What is the most popular home recording software?

[justcrash]

I don't want to spend a fortune. I just upgraded from Tracktion 2 to Tracktion 3. I LOVED tracktion 2, I HATE tracktion 3. I am considering going back to 2, but what do the majority of you good people use for home recording?

[UstadKhanAli]

I'm using Pro Tools LE 7.4, but I have no idea what's the most popular for home recording studios. I'd be more inclined to ask, "What's the most user-friendly DAW that lets me work the way I want to work?" You may differ.

[justcrash]

I'm using Pro Tools LE 7.4, but I have no idea what's the most popular for home recording studios. I'd be more inclined to ask, "What's the most user-friendly DAW that lets me work the way I want to work?" You may differ.

 

I'm really not that great with the stuff so I need something easy to use. Would pro tools fit the bill?

[UstadKhanAli]

Well, to me, when I tried it out, it seemed logically laid out, and I could figure things out without consulting the manual very much. I liked the editing. I don't bother doing any MIDI. I don't tend to do lots of loops (although now, PT is good with both).

 

But there's a lot of DAWs out there, and something may make more sense to you. I don't know the best way to try out software...some of them have downloadable demos. You have to determine what your needs are and then try out a few kinds of DAWs that seem likely to work for you and go from there.

 

Also....what changes between Tracktion 2 and 3 do you dislike? Can you reconfigure those changes to be more like what you want? Is there a Tracktion forum where you can go to ask questions of this nature?

[Alndln2]

I'm really not that great with the stuff so I need something easy to use. Would pro tools fit the bill?

I wouldn't say any software DAW program is that easy at the beggining, but will become easier once you put time and effort into working with the one you feel most comfortable with. I'd check out as many demos and You Tube tutorials as I could find to get an idea for yourself.

[Majoria]

I bought Pro Tools LE 7.0 for my first DAW and found it easy to use the basics and then learned the more advanced techniques, so I upgraded to 7.3 with a 003R. A friend of mine also has Pro Tools LE 7.0 with an mbox2, had no recording experience, and uses it just fine for his needs.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I don't know what the stats are in terms of popularity either, but I'm sure PT LE is near (or at) the top of the list... but as Ken alluded to, that's not really all that important, unless compatibility with other studios is critical to you. The more important questions are, what offers the features you want and need, and what user interface works for you and the way you like to work?

 

FWIW, I use Pro Tools HD2 Accel for my main rig. Like Ken, I love the editing, and the UI works for me and is perfect for the way I like to work. It makes sense to me, and is, IMO, very elegant.

 

PT 8 looks to up the ante even higher. I'm really looking forward to checking it out.

[albiedamned]

Going with ProTools will stick you with the limitation of only being able to use ProTools or M-Audio interfaces.

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

Going with ProTools will stick you with the limitation of only being able to use ProTools or M-Audio interfaces.

 

 

Very true.

 

There are advantages as well as the (implied) disadvantages to that though... when you source hardware and software from one company, there's no chance of any of the "well, your problem is due to their hardware / no, your problem is due to their software" blame game stuff that sometimes happens when using stuff from two different companies...

[blue2blue]

Lots of DAW softwares out there. Some offer trials and demos. It may not be the 'dummy-friendliest,' but Reaper is one of the fastest growing, fastest evolving DAWs out there and is very reasonably priced in both non-commercial and commercial licenses. There's also a free trial.

 

Myself, I use Sonar Pro. The Cakewalk family, of which it's the flagship, is a popular one, too. At one point CW was bragging about being the biggest music creation software publisher (based on what, whether gross sales, units distributed, etc, I don't know) but they have a range of recording softwares that are well-liked by many but not all.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Going with ProTools will stick you with the limitation of only being able to use ProTools or M-Audio interfaces.

 

 

Yes, although you can still use different mic preamps and converters. They simply must interface with the PT hardware.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

I bought Pro Tools LE 7.0 for my first DAW and found it easy to use the basics and then learned the more advanced techniques, so I upgraded to 7.3 with a 003R. A friend of mine also has Pro Tools LE 7.0 with an mbox2, had no recording experience, and uses it just fine for his needs.

 

 

When I first started out on Pro Tools, I was recording in a matter of minutes (I bought the thing pre-installed, a turnkey system). It was very easy to get around and intuitive. And that's what someone should look for, in my opinion. Whether it makes sense to them or not. What makes sense to me, what seems like a logical workspace to me, may not be one to someone else.

[MrKnobs]

I still record mostly to a dedicated hard disk recorder (Tascam 24-track), but I also use the computer a lot now for various things, besides controlling the Tascam box.

 

I use Adobe Audition 3, and JC, you're right, seems like some of the manufacturers think changing everything on each version release is OK.

 

Terry D.

[justcrash]

I still record mostly to a dedicated hard disk recorder (Tascam 24-track), but I also use the computer a lot now for various things, besides controlling the Tascam box. I use Adobe Audition 3, and JC, you're right, seems like some of the manufacturers think changing everything on each version release is OK. Terry D.

 

 

I was really excited about T3 because I loved T2 so much. I actually built a new PC around me getting it... 4 megs of RAM, a x64 3 gig CPU and 2 500 gig SATA HDDs.

 

Someone in amps posted a jam clip and I was going to participate in it, so I imported the MP3 (which I done a million times on T2) and fired up my gear box plug in.

 

I hit play/record and it starts stuttering. I'm like "What the....?"

 

So I remove gear box and just PLAY the MP3. ONE MP3 and it starts throwing up again. Maddening. I went to their forum on the Mackie site and basically the entire vibe of the place changed from when I bought T2. The devs were there all the time to help us.

 

Now every other thread is "Does the support team even post here anymore?"

[WRGKMC]

The big three for recording audio are Cakewalk, Steinberg and Pro Tools. Think Cakewalk products are the simpelest, Then the others. Oh and Adobie Audition is in there too. Theyre one of the easier ones as well.

Theres alot of others that are unique to Mac computers or highlight Midi, Loops, Samples etc, But I consider them more of a synthetic music making software vs an actual recording program.

[GZsound]

I have thought a lot about this question in the past.

 

If I had to start from scratch right now, what would I buy? After a lot of thought I can honestly say...I have no clue.

 

I started with the original version of Cakewalk on an 8088 computer with no hard drive..two 5 1/2 floppies. I stayed with Cakewalk until Pro 7 which crashed repeatedly..never worked properly.

 

In 1996 I got Cool Edit 96 and Sound Forge XP..both two track editors..

 

Simple, easy.. So I stayed with the Cool Edit through it's various iterations until I now use Adobe Audition. It seems simple and intuitive, fast and easy to use.

 

I have always refused to buy anything that requires propriatary hardware so I can upgrade either hardware or software any time I want.

 

But.. protools is the Harley Davidson of the audio world. You just aren't considered "professional" unless you use it..

 

So.. go with pro tools.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

But.. protools is the Harley Davidson of the audio world. You just aren't considered "professional" unless you use it..

 

 

But that's mostly if you are trying to get clients, right? Otherwise, what does it matter? Sonar? Logic? Suzuki? Enfield?

 

I met one recording engineer who bought a cheap MBox just so he could advertise truthfully that he had Pro Tools for clients. Otherwise, he did his work in another DAW that he felt was superior and more intuitive.

 

So again I would suggest finding something that makes the most sense to the OP wants to work and get that.

[Phil O'Keefe]

The big three for recording audio are Cakewalk, Steinberg and Pro Tools. (snip). Oh and Adobie Audition is in there too.

 

You left off at least two major players (at least on the Mac) - Logic and DP. Oh, and there's other stuff too... Reaper. Pyramix. Samplitude. Vegas / Acid. etc.

[GZsound]

 

But that's mostly if you are trying to get clients, right? Otherwise, what does it matter? Sonar? Logic? Suzuki? Enfield? I met one recording engineer who bought a cheap MBox just so he could advertise truthfully that he had Pro Tools for clients. Otherwise, he did his work in another DAW that he felt was superior and more intuitive. So again I would suggest finding something that makes the most sense to the OP wants to work and get that.

 

 

You are correct.

 

I do find it interesting that whenever I tell anyone I ride a motorcycle, the first thing they ask is "do you have a harley?".. and whenever I tell someone I have a recording studio if they know anything about the business, the first thing they ask me is "do you use pro tools?"..

 

So.. I should get whatever demo version of pro tools is available so I can claim to use it too..

 

On the other hand, there are some pretty nice software DAW programs for very little money these days and you are right..get the one that works best for you.

[UstadKhanAli]

I always ask if I use Pro Tools. And the answer is yes. I'm not trying desperately hard to get clients, though, since I have a regular day job. I just happen to because the editing function makes sense to me.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Reaper looks really cool. I've never tried it out, but if you want cheap and functional and cool, that may be the way to go. Bear in mind that I'm basing this only from perusing their website and not actually using it.

[eeglug]

Reaper is really cool. I went from 4 track tape to an Akai DPS16 standalone and briefly used Adobe Audition on a friend's machine. I wound up with Reaper and can't imagine switching. Very affordable, the interface is intuitive IMO, super flexible routing capabilities, not a CPU hog and a great support forum for any questions you have. (For some in-depth midi applications, it maybe needs improvement.) Go download the demo and try it.

[WRGKMC]

Yea I missed those Phil. I used Logic for awhile and still have a PC Silver version on my box. I used it a few times but couldnt get used to the program logic. I did record a few songs but I think it was pretty much accidental. Maybe it was the symbols they use or the Track layout or something but I couldnt seem to get things working properly even after reading the entire manual. Nothing wrong with the program, its just the logic of the layout was alien to me. Guess other programs make more sence to me having been an analog guy for so many years.

[brandonhackler]

Ableton Live is overlooked a lot as a viable DAW option. I think it gets the rep of being only a DJ looping station. I really haven't found another DAW that allows for more flexible track routing than Ableton. It's simple, straight forward, not a hog on the CPU and is very "ANALOG" feeling in the way you can route your tracks to, through, around, out of, over top of, into or away from anything.

 

Some cons are: no cross fades. Which is VERY odd not to include in a modern DAW. Some synch issues I've read about but never personally experienced. And some other little things.

 

I think some of the guys more versed in the analog world of recording who are trying to change to DAW's could enjoy this programs routing flexibility.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Brandon-

[doppelbanger]

if you want something really easy, you should download the mixcraft trial. if you like it it's only about $50.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Ableton Live is overlooked a lot as a viable DAW option. I think it gets the rep of being only a DJ looping station. I really haven't found another DAW that allows for more flexible track routing than Ableton. It's simple, straight forward, not a hog on the CPU and is very "ANALOG" feeling in the way you can route your tracks to, through, around, out of, over top of, into or away from anything. Some cons are: no cross fades. Which is VERY odd not to include in a modern DAW. Some synch issues I've read about but never personally experienced. And some other little things. I think some of the guys more versed in the analog world of recording who are trying to change to DAW's could enjoy this programs routing flexibility. Just my 2 cents. Brandon-

 

 

Brandon, my friend is thinking getting one, and was wondering how it works as a DAW (editing, fades, moving chunks of audio around, etc. etc.). I was thinking, since he's on a budget, he could get Ableton and Reaper or something like that. He would need something that is fairly easy to use and intuitive since he's getting into this for the first time, although he knows how to use Final Cut Pro.

 

Anyway, any insight you have is appreciated. And if you could mention more about what you like about the routing, that'd be cool too. Thanks!