kennywtelejazz

GregRband

abacab

kennywtelejazz
Hey abacab ,
 
You dig that software ? by all means knock your self out and enjoy the hell out of it
 
Kenny

Hey Kenny, no offense intended, was just surprised by your harsh opinion of Ignite.  It's just another tool in my box, and I have many, like you do.  Including Project 5, Waveform, and Band in a Box...
 
I look at something like Ignite, the same was as I do with Band in a Box.  Except it's easier to drag ideas around, rearrange them, etc.
 
Get some ideas down in that tool, then export some tracks to a proper DAW for finishing up with.
 
I wasn't intending to suggest it was a "complete" solution, but rather a "starter" program.  But for someone just taking the first steps to record a few ideas it's probably easier than a 4-track recorder.
 
And it does have a certain fun factor (but much simpler than Project 5 or Tracktion Waveform) where a blank track sheet in a fancy DAW can be intimidating.  Especially to newbies... and me! 

Thats exactly what I was trying to say, but you said it better! I was doing the rushed short text style in going thru too many posts. :)
All good points from everyone, just different scenarios is all.
Cheers!

OK this post is for the both of you Fine Gentlemen ...
I just got out of the hospital . i was having tests done and I have been MIA for a few days .
All is fine , yet I want to clarify a few things that may have been taken out of context ... now that I'm back ..
 
Ole Kenny over here has not had the privilege of hiking up to the top of the Mountain and having a One on One with The Almighty Burning Bush of DAW's  
 
What ever the OP needs in a DAW....I'm OK w it ...if it is out there it can be found ...
 
You know folks , it is my long held opinion that we all search until we become finders  
In some rare cases some of us enjoy being DAW searchers..( or fill in the blank for anything worth searching for )
IMHO there is an element of satisfaction  and enjoyment that can be found while pursuing the process of searching for a DAW for the sake of the search  ....paging abacab and KennyW   said w love , friendship & respect ..
 
I'm not gonna sit here and bash the above mentioned music app ...it just does not suite my needs ...
For those of you that read my rant closely my RUB was strictly about the nature of where some of the entry level DAW's are heading... that's all i meant by that  
 
 
I would love to sit here and talk more about some of the DAW's abacab mentioned ...
 
I will save that for another post ..
 
all the best,
 
Kenny
 

Hey Kenny, glad to hear you made it out the other side in one piece!!! 
 
And to further clarify, it wouldn't be the interwebs if we didn't disagree occasionally, LOL!!!
 
But there is always something for everybody.  I have a guitar playing buddy, that I began my first DAW experiments with about 20 years ago.  We recorded a bunch of his guitar takes, as I showed him how easy it was to do it on a PC, and then he went an bought a hard disk recorder!
 
20 years later, and he still has that recorder.  He put together a few demo CDs with it, and mastered the thing in hardware.  I once tried to figure out that box, and it made my brain hurt.  Oiy!!! Yet he figured out how to add effects, bounce tracks, and produce something that actually sounded good in there.
 
Every once in a while he would call me and say something like "maybe I should get pro tools", to which I always offered a few cheaper alternatives.  But the computer thing always was his hang up.  He never got past the idea of getting a new PC that could support decent audio recording.  Plus he and computers just don't get along.  I have performed a few cleanups and repairs for him over the years.
 
One day he came home with an audio interface, Studio One, and some KRK monitors, he asked me to help him get it up and running on his old PC.  It did not go well, as he still needed a new PC.  So all that was returned to the store within a week.
 
Moral of that story is there are some folks who are great musicians, but don't have even a little bit of engineering know how, or desire to go there.
 
Assuming he could operate a computer at even a basic level, I would have to suggest something even more basic than today's lowest entry level, dirt simple DAW.  If I even gave him Ignite, I would still probably get a lot of phone calls...
 
Peace!!! 

Thanks to all for the great advice and suggestions. This has been an eye opening thread. So many choices out there that I never knew existed.

Reading over all of this and checking out youtube clips on the suggestions I've learned that there is no such thing as a dirt simple DAW. It just doesn't exist apparently. Clearly some are simpler and/or more intuitive than others. But the nature of the beast just kind of makes it impossible to keep it completely simple I'm afraid. 

That being said, I have given him some suggestions. First he'll need an interface. I thought a $99 Presonus iOne would do fine for his needs. If wants to splurge, he could get the iTwo which would allow him to record guitar and vocal at the same time but I doubt he'll ever need it. The Presonus interfaces have the advantage of coming bundled with Studio One. Obviously not the dirt simplest software out there, but reasonably intuitive from what I can tell and decent youtube support. 

He'll also need a keyboard so I suggested a Roland A-49 which according to the Sweetwater page, comes bundled with Ableton lite. Again, anything but dirt simple, but also free so no big deal if he hates it. 

I figure the best bet is to let him try both those on for size and see what likes or dislikes about them and then let that inform us as to where to go next if we need to. 

You can download older versions of Tracktion for free. Not sure about how simple they are, but seeing as they're free I'd call it a good starting point. 
 
In addition, Reaper seems easy enough and at $60 (around £45 in UK money) is great value. 

JohanSebatianGremlin
 
The Presonus interfaces have the advantage of coming bundled with Studio One. Obviously not the dirt simplest software out there, but reasonably intuitive from what I can tell and decent youtube support. 

The Studio One Artist that comes bundled with that interface should be a good starter, as well as something to grow into.  And even though it doesn't come with VST support, it includes 30 native effects.  That should be plenty for a beginner.  Plus that is like getting a free interface!