Just starting to produce, which software is best?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aaron Taggart
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Aaron Taggart

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I like the look of Ableton Live and i have tried the trial and understand the basics. My mate, however, says it's really difficult to use when you download the full version and recommends Fruity Loops.

Thanks

Aaron
 
If you have tried the trial and understand it, why do you think that using the full version would be more difficult? The full version would have more functions making it easier to use. All software has a learning curve, Maybe your mate is wanting instant satisfaction with the software? I don't really use Ableton but the couple of times I have it seems fine.

The choice of software often depends on the type of music / projects you produce if we are talking electronic music Ableton is a good choice.

Alan.
 
I agree with the previous poster. Different DAWs are aimed at different music genres. For example, FL is more aimed at electronic music production - it's loop-layer style interface makes arranging electronic styles a rather simple process compared with more Advanced DAWs.

Personally, I feel that Cubase is the best DAW for production in general, where all music genres are equally catered for. Ableton is somewhere half way between Cubase and FL, with a focus on electronic music, but features to support other types of work. FL has also become more broad and more powerful over the past few years, but it retains its more electronic-user-friendly workflow. I don't know much about Repear, but it may be worth watching a few demo videos on each of these DAWS.

Learning a DAW is a large commitment and you want to make the right choice before you spend time learning it.
 
Ableton isn't just for electronica, a lot of people use it for that. I've been using it for about 3 years and I pretty much stick with just the Arrangement view. But the Session View is nice for starting a creativity session.

I would not recommend Ableton in general, but it is nice for:

Live stage work
Quick creation of pre-arrangement exercise
Move to Session to Arrangement
Mix like a traditional DAW and move it back to Session for Live Work

But if you are just going to do linear recording, Ableton doesn't really gain you anything over a traditional DAW. The Session View is what makes it different and non-linear, which can be good when first starting work on a song. Without Session View, you are just paying for functionality you won't use. At $500+, you can find better DAWs. Reaper comes to mind and spend the other money on Plug Ins.
 
REAPER.

I've tried using about 1/2 a dozen of them over the last 15 years and REAPER is so easy to use. Its also free to try so you have absolutely nothing to lose by giving it a go.

I didn't even start looking up how to use anything in reaper for about 3 years until I wanted to learn a few really specific things. Its just obvious to get it to do what you want.
 
All DAWs do pretty much the same thing and have the same (or at least similar) features. Some do lend themselves more to particular styles of production than others but it's not so much the features of the DAW that dictate this but how the user accesses these features.
Some workflows just make more sense to particular users (or groups of users).

My own workflow is pretty split... Making and Mixing are two totally separate parts of my process.
I make in one environment (Maschine) and mix in another (Studio One/Cubase)...

Where the lines blurr for me is in the arrangement of the track. I arrange in Maschine, but it's a pattern based sequencer so I only really go 'so far' and then re-arrange or/and edit in S1/Cubase as I mix...
 
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