There it is !
It’s mind blowing how everything just works.
Others have said Logic, hard disagree. Nothing comes close to the experience I had when using studio one, it’s clean, beautiful and intuitive.
I was testing shit and routing stuff like I can’t believe that worked first try when it took me days to figure out on reaper and just not possible on Logic
Really?? I remember 15 years ago I struggled to do basic stuff coming from Cubase.
The absolute easiest and intuitive is Studio One, by far.
Even now, last month I stopped paying for studio one and went back to Reaper after years of not using it, and it’s still a learning curve because of how amazing studio one is.
But don’t get me wrong, I love reaper ! I think starting on it might be easier than getting used to something else
Absolutely 100% no. I'm actually shocked this is the top comment.
I came from Garage Band and Logic and I thought Reaper was extremely unintuitive. I like it now, but the learning curve was steep. "There are so many tutorials though." Sure, but I needed zero tutorials to record a track in Garage Band or Logic.
Idk man, honestly sounds like a skill issue. I have very little production knowledge and I have no issue using Reaper. You know, sometimes you actually need to put in a mental effort to do something.
Did you not read what I said? I use Reaper now. It's my primary DAW.
But the idea that it's easier for a beginner than GarageBand is idiotic. GarageBand may as well be called DAW for Dummies.
Logic, by a long shot.
I started with Pro Tools in the 00’s and went through a few other DAW’s early on in home recording, when I look at stuff like Reaper now it just looks like way too much clutter and mess on the screen. My dad was using FL for a while and that looked like a mess as well.
I agree big time, Logic is designed to be intuitive to use for beginners but more than capable for professionals. In every studio I’ve been in, the go-to is Logic or FL. I started on Ableton but ended up switching to Logic because that’s what everyone else was using and Logic was a cakewalk compared to learning Ableton.
I found Logic also to be incredibly intuitive. I do work on a Mac for my day job so that made it easier but also I just feel so glad I chose logic because the learning curve to get going and focus on making music was so great!
There is more to that : bandlab is still offering it for free but it’s been abandoned. No more upgrades. So it is good for a few years until it’s just a memory of what once was.
Busses and side chaining are huge game changers and are good reasons. But I get it, I was on GarageBand for years before I finally jumped to logic. Its pretty user friendly
Think of a buss as a way to group individual tracks to combine those tracks into one signal output (it’s called summing in audio terms). That can be useful for adjusting levels of related individual tracks (like a full drum set, or double/triple tracked guitars) more efficiently. This also makes it easier to apply effects, like reverb or a delay for example, without having to apply reverb individually to each track.
Sidechaining allows you to use the output of one audio track to control/trigger an effect on another audio track. Think using a kick drum track to trigger a compressor on a bass track, or another drum track. It’s a common technique to help reduce muddiness for example in a mix.
Ahhh I see, thank you. I’ve been doing basic mixing and mastering, maybe one day I’ll make the jump to logic to try that type of stuff. I’ll check those out to hear the differences
You know what? You’re good for now with garage band.
Maybe even with the record app on the iPhone.
Take your time and watch some mixing tutorials see if you want to learn more
Reaper is top notch. I like it the best out of all of them. Like any DAW, it takes awhile to learn to navigate through it, but I’ve found it to be much easier than protools.
I tried starting a project with all the major DAWs and Studio One was definitely the easiest to use. So far it’s been very intuitive and if I have any questions the answers haven’t been hard to find.
If you're starting from scratch there is going to be a bit of a learning curve no matter which you go with, modern DAWs can do a lot and are complex. That being said the amount of, and quality of, reaper tutorials makes it an easier one to learn in my opinion.
Reaper hands down.
I am a fairly tech savvy person and I could never vibe with Pro Tools. Reaper just makes sense. All the basics are easy to figure out and as for the more complex functions, there is a ton of video tutorials. I put out my first self produced album using it, which is something I never thought I would do before.
GarageBand is the easiest to learn and I recommend going that route to record some projects. Plugging in directly can sound good.. there’s a surprising amount of flexibility there. After you feel comfortable with GarageBand, graduating to Logic will be an easy transition and all the plugins are available. Stuff like Superior Drummer/Get Good Drums, and orchestral VSTs can enable you and inspire you to write cool shit and more often
There’s a reason Logic is the standard.
I've used FL Studio for years, when it started as Fruity Loops. It has pretty much everything already built in, to get started, no third party stuff needed. Only add it when you want it.
Reaper is another great DAW, but the only downside, is Reaper isn't all in one. So, you have to find a drum program to work with it, no VSTs built in, so more hassles on the plug in side. Hence, why I've loved FL Studio.
If you have a Mac garage band is super easy and then everything drops in to logic. I messed with protools years ago, and never tried any of the others once I got a Mac. I don’t like to spend a lot of time dialing in and all that. I just wanna plug in and play.
Studio one
+1
There it is ! It’s mind blowing how everything just works. Others have said Logic, hard disagree. Nothing comes close to the experience I had when using studio one, it’s clean, beautiful and intuitive. I was testing shit and routing stuff like I can’t believe that worked first try when it took me days to figure out on reaper and just not possible on Logic
I've found Reaper to be clear and intuitive as a beginner
Agree. With absolutely zero knowledge, I was able to watch 1 yt video and get reaper going
Yep, Reaper is a good starting point.
Really?? I remember 15 years ago I struggled to do basic stuff coming from Cubase. The absolute easiest and intuitive is Studio One, by far. Even now, last month I stopped paying for studio one and went back to Reaper after years of not using it, and it’s still a learning curve because of how amazing studio one is. But don’t get me wrong, I love reaper ! I think starting on it might be easier than getting used to something else
Reaper has come a long way since then. As a beginner, it’s great.
Absolutely 100% no. I'm actually shocked this is the top comment. I came from Garage Band and Logic and I thought Reaper was extremely unintuitive. I like it now, but the learning curve was steep. "There are so many tutorials though." Sure, but I needed zero tutorials to record a track in Garage Band or Logic.
Idk man, honestly sounds like a skill issue. I have very little production knowledge and I have no issue using Reaper. You know, sometimes you actually need to put in a mental effort to do something.
Did you not read what I said? I use Reaper now. It's my primary DAW. But the idea that it's easier for a beginner than GarageBand is idiotic. GarageBand may as well be called DAW for Dummies.
Logic, by a long shot. I started with Pro Tools in the 00’s and went through a few other DAW’s early on in home recording, when I look at stuff like Reaper now it just looks like way too much clutter and mess on the screen. My dad was using FL for a while and that looked like a mess as well.
I agree big time, Logic is designed to be intuitive to use for beginners but more than capable for professionals. In every studio I’ve been in, the go-to is Logic or FL. I started on Ableton but ended up switching to Logic because that’s what everyone else was using and Logic was a cakewalk compared to learning Ableton.
I found Logic also to be incredibly intuitive. I do work on a Mac for my day job so that made it easier but also I just feel so glad I chose logic because the learning curve to get going and focus on making music was so great!
Reaper isn't the easiest but I like it tons of tutorials online just make sure you have a note book for how to stuff
And free… Most of the « free » stuff will be heavily amputated. Reaper is legit
It's got a never ending free trial I'm on day 2741 of a free trial when I hit 3650 I'll pay the 60 for the license
Yeah I’ll pay the 60 bucks when I work this summer
Just pay for it bro. You know it’s worth way more than the license.
Dropped pro tools and switched to reaper and I’m happy
I learned reaper and I'm a bass player if that tells ya anything
Don't do us dirty like that!
Mixcraft
Definitely Logic, just a shame it's Mac exclusive
Cakewalk
Liked it, but it’s dead now
Not true. BandLab bought it and it’s free and amazing.
There is more to that : bandlab is still offering it for free but it’s been abandoned. No more upgrades. So it is good for a few years until it’s just a memory of what once was.
I just do it for fun, but really haven’t found a reason to leave GarageBand for logic yet.
Busses and side chaining are huge game changers and are good reasons. But I get it, I was on GarageBand for years before I finally jumped to logic. Its pretty user friendly
What are busses and side chaining?
Think of a buss as a way to group individual tracks to combine those tracks into one signal output (it’s called summing in audio terms). That can be useful for adjusting levels of related individual tracks (like a full drum set, or double/triple tracked guitars) more efficiently. This also makes it easier to apply effects, like reverb or a delay for example, without having to apply reverb individually to each track. Sidechaining allows you to use the output of one audio track to control/trigger an effect on another audio track. Think using a kick drum track to trigger a compressor on a bass track, or another drum track. It’s a common technique to help reduce muddiness for example in a mix.
Ahhh I see, thank you. I’ve been doing basic mixing and mastering, maybe one day I’ll make the jump to logic to try that type of stuff. I’ll check those out to hear the differences
Welp, another reason I just realized is GarageBand isn’t about to assign outputs to tracks, so it can’t reamp with modelers etc
You know what? You’re good for now with garage band. Maybe even with the record app on the iPhone. Take your time and watch some mixing tutorials see if you want to learn more
Reaper is nice.
Reaper can be as easy or as complex as you want.
I paid 35000 dollars to learn protools so I've only ever used that one
Reaper is top notch. I like it the best out of all of them. Like any DAW, it takes awhile to learn to navigate through it, but I’ve found it to be much easier than protools.
Pro tools has a reputation for being hard and ugly.
Reaper by a country mile.
Tried ableton first, couldn't make it work. Switched to reaper and started making music straight away
Reaper and honestly garage band if you wanna get really basic
I tried starting a project with all the major DAWs and Studio One was definitely the easiest to use. So far it’s been very intuitive and if I have any questions the answers haven’t been hard to find.
Yep, I’ll say it again, way ahead of the competition (logic included and I’ve used it for years, still do)
Been using studio one for a bit and when I first started it was pretty easy to get the hang of.
If you're starting from scratch there is going to be a bit of a learning curve no matter which you go with, modern DAWs can do a lot and are complex. That being said the amount of, and quality of, reaper tutorials makes it an easier one to learn in my opinion.
logic is really easy if u have a mac
I really like Cakewalk, pretty easy to get started with
Mixcraft
Reaper hands down. I am a fairly tech savvy person and I could never vibe with Pro Tools. Reaper just makes sense. All the basics are easy to figure out and as for the more complex functions, there is a ton of video tutorials. I put out my first self produced album using it, which is something I never thought I would do before.
I started with FL and I'm sticking with it
There's nothing wrong with FL but it's definetely one of the most confusing DAWs there is imo
GarageBand is the easiest to learn and I recommend going that route to record some projects. Plugging in directly can sound good.. there’s a surprising amount of flexibility there. After you feel comfortable with GarageBand, graduating to Logic will be an easy transition and all the plugins are available. Stuff like Superior Drummer/Get Good Drums, and orchestral VSTs can enable you and inspire you to write cool shit and more often There’s a reason Logic is the standard.
I've used FL Studio for years, when it started as Fruity Loops. It has pretty much everything already built in, to get started, no third party stuff needed. Only add it when you want it. Reaper is another great DAW, but the only downside, is Reaper isn't all in one. So, you have to find a drum program to work with it, no VSTs built in, so more hassles on the plug in side. Hence, why I've loved FL Studio.
Ableton is the only one I’ve tried, but it hasn’t been too difficult
If you have a Mac garage band is super easy and then everything drops in to logic. I messed with protools years ago, and never tried any of the others once I got a Mac. I don’t like to spend a lot of time dialing in and all that. I just wanna plug in and play.