SP Noob Question: Audacity, Logic, reaper, Ableton, etc.

[gOODKIND.]

Im looking for a good DAW to use with my SP-404SX that I recently picked up. I also have a MPD24 id like to use as well. The price is the obvious difference between the 4. Ive been using Audacity strictly for recording from my 404 but its always coming out distorted and its just difficult to use at times. I recently switched from PC to Mac and previously ran FL Studio, so I am also looking for a replacement program to run. Im thinking Ableton just so I can have a new DAW as well as a beat making program but the price is too insane for me right now. Im looking for anything that makes chopping samples easy and a side chain compressor would be nice. Any input would be appreciated. thx.

[JZTR]

I'm an Ableton fan myself. Great for chops and beat making on a computer. They do a lite version which is cheaper.

[Krisso The Great]

garage band free on mac's still, i know you can record,not sure on all the vst side of it though

[Nothingless1987]

Reaper all day for recording/editing. Everything else is all sp.

[gOODKIND.]

i think im going with reaper (for now). thanks for the suggestions.

[preqwal]

I would defo try Ableton.

It's the closest thing I've found to an MPC and is so flexible. I make my beats with Ableton and my sample chops on the 404sx. I then send the beats from Ableton back to the 404sx, then back into Ableton.

This means I can use the Looper fx (and any other FX for that matter) on both the 404 and ableton.

Reaper is awesome too. I use it for audio editing songs for my job. Love the auto crossfading!

[ILLFIEND]

Question:
I used to edit my tracks on cool edit/adobe audition
Im used to quick track editing, i tried logic and found that the editing workflow was slow as hell vs audition.
Anyways my laptop died, im broke and for now im mainly using audacity as principal daw.
So is reaper cool for quick cut n paste and pitch tweakin effects etc..?

[thoughtprovoka]

FL Studio is great for slicing, time stretching, and sequencing. I bounce the samples/sequences between FL Studio, a MiniKP, and SP404SX/SP303.

[i_kil_animls]

Use a card reader to export samples instead of recording into audacity . theyll come out clean.

[V-F!]

I like Ableton and Reason best. They are the most intuitive and interesting. Pro Tools is cool, I have an Engineering degree so I'm really good with it. It's more about business and less about creativity though.

[Mr. Davenport]

Ableton Live 8 aaallllllll daaaayyyy.
Once you try it you'll never want anything else. I sample everything in my sp 1200 then dump into Ableton to handle the rest.

[Texta]

I would say what's already been suggested, Ableton coming first, it's what I use too
Ableton, Reason and FL Studio, I've had experience with those 3

[Champloo]

you can set all your chop points in sound forge in about 10 seconds. highlight each chop section, drag-and-drop and save as chop1, chop2, etc.

its not a multitracker program, but great for chopping and then you can bring the chops up inside ableton, cubase, etc.