Best DAW for laptop/small screen?

[VirtualMark]

Hey, don't worry this isn't a daw vs daw thread. I'm primarily a cubase user, and on my main machine have dual 1080p monitors. Cubase is great in this scenario, i'm even thinking of getting a 3rd monitor. I could have the sequencer in the middle, mixer on one side and vst's on the other. I like having the freedom to move stuff round, and it suits cubase's floating windows style.

Using it on my 15 inch laptop screen is a different story. It feels very cramped and i'm constantly moving windows round, changing views etc. Key commands stop working when i have certain plugins or the virtual keyboard up. Its annoying. I'm thinking of getting a new laptop soon, and am deciding which way to go. If i choose logic i'll need a macbook, which will be a big change for me. I've tried ableton and it is a bit better for a small screen as the windows fold away nicely. I'm not half as proficient on ableton as i am on cubase tho, and haven't even used logic.

I'm interested in hearing your experiences of different daw's on small screens. I'm happy with cubase on my main pc for now, just want something thats a bit more laptop friendly when i'm on the move. I like to be able to configure key commands and macros, which help massively. I just want something that's nicely laid out and is equal to cubase in features and power. Are any daw's particularly suited to small screens?

[JTMMusicuk]

although i dont personally like it i would say fruity loops as it seperates everything into different screens and easy to navigate still.
Abletons a great daw but it might be a bit cluttered if your screen is smaller

[Electric_Head]

Reaper as it`s totally configurable to your needs.

[S1NTH3TIC]

I use Reaper on a 13-inch macbook pro screen and I don't feel cramped at all using mostly default settings

[dbaxx]

i personally love ableton and once you get past the learning curve its tough to imagine producing on anything else, its incredibly intuitive with a very fluid workflow, while maintaining a huge amount of power & versatility. i use it on a 15" macbook and have never once thought it to be anywhere close to "cluttered", even with multiple plugins running, etc.

That being said, if you are opposed to making the leap into abletonland, FL studio basically has an anti-clutter feature built in:

http://www.trancepulse.com/images/flstu ... enshot.jpg

but to be honest, that looks incredibly cluttered to me in comparison to ableton, which is just too clean & smooth for words.

it basically comes down to what program you would prefer to learn from scratch. coming from cubase, itd probably be easier to make the switch to FL, but ableton is more powerful imo with equal (or better) clutter resistance.

[Phase Down]

Hey, don't worry this isn't a daw vs daw thread. I'm primarily a cubase user, and on my main machine have dual 1080p monitors. Cubase is great in this scenario, i'm even thinking of getting a 3rd monitor. I could have the sequencer in the middle, mixer on one side and vst's on the other. I like having the freedom to move stuff round, and it suits cubase's floating windows style.

Using it on my 15 inch laptop screen is a different story. It feels very cramped and i'm constantly moving windows round, changing views etc. Key commands stop working when i have certain plugins or the virtual keyboard up. Its annoying. I'm thinking of getting a new laptop soon, and am deciding which way to go. If i choose logic i'll need a macbook, which will be a big change for me. I've tried ableton and it is a bit better for a small screen as the windows fold away nicely. I'm not half as proficient on ableton as i am on cubase tho, and haven't even used logic.

I'm interested in hearing your experiences of different daw's on small screens. I'm happy with cubase on my main pc for now, just want something thats a bit more laptop friendly when i'm on the move. I like to be able to configure key commands and macros, which help massively. I just want something that's nicely laid out and is equal to cubase in features and power. Are any daw's particularly suited to small screens?

Mmmm a third monitor for the sequencer sounds lush, I also use cubase on my desktop PC but just wanted to let you know, I use logic on my macbook (13") and it feels way too cramped.

[blinx]

ableton is ok on my 15" mbp, but i much prefer my 24" dell display. I just get lazy and prodcue alot on the couch watching tv with the wifey.

[Genevieve]

Renoise, by far. I mean.. just look at it. It lends itself to any type of screen.

[hudson]

I use Reaper on a 13-inch macbook pro screen and I don't feel cramped at all using mostly default settings

Yeah, this is what I'm on too, not cramped at all. You get a ton of bonus space if you undock the mixer too, that way you can have separate windows for the mixer and the arrangement view, plus a ton of extra space in both.

[VirtualMark]

Thanks for the suggestions, definitely something to think about. It'll be a bit of a pain learning another daw but shouldn't take too long.

[Immerse]

Ableton live plus BLORMI. holding command and alt while typing BLORMI will hide everything, once you understand each one: B - Browser etc.. it makes producing on my 13" monitor at school a breeeeeeze.

[sunny_b_uk]

yeah reaper or reason would be ok, FL Studio (being my favourite) is a big no on small screens because you cant scroll down on ANY plugin unless you put each and every plugin you use into patcher

[Volatile Psycle]

Reason wouldn't be a bad choice as its self contained (no need to install all your plugs from you main computer) so sketch track outs on that then chuck them into cubase via rewire when you want to finish them off

[Killamike49]

i personally love ableton and once you get past the learning curve its tough to imagine producing on anything else, its incredibly intuitive with a very fluid workflow, while maintaining a huge amount of power & versatility. i use it on a 15" macbook and have never once thought it to be anywhere close to "cluttered", even with multiple plugins running, etc.

That being said, if you are opposed to making the leap into abletonland, FL studio basically has an anti-clutter feature built in:

http://www.trancepulse.com/images/flstu ... enshot.jpg

but to be honest, that looks incredibly cluttered to me in comparison to ableton, which is just too clean & smooth for words.

it basically comes down to what program you would prefer to learn from scratch. coming from cubase, itd probably be easier to make the switch to FL, but ableton is more powerful imo with equal (or better) clutter resistance.

Where is this anti-clutter feature you speak of? That's just the default screenshot uded to market it ( i hate the way that guy has it set up too). If this feature is real it would save me alot of headaches.

[OfficialDAPT]

Ableton all the way. Everything is sorted nicely and its a super powerful DAW that has everything and a half built in. Looks perfect on my 15.3 inch laptop screen and has never felt cramped.

[dj nation]

i use ableton right now on a 15" screen and i think it works fine. also found the other day that you can change the size of the screen in the preferences, like make everything smaller or bigger. kinda usefull i guess but everything looks really wierd and out of place when its not set to the standard size

[VirtualMark]

i use ableton right now on a 15" screen and i think it works fine. also found the other day that you can change the size of the screen in the preferences, like make everything smaller or bigger. kinda usefull i guess but everything looks really wierd and out of place when its not set to the standard size

Yeah i've messed around with that on ableton, doesn't look too good changing it really. I just keep it at 100%. I do feel a bit cramped, i'm thinking of just getting a 17inch laptop and a 1080p or higher res screen. That should solve the problem, although it may be a bit bulky.

[lazermouse]

Logic

[RandoRando]

big NO for fl studio, dont get me wrong i love it and used it for 6 years, but i think i spent more time X'ing out windows than i did producing though lol.

i say ableton, honestly i cant even think of a reason for multiple monitors(i know you said laptop im just saying) with it cause everything is right there and you just use key commands (which you can make your own btw) to pull everything up.

[vertex]

Nanostudio is worth a look, considering it's designed to run on the iPhone and iPad. It's free for OSX and Windows too.

Ableton live plus BLORMI. holding command and alt while typing BLORMI will hide everything, once you understand each one: B - Browser etc.. it makes producing on my 13" monitor at school a breeeeeeze.

Nice, I'm in fact running Ableton on a 10" Netbook, and as you can see, things get a little cramped:



So now I have a little label stuck to my screen saying BLORMI