using more than one DAW on projects

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emokid

New member
Ok so i dont mean running several DAWs simultaneously, but i am asking, is it ever practical or beneficial to have more than one DAW available for a project?

CUrrently i use pro tools, and i am interested in trying out some other ones to see what its like, and to experience pros/cons first hand. I dont plan on doing this for a while, i want to get a little comfortable with pro tools first.

Another thing is, ive done alittle research, and ive read that for the most part, digidesign audio interfaces such as the mbox can be used with other DAWs such as cubase.

FOr DAWs such as cubase, what audio interfaces are compatible? It seems like there are no usb/firewire/soundcard that are incompatible with cubase.

thanks!

btw, ive seen this theradL:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=170466
 
emokid said:
Ok so i dont mean running several DAWs simultaneously, but i am asking, is it ever practical or beneficial to have more than one DAW available for a project?
Click to expand...

I think it's probably a personal preference thing

Personally I have never found a need to use anything but the DAW I already have. As a relative newb however maybe my needs are not diverse enough to warrant it

But IMO, at a high level if my DAW can record and manipulate audio & MIDI, Handle all of my VST effects and instruments, Allow me to mix, interface with my control surface, output to my hardware, provide me the format I want and not confuse the heck out of me.....
Why do I need more than one?

I'm very interested, accademically in the responses of those who do use multiple DAWs as I really don't understand the need myself.
 
I wouldnt say see the point of running PT alongisde cubase, sonar, samplitude, or Reaper as they all do pretty much the same thin...unless one has something really specific that the other doesnt, and vice versus, the all do much of the same.....I can see them running alongside Ableton, FL, and Reason...as these DAWs arent as featured, offer quite different tools, or as in Reasons case, are self contained...

I use Live and Sonar...but this is more because I bought Sonar before realising Live suits me better than the actuality that Live wont cover everything I need..but the fact that sonars mixer looks more traditional and it feels like a different environment when Im mixing the stems makes it work pretty well for me

saying that Id stick to one and get it to do what you want it to....
 
What he said.
I use one DAW exclusively but may take the odd track into another to use a denoiser. Then back to my "Go to" again.
 
emokid;3409250 FOr DAWs such as cubase said:
I have not found any USB, Firewire or soundcards that are incompatible with Cubase. All the ones I've tried have worked fine.

Cubase is probably the most used music production program so it wouldn't make sense for companies to make stuff not compatible with it.

I've been using Cubase since 1989 and have found that near all the problems with it are user errors.
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"Use . Whatever . Works" (for you)

No carpenter uses just one screwdriver; no mechanic uses just one wrench.

....and we dont tell you what audio tools to use, the goal is to get the project done any way you can....
 
TimOBrien said:
"Use . Whatever . Works" (for you)

No carpenter uses just one screwdriver; no mechanic uses just one wrench.

....and we dont tell you what audio tools to use, the goal is to get the project done any way you can....
Click to expand...

yup true...


Ive had the time (and energy) to get to know two DAWs pretty well, but for the casual user i think switching sometimes hinders you than helping realising the DAW you owns full potential


mind you if you have the money...its funny how we look at this software like its so expensive yet Ill own 5 or 6 guitars and hardly play them :o
 
Good to be familiar with basic workings of a number of multitrack apps. If for nothing else, just to know what's out there. Don't let it interfere with your regular recording work though, cause messing around with software can be a huge time sink. I've used mainly Cubase and Reaper, but spent time with Traktion, Sonar, N-Track and a couple others just to see what they were like. I also recently got Pro Tools, just because you so commonly run into it in studios. I picked the current app I use, Reaper, because of its ease of editing waveforms in minute detail. If my needs changed, for instance if I started using midi a lot (doubt it) I'd probably use different apps for different parts of projects.
 
kinda sounds like emu child is putting the cart before the horse here. ...


Learn pro tools inside and out. know what you love about it. what you don't like. then start plugging away at others.

Thats what i did.

I had sonar for over 3 years, and it did nothing but discourage me. But i gave it more thne its own chances to prove itself.

Then i messed with Ableton Live ( :mad: ) Acid Pro( :mad: ) Nuendo (Meh) Pro Tools :-)confused:) and then finally reaper when all my hope was lost.

It is a love affair now Reaper and Me. Romeo and Bomb-iette.

I was half stoked on Nuendo but my heart was with reaper.

But...

the point im trying to make is i got to know Sonar as best i could. If i had not have done that i would never know what would be the DAW for me afterwards.... you know the pros and cons of a daw best suited for how i work.

you know?

So..

In closing. use protools till your confidence is there to use as fluently as you can or till you claw your eyes out. then branch out.
 
For midi stuff, it's all Reason for me, but when it comes to recording and mixing I choose FL Studio, maybe only because I learned on it and am most comfortable with it, but I also like a lot of the stock fx. I've tried Ableton, which I would have liked to add as a 3rd daw to my system, but it didn't work properly with my soundcard. It's good to check out different daws to see what you like, you might find that you do want to use more than one. I've played around in Reaper, Cubase, Soundforge, and Audacity too, but Reason, FL, and Ableton stood out as being the best for me. Some daws allow you to run other daws as slaves within them, for example within Ableton I could run Reason for my midi sounds, and have FL with song information too, all in one Ableton session.
 
I use Cubase 100% of the time. It's what came with my first interface so it's what I learned. It does everything that I need it to do & more. I've been using it for probably 2-3 years and still probably only know about 15% of it's potential. It seems like every time I open it up and start mixing, editing, etc., I learn something new....an easier way to do something, or a new effect, or a new editing tool. I know my way around Cubase pretty good and have gotten used to it so I'll probably stick with it for a while. That, plus I'm just way too LAZY to learn another program. :D
 
I'm a Cubase user since 1989 on an Atari but I bought Ableton Live last year to use for live gigs so that I could vary the length of tunes.

Last month I tried a different approach to recording. I don't like using headphones and I don't like the whole overdub thing much as of late. So I set up Cubase to record on my desktop Mac. Then I used my laptop Mac running both QMidi (which is an absolutly incredible program that nobody seems to get) and Ableton Live.

I recorded using 2 mics, a KM84 on my tube amp and a U87 in omni mode to catch the overall mix. And I played all the MIDI stuff through my homemade speakers. I also recorded the synths straight in through SPDIF plus the snare and kick on a stereo channel. The idea was to make the MIDI stuff live in the room and record it like you would a band.

Here's a little jam I did on it (the band comes in after a bit). It's all 100% Roland SC-8850 sound module except for the Steven Slate snare and kick drum. To me this came off way more live than if I'd just sequenced it. The sound mixed in the air, not the computer... not exactly a new concept. :)
http://musicmusicmusic.cn/theoldman.html
 
Yeah i use ableton 70% with cubase at around 30% of the time, although this is mainly because, i am very familiar with ableton, and im in the process of learning to be able to do everyhting with cubase i can do with ableton.

even if i make the full leap into cubase only ill still definatly use ableton for other things, such as elcetronic and sample based work, as personally i think nothing can beat ableton at it

ive used a variety of DAWs and these are the two that have stuck (well i enjoy logic but i dont personally own a mac) and as for protools, i cant stand it, it just doesnt feel intuitive to use IMO
 
If the definition of a DAW is a digital audio workstation, then the idea of using two together at the same time isn't as off the wall as it originally sounds. Standalone DAWs by the likes of Akai, Yamaha, Roland, Tascam, Zoom and Fostex can easilly run in conjuction with your computer based Cubases, Sonars, Pro-tools, Reapers, Logics and the rest. For a while I've been using Cubase to house various virtual instruments and recording them on the Akai DPS 12i. That sort of counts. :D
 
Yeah. I forgot about that.
I actually record on the Korg and export the files to Mixcraft.
I also use Wavelab for mastering.
One person on another forum said it well.
"I like a DAW that thinks the way I do".
Whatever works for you.
 
dastrick said:
I'm diggin that tune. :cool::D
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Thanks, and I should ad that there was zero eq on each track when I mixed it down and zero compression. None, just 5 audio tracks recorded and mixed in 5 minutes. There was no adjusting the faders during the song either. Flat out, and I think that's a big thing too because I'm convinced that eq is overall used because you record something wrong in the first place. Always aim for no eq; eq is the work of Satan! :mad:
 
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