I have recently released a new almost DAWless Electronica EP. The various streaming and download links provided by Ditto Music are available here.
These tracks were all recorded live using mainly a Arturia Microfreak, Behringer Crave and TD-3, the Novation Circuit Tracks and a TC Electronics M300 for Reverb and Delay. The only post processing done was to play around with some levels. I often feed 1 or 2 synths went into the Circuit Tracks, to take advantage of its FX and sidechaining. The disadvantage with this is you have to commit to the volume levels live as the Circuit Tracks is also providing the drums and sometimes additional synths. On some tracks I also use a VST in Ableton for a bit of extra colour. But in general Ableton is just being used as a recording method and a mixer in this scenario. If I add anything else or try and add more VST it all starts getting too unwieldly to perform and record live. And really thats one of the interesting things about a DAWless setup, its the compromises that you have to make that help shape the sound.
Wired For Sound
The spaghetti of wiring used typically looks something like this.
I say typically, because I tend to vary things from track to track as it then leads to different results. Some days I just use VSTs, other days I go totally DAWless or sometimes I might plug different synths into different FX.
Staying on Track
I am starting to hit the limitations of the Circuit Tracks and so in the future I might expand and get a patch bay and perhaps use an external drum machine so I can separate out my synth and drum signals for better post mixing later. But I am well aware that the more gear you have, the less music you make because more time is spent on setup and the different options that become available. And the Circuit Tracks can lead to really immediate and fun results.
Ditto Music
If you are also interested in uploading your music productions to multiple streaming platforms at once, you can use my ditto referral code and receive $10 in ditto credit towards your subscription.