Yes I could make a track with those but the apps I use have different possibilities that those machines doesn’t meet.
Synths, drum machines, samplers, sequencers, fx, channel strips etc aren’t covered by those 3 machines
Yes they can provide an alternative but with limitations and I don’t want limitations when I have another option.
I still use hardware for sound design and live because that’s where their strength lies for me. Complete tracks though I find the daw far more capable, flexible and streamlined
Sure, but that’s completely different than what you said, more expensive & time consuming. If you want endless options without breaking the bank, DAW is the only way.
To replace the reverbs, delays, mixing, synths etc that I use itb would be extremely expensive and setting it and changing it for each track would be hugely time consuming.
For example I use reaktor modular blocks. To do something similar in hardware would costs thousands and probably months or trying, testing and swapping modules.
That’s what I mean by to do the same otb would be more expensive and time consuming. Just the basic acquisition of hardware compared to quickly downloading a demo and testing then buying is hugely different in time and cost.
Well if thats what you absolutely need, fine. But looking at how great stuff people make with minimal OTB gear, I’d say it’s not expensive or any more time consuming in princible.
I’m not saying it can’t be done and isn’t done. Some of my fav music is made on nothing more than an mpc
For every published piece of music made just on hardware there is probably 100 made in a daw. It’s more popular for a reason but again this is becoming one of those boring debates lol
I fully accept and understand you and many others make music on just hardware. I love hardware. I fully embrace it and use it daily. It just so happens I don’t snub daws and use them to their full potential also
THIS is a really helpful way to think about using a DAW alongside your hardware. Also, you might find yourself adding some bits of VST tracks to augment what you’ve done with your hardware.
fwiw im on my first Mac and should have made the switch years ago. Although, I probably wouldn’t have as I built a custom studio PC. its just that the m1 is hard to beat atm for the price.
Right. I wasn’t thinking about the less than stellar transition to Apple silicon. Is Reason still not Native on the M platform? I know NI doesn’t plan to port some older plugins, but I find that they (eg Absynth) run just fine under Rosetta with plenty of CPU to spare.
Seems to be true here. I use Macs exclusively now, having used Windows for a decade. There are reasons to prefer Windows including lower startup costs for the hardware and more choices in configuration, software alternatives, and UI tweaks. The Original post talked about getting stuff done without added hassle. That is definitely not what Windows is known for and something Apple excels at.
You definitely were asking for it with the first post
But seriously like Michael just said the advice comes from your wanting to have a hassle free experience. For example, if you want to open the lid and quickly pick up where you left off good luck with that on a pc. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I hope the machine you get is well behaved.
Wow this thread got big fast. I doubt I’ll say anything new, but hybrid is the way to go. I use Ableton as my mixing console and effects box. Basically write and perform everything on hardware and record it to the DAW where there’s plenty of tape saturation and delay plugins. Automate and edit the hell out of everything after the fact. When I’m away from home (which is a lot) I make ambient music using granular samplers and DIVA.
And yeah buy a Mac. I deal with Windows daily for work and it just floors me how inferior the experience is. Unless you’re a gamer or programmer there’s no reason to go that route, and even then you should prob be on Linux anyways.
@Fin25 I think you made a fine choice and I hope it’s a productive solution for you. You have an excellent ear for tone and the music of yours I’ve listened to is quite emotive. Hopefully we’ll get to hear some more soon…
To add to the chorus, I’ve used Windows computers almost exclusively for decades, but they’re fucking terrible for music production unless you have a very strong stomach for troubleshooting. Things that just work on Mac are total ballpains in Windows. It’s mostly ASIO but there are other reasons too.
