My DAW is better than yours! (Friendly DAW Wars debate)

[SunkLo]

Oh right, I kind of forgot about how the fx chains work. Should ultimately lead to having less overall tracks. Worst case scenario I can always import my rendered audio into Reaper at the final mixing stage.

If anyone's got ableton tuts that don't drag on about menial tasks, post em up. Hard to find teachers that don't take 15 minutes just to explain how to insert a new track. I want that succinct shit namsayin.

[titchbit]

Important short cuts (you'll have to convert them to PC. once you know what command is, you'll be good):

copy = command + c
paste = command + v
tab = change from session to arrangement view and back
shift + tab = change from clip view to chain view (?)
command + t = insert audio track
command + shift + t = insert MIDI track
command + g = group tracks or chains
command + shift + g = ungroup
holding control while dragging MIDI notes duplicates them
command + d = duplicate
shift + ? = info view (which is basically an in-DAW tutorial)

[SunkLo]

Important short cuts (you'll have to convert them to PC. once you know what command is, you'll be good):

copy = command + c
paste = command + v
tab = change from session to arrangement view and back
shift + tab = change from clip view to chain view (?)
command + t = insert audio track
command + shift + t = insert MIDI track
command + g = group tracks or chains
command + shift + g = ungroup
holding control while dragging MIDI notes duplicates them
command + d = duplicate
shift + ? = info view (which is basically an in-DAW tutorial)

Nice, I know most of these already which is a good sign. The info view is really convenient. Ableton seems to cater to new users quite well. Another benefit of not using a hipster DAW is there's tons of tutorials online. Have to wade through a bunch of bait shit but at least there's a large selection to choose from.

I've been getting up on the racks, which are everything I'd hoped for. I just gotta get the arrangement workflow down. I always thought session view would be hella useless for actual production, but duplicating a scene and altering certain clips is really convenient when you're first laying out a track. Then you can record into arrange view to do all the fine tuning in linear editing mode.

Also gotta work on integrating my MPK, which shouldn't be too hard seeing as how they're both pretty popular. Turns out the bandwagon has its advantages

[forbidden]

enjoy ableton it's a beast.

[mks]

I've been getting up on the racks, which are everything I'd hoped for. I just gotta get the arrangement workflow down. I always thought session view would be hella useless for actual production, but duplicating a scene and altering certain clips is really convenient when you're first laying out a track. Then you can record into arrange view to do all the fine tuning in linear editing mode.

Also gotta work on integrating my MPK, which shouldn't be too hard seeing as how they're both pretty popular. Turns out the bandwagon has its advantages

Now you are beginning to understand.

I jam out in session view with scenes and clips. Then I refine the arrangement and do automations in arrangement view. My MPK49 integrates very nicely and easily with Live.

[SunkLo]

Does the tap tempo work for you? I think I need to dump the presets again or something. The record arm buttons don't work like they should either, takes two presses to toggle. Gonna trawl through the ableton forums in the morning.

Loving the automap though. Bank A of sliders for track volumes, knobs for the selected effects' params, and banks B & C for manual mappings.

I kind of want a controller for clips now. Like an APC or a Push... goddamn they're sexy. Might go for a QuNeo actually, depending on how hard they are to map. That's gonna have to wait a while unfortunately, can't blow all my (non-existant) money on music shit. A QuNeo, Push, and MPK would be 12 different kinds of dopeness though. That'll be my motivation to work hard on getting a record deal. They still do that thing where they give you free money right?

Maybe I'll start a $5 Ozone prese- I mean... mastering service.

[nowaysj]

Tbh, I always felt like I was fighting the routing in ableton. And "incredibly intuitive once you get used to it" is a contradiction in terms, and sounds like something some dbag from apple/microsoft would say. (No offense, just sayin) There are ways of doing things in Ableton, but you must forget what you know, forget what is ordinary, forget what is reasonable, and forget what is easy, and just do it their way, end of. Learn their way or use other software, or use ableton for components of your workflow.

As an aside, I really do not like most of the german design I've come in contact with, it is the antithesis of user centered, it is machine centered, or designer centered. Ain't nobody got time for dat.

[titchbit]

what is so unintuitive about grouping tracks and return tracks? other daws have returns. not aware of grouping in other daws, but if anything grouping is much more intuitive than creating an audio track for the sole purpose of a bus and then going into the I/O section and fucking with input/output and monitor and all that bullshit. 99% of the time I don't need to do any of that shit because of command + G

[mks]

I don't know, after using Ableton for awhile Cubase was straight up counter-intuitive. I felt like I could get things done in Live with one or two clicks that would take like 5 clicks and a new window in Cubase.

I have never been able to not route something in Ableton and I probably throw more at it than most users. There are multiple ways do anything in it and they even give you tools to make some things easier.

For instance, I like to use hardware reverbs because I generally do not like the sound of vst reverbs so I route my aux send out of Ableton, into a Lexicon unit and then back into the DAW and it's a snap using the external FX module.

See this in/out section? You can literally route any track to any track with one click.

[mks]

Of course, as dubunked already mentioned, the most intuitive way of making a buss is to select your tracks and then hit ctrl+g. Done.

But I always keep the I/O window open because I am constantly having to route midi and audio.

[nowaysj]

See this in/out section? You can literally route any track to any ONE track with one click.

Isn't that right?

And let's not mention Cubase, extremely german design

[SunkLo]

Yeah the one-to-one routing scheme is really restrictive. Probably my biggest gripe so far. It's not that convenient to have to create a return, figure out what letter it corresponds to, show the send controls, turn that knob up. Having all the returns stuck on the right side is a pain. There's no pre-fader option or anything either. They could definitely take cues from Reaper in that regard. Nothing is more simple than dragging the I/O button of one track to another.

[nowaysj]

Let us not forget flstudio, whose routing is similarly extremely flexible. BUT no prefader sending, so you'll be happy to best us there.

[SunkLo]

BUT no prefader sending, so you'll be happy to best us there.

Among other places

[nowaysj]

I'mma let that slide, because I've got bigger bones to pick with you.

[mks]

I believe it does have that functionality.

[nowaysj]

Dodged the bullet on the one track sends...

[mks]

Can you guys please elaborate more on what you are trying to do? Maybe I'm being dense, but I'm not exactly sure what functionality you are looking for.

[nowaysj]

Okay, I've been full time in flstudio the last 6 months, or more. And it is becoming ever more apparent that for me, sends is where my shit gets muddy, but that sends are an incredibly powerful tool. In the day, I'd have half or more of my sounds just going out to master, hehe, no mixer at all.

But now:

I have a sound. It goes to a mixer track, I process it, I send it out to three other audio tracks. Each of those I fx and process. Bring those three audio tracks into one audio track, that I fx and process, and then blend that track with the original track in a final track that represents that sound.

For starters. There are all kinds of other things that can come and plug in to or out of that signal chain.

[SunkLo]

I believe it does have that functionality.

mah nigga
Although wait, that looks like a universal setting, not a track by track basis?

I'd just like to be able to route tracks between each other easily without having to resort to sends and reconfiguring my inputs and outputs when I decide I want a one-to-many or many-to-one relationship. The agnostic "track is a track" approach is just so intuitive and simple. There's no need to continue with the old hardware paradigm when you have the option for such flexibility in digital.