Assisting a Pro Tools mix job for neo-classical cello music at Berlin's Calyx Mastering.
Assisting a Pro Tools mix job for neo-classical cello music at Berlin's Calyx Mastering.
Steep learning curve, discovering great features, and some completely obnoxious constraints of proprietary commercial DAW software. However, on macos and Windows audio engines of proprietary software outperform even sthg. only half commercial such as Reaper. Can't say anything about Linux-based audio, though. As much as i wish otherwise PT, Cubase, Nuendo (WaveLab) and Logic deliver depth, width, exactness and overall body of sound much more naturally, than even Reaper, which overall sounds glassy, slightly thin, a little flat.
Ableton and BitWig don't get there, sounding generally foggy, smearing transients.
As a musician i prefer to pay for sound, if that's the current option, rather than going for a cheap compromise or sthg. under-developed.
Checked on modified Genelec 1038a and Genelec 8030, all eq'd to room acoustics.
Although within those high end realms the gains seem minimal today - compared to audio engines 10 or 15 years ago - there is still a very noticeable lead of the 4/5 DAW mentioned above.
If anyone should do actual direct comparisons of Linux-based DAW with commercial DAW (mostly macos/Windows) I'd be HIGHLY interested in exchanging experience.
Thanx!
@audiopro group #proaudio #daw #protools #logic #cubase #nuendo #wavelab #mastering #mixing
@jrp @audiopro On Linux you've Ardour, Mixbus, Reaper, Bitwig, Qtractor and more.
@avlap Yeah, am aware of that. Sadly Linux doesn't seem to support any AD/DA (Lavry, RME etc.) so a decent comparison seems difficult.
@jrp @audiopro Not sure what you mean by audio engines, but I don't think there is difference in sound, comparing same soundfiles, no matter which DAW.
@avlap That would be typical for a non-ideal listening situation. No pun intended.
@jrp I think you don't need any ears for it. 'Just' the theory behind digital audio.
@avlap2 @jrp _jayrope is right. The burden would be on you to prove, in a blind test, w/same room, monitors, converters, mix position, and amplitude, that there were differences between e.g. Logic/Pro Tools vs Reaper. There’s some chatter about DAW’s internal (software) summing mixers but if you can hear the difference between the major 64 bit DAWs, you might have bionic ears. The clock, audio drivers, monitors, room, all matter much more nowadays.
@avlap2 @jrp BTW, I am not trying to make you or anyone feel bad. I just want to push back on info that really might be misleading to people, including you. Maybe you do have bionic ears! But differences in sound originating from the major, 64 bit DAWs themselves would be incredibly subtle.
@jonbutter2 Agreed, they are subtle today - and depending on listening habits as well as fine ears. Obviously a mastering studio should be commited to allow only the best. I just posted results from those circumstances, and i do enjoy their findings in my own music making since many years. Has drastically simplified my - otherwise one-person - decision making.
Please don't spread that wrong internet myth "DAWs sounds different".
This is as would one DAW do the math 3+4=7 and another DAW would do the math 3+4=8 .
Maybe this gives you enough information to specify what you really mean
Do DAWs Sound Different? Mixing in Ableton FLStudio vs Pro Tools
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYroYZ…
Or have a look here with a programmer
Which DAW Sound BETTER? (with Aaron Reaper/Pipeline Audio)
youtu.be/OU3uv0xvz8M
@OdoSendaidokai :soundmachine: Ha, you're a funny one, though a bit of a solo-theoretical high horse ;) We've regular listening comparison sessions with up to 15 different professional engineers (30 ears) - try this with actual people.
@jrp funny you speaking of high horse ... maybe you should pay more close attention reading what I said: you should specify what is the source of a sound difference. It is not the audio engine of a DAW. It is the devices aka the plugins.
And maybe you should also listen to programmers who are programming DAWs who are explaining where differences come from.
I don't doubt that your 30 ears experience differences in sound, but the reason is different from what you are wrongly postulating.
@OdoSendaidokai :soundmachine: Obviously we test without plugins. We're interested in basic features, most of all simple summing with exact same channel setup. Real-time & offline render qualities already vary depending on DAW. The the intertwinings with an OS come into play. As a simple example Logic on macos and iOS don't sound the same, which is an OS problem, as an iOS device internally converts anything to 48K before it spits it out. The problems are complex, as you know. Even if audio engines probably use all the same math the trouble already starts, when a DAW interacts with an OS. And so on and so forth.