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What Is the Future of the DAW?

djmag.com

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Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#111

Post by wizofaus »

roblh wrote: post #10

DAW version control is one of my dreams. If I could have a really tight git equivalent for reaper projects, it’d be so cool. Plugins are, as usual, the biggest barrier there. Doesn’t seem like there will ever be a good way to deal with different people having completely different plugin collections. Unless someone makes “Netflix but for plugins” or something. The other thing I saw the other day that I thought was coo…

What would a DAW-diff look (sound?!) like though... Though surely any sort of XML (or JSON etc.) based format would be fine for using along with git etc.

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#112

Post by tomduncalf »

thegagne wrote: post #9
PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #5

TFA starts down an important path - identifying different categories of users - but doesn't really get this quite right IMO. There are (at least) four categories of DAW users: 1. Professionals who are being paid to make music, and for whom time is essentially money. Tools that speed up the production of that music are both financially valuable to them, and also make their overall lives easier (if done right). 2. Musi…

Any recommendations for #3? Particularly with low barrier of entry for kids? Something you can use a midi keyboard and a mic with?

I believe BandLab is being used in schools to teach music making now. It’s web based, I’ve not used it much myself so can’t comment on how good it is but may be an easy starting point

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#113

Post by tomduncalf »

jrm4 wrote: post #106

Feels like "what is the future of the word processor" but with some weird expectation that you're expecting to see leaps and bounds. Look, FWIW, my favorite music making "stack" is - Fruityloops (as in, sure I'll use FL Studio but it was pretty much solid for me when it was called that) - Sony ACID. Still unbeatable to me for quickly layering/previewing multiple tracks of loops - Cool Edit Pro/Adobe Audition. Still m…

> I don't know why Audacity remains so popular, it's way clunkier than the above

Presumably because it’s free, but I’m with you on the clunkiness. The UI looks very dated.

I can recommend OcenAudio, which is free though not open source, and for me offers just the right level of functionality in a clean user interface. It’s very similar to how I remember the old versions of Cool Edit pre-Pro, which I thought were amazing bits of software.

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#114

Post by tomduncalf »

_joel wrote: post #7
taywrobel wrote: post #2

If anyone else is as frustrated as I was with the article mentioning “the DAW” 73 times without defining once what the actual acronym stands for, it’s “Digital Audio Workstation”.

DJ mag aint what it used to be. The top 100 is pretty much a joke to most people who care about music.

Yeah the top 100 is super weird, it’s all these commercial EDM DJs but the weird thing is the magazine doesn’t otherwise really seem to target that audience. I don’t read it but I have come across some good long form pieces like this from them online, so actually I think they are trying to do some good stuff.

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#115

Post by squeaky-clean »

schemescape wrote: post #75
thegagne wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any recommendations for #3? Particularly with low barrier of entry for kids? Something you can use a midi keyboard and a mic with?

Related question: any suggestions on what to try next after LMMS? I was planning to try Reaper or FL Studio. My biggest complaints with LMMS are: doesn’t support VST3, can’t see notes for multiple tracks at the same time (although I saw a “ghost notes” patch someone was working on for this scenario).

Honestly, try the trial for both. Give Ableton and Bitwig a go if you have time as well. Or at least check out all 4 on youtube and see if a particular workflow strikes you.

Unfortunately the open source DAWs don't hold a candle to any of the paid ones. But once you're paying they're all pretty solid. It's like asking if you should move to vim or emacs or jetbrains after starting with Notepad++. They're all good and everyone will have their own favorite. Many people also use multiple DAWs the same way people use multiple text editors. Personally I use Ableton and Reaper

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#116

Post by matchagaucho »

pdntspa wrote: post #105

To be honest, I really like existing tools and workflows and I don't really want that to change. > Open a DAW from the year 2000 and it’s highly likely you’ll recognise the vast majority of the features — both functionally and visually — from any DAW you might use today. This assertion that "old is bad" really, really needs to die. Change for the sake of change is bad. I don't see why all these new innovations can't…

I like the existing workflows. But I'd really love to GPT-define reverb settings, song forms, channel inputs, ... tedious copy-paste tasks.

A local LLM running on x86 or M2 would be great. But API callouts while waiting for the silicon/Cuda migrations are fine too.

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#117

Post by squeaky-clean »

freedomben wrote: post #30
GoofballJones wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, REAPER. While it may be a little obtuse to learn, it is absolutely as powerful as the big guys in music production such as ProTools. Plus it works on both Windows and Mac, unlike Logic. There is a big community around REAPER also, and tons of YouTube videos around it. Plus, you can download it and work with it for free, but after a while, it will want you to pay for it, which is only $60...but you can kee…

Works on Linux too! https://www.reaper.fm/download.php

Reaper works on Linux, but a warning to anyone thinking of trying that, DAWs are all about adding and using plugins. And you'll need to confirm your favorite plugins run on Linux as well.

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#118

Post by vanjajaja1 »

squarefoot wrote: post #73

What I really miss in DAWs is a drum arranging tool that goes beyond scores or xoxo grids. Those are good for editing patterns in atomic ways, but I'd love something to quickly record new patterns played on drum pads on the fly, with arbitrary duration, create a new pattern that inherits parts of the one I just recorded (to make variations and fills) just by hitting one key and/or sending a MIDI note from a controlle…

ableton note phone app might be in the ballpark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smJZcWwJsOw&pp=ygUMYWJsZXRvb...

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#119

Post by plussed_reader »

matchagaucho wrote: post #116
pdntspa wrote: post #105

To be honest, I really like existing tools and workflows and I don't really want that to change. > Open a DAW from the year 2000 and it’s highly likely you’ll recognise the vast majority of the features — both functionally and visually — from any DAW you might use today. This assertion that "old is bad" really, really needs to die. Change for the sake of change is bad. I don't see why all these new innovations can't…

I like the existing workflows. But I'd really love to GPT-define reverb settings, song forms, channel inputs, ... tedious copy-paste tasks. A local LLM running on x86 or M2 would be great. But API callouts while waiting for the silicon/Cuda migrations are fine too.

Nothing will homogenize pop like LLM inspired filters; the new presets of the dx7.

Re: What Is the Future of the DAW?

#120

Post by schemescape »

squeaky-clean wrote: post #115
schemescape wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Related question: any suggestions on what to try next after LMMS? I was planning to try Reaper or FL Studio. My biggest complaints with LMMS are: doesn’t support VST3, can’t see notes for multiple tracks at the same time (although I saw a “ghost notes” patch someone was working on for this scenario).

Honestly, try the trial for both. Give Ableton and Bitwig a go if you have time as well. Or at least check out all 4 on youtube and see if a particular workflow strikes you. Unfortunately the open source DAWs don't hold a candle to any of the paid ones. But once you're paying they're all pretty solid. It's like asking if you should move to vim or emacs or jetbrains after starting with Notepad++. They're all good and…

Thanks! Yeah, it's subjective, but I thought the chances of someone making the same progression (LMMS to ???) on HN were pretty high. Of course, I left out tons of context that might have helped (e.g. some people want to make music live--I do not).

Really, it might make the most sense to just find music similar to what I've made (or want to make), and then ask/research what they're using. Edit: I think that's how I originally found FL Studio and Reaper, come to think of it!

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