I use Kristal.

I like: Free. Loads fairly fast. Requires very little resources. It has a Live In module allowing it to be used as realtime FX. It rarely crashes.

I dislike: ASIO support seems dodgy. VST support is poor, half them don't load (but I use MultiFX VST). It has a few bugs. No crossfading/advanced editing. Limited to 16 tracks in the mixer section. No envelopes. No MIDI support I know of.

But I'm a control freak and I don't care if I have a million windows open. Alt+tab is your friend :D

My priority list would be working ASIO support (ie, that doesnt crap out after 5 minutes) and proper crossfading without having to copy/paste to different tracks.

I wish PT would support VST without having to buy a dodgy 3rd party VST wrapper.

Which reminds me, I wish Steinberg would make the VST license open source, so linux apps can use them. Ardour is a near-PT replacement, for free, on Linux. But no VSTs either, except through "a dodgy 3rd party VST wrapper."

VST is open enough that just about anyone can develop a plugin. Unfortunately it only supports Mac and Windows OS's AFAIK. Ardour works on OSX but still does not support VST. Why? I don't know.

What I want is for a DAW that is it's own OS. Something that I can load without Windows or OSX running in the background. If Windows or OSX were open enough to allow for the hardware support while allowing for a full dismantling of the GUI so that all unnecessary applications could be removed entirely. I don't need my daw to be able to access the web or play games. I just want it to do it's thing unimpeded by the security necessary to maintain my privacy.

It would also be great if that DAW came in the form of a Solid state drive requiring a one time set up procedure to enable the necessary hardware. The use of a key dongle which would double as a storage device allowing for updates via another Machine or via a dual boot system. The key only being necessary for updates but not for operation seeing that the DAW is essentially a piece of hardware and not a software install only. Maybe the dongle could enable ethernet capabilities while engaged but only via direct access to the update server.

OK. Pie in the sky dreams. But i'm allowed to dream aren't i?

"But i'm allowed to dream aren't i?"

In Soviet Russia, No.
(Or was it Communist Russia?)

Turn into a pizza and 6-pack at midnight.

What Would You Like Your DAW to Do?

Automatically correct all my performance errors, automatically apply the correct amounts of EQ/Compression/FX, and then mix itself.

I fear it's heading in that direction :roll:

Oh, and if it could take out the trash on Thursdays...

"What Would You Like Your DAW to Do? "

Cubase: I would like the undo button to work for level adjustments and other things that it doesn't do....

hueseph I like your DAW/OS idea a lot though. I would want it to have internet support as well for updates but that is a good idea.

Sound like 2" tape. :)

lol

BrianaW wrote: Sound like 2" tape. :)

or an alesis adat with a masterlink?

Great suggestions, but ... I'd be happy with a pizza and six pack.

There's a flavour of Ubuntu that comes bundled with lots of media apps - audio, video, image/3d editing. Stick in the CD, run the OS. If you want to install it permenantly on the hardware you *this is the difficult part* drag and drop a folder from the CD, to your hard drive.
*/difficult bit*
Also you can customise it, then save your changes on a USB drive. Then, you just slap that in before booting the PC. You still need the CD but you *could* install it to the flash drive if it was big enough.

EricUndead wrote:

Cubase: I would like the undo button to work for level adjustments and other things that it doesn't do....

Not me! It's bad enough that I forget that I already undid the last take and end up undoing the wrong one. If it undid fader settings, eqs, fx settings and the like, I'd really muck things up. Thank God for REDO.

AwedOne wrote:
Not me! It's bad enough that I forget that I already undid the last take and end up undoing the wrong one. If it undid fader settings, eqs, fx settings and the like, I'd really muck things up. Thank God for REDO.

Maybe it should have the option of "power undo" or "forgetful engineer"

My mouse seems to wonder and I forget to save stuff all the time.

hueseph wrote: VST is open enough that just about anyone can develop a plugin. Unfortunately it only supports Mac and Windows OS's AFAIK. Ardour works on OSX but still does not support VST. Why? I don't know.

What I want is for a DAW that is it's own OS. Something that I can load without Windows or OSX running in the background. If Windows or OSX were open enough to allow for the hardware support while allowing for a full dismantling of the GUI so that all unnecessary applications could be removed entirely. I don't need my daw to be able to access the web or play games. I just want it to do it's thing unimpeded by the security necessary to maintain my privacy.
OK. Pie in the sky dreams. But i'm allowed to dream aren't i?

i spent two days stripping my XP and now im bored at times and i wish i could still play hearts , or maybe switch my arrow icon into a black or waggy tail icon.

. i wish my daw could open up all my vst's no matter how big the program.

From a visual standpoint, how would you like the menu systems to be
set up?

SIDE CHAIN ALL VSTS!

In your opinion, what are the most essential and basic tools needed for a DAW?

Compression, gate, limiter, reverb, EQ... Its nice to have different versions of those same things but that's what VST's are for I suppose.