Posts by franknputer

  • what's you're favourite DAW?

    At the end of the day it's whatever works best for you. Most DAWs have similar feature sets, often the devil is in the details of how it was implemented. If it stays out of your way and helps you be creative, that's about the best you can ask for. :)

  • what's you're favourite DAW?

    My thoughts, after owning numerous DAWs over the years:

    If you're on a Mac, then Logic is a great choice if you want an all-around DAW to compose with. IMHO it's geared more towards creatives than engineers, it's really great to get things moving along quickly when you're writing.


    Reaper is awesome for audio handling. Very intuitive to get going, cross-platform (a major drawback with Logic Pro), and rock-solid. Its MIDI development lagged behind for a long time, but it's since been fleshed out quite a bit. Also, given the price and the licensing scheme it's a fantastic first DAW, since you get all the features (but you really should buy your license if you keep it - I did!)

    Studio One has come a long way very fast. Great overall environment, cross-platform, supposed to be very solid although I did have issues last time I tried it. A bit pricey to get the full feature set.

    Pro Tools - overpriced, overrated. If it works for you that's great, but IMO they've been coasting on its reputation for being the "professional choice" since outboard hardware was needed for more intensive work. Those days are long gone, and they haven't kept pace with their competition enough to justify the price tag & the hassles of Avid licensing. I paid for two versions along the way; took training, and really wanted to master it but it was always coming up short.

    Ableton Live - expensive, but if you pay attention to the release timings you can get in on sale prices and save some bucks. Live (and Bitwig) are different beasts - more like DAW-as-an-instrument. Not that you can't record every bit as well as the competition, but then you're really not taking advantage of what they offer. Steep learning curve to really get into it, but if you like geeking out on digital audio then it's amazingly powerful.

  • Profiler sound problem

    I read back over this, I should have done that before my last comment...

    I'm not disputing the OPs claim, because I don't know enough of the details. I had to reach out to support about the battery issue and they were quite helpful, so I have no reason to think they're being unreasonable either. I can say, though, that there are a lot of variable in the described recording chain.

    I'd suggest this: try connecting both via SPDIF (if that really matters to your workflow) and analog simultaneously. Download Reaper - it will run without licensing it - and record both inputs. See if you still have the issue, and is it with both tracks? That might narrow down the cause. If you have access to another recorder all the better.

  • Profiler sound problem

    Quote from AdamMassacre1981

    I think the string gauge may be a big factor in the adjustment too. I have a bad habit of switching gauges trying to figure out what works best and dont really take into consideration the effect that would have on the setup

    That will do it for sure. Aside from the slight change in string diameter there's a significant change in tensioning, which basically means the curve of the neck will shift.

    There's definitely something to be said for a pro setup - someone that has a lot of experience and all the tools can make your guitar a real joy to play. However, it's also true that it's not that hard to adjust the action. You need to find the correct truss rod wrench (and it doesn't have to be a "truss rod wrench", but there are a few different ways they're made and you need one that fits correctly that you can turn when it's in place). I'd get the feeler gauges too - you can ballpark it without one, but honestly they're super cheap and will last forever.

  • Best way to connect Kemper to Macbook?

    If you're not recording your instrument & are just playing along with the laptop, you need to press the Direct Monitor button on the front of the Scarlett. That routes the input signal back to the output so you can hear it without going through the computer.

  • (SOLD) TC Electronic BAM200, like new in box (USA)

    Got this back in November, only used in the studio a couple of times to test speakers with my Kemper Stage. Great little amp, I've just moved up to a stereo amp so I don't need it. $150 shipped in the US - sorry, rest of the world, but international shipping is too much hassle.

    My reverb shop profile is below, so you can see my feedback. I've not posted this there, but if you prefer going through Reverb let me know & I'll post it but it will raise the price a bit (only to offset taxes & Reverb fee, no additional money for me and shipping is still included).

    https://reverb.com/shop/willowhaus-audio

  • Time to leave Pro Tools. What would be a good replacement?

    Reaper is excellent, particularly for tracking and audio-heavy projects. If you're looking at using virtual instruments, though, and you want to stay native then Studio One or Logic are probably your better choices.

    I've been a Reaper user since its earliest days, and it is super solid. I would encourage anyone to get a license, because I still fall back to it when stability is an absolute must.

    S1 has a ton of features and has gained a lot of ground in recent years. That said, I had comping issues with it last time I ran it on my Mac that I never could get solved. I have an NFR license for the current version, which sounds amazing but TBH I haven't installed it yet.

    Now, I'm a big proponent of cross-platform software choices being the wisest ones. However, I've been a Mac guy for the past decade now so I finally bit the bullet and sprang for Logic Pro - and for me it's been a good choice. :) I do a lot of my work in Ableton, but if I'm not working with loops in Session View (Logic has some sort of similar workflow now anyway) I find Logic to be a great choice for composing stuff. Apple being a closed platform is a downside for changing OSs, but their software is excellent so I'll worry about crossing that bridge when it comes up.

    There's something to be said for choosing according to your workflow. As an engineer I always preferred Reaper (I was a pro audio engineer in my former life) but as a musician who wants to think as little as possible about technical crap I've been pretty happy with it. They all have a bit of a learning curve, but it didn't take long to get familiar enough to do what I need to do and it's easy to look up solutions if I get stuck. I'm a fan of the Logic drummer too, it's a good tool for getting a decent beat in place quickly and moving on (a battle I've fought for a looong time). It's great that they have a full complement of instruments built-in, whether you use them or not.

    I guess my best advice would be to figure out which product ticks the most (and most significant) boxes for you for your workflow and your ultimate aims.

  • Which Delays / Reverbs do you use in your DAW

    SoundToys Little Plate is really nice. Right now it's on sale for $39.


    Valhalla DSP makes some good plugs that aren't expensive, and they also have a few freebies. Valhalla SuperMassive is one, cool if you need long ambient reverb.

    I also have several Eventide plugins - hard to go wrong with them, they're not cheap but Eventide was a pioneer in digital reverb so they definitely know their DSP.