Working DAWless/Dumbing down a demoing setup for the sake of more creativity

[TagoMago]

I came to recording as a studio engineer in the analog tape era, and always had something like a Tascam or Fostex 4-track portastudio at home to demo on.

As to whether it increases creativity (for me personally) I’m not sure, but going DAW-less is definitely faster for me. I still sometimes use a portastudio to make records with if that’s the ‘quick and easy’ vibe I want to cop. And I can always get a similar workflow by using Garageband on an old MacBook with a Focusrite 2i2 and a cheapo Shure mic. And stick to a rule of ‘no comping takes together / no plugins other than reverb and compression / 2-3 takes per track, maximum’. It’s just using a DAW like a tape recorder.

I had an early Pro Tools rig and absolutely hated it. Still have Logic but rarely use it. Working DAW-less is fine, and so is only using DAW’s. But whatever gets you the end result you’re looking for is the important thing I reckon. Creativity is still creativity, whatever you choose to record with. I wouldn’t class going DAW-less as dumbing down, it’s just a different discipline.