Another "DAW suggestions" request

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by ssjk

After a number of false starts I’m finally ready to learn to record some simple stuff. I’d appreciate your thoughts on where to invest time and maybe some money on a DAW. I looked at reviews on line and I went through threads here, but much of the discussion is about capabilities I don't care about.

I have limited requirements:

record a scratch track
replace it with individually recorded instrument and vocal tracks
edit and merge

I don’t ever see myself using MIDI or externally sourced material
I’m not likely to post anything anywhere, but I might make it available to a friend or two


I have a MacBook and an iPad, and would prefer to record directly to the Mac

I have the following software, but haven’t used any of it, so I’m starting from scratch:

StudioOne 3 (mac)
Garageband (iPad and mac)
Auria (iPad)

StudioOne requires an upgrade for $49
Auria works only on the iPad - no mac version
Garageband gets REALLY negative reviews, but it’s free to me
Reaper gets good reactions, but all I know of it is the name

I’m inclined to believe the Garageband reviews and just go for the upgrade of StudioOne. Anything else I should really consider for my simple requirements at a price of $0 - $100?

Thanks for any observations.

For what you are stating as your (current) desired goals and given you have already upgraded your OS to Catalina ( something that in the future I would advise against doing automatically)

And since you get Garage Band free with Mac OS , I would advise you to definitely consider going with your instinct and get the $50 upgrade for Studio One . That is a very minimal investment ( the cost of a nice restaurant meal) and will future proof your recording/mixing needs for a good while.

And speaking of the future and your possible wants/needs , one thing to consider that is fairly universal (especially when starting out) is that we don't know ,what we don't know.....

First regardless of all the midi, sampling, and 3rd party add ons etc. etc. you may be reading about in full featured DAWS In point of fact that is not the only thing that tends to set them apart from the free and more limited feature DAWS.

The strength to varying degrees in most full featured DAWS is in routing , editing, and mixing. Which comes into play no matter how many, or few tracks you are working with.

As far as spending time. I would stick with what you already have between GB and Studio One you are covered

While it is true the GB is a fairly capable consumer audio program. And to quickly get down some audio takes is arguably fine ..( I run Mojave not Catalina so things may have changed) But the last time I fiddled around with GB , tt still had some significant audio routing/mixing/editing deficiencies. One that you might be interested in for even just a simple guitar and vocal project is the ability to quickly set up a parallel reverb (or other parallel FX ) track (which as I understand is still not available in GB)
Which may be a reason to get the upgrade and dive into the latest Studio One

For example I currently use 3 DAWs --- Pro Tools HD Native vr. 2019.12 -- Studio One vr. 4.5.4 and Reason vr. 8.3
And speaking only for me personally (obviously others mileages vary )
I tried Reaper and found it's workflow cumbersome and the nomenclature problematic . Looked at Audacity and didn't even try it. Having been Mac since 2003, I have periodically fiddled with GB but also find it cumbersome and lacking.

And if it were me (knowing what I know now ) to make life easier I would seriously consider also getting one of the Presonus interfaces as well

Anyway nuff said

[Ray175]

Audacity offers excellent quality for a freeware, and is very simple/intuitive......

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Ray175

Audacity offers excellent quality for a freeware, and is very simple/intuitive......

I used to use Audacity. Then I switched to Reaper, and tracking, editing and adding a few effects was so much easier, I wondered why I hadn't switched sooner.

You may think all you want to do is record a few simple tracks now, but then you decide "I want to 'punch in' and fix that one phrase," or "It would be nice if I could just cut/paste these parts around," or "what would this sound like with a bit of compression and reverb" and your DAW is limited. Trust us, even simple tasks can be easier on a full-featured DAW, even if you don't use 95% of what it can do. And even a complex DAW doesn't have to be complicated for simple recording: make a track, set your levels, hit record, and go.

I'm not familiar with GB, but yeah, start trying out anything you can for free. See what works best for you, but keep in mind what you might want to be able to do in the future.

[min7b5]

If your budget is up to hundred bucks I'd be inclined to ask if there's anyway at all to stretch to two and get Logic Pro. If you're already a Mac person, and you want something that's gonna work well on your Mac, an Apple product is a solid choice. Otherwise work on Garageband for a while (I personally liked it and never had problems despite reviews you mentioned) and then should you decide you want to step up to Logic for whatever reason it will be fairly smooth transition since Garageband at this point is basically the free version of Logic.