A Begginer’s Guide to Selecting a DAW – Part 2 – More Advanced Features

After going over the basics of what you need to when selecting your DAW, there are more advanced features to consider that might make one program shine through the choices as the right one for you.

Let’s go over what those features might be.

Does it allow virtual instruments?

“What kind of music am I making?” is one of the questions we wanted to consider in part 1 of this series and when looking at the more advanced features, it becomes even more applicable.

Do I need to have Virtual Instruments?  A VI (virtual instrument) is a plug in that works inside of your DAW on one of your tracks, and programing MIDI or using a MIDI interface (like a keyboard) allows you to play that instrument for recording.

More on MIDI later, but the important thing to consider is “do I need to be able to add instruments that I do not own or have access to for the music I am making?”

If your a solo artist, and it’s just and your guitar, you may want to add a bass, drums, some strings, or any other instruments that you do not own or know how to play into your songs.

Some DAWs come with VIs and most DAWs allow using 3rd party VIs, so if the you found a VI you must have, say a certain piano, can you use it in the DAW your considering?

Does it have Timing Correction?

Timing correction allows you to make small changes in the audio you record to align that audio to line up with the tempo of the track you are making.

For instance, if you are recording yourself to a metronome on your headphones, even the best players may be a bit off at times, but really like the take.  Timing correction allows you to fix the timing that was off and not have to sacrifice the artistry you had in the take you liked.

Does it allow Composite Tracking?

Composite Tracking, or “comping” is term referring to the process of taking the best parts of multiple takes, and piecing those parts together into one “ultimate” take or “perfect” take.

For more on comping, see this post here for a video on comping inside of Logic 9.

Does it support ReWire?

ReWhat?  ReWire.  ReWire is a protocol developed by Proppellerhead Software, the makers of a DAW called Reason.  According to Propellerhead, “ReWire is a system for transferring audio data between two computer applications, in real time. Basically, you could view ReWire as an “invisible cable” that streams audio from one computer program into another.”

This is useful when you have two separate DAWs you like to work with, and you want to sync up the tempo clocks between the two, giving you the ability to work in both DAWs, and creating a final piece with elements from both.

In the next part of this series, we are going to start our look at individual options in the marketplace, giving you a look at the features and considerations we have discussed.

Which one of these advanced features look like the most important for your songs?  Post your comment below.