Considering new DAW

[uOpt]

I use Harrison Mixbus and Reaper. Both are pretty straightforward and cheap.

[LLL]

been using reaper for a long time but feel like I need a change and want some better in-the-box plug ins.

?

Barring Pro Tools (has some really great included plugins, but expensive), most if not all budget DAWs include a rudimentary set of plugins.

What you do is build a library... there are literally bazillions of plugins that work with Reaper (and others), from cheap good stuff to expensive good stuff. And of course there's the crap too.

I hear Waves is priced well nowadays (they used to be uber expensive).

You should target the kinds of plugins you need for your projects, then start picking up some here and there.

After awhile you'll have a library of plugins to pull from.

[DankStar]

I couldn't help it, I tried Cakewalk first, I wanted to see what the fx, drums and built-in amps sounded like.

First impressions:
- super crowded layout (so many tiny buttons, it's easy to get lost/confused)
- I was miffed that the free version didn't have the analog tape plugin (there are some I have that I like so no biggie)
- the bandlab assistant was eating up my CPU usage with like 5 instances running at once, but I think it was a carry over from the installation
- LOVE the built-in FX (reverb and delay sounded amazing with guitar), the pro channel (tons of presets and love the eq), the built in amps (I quickly dialed in a usable mesa sound), and the drums weren't bad either
- When I started dragging and dropping some beats, things got less user friendly. I could probably change some of the layout to make it easier, but I just didn't immediately like the feel of creating a drum section. Programming drums sucks anyway though, always tedious.

Gonna check waveform next...

[DankStar]

Awesome thank you guys - I’ll start with waveform

i do like the looks of cakewalk though, that traditional console feel

One thing I noticed on a waveform vid was that you can upload a track to their site and it automatically masters it for you. Not a bad trick, although it’s totally in the box/who knows what it’s doing kinda thing.

[Securb]

I use Waveform on my Linux box. It is a great product.

[Mincer]

I love Waveform, and have been using it since it was Tracktion. It looks great, super simple but very powerful.

[DankStar]

Might start with a freebie like waveform or cakewalk but open to under $200 for PC.

I’ve been using reaper for a long time but feel like I need a change and want some better in-the-box plug ins.

main wants: easy to use, nice plugins with some presets I can use as starting points; halfway decent midi editor for drums

thx