Searching for a new DAW

Dear readers,

Before I start, I must explain that the versions I am writing about are old ones and may not reflect the current trends in the respective DAWs.

I have been a big fan of Nuendo 3. It did what it did and it did that well. In earlier days of the In the Box or ITB audio production, the choice of a multitrack software was virtually non-existent. In those days I used n-Track. I don't remember the exact version but I remember hating its look, its controls and worst of all, its workflow. So much so, that after I had recorded the tracks, I exported stems and mixed them separately in Sony Vegas. Yup! a video editing software that had marginally better multitracking and routing capabilities than n-Track (Current version Studio 6.1.1).

An year and half later, I came across Nuendo 3. Back then I did not know that Nuendo was the big brother of Cubase and that the former was a video/audio post production suite while the latter was Steinberg's flagship DAW. I was quite happy with the software and went on to produce and record albums on it. Few years later, I had a chance of getting my hands onto Nuendo 4. What I stater hating about it was the fact that writing music is a painful action on Nuendo 4. Back in the old days, I loved the liberation Nuendo 3 had given me but the same feature rich baggage was something that is a composer's nightmare. The splash screen stays on for eternity. I have nothing against Cubase/Nuendo as a production software. I just don't believe it is a good tool for writing and scribbling ideas. (Current version Cubase 6/Nuendo 5)

I am well aware that many bands like Linkin Park work with Pro Tools and do the same job faster and better. (Two points here- a)I don't like them much except for their first album. b)They are rich dudes). See here and here

So, I'm off to test the first candidate for the new decade. REAPER.

Regards.