Is it time to switch DAWs?

[Brandon NovakParticipant]

For the past year the answer to this question has been no. However, over the past couple months I've started to reconsider. I've been an Ableton user for about 3 years. Really only because it came free with my audio interface. I'm not a 'power user' by any stretch. It has served its purpose with tracking drums and some moderate mixing. About 98% of everything I've heard/read/seen has boiled down to "it doesn't matter what daw you're using". However, as I begin to dig into this software, I'm beginning to realize that it's really meant for EDM, beat production, DJs etc. Which brings me to a crossroads and specifically, to Pro Tools. My day-to-day in my home studio is tracking live drums, the occasional overdub and mixing/mastering. I plan to get a lot busier in 2018 and now is the time to move if it's the right thing to do.

So I throw this out to the PLAP group. Is it time to move on from Ableton and into something that might better meet my needs?

Thanks!

[John DragichParticipant]

Brandon, I would be hesitant to ditch Ableton entirely. From what I understand, the
workflow in Ableton is superior to PT for EDM genres. But Pro Tools is hard
to surpass in editing audio files, say in putting together a composite vocal track from
many takes. Or fixing a guitar rhythm track where the artist clunked the mic stand with
the guitar neck for one chord, where the chord was played well elsewhere in the track.
And PT can make these edits without edit artifacts like clicks or instantaneous volume
changes that don't sound "natural".

Would it be feasible to get both DAWs running (just not at the same time)? Then maybe
record and edit in PT, and then mix most genres in PT, but mix EDM in Ableton?

Oh yeah, another thing to consider is the cost of moving your plug-ins to PT. It takes
AAX format. You may have installers for AAX for your current plug-ins, but maybe not.

Hope there is something useful here,
John

[Brandon NovakParticipant]

Hi John,

Thanks for your comments. I think about a day after I posted this, I purchased pro-tools and within about 2 hrs of that, I realized I made the right decision. No buyers remorse from me.

For me, the PT workflow makes a lot more sense. Not only in terms of how the mixing/editing screens are configured, but also how each session is organized, where files are stored, etc. Not to mention about 90% of the tutorials I watch are ProTools based. And I know it doesn't matter what DAW you use, I started on Ablteton and still use a lot of the stuff I learned there on PT, but there's something to be said for actually seeing a concept explained and demoed and applying it on your own on the exact same platform.

I still have Ableton and can run both via the Rewire function. I haven't attempted to do this yet though. The plug-in conversion expense was also a concern of mine. However, all of my Waves, Slate, McDsp, Plugin Alliance on and on are all AAX compatible - I just needed to install that version of the software at no additional expense.

Brandon

[Tony TrehernParticipant]

I made the switch from PT to Reaper last year. Coming from the days of 24 Mix, I finally shed the Pro Tools fanboism. I've never been happier.

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