How do you make the learning curve easier.

[yorgo]

I tell ya going from a multitracker to a daw is frustrating. How is it possible to make it easier?
I have able ton 9 lite which is a little easier but I hate the look and feel of the interface and I have cakewalk producer 8 which seems to be a nightmare but I'm under the impression you'll get more out of it. Ableton is suppose to be more for loops and doing. I'm a guitar bass drms kinda guy.

 

[DM60]

I tell ya going from a multitracker to a daw is frustrating. How is it possible to make it easier?
I have able ton 9 lite which is a little easier but I hate the look and feel of the interface and I have cakewalk producer 8 which seems to be a nightmare but I'm under the impression you'll get more out of it. Ableton is suppose to be more for loops and doing. I'm a guitar bass drms kinda guy.

I primarily use Ableton, I use Reaper and I started with Cakewalk. Ableton is great for Loops, the whole session view is really just great for various creations. Arrangement view is a traditional DAW. Reaper or Cakewalk, or any other DAW is going to be the same issue. To do it right requires knowledge. That is just a learning process. When I first started, the software itself was not that hard, but when I started to try and really do something, I had to research terms, understand what each part was doing, etc.

A few things to understand when beginning, other may weigh in, but for me it is:

Understanding Tracking (Recording and acoustics)
Understanding Music
Understanding Sound
Understanding simulated hardware terms (EQ, Compression, Reverb, etc.)
Understanding Sends and Returns
Music Field
Mixing Levels
Head Room
Final Mixing Level

Each one of those areas are a deep subject matter into their own. We try to learn enough to work with them. It is just a difficult endeavor, oh, then there is the computer and the software thing.
Master Volume

 

[Armistice]

I went from a multitracker to Reaper and it was a piece of cake, largely. Yes I had to ask a few questions for some of the more advanced functions, but knowing how a multitracker operated made operating Reaper simple.

Stick at it, it's just a learning curve. Takes time....

 

[Mo Facta]

Most DAWs like Cubase, Pro Tools or Reaper are modeled after the traditional studio workflow. The arrange/session/project page is the tape machine. The mixer is...the mixer, and everything else is pretty much the same: inserts, sends, cues, etc. Plugins are rack gear. Instruments are modules.

It's all about the way you think about it. Instead of patching real cables, we click away with the mouse.

Cheers