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<yawn>

Anyway, if you're on a Windows PC and decide to get into Cubase, it's very widely used, as I mentioned the Steinberg.net forum is very active, and there is no shortage of videos, books, and other educational material available. You can say the same for Pro Tools (YouTube is packed with how to videos). Pro Tools and Cubase are cross platform as well. So are a few others... Reaper, Digital Performer, etc.

If the FX included aren't exciting enough for you... The instruments and sample libraries should peak your interest. One of the reasons why Logic is so popular on Mac OSX. But Cubase and Pro Tools come with some nice stuff for composers as well.

What is even more interesting is that pnoob signed up for a forum just to suggest ardour as a daw.

LOL

You have to hand it to the open software crowd, they get very excited at these opportunities.

*sigh*

I've been reading the forums for quite some time, but didn't really bother registering a user before i had something to say. And now I start to wonder why I even bothered.

Don't let it bring you down.
At least you're still positive.
What's ardour like?

Setting aside any proper definition of what is or is not a DAW ...
Setting aside any findings about the Communist predilection of Mac users ...

I find it odd that there are so many solutions proposed whilst the OP hasn't yet specified what he intends to do with the DAW. For some purposes he might need a sophisticated one. For other uses a "mini" DAW might do. For yet other purposes he might not need a DAW at all!

So what say ye, Mister Bill5 ?

Not that different from any other DAW, really. Except it's hard to beat the price, and the OP indicated he didn't have that much to spend.

I'm not a very advanced user and mostly use it for recording/editing that is probably on the trivial side for people who are into composing.

I missed the part about only commies using OSX, though. (Actually, my own experience is the exact opposite.)

Do you use it on Linux?
The thing about OSX vs Win is the Core Audio built in to the OS doesn't suffer the latency issue Win Audio does.

Hmm... I use Macs and PCs. I guess that makes me a petty bourgeois commie.

Dan.

Or a ......................................
deleted for lack of funny

Hmmm ...
My name is Mac.
My nym is MacMacMac.
And I use a PC.
What does that make me?

Fourth generation Scottish?

Great, thx, appreciate the info!



Got it, thx as well. I have talked to a few musicians who have Pro Tools and think it's "the" DAW to have, but they're not hard-core about it.


I say please stop talking like Thor.

I thought it was pretty clear in my OP, if a bit vague...it would allow me to not concern myself with many of the limitations of the DPs I'm looking at (sound not quite as good as a pricier model, lower polyphonies, voices, etc).

Am I missing something?

If you need better piano sound, better polyphony, and additional sounds, I think you need virtual instruments, not DAW.

If you're serious, want to learn one DAW and really want to commit, ProTools will make you compatible with other pro's.

Yes, I think you are, but it could be I am.


I'm not interested in becoming a legit "pro" but thx. One day I may get it anyway, but I think simplicity and user-friendliness are more important than a lot of extra g-whiz stuff.

A DAW like Cubase or Reaper will host virtual instruments in the VST format.
Since he is interested in composing and layering. In other words, you will be able to have multiple tracks of VST instruments all running simultaneously...

I'll use Cubase as example

Track 1 - Pianoteq Piano (purchased as Windows VST - hosted by Cubase)
Track 2 - Sampled Bass Guitar (included in Halion One sample player that comes with Cubase)
Track 3 - Synth Lead (Prologue Subtractive Synth comes with Cubase)
Track 4 - Sampled Snare Drum (Halion One)
Track 5 - Sampled Hi Hat (Halion One)
etc.

Cubase is a DAW (digital audio workstation) but it started its life as a MIDI sequencer and has some of the most powerful MIDI editing and manipulation features of any of the popular DAWs).

In the early days, around '78 - 84 or so, there were actual hardware DAWs. They were very digital audio focused, replacement machines for analog audio tape. You could do edits with data, without having to physically cut analog tape and splice it back together again. MIDI sequencers were really a separate thing - there were also hardware MIDI sequencers early on. The two came together once affordable computing processing power was available and it became possible to sync MIDI and Audio on one computer in one piece of software. That was quite revolutionary and the birth of the modern DAW as we know it today.

Hope that helps.

Best.

EJF

Perhaps, but my post is at least as funny as most of the posts in this thread.

yes it is.

'.............. ......... .......' didn't seem quite as humorous of a description

Exactly.......I'll be playing the ivories (OK simulated ivories) and in some cases singing, everything else is a "virtual" instrument. In most cases I don't expect this to be a ton, in fact in some cases piano and voice only...but I would like the option to explore more complex layering, as well as experimenting with diff effects etc.