Do you think this is nuts? I’m going to try to review all of the major DAWs, in other words all of the music editing software, music mixing software, music making software, recording music software, audio production software, whatever you want to call it. While each one has acquired it’s own fanbase, not many musicians would be tempted to trash an investment that can sometimes have a very long tedious learning curve to make the switch to another program, or would you? Another case in point is that the biggest, most popular programs have already reached a higher level of growth. But on the other hand, I don’t believe that if any or all of them vanished overnight leaving only one, would it be that terrible? They all work well and you’d still be able to make great music! (assuming that you make great music:).
It’s nice to be able to compare/review each product because they all have different strenghts and weaknesses. Hopefully this will help you with your decision making as to what audio production software would work the best for you and your budget constraints (if any exist). The nice thing about some of these programs is that they have a less expensive version available that while not quite as fancy as the full fledged version, will still get the job done quite nicely.
So what about that learning curve? Don’t bury your head in the sand here. There will always be a learning curve. Like most programs available now, they are becoming more and more in tune with either Mac or Windows operating systems, which helps to lesson that fabled learning curve. Not to mention that these music editing software programs tend to borrow from the competition, hence making it easier to learn them and if you stay with the same company, but upgrade you’ve got even less of a learning curve. So you can relax it shouldn’t be that hard.
Sometime down the line you may want to switch. Like every thing else in this world nothing is static or stays the same, including recording music software programs. At some point you may want to try another product, it might have some feature in it that the program that you’re currently using is missing and you know that you just can’t live without. Personally I love technology and want every new gadget out there. If you’re anything like me I’m sure that eventually you are gonna want to try something new.
With that said I need to remind you that again nothing is static here. These music making software programs are constantly being changed and updated. Which on the one hand is great, but on the other hand can be frustrating. It’s the nature of the beast or anything electronic nowadays. Repeat after me, there will always be upgrades and improvements. Some you will love, others you will hate. Get use to it.
Next up, support. Well we all know what support can be like. Some audio production software companies do a pretty good job with support, others not so hot. I would suggest that you first check out any FAQ’s and second if they have a forum go there. Forums can oftentimes be the best place to find answers to your questions or problems. Most of these music making software companies are not set up for unlimited support. Use it wisely.
Mixing a song is a subjective art, but generally a song begins with the drums, then the bass line, and then each instrument is added in to layer the sound. Create a perfectly mixed song with information from an independent recording engineer and producer in this free video on music recording.
Isaiah showing demo