion of trying out GarageBand also. Depending on what you're doing, GarageBand is a very powerful program in itself.

Indeed. I’ve heard killer recordings done in GB.

 

[crwnedblasphemy]

I think the reason I"m not recording as much anymore is because I use Mac/Logic. I need to load protools again or Cubase. Logic is okay. I feel way faster at the others. Protools effects/synth bundles are way better for rock/metal. I feel logic is tailored to hip hop/pop stuff on their virtual instruments.

Before I do this though, I need to buy and SSD drive for my macbook and clone drives, cuz I want some more speed.

 

[Ventura]

Beginner? Audacity 100% and it's free.

 

[errrrrl]

Worth trying the Reaper demo which is pretty much the full program.

 

[Gadzz]

Highly recommend the Apollo interface

 

[Vrad]

I think the reason I"m not recording as much anymore is because I use Mac/Logic. I need to load protools again or Cubase. Logic is okay. I feel way faster at the others. Protools effects/synth bundles are way better for rock/metal. I feel logic is tailored to hip hop/pop stuff on their virtual instruments.

Before I do this though, I need to buy and SSD drive for my macbook and clone drives, cuz I want some more speed.

I used Logic for years. Prior to that I used Cubase on both Mac and Windows. Cubase definitely felt clunkier on Mac.

Pro-Tools is the fastest. There's other things I don't feel like getting into because I'll get told "They're all the same"

 

[Ventura]

Worth trying the Reaper demo which is pretty much the full program.

Reaper is definitely an excellent choice if you plan on sticking with it. It's been used as a platform for many studio-start tutorials and the like. And then, when you get into it, one comes to realize it's got absolutely everything you need for a decent workflow and has the processing power to tackle even the biggest projects.

However, I have to reiterate, to get my very first track EVER laid on a computer, I think it was Audacity - it's a simple simple simple platform but introduces the user to the environment of DAWs. Free, easy to navigate, and gets the job done.

http://www.audacityteam.org/ (for download)
https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/reviews (for reviews on this open source software)

Just DL it and go!! Piece of piss

 

[squank]

Beginner? Audacity 100% and it's free.

This.

Audacity is a great place to start. It covers all the basics and is a great platform to start on. Once you figure out what else you want in a program, you can jump into the ones that cost $.