Best Sequencing Software - General

Hey guys, just a little question. I was wondering what the best, or one of the best sequencing software is in your opinion. Money isn't an issue, I was going to buy Logic Pro but I don't own a Mac, mainly for drum and bass/dubstep If you guys can give me your straight opinion that would be great. Thanks in advance

I've been working with FL Studio, Ableton and Reason, I'll try to sum up some [B]personal[/B] pros and cons: [B]FL Studio[/B] + User friendly + Quick results + Awesome automation features. - When working on a big project, things might get a bit cluttered - Sound quality when producing seemed significantly lower than with other DAWs. I think this is because of some bad settings but I never managed to figure it out. [B]Ableton[/B] (my personal favourite) + Great and neat looking working environment. + The built-in effects and plugins are pretty amazing. + Also a great DAW when you're a DJ. + Mastering seems easier (this is just how I feel about it) + Great for live recording too! - A bit steeper learning curve if this is going to be your first DAW. - Having some sort of MIDI controller/keyboard is a bit of a must. Ableton doens't have that 'Piano Roll' that FL has. Well it does have something similar but it's pretty basic not [I]that[/I] user friendly. [B]Reason[/B] + Fun to play with. + Ease of use, although the 'wiring' feature might seem a bit confusing at first. - Feels a bit limited to me. - Importing custom samples is a bitch and annoying. - Seems the least 'professional' DAW of the three, to me at least. I don't know about Logic Pro but I do know that a lot of professional producers use it, so I'm pretty sure you can't go wrong with that. I've been working with FL for years and about a good 6 months ago I switched to Ableton. Best decision I ever made. It just feels better to work with. All of these DAW's are pretty good (Reason is probably the 'worst' of the three though) so it all comes down to your personal preference and needs. Get some trial versions or something and try them out, then pick what you like best!

[QUOTE=Larry_G;33890088] [B]Ableton[/B] (my personal favourite) + Great and neat looking working environment. + The built-in effects and plugins are pretty amazing. + Also a great DAW when you're a DJ. + Mastering seems easier (this is just how I feel about it) - A bit steeper learning curve if this is going to be your first DAW. - Having some sort of MIDI controller/keyboard is a bit of a must. Ableton doens't have that 'Piano Roll' that FL has. Well it does have something similar but it's pretty basic not [I]that[/I] user friendly. [/QUOTE] Ableton seems good, I don't mind the learning curve as long as there are tutorials?

[QUOTE=The Advisor;33890121]Ableton seems good, I don't mind the learning curve as long as there are tutorials?[/QUOTE] Yes Ableton is fabulous, I love it! There are loads of tutorials on YouTube, no problem! I'll get you some good channels: [url]http://www.youtube.com/user/SonicAcademy[/url] [url]http://www.youtube.com/user/DJVespers[/url] [url]http://www.youtube.com/user/innerstatejt[/url] [url]http://www.youtube.com/user/pointblankonline[/url] That should get you started!

[QUOTE=Larry_G;33890088] - Sound quality when producing seemed significantly lower than with other DAWs. I think this is because of some bad settings but I never managed to figure it out.[/QUOTE] This is bullshit. It's probably because it doesn't fit your workflow, or because you don't like the sound of the native plugins. There are no extra settings other than bitdepth and bitrate which can affect this, and the summing engine is as perfect as every DAWs. Your comparison is pretty biased otherwise too, which is understandable, it's more like a personal review than a real comparison anyway. Reason isn't really any less professional, even if it doesn't have VSTs. Loads of pros use Reason. With everything said, if you use any of the following DAWs: -FL Studio -Reason -Ableton Live -Pro Tools -Cubase You can get completely professional results. And there are probably more but these are the main ones. There are almost no other distinquishing features between these ones, other than the workflow, and some small stuff like the "Live" part of Ableton Live(which doesn't affect your productions all taht much anyway) and the lifetime updates of FL Studio(which are actually fucking great). Personally, for a first DAW, I'd definitely get FL Studio. I like Ableton Live way better now, but that's personal preference. If I was going to start again, having tried all these DAWs, I would still easily pick Fl Studio. It has decent native plugins, a very good interface, and an incredibly good price, considering the free updates for your whole life.

[QUOTE=Croix;33890165]This is bullshit. It's probably because it doesn't fit your workflow, or because you don't like the sound of the native plugins. There are no extra settings other than bitdepth and bitrate which can affect this, and the summing engine is as perfect as every DAWs.[/QUOTE] Yeah I've heard this before, but like I said, the 'problem' was most likely on my side. [QUOTE=Croix;33890165]Your comparison is pretty biased otherwise too, which is understandable, it's more like a personal review than a real comparison anyway. Reason isn't really any less professional, even if it doesn't have VSTs. Loads of pros use Reason.[/QUOTE] Yeah I should have mentioned it was a more personal set of pros and cons, sorry for that.

Thanks a bunch you guys

[QUOTE=Larry_G;33890088]I've been working with FL Studio, Ableton and Reason, I'll try to sum up some [B]personal[/B] pros and cons: [B]FL Studio[/B] + User friendly + Quick results + Awesome automation features. - When working on a big project, things might get a bit cluttered - Sound quality when producing seemed significantly lower than with other DAWs. I think this is because of some bad settings but I never managed to figure it out. [/QUOTE] I can personally vouch for this one. The only other two sequencers I've tried are Logic Pro and Pro-tools, which are just as great as any of the others that have been listed so far. The only thing I can't stand about Logic compared to FL Studio and Pro-tools, is that you can't re-arrange insert slots, and have to constantly save and remove a plugin if you want to add something else inbetween your chain. That, plus the piano roll in Logic keeps doing random shit I don't want it to.

I've always thought that FL is superior to every other DAW in terms of workflow. And for the love of god don't believe that one guy who said there's a difference in sound quality between DAWs.

FL is horse shit compared to other DAWs I've worked with. I personally use Cubase, more versatile.

[img]http://imageflock.com/img/1324856756.bmp[/img] Okay, just started hitting up the tutorials, I reckon it'll take me a couple of months to grasp this. Thanks for the advice.

[QUOTE=Larry_G;33890088][B]Reason[/B] + Fun to play with. + Ease of use, although the 'wiring' feature might seem a bit confusing at first. - Feels a bit limited to me. - Importing custom samples is a bitch and annoying. - Seems the least 'professional' DAW of the three, to me at least. [/QUOTE] What. Reason is pretty powerful as long as you know how to use it. It's way different than FL in workflow and the lack of VST's but that's the beauty. Forced me to stop using presets and make my own sounds, which greatly improved my skills. Although FL Studio is not bad and definitely good to start with.

[QUOTE=Larry_G;33890088] [B]Reason[/B] + Fun to play with. + Ease of use, although the 'wiring' feature might seem a bit confusing at first. - Feels a bit limited to me. - Importing custom samples is a bitch and annoying. - Seems the least 'professional' DAW of the three, to me at least.[/QUOTE] Are you kidding me?? I love Reason, and seeming "unprofessional"? I didn't realize that your software had to be dull in order to create professional work. I love Reason's setup, they try to emulate the synth rack feel which they do an excellent job at. The lack of VSTs? I was put off at first after moving from FL Studios to it, but I will never look back. You don't need the VSTs. Reason's modules are so powerful and dynamic... the hardest part about using them is finding a place to start with all the possibilities. All DAWs come down to personal taste and preference. Having used Reason for quite a while, I would definitely recommend it. It comes with a classic style drum machine and drum synthesizer to make acoustic and electronic drums. It's worth checking out.

I used Pro Tools, with Reason run through Rewire slave mode on an aux track and I think the only thing that could tempt me away would be logic pro as I'm a mac user and have heard good things about it. That said, Reason is absolutely fantastic to play with, you can especially get some great drum results and you aren't limited in use at all by the plugins. I use my VST's through pro tools and my modules through Reason and you can get some really, really good results.

[QUOTE=Silent-Bob;33897074]Are you kidding me?? I love Reason, and seeming "unprofessional"? I didn't realize that your software had to be dull in order to create professional work. I love Reason's setup, they try to emulate the synth rack feel which they do an excellent job at. The lack of VSTs? I was put off at first after moving from FL Studios to it, but I will never look back. You don't need the VSTs. Reason's modules are so powerful and dynamic... the hardest part about using them is finding a place to start with all the possibilities. All DAWs come down to personal taste and preference. Having used Reason for quite a while, I would definitely recommend it. It comes with a classic style drum machine and drum synthesizer to make acoustic and electronic drums. It's worth checking out.[/QUOTE] You made a valid point. Gotta admit, I only used Reason for a few months so I probably haven't discovered its full potential myself. But I disliked working with it, it's a personal thing, really.

Cubase is pretty easy to learn

I fucking love the workflow in FL, and the automation is awesome too. The only thing I'm not a fan of is working with audio clips, you have to do everything through edison which sucks, or use audacity or something. Logic handles them a lot better.

[QUOTE=chaz13;33904014]I fucking love the workflow in FL, and the automation is awesome too. The only thing I'm not a fan of is working with audio clips, you have to do everything through edison which sucks, or use audacity or something. Logic handles them a lot better.[/QUOTE] I disagree. The Sample/audio editor in Logic is pretty basic and lacking compared to Edison, plus pretty much everything you do is destructive to the audio file. Plus, I like how FL makes a backup/copy of the file for you automatically. When I wanted to slice up some audio in Logic, I had to constantly save shit as a new version so it wouldn't overwrite the original. That said, this is just from my own personal experience though. I use Edison for a shitload of stuff in pretty much every project, so I can work with it pretty fast :v:.

[QUOTE=healthpoint;33904055]I disagree. The Sample/audio editor in Logic is pretty basic and lacking compared to Edison, plus pretty much everything you do is destructive to the audio file. Plus, I like how FL makes a backup/copy of the file for you automatically. When I wanted to slice up some audio in Logic, I had to constantly save shit as a new version so it wouldn't overwrite the original. That said, this is just from my own personal experience though. I use Edison for a shitload of stuff in pretty much every project, so I can work with it pretty fast :v:.[/QUOTE] That is true actually, I've screwed up my files in logic so many times and had to find where I got them from again and again :v: It's more the simplicity of cutting it up in the actual tracks that I like, though, which is something I often wish I could do in FL if a sample isn't quite in time or something.

Yeah true, Logic has some great stuff that I'd like in FL as well now. The scissor/slice tool in FL isn't that great, and I rarely even use it. Every DAW has its own pro's and cons :v:

I Personally use Cubase, It started out as a MIDI sequencer (Atari :v:) then audio was added in later. Which is in contrast to, say, Pro tools for example which is primarily an Audio workstation with MIDI sequencing added after. Try them all out, I settled on Cubase because the workflow worked for me (To me pro tools seems to have so many frivolous sub-menus, and no fast 'offline' bouncing - Last time I checked >.>, but others will swear by it and that's fine. Use what you know.) REAPER is pretty damn good too, very customizable and solid as a rock... and CHEAP! They are all very, very usable. if you can't get good results with any of them after learning how they work then I am sorry but it's your own fault :)

Glorious FL Studio master race. [img]http://gyazo.breakpointservers.com/6b446efdb49c2bc518bc22e572390626.png[/img] Also, the shit's on sale for 35% off till January 31st.

I use Logic Pro. I like it

Its really each to your own when it comes to this sort of choice. The best thing you can do is learn the theory behind mixing and mastering and using DAWs in general, and apply that to whichever DAW you decide to get

I've been using Fruity Loops for around 7 years now. I haven't really gotten into any other DAWs, but I've been recommended Reason, Pro tools, Logic, Ableton, and Reaper, to name a few. I haven't checked all of them out, but they all seem good.

I personally believe that you should just use what works for you best, and don't let anyone tell you what you should use. The same results can be achieved in any of the sequencers named in this thread, plus a bunch of others that have not yet been named (like Studio One for example). It's all a matter of what workflow works best of you, since that is pretty much the only major difference between all sequencers/DAW's. It's not a bad idea at all to try out as many other sequencers as you can find though, since there might just be one out there that has a workflow that works even better for you. I still use FL Studio as my main DAW because I've been using it for so long now (Since version 6 I think) that I can achieve anything I want in it. I bought a Macbook Pro earlier this year though, and I've been fiddling with Logic and Pro-tools too now, which I'm both beginning to learn and love as well.

[thumb]http://i.cubeupload.com/hCtGEe.jpg[/thumb] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC5HWLILF6Y&list=LLW1LmLQ0oSh7KupBW28u8pQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/media]

[QUOTE=Bubz;33913022][thumb]http://i.cubeupload.com/hCtGEe.jpg[/thumb] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC5HWLILF6Y&list=LLW1LmLQ0oSh7KupBW28u8pQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/media][/QUOTE] Sounds like bowel movements. But it's cool!

[QUOTE=Bubz;33913022][thumb]http://i.cubeupload.com/hCtGEe.jpg[/thumb] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC5HWLILF6Y&list=LLW1LmLQ0oSh7KupBW28u8pQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/media][/QUOTE] Sounds like you got a pretty bad diarrhea :v:

[QUOTE=Bubz;33913022][thumb]http://i.cubeupload.com/hCtGEe.jpg[/thumb] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC5HWLILF6Y&list=LLW1LmLQ0oSh7KupBW28u8pQ&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/media][/QUOTE] I came.