Ahh yes.. there comes a day in every budding musicians life, where they decide to flip their sleeping room into a state of the arc recording studio. with the simple addon of a blue yeti microphone, a pop filter, and a little bit of desire, the aspiring musician finds his new home. After recording their voice on audacity or garage band over a diminished YouTube instrumental, you can hear the aspiring musician yelling " F**k yes!!! That's f**king dope!! As they run to share it with their friends.
But once they compare it with their favorite artists music one thought sets in...
Why doesn't my song sound like theirs?????
It sounds like you need a DAW my friend.
When trying to choose the perfect D-A-W you have to ask your self a few key questions
What type of music will I be producing
Am I mostly going to record live instruments or use midi controller's?
Am I going to rely on basic plug ins?? (plug ins that come with your DAW)
What programs am I looking to get in the future?
Have I done some research?
Do looks matter?
Lets go over the DAW'S out there with some basic explanations.
Fl Studio - A Rappers best friend
great piano roll (for drawing in notes for your instruments) not great for automation though ( think of it as painting your effects. for example making reverb slowly increase at certain points in your song
Ableton - Almost like crack for EDM producers and DJ's
great for looping and works well with machine hardware, lacks in the piano roll department, great for sampling and fast workflow
Pro Tools - A well rounded DAW for anyone really
really good for live recording, works with tons of VST's (plugins)
my personal 2nd choice from FL studio it also is great for routing effects and groupings
Machine - Pretty much like Ableton but is GOD TIER when you have native instruments plugins and products ( after I got my native instruments set up I mostly use this with FL studio)
kind of similar to Ableton but I recommend only getting it if you have a beat pad, I don't really like the pattern layout I would prefer it to be more like the other DAW's but once you learn it its alright
Logic Pro
Apples DAW ( recently updated to work with loops also like Ableton) good workflow, apple only
Reaper - A low cost well rounded DAW mostly used by musicians who live record instruments
( I haven't used it but my cousin has and he recommends this DAW for live recordings
Reason - I don't know a lot about this DAW how ever it has been gaining lots of talk, I do know it has tons of sounds and sound selection though and a pretty sweet racking feature
Garage band- Do I even have to explain? if you have a mac you know, if you don't then don't worry
And honestly There are plenty more DAW's out there but these are the talks of the town
These programs come with a plethora of price points and free options and I honestly cant tell you which one to go for, that part is solely based on your needs.
The easiest choices how ever are the ones with more support (FL studio, Ableton, Pro Tools, and Machine ) those are the most popular, so there is tons of groups and support and tutorials on YouTube
No matter which DAW you choose they are all made to do similar things.
Trust me I know, you are probably sitting there still going. THIS DOESN'T HELP ME, NOW I HAVE SO MANY CHOICES!!!
well ill give you a place to start
you can look up some YouTube videos on the DAW's and see how they get put to work or go off of my recommendation.
In my personal opinion if you are getting into hip hop you should try FL studio
If you are getting into EDM and electronic or DJ'ing you should try Ableton
If you want to live record you should look at pro tools or logic pro
I started on FL studio and I found it very easy to learn, I used it for years and then also got Machine software. I've also used Ableton and honestly, going from one DAW' to another isn't too hard, it just takes a little time and patience.
If you download a few programs, use the free trials, and mess around for about 3-4 hours each you will find that one is just easier for you to use. And honestly, don't bother watching other people use the DAW's. I did that when I first started music and used up at least 40 hours without reaching a decision. Try them out your self!!! that's how you will really find out what DAW is for you!!!!
My Personal Pick - FL STUDIO
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