What is your DAW setup?

DanTravis62 said:
For windows, Reaper all day every day for DAW. Cheap, customizable, can do anything.
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Even for Mac too. Reaper is the most efficient, along with Cubase, as it will utilize both performance and efficiency cores to the max. Logic only really uses performance cores.
 
If I was doing Windows I would do Reaper as well. Honestly don’t think the interface matters too much these days as you can easily expand inputs on most of them. Just think about how many things you want to leave plugged in all the time for convenience. A lot may come down to your budget.
 
Windows 11, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Focusrite Clarett+ 8pre, pair of Yamaha HS8 monitors
 
Macs and Logic Pro since version 4.x in around 2000.

For interfaces everything from MOTU, RME, Antelope, Focusrite and a bunch of Apogees. They're a crucial part of your rig, but they're pretty much all good these days.
 
I'm on a Mac and have been using several different DAWs through the years. I've had Pro Tools for a long time and know my way around it. I've used Studio 1 for a time and was using Luna since it was in beta but it is still a very unfinished product. I tried Cubase and just didn't like it but again, a very powerful DAW that also has everything you need in it.

Through the years, I've used Logic here and there and it is a great deal for what you get with it. I didn't start getting more serious into it until last year and am now running it as my main DAW. Again, I wasn't always a fan of Logic but I get it a lot more now and understand it. I would consider newly updated version of Studio 1 to be quite nice as well but I don't want to get into a yearly fee.

For my interface, I sold off my Apollo X8...a nice unit but I didn't need a rack setup anymore and wanted some portability. I ended up with a Neumann MT48 and it has been amazing. Probably one of the best sounding interfaces I have ever used and packed with features.

I run a Nektar Panorama CS12 control strip that works inside logic and is outstanding! It makes so many shortcuts available and lots of control without having to use the trackpad.

Currently going to get one of the Titan logic keyboards with all of the keys labeled to help even more with working efficiently on it. I got to try one out that a friend had an it was so much fun to use!

If you are using a PC, it goes without saying that Reaper is the one for that setup.
 
Win 10./ Cakewalk by Bandlab (because I'm still rocking a VS-700 console)/ Focusrite Scarlett i1810 + 8pre/ Yam MSP7/ Yam Sub

If I was starting over, I think I'd go Presonus Studio Live 32 with the Presonus DAW. The integration looks sick.

If I just wanted a simple interface and cool DAW I'd do Reaper + whatever. I have a little Presonus 2x2 deal and it works great and sounds good. Modern converters sound great on any $100 interface. The presonus whips ass over the old MOTU 2408 I had that cost 10x the price.
 
PiggySmallz said:
Genuine question, what's the benefit in running an amp and load box into an axe iii vs just running the axe into your interface?
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It's mostly just a workflow / vibe thing. I'm a big nerd for real amps and glowing tubes, and I like turning physical knobs to dial sounds. Also I have some amps I like and play all the time that the Axe doesn't model.

Nothing at all wrong with the Axe's modeling, btw. I use those a lot too. Just depends what I'm in the mood for really. I've compared some of the Axe's models of some amps I have and almost always come away impressed with how close, if not outright indistinguishable in some cases, the models are.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
It's mostly just a workflow / vibe thing. I'm a big nerd for real amps and glowing tubes, and I like turning physical knobs to dial sounds. Also I have some amps I like and play all the time that the Axe doesn't model.

Nothing at all wrong with the Axe's modeling, btw. I use those a lot too. Just depends what I'm in the mood for really. I've compared some of the Axe's models of some amps I have and almost always come away impressed with how close, if not outright indistinguishable in some cases, the models are.
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I'm hesitant to get rid of my amps, though having them all on makes the room toasty. I've been looking at buying an axe, how do you feel about dynamics? On some of the neural plug-ins it feels like the velocity is 100% all of the time regardless of how hard I dig in with my right hand lol
 
I record in 24/96.. The files are big but you can wack it down to 16/44.1 or a shitty MP3 from there..
Digital conveters/preamps are sterile..They don't add anything. That's why digital recordings can be hard a brittle sounding..
Invest in a real Analog Micpre that adds to the sound. It's the best money you can spend on this junk..
 
PiggySmallz said:
I'm hesitant to get rid of my amps, though having them all on makes the room toasty. I've been looking at buying an axe, how do you feel about dynamics? On some of the neural plug-ins it feels like the velocity is 100% all of the time regardless of how hard I dig in with my right hand lol
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I personally don't look at it that way, as a one-or-the-other thing. And I'd probably never sell an amp to get a model of that amp. They're just different things, even if they sound and feel identical. The tools you use matter because they inspire you. If simply knowing you're playing an amp makes you play better than knowing you're playing a modeler, then the amp is better. If playing a modeler inspires you more than a real amp, then the modeler is better. I like both.

Having waxed philosophical about the issue, my direct answer to your question is that Fractal modeling is close enough that to me the best models leave nothing to be desired, including dynamics. Plug the Axe-Fx into a poweramp of similar capability to the real amps and set to the same volume, and you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference, even if you're playing them. I'm convinced Fractal makes the best amp models you can get anywhere. Are the amp models identical to the real amps? No, not absolutely identical, but in the best cases it's close enough to the real thing that if you compared them, you'd think you were just playing two instances of the same real tube amp.
 
I think I'm going to swap out my interface (SSL 2) for its bigger brother, the SSL 12 because it has 4 XLR inputs.
 
ssl would be interesting if i was starting over

i'm a mac person,

but when i had a pc, with a threadripper balbala, i was still using MOTU Digital Performer, just becuase it's what i've used since like 2000-2001

i bet reaper is better or more inline with the type of music i play, and i have heard good things about cubase and abelton as well, pro tools is basically the first version of DP, or idk exactly they came out really close to one another

currently using an antelope discrete 4 pro

used rme stuff, never wanted the apollo stuff, the whole desktop interface for whatever reason(s) doesn't jive with me

the motu interfaces are also great and i've had good times with them as well

the interface i have has thunderbolt but i just use the usb, i'm not recording 17 things at once, (just one thing at a time) and latency has never been an issue even with older hardware,

so yeah, i find most DAW software to be very similar, the only one i hated or didn't get along with was presonus studio 1, so there's that
 
Get a Mac mini or MacBook Air and switch to Logic Pro. Use the stock plugins, they are seriously all you need. You can make industry quality albums with those plugins.

BUT if later on you have the budget, get a Fabfilter plugin bundle. Their EQ, comp, multiband comp, limiter, Saturn saturator, etc are all industry standards at this point. I would’ve saved thousands if I knew that a long time ago: stick to Logic stock plugins and Fabfilter and that’s it, instead of chasing the latest snake oil plugin of the week thinking it was the missing piece of the puzzle.
 
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Just picked up a mac mini 4 for under 700 CAD. Hard to beat Apple for music creation so I jumped. My first go at Apple anything where computers are concerned.

DAW, I have tried MIXbus and it sounds good but i didn't like the work flow and editing features. Garage band looks interesting now that i have a mac because i have a hybrid setup and I feel like comping takes is what i prefer over snapping to grid and hacking shit up. More old school. That said, probably going to stick with Reaper and just use one of the many customized themes. You can get a Logic , Pro Tools, and Cubase theme for Reaper. It really is a good daw. I like the lanes option too for comping. That sort of decided it for me. I'm sure all the other daws do that but i find a lot of them too distracting in layout and colors. Reaper offers a ton of customization options.
 
I just have a long standing hatred of Macs….and also have a solidly capable PC I can convert so my preference would be to go that route
 
gibson5413 said:
I just purchased a Polar 2 a couple of months ago. I am pleasantly surprised by how well it has performed so far. I use it nTrack. I know it isn't a well known DAW but I started using it back in 1999 and it works for me.
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The Polar 2 works really great with the Tonex software. Its what I have been using to practice and learn tunes. Not big on the ST James plugin, but its ok.
 
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