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I was thinking about this from something I saw in another forum thread.
How many DAW's have you had since you started in digital music?
I think I'm on DAW #4.
1. Windows 95 computer running a version of Cakewalk Pro 8 deluxe. This machine is no longer running.
2. Laptop dedicated to music with Windows ME. This computer is still operational and I use it in my studio for other things besides recording. It still has a number of project files on it.
3. A custom machine that I built from parts. This is an Intel i5 processor running Windows 7 Pro 32. I used this one for a very long time. It still runs and I keep it in the studio mainly because it contains the original files for a bunch of the music I have recorded over the past decade. I built it in 2008 if I recall correctly.
4. A rehabbed computer running Windows 10 64 bit. This is my current machine and runs everything now. I had to do a lot of work and upgrading and updating of my base programs to get back to functionality.
How about you? How many computers have you burned through pursuing this musical addiction?
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Computers: too many to list with too much overlap
DAWS: depends on the definition. I could do multitrack audio with Cool Edit Pro, which became Audobe Audition. And although it wasn't on my computers (as in "had" it), I've used Pro Tools in studios. But for pure DAWs I use at home:
Cakewalk Pro Audio, which became all the editions of SONAR. I think SONAR X3 was the last?
Then brief experiments with Digital Performer and Mixcraft and fleeting glances rejecting several others.
Five years now, Studio One Pro (now up to version 7).
For all practical purposes, I would say that three DAWs account for almost all of my work at home: Cool Edit Pro and its derivatives, Cakewalk/SONAR and its derivatives, and Studio One.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=30393&filename=IMG_2104.jpg) In the past 25 years or more, I have had 4 PC's which I bought for Music! Here is a picture from my closet which shows 2 of them. Still working but long ago decommisioned. I used to love Dells, until I didn't. In the early days it was ProTools but they become too much propritary and left me. I have been with Reaper for the past 20 years.
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Voyetra Sequencer Plus (DOS MIDI Sequencer)
Voyetra Orchestrator Pro (Windows MIDI Sequencer with Audio Sample Playback)
Cakewalk Music Creator 2, 4, 6 (Consumer grade DAWs)
Cakewalk by Bandlab
Goldstar 486 (IBM clone)
PII (homebuilt with DrDOS & Windows 3.11)
Dell Inspirion (Windows XP)
Dell i3 laptop (Windows Vista, 7 & 10 hand me down)
Dell i7 desktop (Windows 10 & 11)
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Atari - Dr. T's sequencer
Windows:
Gibson's Vision
Cakewalk Pro Audio
Cakewalk Sonar
Studio One Pro
Dad, how will I know when I've become an adult.
When your day is ruined because they rearranged the grocery store.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Software:
Cakewalk/Sonar from 1991 (DOS!) or so until they went under in 2017 or so. Later picked up the free version of the new Cakewalk for but don't use it except to open archives.
Studio One through 5.5 since 2017. Every upgrade opportunity I squint at the new features and shrug. Maybe 8.0 is the one.
Hardware:
WAY too many until...
Had a dedicated DAW built in 2017 by Studio Cat and it's still a beast. Sadly, the processor will not support Windows 11...
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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... dedicated DAW built in 2017 by Studio Cat and it's still a beast. Sadly, the processor will not support Windows 11... I've had doubts about Microsoft's claims on this ever since I tried to reinstall a previously working Win7 on a "CPU built for a newer version of Windows". It seems others have also had doubts are there are seveal articles on the Web outlining ways to install Win11 on older CPUs. I searched for "older cpu win11" and found several. Caveat: I haven't actually tried it myself. Yet. Another method may be via a virtual manchine. VirtualBox purportedly supplies a virtusl TPM that may satisfy Win11. I know not if there's a significant performance hit.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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I haven't tried this and will not, but my understanding is that yes, you can use workarounds to install Windows 11 on older PCs not adequately equipped with the security module. However, I've read that you then cannot install Windows updates, which could leave you in a vulnerable state. I don't know for sure if any of that is true. After all, I only read it on the Internet...
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Good caution Matt.
That sounds likely to be true if bypassing TPM 2 to install.
My old Win7 was installing updates OK for a long time, then suddenly stopped on a major, 95% installing and rolling back every few days, with just an obscure error number that barely helped. Eventually, after 18 months, I heard that it was related to that "This CPU..." message. The whole business was a real PITA.
A virtual machine may do better with a virtual TPM 2, but there can be other downsides.
I ran Win7 in VirtualBox on Linux to see if BiaB and my CAD would run there, but there was some messing about due to complications with hardware and, on Linux at least, the right DirectX wasn't then fully implemented, so my CAD wouldn't render.
Summary ... I think I'd also do as Matt would ... not even try. I'd either stick with the old machine and its old Windows, or buy a new machine and put Linux on the old one.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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... and another caution ... My old Win7 was installing updates OK for a long time, then suddenly stopped on a major, 95% installing and rolling back every few days, with just an obscure error number that barely helped. Eventually, after 18 months, I heard that it was related to that "This CPU..." message. The whole business was a real PITA. BTW, the reason I had that situation was because I'd done that old trick of moving (a clone of) the hard drive from the old mechine onto a new machine, successfully avoiding all the countless hours of re-installations, but paying the time and effort many times over with the above install-rollback cycles.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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My first was an Atari 1040 ST. I modified the mobo and installed a heap of extra RAM, all piggy-backed and soldered directly onto the existing RAM data lines on the IC's, with some careful new address lines to successfully enable it to map to my extra RAM. It worked. I doubled the RAM ! I was doing a lot of hardware maintenance and repairs on bigger mainframe stuff then (DEC PDP's). They were fun days, indeed. But I don't miss them  I was using Notator software on the Atari. I then tried early versions of Logic Pro and found it cumbersome and unintuitive. Short-lived. Definitely didn't count. Step forward into another millennia and I use BIAB with Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, and Izotope Prod.Bundle on a separate Windows 11 system. I also use a Windows 10 system with only BIAB installed (no DAW) which is only for testing and to help other users on this platform. Annoyingly. Microsoft keep sending me alerts to upgrade to Windows 11, even when they know this hardware is probably not compatible. So, to answer your question, I don't really know how many that makes. If Notator was a DAW, then I think, 3. Hardly a record, eh?
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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I've had so many computers that sometimes were and sometimes weren't used for music production I couldn't begin to list them. But my original DAW software was PG's own PowerTracks and I've stuck with it, just installing the 2025 version. In the mean time, other software came and went, some lasting a while, some just a test ride. Adobe Audition was the fave for a while. Currently playing with Ardour on Linux but I can't quite see it becoming my go-to.
the Insolent LadEnough small empty boxes thrown into a big empty box fill it full. ~Carl Sandburg
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Currently playing with Ardour on Linux but I can't quite see it becoming my go-to. FWIW, Harrison Mixbus is Ardour-Based and also runs on Linux, I have 9 and like it, but I've struggled rather to understand their product range and licensing since they were taken over by SSL. Harrison used to contribute a lot to Ardour development; I don't know if that's still true. Reaper runs on Linux. BitWig runs on Linux. Ardour and LMMS are both OpenSource, come from the Linux world and have been ported to other platforms.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Am I the only one here that used a Roland RAP-10 back in the day?
I finally threw out that old Hemlett-Packard 486 machine with the ISA slot during the pandemic.
That was a decent SoundCanvas card and recorded 16/44.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Yes, Bob. You were the only one.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Figures 
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Figures I can’t begin to imagine who’s fault that is.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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How many I’ve had? Too many to list.
Digital Performer is my go-to but many of my collaborators use others so I need to know ten or so.
I’ve used more notation apps than I can remember and have current licenses for six but Encore was the only one I ever liked. I hate only MuseScore and Sibelius.
BIAB 2026 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia/Tahoe, M1 & M5 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, Logic, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScore/Notion/Overture
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Mario Paint > Sound Forge > Acid > Pro Tools > Logic
Currently I only use Logic (though I use a zillion others for testing with BIAB)
I work here
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Mario Paint > Sound Forge > Acid > Pro Tools > Logic
Currently I only use Logic (though I use a zillion others for testing with BIAB) Assuming Mario Paint isn’t a joke, is that something for writing music for games?
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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