DAWs: Save me from doldrums

[askashrub]

So, I've been using Pro Tools for the past couple years.
Originally an Acid guy (always felt way more pleasant to me).

I learned Pro Tools because I felt every sound engineer should, but I'm at a point where I've just realized I don't like it.
It feels archaic and Avid are wankers and I want to enjoy my blooming life.

So I'm wondering what you cats use, and why.
My primary needs are tracking and mixing.

Also free / mad cheap things are better.

[Ev_O)))]

I fucking despise protools. My primary DAW is Ableton, and I had a Mastering exam at uni the other day in which we had to submit a protools session among other things and during my time in the studio I spent more time calling the computer a cunt than getting anything done. So convoluted when compared to my beloved Ableton.

So firstly I would reccommend that. It works pretty amazing for everything despite being pidgeon holed as having an electronic music focus.

However, my second DAW and the one I run on my "on the move" rig (aka shitty old laptop) is Reaper. A truly flexible piece of software. It can and will mould itself to your will. It has no inbuilt "pre-conceptions" as to it's use (I know its a piece of software and you can do what you want but it's just so chill in its lack of implied direction).
It's super cheap for a comercial licence and for simply tracking and mixing then I highly recommend it. Also you pay only once, and all the updates from there on in are FREE!
That said, for outright experimental musical fuckery than ableton is god and I would direct you to the computer based drone thread that is currently active for anecdotal evidence to this effect (Max for Live being my weapon of choice).

A lot of people seem to like Logic but after extended experience I really dislike it. It just strikes me as like a song writing tool in a lot of ways.

TLDR:
Awesome amazing comprehensive DAW: Ableton
Awesome amazing cheap mixing and mastering tool: Reaper

I should add that I dont want to sound like I'm underselling Reaper at all. It's a super cool no fucking around fully functioning super cheap music creation platform.

[D.o.S.]

Another vote for Ableton here, too (circle jerk, engaged!). Heard lots of good things about Reaper -- and AFAIK it's basically the 'go to' DAW for affordable mixing and mastering. Ableton is glorious, but it is not inexpensive. Phantasmagrovich sent me some stuff for a to-be-finished-collab that was done in Reaper and it sounded great.

[fever606]

Third the Ableton Live love (and doubling-down on the ProTools / AVID dislike).

[friendship]

I had the same experience with PT as you, I haven't regretted abandoning it at all.

It's hard to know what to recommend without knowing what your goals are and what you intend on using it for. If you want a super powerful freecheap DAW I recommend Reaper, which I started using recently and am really enjoying. There are some user interface quirks I haven't gotten used to yet, but once I get the hang of editing in it I see no reason why I won't be able to use this as my primary mulitrack/edit/mix environment.

I've mostly been using Reason, which is excellent for songwriting and arranging, since it has simple mulitracking and great sample libraries and soft synths. I like it because it's very easy to get great sounds quickly without knowing too much about the program, but it also rewards deep learning of its modules. I love learning signal routing tricks in it. I've learned a lot about synthesis and signal flow just by using it and thinking "what if I wanted to do this?"

[DRodriguez]

I'm still using pro tools because it's my job, and that's what the vast majority of studios have. It's a mixing work horse and the best for tracking and mixing in my opinion. 2nd most common daw I see in studios is Cubase, I've never been a fan though. Ableton is fantastic and unrivaled for music creation. With mixing, you run into issues with delay compensation though.

[resincum]

audacity

[Invisible Man]

^^^Preach! I have no problems with this. Used PT; wasn't for me. What iteration of Ableton do you folks recommend looking at for starters? Some pals of mine swear by it...

[blakestree]

audacity

Hahaha. I hate DAWs. But, for quick-n-easy I use Audacity. If I wanna get a little more in-depth I use Reaper.

[Inconuucl]

I like bigwig studio, I feel like it's geared a lot towards composition, which is really useful.

Also, the fact that every knob is essentially semi modular, even vsts, lets it get super glitchy if needed.

[colossus]

I was doing PT and then I needed to upgrade, saw the cost, and said fuck it. I moved to Logic X partially because of the price and partially because of the reputation. I'm digging it a lot, though it is a good deal different than PT and I definitely miss little features here and there (like no way to bypass multiple plugins at once?!?!?!?).

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

haha pro fools pro fools!

[D.o.S.]

I'm still using pro tools because it's my job, and that's what the vast majority of studios have. It's a mixing work horse and the best for tracking and mixing in my opinion. 2nd most common daw I see in studios is Cubase, I've never been a fan though. Ableton is fantastic and unrivaled for music creation. With mixing, you run into issues with delay compensation though.

Yeah I've always been under the impression that Pro Tools is what everyone uses because everyone uses it.

^^^Preach! I have no problems with this. Used PT; wasn't for me. What iteration of Ableton do you folks recommend looking at for starters? Some pals of mine swear by it...

For starters it's hard to go wrong with their Intro package. I think it's like $85 or something, which is expensive in some ways but about the price of your average Boss pedal in others.

https://www.ableton.com/en/live/feature-comparison/

[tremolo3]

I'm all about Reaper.

[voerking]

audacity

Hahaha. I hate DAWs. But, for quick-n-easy I use Audacity. If I wanna get a little more in-depth I use Reaper.

i'm an audacity user, too. it's free & stupid simple to use.