As far as I can tell, no DAW has a specific sound. Do the synths or instruments within? Yes. I suppose it could be argued for eons that DAWs have a certain sonic character, but I don't buy in to it. If your DAW sounds like it sucks, get better monitors.
As far as I can tell, no DAW has a specific sound. Do the synths or instruments within? Yes. I suppose it could be argued for eons that DAWs have a certain sonic character, but I don't buy in to it. If your DAW sounds like it sucks, get better monitors.
DAWs used: Reaper, FL, Cubase, & Logic (pre-Mac).
I fully disagree, every daw has a unique sonic character imo.
The effects of warping certainly affect sound, and since it's a main feature of Live and reason it's used you can get a specific sound character as a result when using it.
There are 2 comparison tests. I listened to these before I read the writer's conclusion and was thinking "man, Logic sounds much better". Then I started to read his conclusion that there is no difference, listened again and suddenly I couldn't hear a difference myself.
Pathetic human mind, so easily fooled.
BUT... like you say, so many people absolutely convinced there is a difference. I would love to hear their evidence.
There are 2 comparison tests. I listened to these before I read the writer's conclusion and was thinking "man, Logic sounds much better". Then I started to read his conclusion that there is no difference, listened again and suddenly I couldn't hear a difference myself. Pathetic human mind, so easily fooled.
Seems the writer of that piece was himself fooled -- at the bottom of that page he says:
Well, it turns out a flaw has been found that invalidates
my test. In attempt to use measurement tools that others
could also obtain for free, it’s been pointed out to me
that the low-level resolution of the Free-G metering plug
in was not sufficient to capture all of the audio signal.
An Ableton Forum user has brought to my attention that the
last 3 bits of the null-test signal (the signal below
-126dBFS) are in fact not bit for bit identical.
How much affect this has on the audible difference between
the two signals is debatable (and I’m sure people will),
but I have to withdraw my conclusion that Live and Logic
produce bit for bit identical audio files given the
conditions above. My apologies for not being more
thorough in my testing, you can now go back to arguing
about which DAW sounds better
I think music made solely in Ableton usually has a sound to it, but it's got more to do with the way the program works and some of the plugin synths sound.
Seems the writer of that piece was himself fooled -- at the bottom of that page he says:
An Ableton Forum user has brought to my attention that the
last 3 bits of the null-test signal (the signal below
-126dBFS) are in fact not bit for bit identical.
Your converters don't even reproduce that, at -100dB you're in the dither area...
A.
if it's not identical...it's not the same...the human ear is deeper than you think...percieves things beyond what any scientific analysis will tell you...just saying'
Not only the ear is deep...
Good try at trolling BTW
I know where this thread's going, count me out
A.
I think music made solely in Ableton usually has a sound to it, but it's got more to do with the way the program works and some of the plugin synths sound.
No sound diff I have noticed, unless things are warped badly. I also mix in Pro Tools because I like the interface and sum / mix w hardware. I imagine if I did everything in Ableton, my mixes would have a different flavor. There is no tool I have encountered that is more fun to write in or arrange with than Live.
Live has a sound and to my ears anything I do in Logic sounds better from the get go... I am not a Logic fanboy though as I actually prefer to work in Live. It's just what I noticed. There always seems to be more depth and clarity in my logic mixes.
I think music made solely in Ableton usually has a sound to it, but it's got more to do with the way the program works and some of the plugin synths sound.
Interestingly enough , i just watched a video concerning this very matter, apparently ableton has certain plugins which have a high quality mode which utilise oversampling.If your project has instances of these plugins in both high and normal quality this can adversely affect your finished product.
Interestingly enough , i just watched a video concerning this very matter, apparently ableton has certain plugins which have a high quality mode which utilise oversampling.If your project has instances of these plugins in both high and normal quality this can adversely affect your finished product.
It may be fixed now(?) but stock plugs running in high quality (with oversampling) were not accurately delay compensated which could lead to problems if performing parallel processing.
A.
It may be fixed now? but plugs running in high quality (with oversampling) were not accurately delay compensated which could lead to problems if performing parallel processing.
that would explain it, ta very much. I know its a hotly debated opinion but i do personally find that different daws do have a slightly different sound, but most importantly none of them sound different enough to ever be considered bad, not by a long way.I strongly believe there will always be some other considerably more important determining factor within the production process than the software you record into.
If you've done enough real work, you know what the deal is. they all sound different. It's only those that are guessing that take the other position and try and come up with useless tests to support their position.
The plain fact is that it would take a herculean effort which no one has doen or ever will...to devise and implement a set of variables that could accurately test how a DAW actually sounds. Summing is but the simplest of tasks that a DAW performs. In fact, at any given point in time a DAW could be performing thousands of tasks simultaneously.
The real question is which DAWs perform closest to what they are speced to do?
that is what is important...because they all make errors which affects performance which affects the resultant sound.
if it's not identical...it's not the same...the human ear is deeper than you think...percieves things beyond what any scientific analysis will tell you...just saying'
If the difference is real, if your human ear is that deep, you should be able to hear this difference blindfolded.
But you can't.
When you remove workflow, features, and GUI and just follow a list of exact exact exact mix decisions, you can't tell the DAWs apart. Even if they fail to null. Where did the DAW's sonic 'contribution' vanish to?
Set two DAWs the same same same. Close your eyes and pick out Ableton. Sounds simple enough.
The only test that matters, but you can't pass it.
__________________
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“What you ask about is music. What you like is sound. Now music and sound are akin, but they are not the same.”
— Confucius
If your sense of space is different your choices will be different. If your sense of focus is different, you won't be eqing for clarity as much. If your soundstage is different, again, your choices will be different throughout your process.
If Playback is sonically compromised for any reason, even if the actual audio isn't you will proceed as if it is.
If your choices are different, it is YOU who are making the DAWs sound different! If your placebos are telling you the playback is different, you will MIX differently. Quite simple.
'compromised playback' is the last refuge of the placebo-clingers.
If playback is 'compromised', then people should be able to 'pick the DAW' right away. But they can't.
Playing back even a simple stereo audio file with no changes ought to be audible if there was such a thing. The DAWs sound different because nobody FEELs like matching the mixes exactly exactly exactly.
Matching the settings on a complex mix is a PITA, but if you do it, you won't be able to tell blindfolded.
I really think phasing will be different once you start using auxes (sends) and a number of plugins. Ableton tends to handle delay comp really badly so surely this influences the sound.
I really think phasing will be different once you start using auxes (sends) and a number of plugins. Ableton tends to handle delay comp really badly so surely this influences the sound.
If so, that essentially means ableton is "broken". It's not a matter of it having a sound.
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A lot of times when I see people say all DAWs sound the same they always seem to be referring ONLY to the summing bus and will post many test showing nulled waveforms. However, when I use a DAW I use the included tools or else why would I bother with the DAW, I would use audacity or something similar instead. The included sounds and plugins most definitely have a sound and most definitely affect how you treat or work with an audio source. That doesn't mean that you can;t get great results with the included tools, that means that tools may not work as you expect or the quality may vary from DAW to DAW. As we have seen Logic's included plugins are in dire need of an update, the EQ comes to mind. Yet that is my main EQ when I use Logic, and I had no idea up until a few years ago that there were any issues with it, eventhough I was aware that Logic always sounded a bit thin and muddy to my ears.
Live is the same. The included EQ in Ableton leaves little room for the precision you will find in other DAWs, you can stack and group effects into huge effects chains which can also affect the sound. Live's reverb is pretty mediocre compared to some other DAWs out there. Sometimes the sound of the DAW is affected in how it displays its information to the user and how easy it is to manipulate that information. Either way I actually prefer Live's "sound" especially for EDM. It has a more brash sound that fits well with the style, imo.
I quoted abletons thin resulting sound only after using it to finish mixes from resent live experience.Not saying its actually thin.Just my perception overall.Couls have been any computer mixdown.Just felt like i heard the ableton ive become acostumed too.A bit thin.I like it but wish it was more beefy sounding like a good quality multitrack hardware.Roland vs for example.Im gonna take advantage of the clear sonics of ableton but i thought it was common knowledgethat you sparkling daw mix will be fattened up and finshed properly(like the old days)by summing in an analog/digital enviroment.Is that too much to do?
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that you sparkling daw mix will be fattened up and finshed properly(like the old days)by summing in an analog/digital enviroment.Is that too much to do?
