Looking for a DAW with easy MIDI or notation input

[Drack]

I've been trying out free demos of a lot of DAWs .. FL, SONAR, REAPER, Live, Tracktion, even Cubase (because an old sound card came with an old Cubasis demo).

From working briefly - just an hour or two - with each DAW, one thing that strikes me is that the most intuitive functions that most of these DAWs perform work with recorded audio, not MIDI.

I've composed music in the past, but on much simpler programs. Specifically, I used notation in Noteworthy Composer, and the tracker method in Modplug Tracker. It seems any time I try a DAW, it's offering so much that the simpler input methods - say, midi via mouse or typing keyboard - are not straightforward. Those DAWs that offer notation often do it inconveniently.

The easiest DAW for midi that I tried in my brief stints was FL Studio. Nice point and click piano roll. I especially liked how you would *hear* the note as you placed it, and hear the other pitches as you dragged the note around. There are some weird things about FL though - Why do tracks default to step sequencer, even when a melodic instrument is loaded and when that very track has piano roll in other patterns?

This isn't to say that I won't record any audio, but the only instruments I'm proficient enough not to embarass myself in a mix would be clarinet and to a lesser extent, piano. But aside from a little audio, most everything I plan to do revolves around midi and VSTis for the instruments.

Which DAW is the easiest from the viewpoint of simple MIDI editing? I do have a MIDI keyboard, but input using that seems to be about the same across the board, record and quantize.

I really haven't considered Reason for two ... reasons. First, the demo just used half of my screen. I'm not a dual monitor guy, I use one huge widescreen. For a DAW to use half of that just feels cramped and wasteful. Second, I plan to use VSTis, and Reason does things differently.

[Sole Signal]

Interesting to hear you include FL in the list of DAWs that seem to lean toward recorded audio. It wasn't that long ago that FL was (wrongly) considered weak in that department.

Back in the day I also used Noteworthy Composer, and now use FL. Moving from staff based to piano roll based composition was a little bit of a transition, but it didn't take long. When I first started, I would often create the midi in Noteworthy, and then import in FL. As I grew more confident, I started creating my tracks entirely in FL and now wouldn't have it any other way. Your comment about FL "defaulting" to step sequencer is, frankly, not an issue at all. Right-clicking, then hitting Piano Roll becomes second nature very quickly and is certainly not something that would rationalize dropping the sequencer entirely.

In short, it doesn't get much easier in working with MIDI than FL.

[Dhsu]

There's always AnvilStudio.

[OverCoat]

There are some weird things about FL though - Why do tracks default to step sequencer, even when a melodic instrument is loaded and when that very track has piano roll in other patterns?

There's a lot of things about FL Studio that make absolutely no sense, especially coming from how most DAWs are set up [cubase, sonar, reaper, et al]. Recording to the step sequencer is an option you can turn off.

Even though FruityLoops was basically built around that step sequencer, I honestly think it's time for them to abandon the thing. Even back when I used FL I never used it, ever. It's pointless aside from aesthetic value.

As far as pure functionality, you're not going to get much deeper with midi than in Cubase or Sonar, though for ease of use you might want to stick with FL Studio, then. It's how I made midis for years and it'll do everything you need it to do.

EDIT: in before "hey I use the step sequencer :<"

[DDRKirby(ISQ)]

EDIT: in before "hey I use the step sequencer :<"

ahahahhaaha

[Zephyr]

All that the step sequencer is really for these days is for the people who haven't started with things complex enough to use the piano roll, and for simple drum loops using only a few samples.

As for working with midi, I can't think of a way to do it better than FL does right now. Try that one out a little more in depth.

[Moseph]

I really haven't considered Reason for two ... reasons. First, the demo just used half of my screen. I'm not a dual monitor guy, I use one huge widescreen. For a DAW to use half of that just feels cramped and wasteful. Second, I plan to use VSTis, and Reason does things differently.

The little button in the upper right detaches the piano roll window and lets you resize it however you want. (But it still doesn't let you use VSTs )

[analoq]

If you're on PC and your mouse-clicking skills usurp your keyboard/instrument-playing skills then FL is your best bet.