Which DAW does WATMM recommend?

I use Ableton, Beatmaker2 and Fl Studio Mobile. I highly recommend Beatmaker2 if you have a Iphone or Ipad.

  On 10/27/2014 at 5:35 PM, th555 said:

Fuck yeah Hammerhead, me and me mate used to play with that a lot. I think they (or someone) made a vst plug of it.

  On 11/12/2014 at 4:54 PM, MassfreeKid said:

Logic Pro X, quite cheap (250$) and very easy to use for a beginner.

Quite cheap? Considering you can buy Reaper or Renoise and have enough left over for a Volca (or a bunch of softsynths) for that much?

  On 10/27/2014 at 4:39 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

Cubase is still my go to. I use ableton a lot for fiddling around and starting the groundwork for a track but the piano roll is so abysmal and watered down ultimately it doesn't cut it for finishing something. there are also slightly irritating work arounds for basic stuff on ableton like putting an insert effect pre or post fader.

Isn't an insert always pre fader?

i think idm is all about transcending daws

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:25 AM, MisterE said:

i think idm is all about transcending daws

I think that's ambient

The only answer to make IDM is Live, Reaktor and PD/Max.

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:09 AM, ussr said:

 

  On 10/27/2014 at 4:39 AM, John Ehrlichman said:

Cubase is still my go to. I use ableton a lot for fiddling around and starting the groundwork for a track but the piano roll is so abysmal and watered down ultimately it doesn't cut it for finishing something. there are also slightly irritating work arounds for basic stuff on ableton like putting an insert effect pre or post fader.

 

Isn't an insert always pre fader?

 

As far as I know, yeah. Which is why you just CMD+t, select 'input from (previous track number/name),' monitor switch. Takes...about 2 seconds. Maybe 3.

the mind is a DAW, and the medium is essentially RAM that can be filled with whatever you can imagine, as well as pack on a bunch of the imaginary shit of 'the other.'

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:25 AM, MisterE said:

i think idm is all about transcending daws

lol.

do you somehow collect these thoughts of yours? maybe a blog would be a good idea!

i think if you are starting out you would be crazy not to start with ableton cause its the standard, once you realise its up to you to do whatever you can move into other programs..

Ive been through reason, acid, cubase and now use logic and renoise but am learning ableton slowly cause the audio editing is fucking next level, shame it looks like a toy for a 7 year old to chew on.

In saying this renoise is my pick. I only use hardware mainly though, i then record it into the computer and mix and fine tune in the box for once project.

The projects i have are 100% hardware, another i keep 100% renoise (that i will eventually export stems into abelton and fuck with more) and the final one is a mix of hard and softwares.

depends what you wanna do ey

If you use midi controllers get ableton live. If you don't use midi controllers get Renoise.

  On 11/16/2014 at 12:48 AM, sun drugs said:

i think if you are starting out you would be crazy not to start with ableton cause its the standard

it's a quasi-standard in certain circles at the most. for a lot of ppl, inc myself, it's just one of many choices, esp. if you do music that doesn't follow one of the many "electronica"-paradigms.

you could turn that argument around just as well: don't use it, everybody uses it!

that said, it's an excellent program in it's own right. i just don't like that sometimes ppl make it seem as if ableton had a monopoly on electronic music making tools... there are so many options out there.

The only reason I'd consider ableton would be for max4live. A friend of mine has made a ton of awesome stuff with it that I would love to use, but I just can't get into ableton's interface.

  On 11/16/2014 at 3:07 PM, rst said:

 

  On 11/16/2014 at 12:48 AM, sun drugs said:

i think if you are starting out you would be crazy not to start with ableton cause its the standard

 

it's a quasi-standard in certain circles at the most. for a lot of ppl, inc myself, it's just one of many choices, esp. if you do music that doesn't follow one of the many "electronica"-paradigms.

 

you could turn that argument around just as well: don't use it, everybody uses it!

 

that said, it's an excellent program in it's own right. i just don't like that sometimes ppl make it seem as if ableton had a monopoly on electronic music making tools... there are so many options out there.

 

the only 'standard' there should be for making music is whatever you are subjectively comfortable and proficient in using.

I've heard awesome iddums made on Fruity Loops, Ableton Live, Cubase, Reason, Reaper, Logic, Digital Performer, Sound Forge, Audition, Dance eJay v2.

It's not always a good thing to use the perceived 'standard', because you may be limiting yourself (to me, the perceived 'standard' in this context will always be Cubase, but that's mostly because that was the standard during my college days).

Never hurts to experiment and try new things. Even if the user interface looks different from what you're used to. It may end up working with your own flow better than what you're used to. Then again, I do still miss the quick and dirty sequencer in Reason before v4.

  On 11/16/2014 at 4:23 PM, oscillik said:

the only 'standard' there should be for making music is whatever you are subjectively comfortable and proficient in using.

 

this.

yeah, it doesn't matter which one you use, some just make aspects of the creative process easier. There's always a large element of fucking around though, to get what you hope to create the hap. Each daw just makes it annoying to do in a different way, with a different set of process hurdles to learn workarounds for.

  On 11/16/2014 at 4:48 PM, rst said:

 

  On 11/16/2014 at 4:23 PM, oscillik said:

the only 'standard' there should be for making music is whatever you are subjectively comfortable and proficient in using.

this.

 

I know what you mean, i wouldnt want to actually recommend to someone to start with a certain process because already theyre getting off on a odd start.

I spent years doing the wrong thing, fucking with audio and hardware before i even slightly understood DAWs.

I would also never advise someone to go and study ableton like so so many do here. I get a lot of messages from guys who are new using it wanting advice which i struggle to do as i literally learnt the hardest way through trial and error.

But abelton is easy and probably the most popular daw so any issues are easily solved

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:28 AM, logakght said:

 

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:25 AM, MisterE said:

i think idm is all about transcending daws

 

I think that's ambient

The only answer to make IDM is Live, Reaktor and PD/Max.

 

Why Live over any other DAW? Does it somehow enhanced Reaktor or PD? (I know there's Max for Live so maybe that's why you mention it?)

i found with max and pd when i came into trouble it was often difficult to find help.

Abeltons user base is so big i dont think you'll have any issues that will get in the way of you making music.

its simple, you dont NEED anything else but really it comes down to the individual

the main thing is dont compress anything unless necessary. then any DAW will sound ace. but reaper is like beyond IDM for real.

but use real synths because they have a randomness that stimulates the creative process.

garageband is easily ONE of the best (whether not it is number one in the ranks is a hotly debated topic) but you could settle with something like ableton or logic.

  On 11/17/2014 at 9:41 AM, purplegoat said:

 

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:28 AM, logakght said:

 

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:25 AM, MisterE said:

i think idm is all about transcending daws

 

I think that's ambient

The only answer to make IDM is Live, Reaktor and PD/Max.

 

Why Live over any other DAW? Does it somehow enhanced Reaktor or PD? (I know there's Max for Live so maybe that's why you mention it?)

 

You see, I started using FL Studio since like when I was fucking 8 years old. I thought it was fucking cool and shit, and used it all my life until my 19 birth. Then I tried Ableton Live. Now I love Live...

But why? Only because the session view. I can save little ideas, melodies, sounds with no problem in Live, since session view is for that and because it's easy as fuck. With FL (or any other DAW) I always needed to absolutely know what the fuck I wanted to do because, despite it also can save patterns, it's not as easy like in Live. But, at last, all DAWs can do everything, it all depends in your workflow.

and I mentioned PD and Reaktor because you can create your own vst/fx/synths with them, so it's like infinite possibilities plus 2... And also I've found Reaktor/M4L patches that transcends much more than any other commercial plugin.

  On 11/18/2014 at 4:47 AM, logakght said:

 

  On 11/17/2014 at 9:41 AM, purplegoat said:

 

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:28 AM, logakght said:

 

  On 11/15/2014 at 4:25 AM, MisterE said:

i think idm is all about transcending daws

 

I think that's ambient

The only answer to make IDM is Live, Reaktor and PD/Max.

 

Why Live over any other DAW? Does it somehow enhanced Reaktor or PD? (I know there's Max for Live so maybe that's why you mention it?)

 

 

You see, I started using FL Studio since like when I was fucking 8 years old.

Teehee sexu... OH GOD

Anyway I'm using Live too and it's incredible yes. Both simple and deep, love it.

Before that I was using Cubase. And it's shit.

  On 11/17/2014 at 10:44 PM, sun drugs said:

i found with max and pd when i came into trouble it was often difficult to find help.

Abeltons user base is so big i dont think you'll have any issues that will get in the way of you making music.

its simple, you dont NEED anything else but really it comes down to the individual

i think the max doc is rather super. + c74 forum is usually very helpful. + making mistakes / searching for solutions in max often forces you to (re)read the docs, you learn / discoverr a lot that way!

however, despite my ableton skepticism i have just recently been working on some older projects made in live + have to say it is a fun piece of software. there's an effortlessness to a lot of processes you don't find elsewhere.

still, for editing / arranging i prefer reaper. esp. considering the price!

pd and max?! yeah, why not supercollider or even c/c++, so you can design your tools from the ground up? :facepalm

fak that! something like logic or ableton at first (or even reason) and you'll be fine for yrs. later, laaaater...try max or/and other more basic/versatile approaches.