FL Producer (or Studio) 10 and et al DAW's

[rimisrandma]

Originally I watched some DAW vid's to get a feel for some diff DAW's. I ended up liking Logic because it looks like I could learn my way through it. I also watched Pro Tools, Cubase, and Sonar, and they all look super f*cking complicated to the point that I would lose interest before I got anywhere, and I do put forth effort.

Basically I want to either run my guitar straight in OR guitar into Pod XT and then into computer (interface). I would use a DAW with Motu BPM 1.5 (drum machine software I like because it is actual programming a drum machine type unit) and Amplitube 3 as a 2nd modeler. I want to do electronic metal emphasis projects SIMILAR (but not totally exactly, just an example to put minds in the ball park) to White Zombie stuff and plus or minus that a little. Like hip hop beat, metal guitar, fcop a bass tone with the guitar for bass parts...etc.

I need a laptop to be mobile, so I plan on buying a raging model, upgrade the ram to hell and back and have external drives (audio and another for library etc) etc etc etc. I was planning on a couple thousand dollar MAC so I did not have a lot of bullsh*t to deal with like spyware programs and turning PC functions on and off BEFORE you even start recording.

Is Logic (and my other sh*t) on the right track? I thought Mixcraft was a joke and when I looked into it, it looked pretty easy to learn as well and just may need a mastering program like Izotope Ozone to do simple mastering functions to complete the package. SAME WAY with Fruity Loops, I thought it was a piece of sh*t program, then I actual check it out and it seems like I could learn my way through it pretty easy (maybe, what DAW's can you "learn your way through pretty easily" considering you actually try and put forth effort and not lay down on the ground like a baby and cry??).

Thanks

 

[miroslav]

...what DAW's can you "learn your way through pretty easily" considering you actually try and put forth effort and not lay down on the ground like a baby and cry??

You'll be on YouTube and MySpace in no time...

 

[CWatkinsNash]

Get trial versions of anything you can. Videos are great but it's not the same as getting your hands on something. You can try them on whatever computer you've got now - even if it's not speedy, you can at least find out how the DAW "feels" to you, whether or not it's compatible with any plugins and hardware you're wanting to use, if it plays nice in general, and how customizable the interface is. You'll also want to see how it looks at various screen resolutions - working on a laptop doesn't work for everyone. Some people love it and do just fine, but I personally go nuts using a DAW on anything less than my 23" HD monitor.

Check out the websites of the DAWs you're looking at, see if they have a good support forum and see how well documented the DAW is so that when someone tells you to RTFM you can do so. I'm only half-kidding here - there are some really great pieces of software out there with crappy documentation and you don't realize how bad you need it until you don't have it.

"Learn your way through pretty easily" is rather subjective, and there's a gap between learning and applying. That's why you need something that feels right to you - so that the applying doesn't become a chore. You also want to be able to use it quickly but still have room to grow into the features you're not ready for yet, so that you don't end up spending $$ upgrading to what you wish you'd gotten in the first place.

Just my 2 cents, mostly because I just went through this recently. I landed on Reaper and I'm thrilled with it. But then, I'm also thrilled with recording and mixing on my Win7 PC, so your mileage may vary.

Good luck in your search!