Choosing the right OS and DAW for me

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ciaocacao

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Hello to everyone, I am a guitarist and songwriter. I would like to have some advice on which operating system and which program to use in order to start to create and recording music. I have a long experience as a member of a band and I have composed music in the traditional way: at home with acoustic guitar and then going to rehearsal with electric guitar, having my bandmates listen to what I had created and then working on it all together. Now I don't have the opportunity to go to rehearsal, so I would like to make music with an electronic base (partly by composing and partly by using loops already made by modifying sounds) and play acoustic and electric guitars over it. Among my friends I have bass players and singers who in the future will be able to help me to complete the songs. Since I am a novice, my problem is choosing the most suitable system to have an effective songwriting and an optimal workflow in order to have maximum productivity.
The genre I want to play is the so called indie rock / indie pop. I would like to add that I have no preclusions towards one OS or the other. I started thinking about the pros and cons of PC and Mac: I would like a silent computer so I would be leaning towards Mac, I already have a screen so in particular I thought about Mac Mini and Logic, which already has a fairly complete library. I wanted to know if by going with a PC I could find an alternative spending less as long as still having a really silent system and a program with plugins and the possibility of being ready to make music. I would like to add that as soundcard I received as a gift an RME Babyface Pro FS.
 
Nowadays, it really doesn't matter about the OS - windows and Mac OS do a great job on a speedy, plenty of storage computer. The DAW, though is very much more difficult. I think now that there really are not any bad ones, but some work quite differently to others. One will appeal to you when you actually install it and try to do everyday taks without recourse to google and YouTube. I've been with Cubase since the black and white Atari 520 days. At that time, the split was between two main DAWs, before they were even doing audio. Others appeared and stuck, or passed away. Then 'home' type DAWs appeared. Most users stay with their first one. Some like to keep swapping. The only advice must be download and install demos, and try them out doing what you want to do. Everytime I do this, I don't last long. I am quick and productive on Cubase and cannot put in the time and effort to even consider something else. It is NOT the best for everybody, but it is for me. Logic would, I'm sure be just as good - but loads of people love Reaper, and the other ones. Your interface will be fine until you outgrow it. I've moved from a PC to a Mac mini this year, and it's positive at the moment, but I've now got a whizzy, quiet PC in the video studio and I've put cubase on it - but so far not bothered to add all the libraries. Cubase does let you have it on more than one machine with a little effort. One thing though - two monitors makes life so much easier.
 
I agree with Rob.
With regard to recording software your best bet is to try as many free versions or demos as you can.
They all, mostly, do the same job but different people will have different preferences and 'get' different suites.

Reaper is always the go to recommendation because it's very cheap (or free..your call), maintained for windows, macos, linux etc, and has a pretty great community.
If you don't gel with it you've lost nothing finding out.

For OS/platform, you can't really go far wrong.
Use what you're familiar with or, if you're really indifferent, what your friends/colleagues/band mates are using.
You can certainly build or buy a silent PC. Whether that's cheaper than grabbing an m1 or m2 mac just depends on the hardware.

Not really a concrete answer but it really is hard to go wrong these days unless you have existing hardware or software that you need to accommodate.
 
Your comment about wanting to assemble loops and then play over those makes me thing you should look at Ableton. It seems to be designed as a DAW/ Sequencer product. While other DAWs can handle loops and record audio, it seems that they are more oriented towards the traditional recording process. Another would be FL Studio (Fruity Loops), although you need to use the Producers version or better to do audio recording. The cheapest Fruity version is strictly for assembling loops from canned instruments and patterns.

Personally, I've been a big fan of Reaper. I tend to work in a more traditional mode when possible. I have a digital drum plug-in, but no other samples or loops for things keyboard or orchestra loops.

As for OS / Computer, I am using a stock Lenovo Core I5 system that I bought about 8 years ago. It's in an enclosure in my desk and is quiet. I hear the external hard drive before I hear the fan of the computer. Dont get a system with 3 fans, and a video card with 3 more fans. You don't need a gaming system to record. The Mac mini is a nice bit, but make sure you get a system with enough storage and memory, as they are not designed for you to upgrade them like a PC desktop would be. FYI, most PC laptops are now in the same boat. You can replace the hard drive/SSD in most, but memory upgrades are often not an option.

A 16GB RAM system with 500GB or 1TB SSD is a very capable system these days with an I5 or I7.
 
I endorse all the previous top blokes said (I am NOT one!) I would ask though if you are set on a desktop machine or whether the portability of a laptop is attractive? In my experience laptops tend to be quieter especially now they all use SSD system drives. I take the point about memory up grades but you really should not think of less than 16G these days and double that if you can...That said, this lappy is an i7 Lenovo T510 with 8G and I have never had a problem. My son has a similar Lenovo T430 same ram and he gets no bother either.

Ableton? Good call but I have heard it is a resource hog? Cakewalk by Bandlab is free for the very useful basic version and is a similar 'cut and shunt' DAW. My son uses it to turn guitar into MIDI data which can then be used to trigger VSTis. He cut his teeth on Samplitude and still finds it the best DAW for editing and wav manipulation but he is also using Reaper and Cakewalk.


Speaking of MIDI, have you tried it at all? A 'dumb' 49 note keyboard can be had quite cheaply* and you have probably THE best interface around for super low latency MIDI work in that RME Babyface. The AI also sports ADAT ports so you could get another 8 mic/line inputs should you want to record more musicians. The Behringer ADA82000 is pretty good it seems for its price but of course there are better pres from Focusrite, Presonus and others. I would venture that the 'Behrry' is easily good enough for a 'rock' band?

*Check out charity and other such shops. Keyboards go for silly small money. Just check that they have at least one MIDI "DIN" 5 pin socket on their backside.

Dave.
 
I agree that OS/DAW is primarily a choice of preference. I will say on forums I read quite a bit of Apple “breaking” apps often with their updates, I would not want to deal with that myself.

I have a suggestion…..take a look at Band In A Box for accompaniment. Their realtracks are real session musicians that create them and the program “magically” combines them to the key and chords of your song. BTW I have no affiliation with them, only a very satisfied user that has created some very fantastic songs with it.
 
The problem's usually between the keyboard and the chair with those nuggets of wisdom.
You'll find similar for linux and windows.

"Why did you update?" Usually kills the conversation.
Everybody wants to be a beta tester for some reason, regardless of OS.
 
Steenamaroo said:
The problem's usually between the keyboard and the chair with those nuggets of wisdom.
You'll find similar for linux and windows.

"Why did you update?" Usually kills the conversation.
Everybody wants to be a beta tester for some reason, regardless of OS.
Click to expand...
I don't really follow that S? Regarding OS changes and their "orphaning" of gear the OP is about as well off he can be with RME. I don't think Apple or Msoft have ever been able to shake them off!
(Tidied that up. Son Skyped me from France half way through!)

Dave.
 
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I was repying to msbmike's idea that OS updates often break applications.
I mean, with respect, that sounds like a thing someone heard someone say but, assuming it to be true, I'd suggest that you can either have stability or be up to date.
Any attempt to have both usually leads to heartache.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I was repying to msbmike's idea that OS updates often break applications.
I mean, with respect, that sounds like a thing someone heard someone say but, assuming it to be true, I'd suggest that you can either have stability or be up to date.
Any attempt to have both usually leads to heartache.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm confused also? Facebook is littered with posts about Apple updates breaking music apps, I didn't make it up nor was I recommending that people update. So lost on your reply???
 
I'm not sure where I'm losing you folks.
Updates are bad, m'kay? :ROFLMAO:

Seriously, though. For anyone who is relying on their setup it's not a good idea to jump in on new OS updates straight away, no matter what that OS is.
Security patches and AV updates are a different matter, for online systems, but if you're on MyFav OS V1.1 and everything works perfectly, why would you jump to unknown quantity V1.2 and roll the die to see what breaks?

Sure, there are betas and pre release candidates that developers can react to, and the information is out there to tell them what's been deprecated, removed, or altered,
but not all developers are good at reacting fast.
Avid are famously always about a year behind with ProTools.

A lot of professionals hold off a year, maybe even two, on OS updates and often look for 'golden combos' which, by the time they update to them, everyone else has already been running and bug reporting on for ages.
 
I just leave this - I’m using a Macbook Pro M3 Max with 64gb ram - OS is Sonoma - I use Logic Pro as a DAW - have a good assortment of Plugins (Both the Native Ones , Waves, Pulsar Audio, and 3 Fabs - I like the workflow - I’m great at midi - if you put me a similar PC - aside from a slight learning curve - it would come out the same.

IOW It only matters what you like - and what you are fastest on.
 
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