In Summary

With so much writing and pre-production happening in the DAW, the choice of instruments and problem-solvers for writers has never looked healthier. Here are our favourite tools to help creative DAW-dwellers get ideas in the bag.

Going Deeper

Before the DAW revolution, writers and composers had other ways to catch fleeting ideas before they disappeared. Pen and paper aside, last century saw domestic tape machines morph into a number of tape or disk-based mixer-recorders that let musicians work in micro-studios all of their own. Although recordings made this way could very occasionally make it to the airwaves, setups like this were mainly used to get ideas to collaborators, bandmates, or labels.

Things are different with the DAW, where the line between a sketch or demo and the finished product gets ever thinner. Although project files for writing or demos can stay just that, what starts out as a small handful of MIDI or audio tracks can easily become the finished article over weeks or months. This is made possible by modern virtual instruments (VIs) that are becoming more and more indiscernible from the real thing, backed up by a complement of problem-solving add ons that make life in the computer so much easier than trying to beatbox at the drummer… Here are our favourites.

MonkeyC Audio Rewind

How many times have lost an idea to the void because you were too busy having fun? Paradoxically, time away from all that raw DAW power can be the thing that gets the ideas flowing, such as when noodling on an instrument, or even just watching a few videos. Many know about the curse of Red Light Fever in ‘proper’ productions, and that extends to creatives with the same metaphorical gun to their head. If being away from the DAW becomes the creative’s safe place, the fruits of freedom needn’t be lost to the void when inspiration strikes.

Rewind is MonkeyC Audio’s stealth recording utility that quietly records audio and MIDI in the background. Audio can be virtual or anything hitting the front of your interface (such as a room mic or keyboard), triggered above a threshold or manually recorded. With similar functions for MIDI, any precious moments can be dragged into the DAW for pain-free expandable ideas. If you remember anything, just remember to use it…

Toontrack EZdrummer 3

With drummers being one of the earliest members of the band to get a virtual makeover, the venerable drum VI has been the songwriter’s friend for decades. Although machine drums are nothing new, it could be said that programming them often felt more like an audio engineering task than a creative exercise. With the computer providing a nice big screen for composers to see what they’re doing, the modern drum VI also has stunning realism as well excellent ergonomics for non-drummers.

Toontrack’s EZdrummer instruments have been there from the early days, but for many they have the edge thanks to a winning combination of songwriting enhancements that landed in EZdrummer 3. Until its introduction, the age-old catch with drum VIs was the question of what to actually punch in. After all, any instrument needs an idea to drive it, but non-drummers might not quite know what’s possible; there are plenty of bionic five-limbed drum parts out there to confirm that. Bandmate in EZdrummer 3 listens to audio or MIDI and comes up with a real part, and best of all it won’t ask for money or try to sleep on your sofa… Just kidding.

IK Multimedia MODO Bass

With the virtual drummer taken care of, writers working on their weapon of choice such as piano or guitar need to complete the rhythm section. Arriving shortly after the now-ubiquitous drum VI, there are now a choice of virtual bassists out there covering the low end. It’s been said that a song’s intervals betray the instrument it was written on; on a related note, some ‘keyboard bass’ parts can break cover. With a little understanding of what’s achievable to most mortal bass players, VI warriors can better ramp up the realism.

If the early piano VI was the original CPU and storage buster, IK Multimedia MODO Bass must be its polar opposite. Blessed with a different way of generating bass sounds, this VI is synth-driven. Out is a stack of content to download and store, and in is a light-footed versatile bass player with highly writer-centric controls that feature only the most widely reached-for controls. With tabs for things like the instrument, MIDI, amp and room, MODO bass is easy to navigate, and can do things like continuously variable bends or playing positions that would make some sample based instruments catch fire.

UJAM Score

Not so long ago, using a decent virtual piano was for the brave. Although the tech has existed for a long time to make believable pianos in the box, earlier instruments sometimes struggled to balance realism with usability.

GUIs resembling circuit diagrams, and latency that could be measured with a calendar were part of the experience. Along with parameters that were way beyond the needs of many who just needed to play, the piano VI market has been ripe for something that was missing: simplicity and sounds to inspire.

UJAM seem to have hit the nail on the head with a range playable keys VIs taking in the ultimate songwriter’s tool. Following the lead of other UJAM instruments, Score can be played just like any other, or play itself in Player mode. This lets non-players make the most of its convincing piano sounds with an arsenal of riffs, motifs, and phrases all there at the hold of a key. Finisher processing adds one-knob mix polish that lets writers write with pre-engineered sheen. Anyone who actually does need to control virtual piano bench foam density is going to have to look elsewhere…

Acon Digital Remix

Listening to how other writers work, listening, and practice are perhaps the holy trinity of songwriting. If you’re still lacking inspiration, there’s nothing like hearing into how others build up a song. Once you’ve cracked that one, getting better on the instrument of choice is also going to help for newbies and veterans alike, especially if that instrument is second or third in line to your specialism. Up until now, many will have wished they had access to the multitrack for practice or just some re-mixing frivolity.

Recently released is Acon Digital’s Remix that needs little explanation. Now writers and engineers can take pre-mixed audio, and re-balance or isolate it via five stem channels. These cover the major groups of instruments of drums, bass, piano, vocals, and an Other stem that tries to catch everything else in the middle. For songwriters and instrumentalists this new tech is light years ahead of the old centre cancel tricks or trying to find a record with the target instrument in its own channel (which was never). Remix is of course intended primarily for audio engineering purposes; with the format ripe for updates, we can’t wait to see how the technology progresses.

Blurred Lines

Songwriting in the studio used to be the preserve of those working at either end of the spectrum. Simple home setups around a tape machine go back decades. Opposed to that, it was only multi-million selling artists who had the luxury of using the studio itself as a way to try out ideas and develop songs. In the present, artists now have tools in the computer to record and mix that aren’t just as good as a commercial studio; often they are the very same ones.

That leaves the question of where the sounds actually come from. Song ideas can now be grabbed in-between interface and DAW with background recording using Rewind. A whole plethora of VIs can not only recreate the band sonically, but also convey the writer’s intent down to the last hit, pluck, strum, or stroke.

Sharing song ideas is now as easy as firing off a Wav or MP3 for co-creators to hear or develop at their end. Old tricks such as hard-panning one part with everything else in the other channel is still a great way for non-techies to isolate their part at home. Tools such as Nugen’s Jotter can work on other projects for those musicians who aren’t scared of computers or electricity…

A Word About This Article

As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.