Looking to upgrade my DAW

  • Thread starter Thread starter ManInMotion711
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ManInMotion711

ManInMotion711

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As the title says im looking for an upgrade. I have Mixcraft 5 atm and it works fine for me, but i want to upgrade to something with better capabilities without breaking my bank. At the current moment im running off of a HP pavilion G6 with 6 GB of ram and a 64-bit operating system. I use a Tascam US-1800 for all of my recording needs. Im looking for a DAW that will run smoothly with this kind of setup. Does anyone have an suggestions? Mixcraft is the only DAW ive ever used so im pretty lost when it comes to any other DAW out there
 
What about the Cubase software that came with your Tascam? Reaper is highly praised as well.
 
I tried the Cubase but i couldnt get it to work. What the price value on Reaper? I mean its more than just the price for me im just upgrading within a budget
 
Cubase just has a steep learning curve. Once you get it setup, it is no longer an issue. Much help around here to get it working.

Reaper is free to try. $60 for the full license. You will have the same learning curve for any 'quality' DAW.
 
I would expect a learning curve from any kinda of recording system, its alot to take in. Ive got a month or so before i actually make the switch and everything cause im doing recordings for a friend but could you possibly point me in the right direction of where i could find features of both systems?
 
How about we give you a crash course in Cubase setup, before you spend a dime?
 
How about we give you a crash course in Cubase setup, before you spend a dime?

I wouldnt ask someone to spend that amount of time. I mean theres gotta be somewhere that has features for the two listed. Not necessarily side by side but listed somewhere
 
Here is a start:

You must first select the 1800 in Cubase. Devices>Device Setup...VST Audio System. In the drop down menu at top, select 'US-1800'. While on that page, check the 'Release Driver' box. This will allow the 1800 to play WMP, Youtube, whatever, while Cubase is open.

Now, go to Devices>VST Connections (F4 shortcut). Add a mono input bus. You will need to create a input bus for each input needed from the 1800. For each input bus created, you will left click on the 'Device Port' column (highlighted in yellow), and select the input channel of the 1800 that you wish to use. Leave the default Stereo output bus.

Now, create a track to record to. Project>Add Track>Audio>Mono.

In the 'Inspector' window at the left of the main project window, look for a symbol that looks kinda like this: >] SEE ATTACHMENT

This is where you select the bus you created in VST Connections. You will change this on each track that is using a different input channel on the 1800.

If you don't see the symbol, click on the track name at the top of the Inspector window to pull to the main Inspector screen.

You will need to also toggle the monitor button on the track to hear the input (it looks like a side view of a speaker). Toggle it back off to hear playback.
--to make this toggle automatically; File>Preferences>VST. In the Auto Monitoring drop down menu, select Tapemachine Style.


Let me know if this gets you up and running.
 

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Ill definitely let you know. Is it possible to have two DAWs on a system at one time? Or does it take up to much space and screw each other up?
 
Absolutely possible. Depends on the space you have in your main OS hard drive. Just the size of the program itself is not much. 'Running' them is what takes up your computers resources. You could install 10 different DAW's on a decent sized hard drive, you just can't run them all at once....
 
My laptop has a 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive. Think thats ok? Im just making sure cause i dont wanna lose anything i have recorded with my other system partially because its got other peoples work on it
 
You will be best recording to another drive anyway. Your 5400 rpm drive will cause you issues when recording large numbers of tracks. Best to keep OS and audio separate.

Though, you can still install multiple DAW's on that lappy and try them out.
 
Installing another DAW on your recording computer will not mess with any of your files.
 
Ill definitely let you know. Is it possible to have two DAWs on a system at one time? Or does it take up to much space and screw each other up?

Not at all. I have Cubase essential 4, Adobe Audition 1.5, Samplitude SE8, Samplitude Silver (free btw, try it) Audacity, Reaper, BFD Eco (drums) and I often have a trial of something or other as well.

That is all on a PCWorld Ei-systems special offer P4 3G with 2 G ram and I don't have any bother at all.

Dave. ('Cors! I wouldn't have them all open at the same time!)
 
yea i definitely wouldnt run them at the same time. That would be completely counter productive. just wanna get a feel for Cubase and see if its something id want to start using more of
 
What about Sonar X1 LE/ CakeWalk? Any suggestions with that
 
What about Sonar X1 LE/ CakeWalk? Any suggestions with that
Well, I actually bought XI after my son said he "quite liked" the trial version. He tended to go back to Cubase (for MIDI) and Samplitude though.

I hate the thing! Try as I might I can't get a synth to sound and neither of us ever found a way to export MIDI data!

Dave.
 
The differences in most DAW's comes down to buttonology and the feel of the user interface. Under the hood, they perform about the same. So really, it's just a matter of you trying them out and seeing which one you like best.

I'd say most people start to use whatever free software came with their interfaces and continue to grow with that family of products. For me, it was Cubase. I switched to Sonar for a while, but ended up coming back to Cubase because of my comfort level. Sonar works fine (though I did have a lot of problems with my UAD plugs) as does the other name brand DAWs.
 
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