Easy to Use DAW Recommendations Anyone?

[dos]

I have had Cubase Studio for a few years, but I find the interface complex and confusing. I run a software company for a living, so I probably should learn to master it, but I don't have the patience or time.

I had a Mac with Garageband for a short while and it was just perfect, but the Mac is gone. Looking for something really easy to use to build/use loops, add some bass and keys and then record guitar on top.

Anyone have any recommendations, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

[surfnorthwest]

Becasue there is so much you can do with the DAW today that is why they all seem so confusing. Pick one of the industry standards from Pro Tools, SONAR, or Cubebase and stick with it. I can navigate SONAR 8.5 with ease but I have been using it since Version 3. If I were to switch there would be a learning curve again that I want nothing to do with.

Really if you want something simple without all the bells try Cakewalks Guitar Tracks Pro. After you master it move up the food chain to Cakewalks SONAR. Also SONAR has a fantastic forum for supprt for all their products which is a BIF plus in my book.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/default.aspx



http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... =362657435

[dos]

Thanks, Surf. I did take a peak at Guitar Tracks Pro the other day and I'm going to look closer at it. On the surface it looks like what I'm after. I also like the idea of an upgrade path. I'll take at look at the new V-Studio 20 also although it is probably more than I need given that I have an Axe-Fx that I'll probably use as the guitar sound processor. Thanks again.

[DeanM]

Yeah I recommend cakewalk aswel. I dont know why but it just appealed to me more than all the others like pro tools n stuff. but when i first looked at it the amount of buttons on it looked crazy! but it didnt matter cos i hadnt got the proper gear to get started. about a month ago i realised i pretty much had all i needed to get started so i said fuck it im gonna dig in and do it properly! so i installed it, installed my interface and then selected "Getting started" from the start menu and started working thru the tutorials! and once you do that it gets very easy to use! and the work flow is great with it! It walks you thru setting up the interface, assigning track inputs and outputs, setting up midi tracks and software synths and thru recording. i got as far as recording tracks and basic mixing but when i have time i'm gonna go thru the entire help menu! theres still a lot i have to learn in Sonar but once i got started it got easy! i would say give it a try (im sure there is a demo version available to try) give yourself a couple hours to learn the basics by going thru the tutorials and then give yourself an hour to record a demo or short track (after i went thru the tutorials i recorded about 15seconds of a demo with dual rhythm and dual lead tracks and a drum track! sounded pretty cool and was easy!) thats only an evenings work but will have you well on your way!