Topic: Editors: SAM, Protools, CuBase, etc. What's the deal?

[boojum]

I started with SAM8LE, got 9LE but did not use it and now work in SAM10 Master.  Lots of pro's use ProTools.  And then there is CuBase.  And Reaper, the shareware gem.  OK, I understand Reaper's popularity, but just what splits folks between SAM and PT?  And the others?   Any ideas??   

[nic]

are you asking what is the difference between these programs or why some people prefer 1 over the other or something completely different?
(your question is sort of vague)

I am assuming you mean why do people prefer 1 program over the other.
a lot of it is down to familiarity. you learn on one program and you know all the ins-and-outs of the software.
on another program, certain functions might be in a completely different location and you struggle to find out where as it is not where you expect it to be.
I've never heard of Reaper...by the name I am guessing it is a sampling tool.

every studio engineer I personally know *hates* ProTools, but they keep it around as that tends to be the program requested by clueless clients.
they would rather work in Logic, Digital Performer(both Mac only), Cubase(Mac and Win) or insert some other program...

[boojum]

Yeah, the question was vague.  Why is one editor mor epiopular than others.  SAM works so well for me.  Who knows about the others?  I guess it is familiarity and no clear champ.

Reaper, BTW, is a shareware DAW of some merit.  Check it out.

[TNJazz]

Having worked with ProTools, Cubase, Nuendo, Reaper and Logic so far I can tell you that when it comes to editing I've never had an easier time than in ProTools.

There are a number of unpleasantries packaged into PT though (can anyone say "real time bounce" ?   )  Plus it's now in fashion to "hate" ProTools.

It's still the program of choice in the professional world though, like it or not.  For every person that hates PT, there's one or two pro engineers who won't use anything else.

It all boils down to what you like best.  Honestly?  I think the main reason the other programs gained such popularity in the last 5 or 6 years is because there are large numbers of cracked copies out there.  This enables anyone to get hold of a copy and use it.  ProTools doesn't work quite that way.

I do think that in the next 2 years or so Reaper will give EVERYONE a run for their money though.  The Mac version is still pretty weak, but the Windows version is very impressive.

[ghellquist]

I could think of a lot of reasons for choice of program. Personally I run Samplitude as it fits the work I do perfectly. I did start out using ProTools LE and, well I simply save lots of hours going from on-site recording to finished CD. A large part of the "classical music" recording people use Sequioa, the slightly larger version of Samplitude. This is probably due to a great editor function called 4-point editing, not part of Samplitude, and really worth its money for the people using it. You find the same editing function in a few other programs, not many though.

You should know that there are two different ProTools. One is called either ProTools LE or ProTools M-powered depending on the hardware used. This is not the version the pros have in their million dollar studios. Instead there you find ProTools HD which is a very different animal, although with todays faster PC-s the gap is closing.

Of course if you seldom have Madonna in front of the mic and can live with an occasional blue screen from a crashed system, there are infinitely more choices. All of them will come at much lower cost than ProTools HD which for most of us is an important part of the choice process.

In the end though, we tend to choose one that fits and stays with that one.

Gunnar

[Breeze]

There are many ways of achieving the same goal. The main reason Pro Tools is popular in professional audio production has more to do with them being the first out of the gate than anything else. From the beginning of commercial software, piracy has always been an issue. Digi was the first to realize that in order to emulate the functionality of a traditional studio, the common desktop computer of the day was incredibly underpowered, so they killed 2 birds with one stone: they made expensive add-in cards adding DSP power to anemic computers to make them do all this incredible emulation and made sure their software wouldn't work without it. And of course this was expensive, and only within the reach of commercial studios and successful producers.

Now take a bunch of audio engineers used to work a traditional audio studio and give them a paradigm that resembles their normal workflow and introduce them to the concept of non-linear editing: that's how it started. Give them a serious head start in reliability and functionality and you basically have a captive audience: after all the investment and time installing, learning and updating this system, they're tied in. Who has the time to learn another system? Pro-audio production can be hectic and time-consuming. Oh, and call it PROTools, so there can be no mistake that it's meant for professionals (Just brilliant...)

Today the picture is changing. Technology marches on and operating systems like XP and OSX are much more stable and desktop computers have become much more powerful. The need for outboard DSP is diminishing all the time. The variety of programs also reveal the particular biases of their creators. I don't know Samp very well, but Logic and Cubase have more compositional slants, Nuendo and Pro-Tools are more for audio and post-production, Ableton Live for live interaction with audio materials, etc. Everyone know that ProTools has always been anemic in the MIDI department and quite a number people prefer Nuendo's editing style to ProTools.  Logic seems lacking in comparison in the audio department. So basically there isn't ONE program that excels at everything. Or there only would be one program in use

But one thing I can't stand is the obviously biased and unfounded bashing that goes on whenever people compare all these various platforms. Theirs is often simply the best. There's some in this thread, but I'm not going to bother... It's like the Apple vs PC commercials: while there may be some truth, it's often unbelievably exaggerated and biased (and PC is just such a loser!), but many are funny, anyway; if only DAW-bashing were so entertaining

BTW: I've got a secret flame for Reaper just because it's rate of evolution is simply astounding and their response to customer requests is unparalleled. AND it's extremely well coded; these guys are good and the code is tight in a way I haven't seen in a long time. It's definitely not everything I need a DAW to be (yet!), but I'm watching it with keen interest.

[boyacrobat]

not all the same but nearly . wav work in audacity- wav work in cubase,
same results different colours to look at, same engine , but refined, blah blah   

nearly same i say guessing. from what ive seen

g

[Chuck]

For the editing that most of us do, I like Steinberg WaveLab. It has everything you need to do mastering and isn't outta site price-wise. I started on CoolEdit Pro (currently Adobe Audition). This software is also very good for the price.

I do audio production for a living. I have used CuBase for the past 5+ years. We are currently updating the studio and started looking into all the DAW options. We looked hard at ProTools, but we decided the real time export was not realistic for the work we do. A couple of the guys really liked Sound Forge 9, but we eventually decided to go back to CuBase.

As with most things, everybody you talk to will have different opinions regarding the software they like to use. Try as many as you can get your hands on.

Let us know what you settle on and why.

[live2496]

...but just what splits folks between SAM and PT?

Going back in time a bit, but ProTools was Mac only whereas Samplitude originated on the Amiga as a sampler and afterwards was ported to the pc and became a recording application. So they have been on different hardware and OS's which kind of explains the two camps.