Name any DAW out there, and I've probably used it. There are big names, such as FL Studio, Ableton, Logic, Reason, Sonar, Bitwig, Pro Tools, and more. But those are all desktop DAWs.
If you look into smartphone DAWs, there's a very limited amount of choice. There is GarbageBand from Apple, and it's a decent app, but what do Android users have? There's Caustic, some readers may say, but it took even me weeks and a few Youtube tutorials to learn the app enough to begin creating a beat.
So Caustic's for the professionals, but what about for the casual/semipros that want a mobile app? Enter Stagelight, the DAW that lives on your phone but has a standalone PC program as well.
INTERFACE
I, personally, have no complaints about it. The colours are very well laid out and don't tire my eyes after two or three hours of use.
INCLUDED
The included samples and loops are a bit limited, but if you get referrals and complete tutorials, other sounds and maybe even synthesizers are accessible through microtransactions in the app.
I/O
Midi Controllers are usable in Stagelight, both Desktop and Android. Especially useful, considering that by default, you're locked to a strange scale with the project templates.
Using a controller is easy to set up and surprisingly responsive, considering how new this product is and that it's a phone app.
AUDIO RECORDING
Nonexistent, at the time of writing. Would be nice to be able to do it right out of the gate when a template is opened. Phone users might not get the best quality, but since the apps are identical on desktop and on Android, it'd be nice for the desktop users to have the option.
SIMILARITIES
It seems like Stagelight pulled from a lot of desktop quality DAWs. Which isn't inherently a problem, actually. In fact, it makes it a bit easier for users of other software to pick it up and gives beginners the chance to learn features that desktop DAWs have (in the case that the beginner may want to keep producing music on an admittedly more powerful program) It has a nice 4/4 step sequencer, like in FL Studio and has a piano roll comparable to Ableton's, which, personally, I don't like as much as FL's, but it'll be a familiar thing for others.
One of the screens this DAW has is very similar to Ableton's Session View Mode, where samples and loops are played back on a 4/4 time signature and lock to the BPM of the track
CONCLUSION
For anyone who's just starting to make music, Stagelight is a portable solution to get started. As I said above, it's got features that other DAWs have, so casual users and beginners have an easier shift should they choose to continue. And best of all, the core version is affordable. Much more so than pro DAWs. It's definitely oriented towards casual users moreso than pros, but if you don't need tons and tons of automation and audio processing, and need to go back and forth from desktop to phone, Stagelight just might work for you.
Thanks to user /u/JLBigHill for bringing this software to my attention and unlocking the core version for beta testing and use.
Submitted October 06, 2016 at 11:09PM by JayIkalima https://www.reddit.com/r/edmproduction/comments/5694b1/an_overview_of_a_newcomer_to_the_daw_industry/?utm_source=ifttt