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What Makes Your DAW Great for EDM? (pg. 2)
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by tehlord
Seeing as your initial post is about what newcomers might look out for..... |
Wait, wait, wait...stop right there, I specifically said people considering a new DAW, or newcomers... This thread isn't intended to be a "what DAW is the easiest to learn" thread - that's a topic for another million threads that already exist on the internet. This one is intended to address specific features (regardless of ease of use or cost) that make each DAW excel at EDM production.
| quote: | Originally posted by tehlord
...it's probably worth pointing out that your own compatability with the way it does things probably has more impact on the resulting music than any of it's other features. I'm not sure you can separate one from the other.
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I absolutely agree, and that's what I meant by:
| quote: | | Obviously, things like workflow, intuitiveness, and cost are important factors for any DAW,... |
It's just that those get discussed weekly on any music production forum, so that's not what I wanted to do here. I wanted to take it a step further and get down to some specifics that go beyond the considerations of user compatibility or ease of use. For example, the Instrument Def's that I mentioned are by no means a beginner-level feature, but for those people who use HW synths for EDM and are willing to spend the time to learn them, they can be invaluable. |
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| DJ Robby Rox |
lmao @ ken lee thats actually exactly how it would go. I mean I used Reason for a year before I even really dove into the routing but the day I discovered you can use the matrix to shape filter env I was like "this is too cool" I don't even want to make music anymore.
And then there was the day I figured you could use percussive samples in redrum to trigger slices in dr rex, and once combinator came out it was the worst thing they could have done. It really gave me an excuse to do nothing but open one instrument after another all one after another and plug/unplug cables all day long. I never honestly thought about the fact that I really might have ADD but I'm thinking the more I read my own posts on here the more its becoming a possibility.
Ok sry cryo back on topic! |
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| Storyteller |
| The DAW I use is fantastic because it is not Fruit loops and it is even uglier than fruity loops. That says a lot. |
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| ken_lee |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ Robby Rox
lmao @ ken lee thats actually exactly how it would go. I mean I used Reason for a year before I even really dove into the routing but the day I discovered you can use the matrix to shape filter env I was like "this is too cool" I don't even want to make music anymore.
And then there was the day I figured you could use percussive samples in redrum to trigger slices in dr rex, and once combinator came out it was the worst thing they could have done. It really gave me an excuse to do nothing but open one instrument after another all one after another and plug/unplug cables all day long. I never honestly thought about the fact that I really might have ADD but I'm thinking the more I read my own posts on here the more its becoming a possibility.
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lol this is exaclty whats so amazing about Reason, its really like a oldschool setup with all the routing. could sidechain ever be easier? i use the LFO from the synths to do all kinds of on other devices. |
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| Rodri Santos |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
To clarify, I'm not asking about how easy a DAW is to use or whether or not you like its workflow - those topics have been discussed to death, beaten with a stick, and shat upon ad nauseum. :whip: :)
I'm asking you what specific features or capabilities in particular do you think give it an advantage over other DAWs specifically for creating electronic dance music. J.L., Anthony, Robby, and Kysora pretty much nailed what I was looking for. |
Not being a troll is simply that i think the best thing from Fl Studio is the interface, is so easy to do everything, i don't know how many clicks you need to do something complicated on other daws like sidechaining something or automating the tempo of a delay effect, in fl studio is just 2 clicks... it's almost drag & drop.
In fact i started producing because i saw a youtube video called something like "Making a techno track in fl studio" i saw the guy adding some layers and the song was brilliant so i thought making a track with Fl studio was that easy as drag & drop some instruments (1st day of the trial i knew wasn't that easy :P) , before fl studio i tryed cubase and i didn't like it (had no idea really so my thoughts are nearly irrelevant)
As for technical toys... i don't think Fl studio has something additional to the rest, in fact as i've said it's big strenght is doing the same but easier and more intuitive i think. |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Rodri Santos
Not being a troll.. |
Yeah, I know you're not trolling - I just think that we're all so used to talking in terms of ease of use when it comes to DAWs, that it's easy for my intent here to be confused with that. And, getting back to tehlord's statement about ease of use being essentially inseparable from being productive, there is admittedly a lot of overlap here, especially when you consider that, once a person puts forth the effort to learn an advanced tool or feature, that tool/feature then becomes simple and easy to use.
But, in a more general sense, simplicity *usually* is accompanied by limitations. So I think that it's important for anybody considering a new DAW for EDM to take all of that into account and look at what a given DAW offers to the person who is willing to learn it inside and out. Hopefully all that semi-random rambling made SOME sense. :p |
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| Raphie |
| Cubase, can't explain, it just works for me |
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| Kysora |
I don't think I've ever experienced a single drawback from FL because of the language it's programmed in, though, and I think that's Robby's point. Despite it being a seemingly inferior choice for a programming language I don't think FL is actually held back in any way during normal use that's significant enough to call it a problem.
Or maybe it is? Honestly I don't know, but I do know the program is rather stable on my end.
| quote: | Originally posted by Raphie
Cubase, can't explain, it just works for me |
Not to be a dick but Cryo specifically made a post to try and detract posts like these from filling this thread. If you can't explain it that's fine, but this thread is specifically meant to challenge people to do just that. |
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| Rodri Santos |
The language in which is written is actually very important, those who have ever coded would understand this but with current computers the efficiency of the DAW in itself is pointless, you need to grab efficient VST's. I used to be a big fan of Z3ta but this last month i've been doing my own patchs on sylenth and wow... half cpu usage and around 500mb of RAM it is said that Sylenth is very efficient and that the drawback of z3ta is that it is very cpu exhausting.
So in my opinion the code language in this case it's not very important, a minor thing to take into account. |
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| DJ Robby Rox |
| quote: | Originally posted by cryophonik
especially when you consider that, once a person puts forth the effort to learn an advanced tool or feature, that tool/feature then becomes simple and easy to use. |
Yep this is exactly what I meant in my post don't remember exactly how I worded it but its very true. Even things that are "hard" to do, once you learn them and integrate its use into your workflow, its really just a matter of clicks. And when you become so automated at doing it yourself, you find its really as difficult as driving a car or riding a bike.
| quote: | | But, in a more general sense, simplicity *usually* is accompanied by limitations. So I think that it's important for anybody considering a new DAW for EDM to take all of that into account and look at what a given DAW offers to the person who is willing to learn it inside and out. |
Very true, even in politics its true (where very little happens to be true). But like with government regulation vs deregulation. If you make too little regulation, and oversimplfy so its too easy for business to "compete", you wind up with certain very volatile situations.
Almost like with Nexus. You make it easy for trance musicians to find
trance sounds, you wind up hearing those sounds in every track you hear. Although I also think theres a difference between making something easy vs simplifying. FL made their play list sequencer very simplified by how much you can zoom in and out. And its simultaneously limited work flow. I can't zoom into files enough unless their in Edison which is bull. A lot of times I need to make edits to an entire piece of track or various different sounds in the play list and the simplified zoom feature murders some of the potential editing I can do.
But I'll stop talking about FL Studio I'd like to hear from some people who use other programs like Cubase or Logic, and why they think they are best for EDM. |
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| derail |
Sidechain compression is very easy to set up in Cubase, though that is used in other genres besides EDM.
The marker lane, where you can write in "Intro - Kick and Loop", "Intro - Hihat in" and so on for the length of the track is very handy, in terms of formulating a song structure and seeing it in line with all the audio and MIDI tracks. But again, many genres benefit from this.
Hmm...I guess there is an included filtering plugin which can be used for trance-gateish purposes...the included arpeggiator is fantastic, so easy to drop a trance pattern into it, then apply the pattern to any chord progression.
There are many other great features, but none of them are EDM specific. |
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| ken_lee |
| i think the conclusion is that the sequencer which is easiest to setup sidechain is the best for EDM! |
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