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Thread July 5, 2014 editorial: comments

6 replies
6 participants
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Mike Levine

Author

First post

1 Posted on 07/05/2014 at 10:00:04

Did You Ever Want to Throw Your Computer Across the Room?

I did. Just this week, when my DAW crashed yet again. I was working on a project with a deadline, and had only a short time to finish editing and bounce out the final audio files. But when I opened the session — I run Pro Tools 11, native — the transport mysteriously stopped working, I was told files were missing (which I knew had not been moved) and I ended up having to relaunch the program and open one of the session backups. Then everything worked fine, but I’d lost precious time.

Don’t get me wrong, I love what Pro Tools can do, I think its got the best audio-editing features of any DAW out there, but man, do I get tired of little issues like this cropping up on a fairly regular basis. To be fair, it’s not just Pro Tools. DAWs in general are complex applications that are not what you’d call “low maintenance.”

When they’re working right, they’re amazing (I've raved about their capabilities in this editorial space), and they give us power at our fingertips that would make recording musicians of 20 years ago drool — and those from 40 years ago shake their heads in disbelief.

So maybe I’m just jaded, but I would like to be able to open a session and be confident that I won’t have to relaunch the program, or reboot the computer, or get a message that files are missing, or that my CPU is overloaded when I have only a few plug-ins open. Having to stop to troubleshoot a technical issue disrupts your creative flow big time, and God forbid if you’re in a time crunch.

So what’s the point of this rant? It’s not like I’m going to switch back to using a tape machine (besides, I sold mine years ago and there’s no more tape being manufactured these days, anyway). I'm just hoping that maybe, rather than putting so much emphasis on developing new features, software manufacturers could devote more of their resources to reliability and stability. It would be a good selling point.

Am I being unfair? Have you had issues with your DAW? Post a comment to our computer music forum and let's discuss it.

Have a great week.

Mike Levine

U.S. Editor, Audiofanzine

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p.walker

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2 Posted on 07/05/2014 at 11:13:46

Ergo, I tossed the DAW, got a 24 track zoom ^24, and started concentrating on the musical side of my braib
n rather than the computer guy in there.

More like real recording in the ols days. Enough cut and paste crapola!

Ricky Vanderhoof

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3 Posted on 07/05/2014 at 16:43:04

Hey Mike:

Are you kidding, my computers run perfectly!! I have two PC computers running Cubase 7 and
Presonus Studio one and I've never had any configuration problem what-so-ever.

IN MY FREAKING DREAMS!!!!!!!

I could write a novel. Example, the simple task of getting one computer to work between two screens.
First, not sure why my main computer re-booted scattering all my icons all over the desktop, but
that was at least better than what happened next--all icons disappeared from both screens. I have done this task on many computers before--took five minutes. About four hours to get it done with present setup
and I have no clue why.

I find it odd the computers can be running perfectly for hours one day, and you don't download, install, nor configure anything, and you turn them on the next day--ERROR, ERROR, ERROR. I spend more time keeping them working properly than I do actually working on music. I get this feeling I'm not alone.

teqnotic

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4 Posted on 07/05/2014 at 23:05:44

TOTALLY AGREE 100%
Instead of rushing to sell another upgrade version, DAW software companies
should focus on quality control and fix the current bugs instead of moving
forward with newer versions introducing new bugs which are compounded onto
the previously existing ones. This is not only the fault of DAW software
companies, but it seems like a practice that's common place from any
software company, such as Microsoft who should set an example and develop
a solid and bug-free OS. It's all about quality before quantity

lukewarmchilipepper

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5 Posted on 07/07/2014 at 02:44:57

Quote from p.walker:

Ergo, I tossed the DAW, got a 24 track zoom ^24, and started concentrating on the musical side of my braib
n rather than the computer guy in there.

More like real recording in the ols days. Enough cut and paste crapola!

YES!!

Quote from Ricky:

I have two PC computers running Cubase 7 and
Presonus Studio one and I've never had any configuration problem what-so-ever.

IN MY FREAKING DREAMS!!!!!!!

Lol, I feel your pain. Luckily, I use Studio One on a Mac, so I don't feel your pain to the same extent as you :-D

but ya, sometimes just doing the simplest things make me wanna blow my brains out from all the time wasted setting up instead of actually creating good music....

Quote from teqnotic:

Instead of rushing to sell another upgrade version, DAW software companies
should focus on quality control and fix the current bugs instead of moving
forward with newer versions introducing new bugs which are compounded onto
the previously existing ones.

Could NOT agree more to this quote. God I hate how money and profit potential often actually makes you deal with lower quality products....the curse of Microsoft, I call it....

I think one pic can sum this dilemma more than all others: http://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/10013902_767187743298954_6444776982970266427_n.png

bgilbertsound

New AFfiliate

6 Posted on 07/07/2014 at 06:43:31

I couldn't agree more. DAWs are nice and cheap(relatively speaking), but most DAW manufacturers don't understand the need for high reliability.

Back in the analog days, companies like Otari, Studer, and even Tascam got it. Put the machine in record ready, and the little red light blinks. Hit record, the light goes solid red, and you're recording. Period.

With a DAW, I'm never really sure. Usually I can get a file to play back, but with all the software routing and file structures, it's a bit of crapshoot. I've had projects go away for the strangest reasons, having to spend too much time at elevated heart rates and blood pressure finding out what the hell went wrong.

It's one of the main reasons that I don't do much studio work anymore. Once you've used a high-quality analog system (i.e., broadcast), it's hard to take all the compromises that go along with a consumer computer-based systems. (but to be fair, I don't miss cutting tape with a razor blade one bit!)

Mike Levine

Author

7 Posted on 07/07/2014 at 07:46:05

Thanks everyone for your responses about this. I guess I'm not the only one who feels this way. ;-)

Since we're unlikely to get DAW manufacturers to change their practices, I guess we need to do as much as we can on the user side to minimize instability. It probably varies DAW to DAW and Mac to Windows, but off the top of my head, I'm thinking that restarting the computer before a session, making sure other programs aren't open so that maximum RAM is available, and turning off third-party system extensions might help reduce problems when running a DAW. If anyone has any other ideas, please let us know!

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