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Posted by: maharzan Oct 23 2011, 10:51 AM

Hey Guys,

I am having a dilemma here. While I have been a die hard Pro Tools fan since I got the Mbox 2 Pro back in 2006, I have been really annoyed of having to put an extra hardware to open and run the software and now while they call it easier, when I add the audio interface, I have to add another key to run it. This is very annoying because I use Macbook Pro and once I use that key, the other USB is unusable, yea thats how big that old usb key is.

Well, I know its the best software out there but I would love to try others that don't require this strict ass rule. I have already spent much, no more for this nonsense verification process. So, I would like to know which softwares are good or better. I want to use them to produce studio quality songs (final mixed versions). I did that before except for vocals and mixing as I didn't have speakers and studio but I do have most of the equipments now and would love to work on my 2nd album.

Guys, please suggest and help me choose!

Thanks,
Chandra

Posted by: The Uncreator Oct 23 2011, 01:51 PM

Reaper, mostly cause I find the interface incredibly user friendly. I used ProTools and just wasn't satisfied with it really, don't have the time to invest in it right now.

Although, with PT10 coming out I will want to give that a try.

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Oct 23 2011, 06:14 PM

I use Logic Pro and it is really good, I find it easy to use and intuitive

Posted by: Sinisa Cekic Oct 23 2011, 08:09 PM

Sonar 8 Producer edition,meets all my needs !

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Oct 23 2011, 10:17 PM

I used Nuendo/Cubase always and they served me very well, excellent DAWs. Reaper is great too, new version is more streamlined. Under the hood it's still rough on the edges, but at least now it's more pleasant to work with it.

Posted by: tonymiro Oct 23 2011, 10:52 PM

We use Sadie but that is probably a non starter for you financially.

Reaper doesn't need a USB key and is fine for most recording/mixing. It has its issues but so does PT, and PT (HD or otherwise) is not a perfect recording/mixing DAW anyway despite what some might say.

To a great extent the ability to produce is a pro quality mix ready for mastering is not dependent on the DAW but on the ability of the engineer and producer and to some extent on the studio. There is a difference between ITB and OTB mixes and I'd be lying to say otherwise: OTB are better. That though is nothing to do with whether the DAW is PT.

Posted by: maharzan Oct 24 2011, 02:00 AM

Cool. Thanks guys. I am looking into Logic Pro now. True tony, its with the person behind it (in everything). After all, its just recording 8 tracks and adjusting levels/pans. Well, at least thats what I do.

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Oct 24 2011, 04:39 AM

Nuendo rules! and also Cubase which is very similar...

Posted by: OzRob Oct 25 2011, 10:24 AM

Presonus Studio One (v2 just released) is an excellent DAW. The number of users converting from PT, Logic and Cubase tells the story. Few bugs to be fixed in the latest release but that won't take long. Nearly everything is drag-and-drop. Most functions are only a click away, it's very stable and highly intuitive. I can't recommend it enough.

Posted by: Piotr Kaczor Oct 25 2011, 10:43 AM

Definitely Samplitude!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 26 2011, 02:45 AM

I"m a big fan of LOGIC PRO as well. It's a seriously full featured DAW. It's APPLE only so PC folks are a bit out of luck. For cross platform stuff, and sharing, REAPER makes life easy. But for your personal project, it's hard to go wrong with LOGIC. The feature set just out of the box is soooo crazy deep. And the content library is just huge. IT's several DVD's to install. Make sure you have plenty of hard drive space.

Todd

Posted by: maharzan Oct 26 2011, 02:50 AM

Thats what I am worried about Todd. The whole install looks like 50GB or so. Damn, I don't have that much space. What does all those contents have? Do we really need it?

Posted by: OzRob Oct 26 2011, 03:28 AM

maharzan,

Do yourself a favour and try http://studioone.presonus.com/ 30 day demo. Seriously!

Among other things, the main program is only about 83mb. There are a lot of gigs of additional content but little of it is necessary.

Posted by: tonymiro Oct 26 2011, 08:56 AM

Probably not. I'm guessing but most of that is probably stuff like drum loops, audio samples, etc for samplers plus various VSTs and VSTIs. All of those should really be optional and you should be able to omit most/all if you do a custom install. The actual stripped down DAW is likely to be about 100mb.

Nonetheless if you don't install all of the extras then to some extent you've paid for stuff that you won't use and don't need. If that's the case then consider a different DAW.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Oct 26 2011, 09:16 AM

Yep, those 50GBs are probably bundled software from the same (or cooperating) company. I'm guessing that you will have the option to choose what to install during installation.

Similar to this, Cubase and Nuendo new versions are being installed with Hallion One, which is a good solution for those who need all-in-one package and ready to make some music. But, you get an option to leave them out, so you can install your favorite plugs.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Oct 27 2011, 05:38 AM

hey dude, i recommend logic as well, rock solid running on my iMac, it handles heavy processing really good. It has it's flaws but every single day i tried does, so i would go with that one, specially because you do have a mac, i started to use macs just to get logic.

I will check out PT 10 tho, i'm always between pro tools and logic.

Posted by: maharzan Oct 27 2011, 06:48 AM

Cool, So, I installed Logic Pro and seems good. trying to figure out. I probably won't use any additional content so I think when I unchecked all those apps, it came out to be around 800MB which is great. I am just glad I don't have to use an extra hardware.

I will try to compose a song in this and see how it goes. Thank you guys for all your help.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Oct 27 2011, 07:01 AM

Cheers mate, let us know how it went

BTW, I gotta say that video tutorials helped me a lot when starting with new software. If you can find Logic video tutorials (specially some good ones), it can prove very useful.

Posted by: maharzan Oct 27 2011, 07:19 AM

I have been searching them on YouTube. Did find 2 useful things. How to start in 64-bit/32-bit ( using 32-bit for now) and How to find Addictive drums inside Logic (Jesus, this was so annoying). Have found few other useful ones, looking into shortcuts now. I see Logic has just so many things scattered at so many places. Will take sometime to find everything out.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Oct 27 2011, 08:59 AM

Good luck mate, and keep it simple for creating good music, that's what counts.

Posted by: maharzan Oct 27 2011, 12:46 PM

Thanks Ivan. I am onto it.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 27 2011, 05:54 PM

Giggle I feel your pain! I had to upgrade my rig twice just to take it! It's a BEAST. And all the content is MASSIVE. Short answer is no, you don't need it for tracking / recording. Also, you can install all the extra content on an external drive during the install process. So if you have an external drive, put the extra content on there. You don't even need to keep it attached if your not using it. Or you can skip all the content for now and put it on later.

Logic will install what it needs to work. The rest is just handy stuff. Loops, etc.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Oct 27 2011, 05:57 PM

Those two things took me the whole life to start, after that everything is smarter, if you have any doubt let me know!
by the way, in order to use your 32bit plugins on the 64 version, you need to recognize them first opening the 32bit version of the program, that took me the whole life to find too.

Posted by: maharzan Oct 28 2011, 02:31 AM

Since I use Addictive Drums which is only 32 bit as it looks, you have to click one extra step to open up AD in 64-bit. In 32, it just opens up in one click so choosing 32 bit for now. I need things that simple you know. Plus, I saw 64 bit is good for more than 4GB of ram and 32 bit works perfectly till 4GB ram and I only have that in my macbook pro. So, I guess its a perfect match. I will hardly have 10-12 tracks I guess so should be good. I am half done with drum programming and boy I am excited to finish this one song.

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Oct 28 2011, 04:54 AM

great stuff man, then the 32bit version IS the right for you, i got used to the extra click already, is not perfect but bah, it works, and i have 8 gigs now so