Are all DAWs the same?

[SloppyJo]

I've been using Pro Tools for a while now, about 2 years.

But there are some things about Pro Tools that just annoy the hell out of me, such as the elitist/exclusive nature of the software and it's limited compatibility with a lot of stuff.

But from what I've learned, the only difference between DAWs is the GUI and the workflow [although some basic principles are probably the same in all]. Would I be right in saying this? I'm considering switching over to Logic or something more open compatibl.

Assuming my above statement is true, then there should be no change in quality if I use the same interface, cables, mics etc, the DAW being the only thing being different.

Thoughts?

 

[Mr Clean]

They all pretty much achieve the same goal.....record audio. Workflow is user preference.I used Sonar for years and tried Reaper one day just to see what it was like. Never recorded a note with Sonar since.

Basic functions are all the same in my experience. Some have better midi support, some have none. I guess it comes down to what suits you best.

 

[Raymeous]

I'd have to agree.

Over the years I've had a lot of people ask "What's the best?" and my usual answer is "None of them."

If one brand of digital audio workstation (DAW) was truly the best, we wouldn't have the number of choices we have today because everybody would be using "The Best" one. It's the same thing as guitars, cars, or even scuba gear. Naturally we all have our preferences but none of them are hands down "The Best".

Essentially they all do the same thing: record audio, record MIDI, and let you mix down to a 2 track for CD burning or web posting. The only real differences that matter are how they perform those functions and personal preference. Obviously there are tech specs in each like number of tracks and all of that, but even the most basic software, like GarageBand (comes as standard on a MAC), is quite capable of letting you record some great music.

Since you seem to be looking for something other than ProTools, if you have a friend, or know somebody that is doing the home studio thing, talk to them and find out what they are using and why they chose that one. Consider matching your software to theirs if you’ll be working with them as there are a number of reasons to do so.
1) You can noodle around with it before buying it.
2) You will have a built in "help desk" for when you run into an issue using it.
3) If you and your friend are using the same software, you won’t have to deal with converting your files from one format to the other or the dreaded process of loading each track individually as a wave file for all 47 tracks in your song. That is a total PITA by the way.


As for the ProTools exclusivity, that has kinda gone a way to a certain point. Back when I picked up PT8 you had to use a Digidesign interface in order to even open the software. Definitely annoying and limiting. Now you can use pretty much any interface you want and off you go.


Go with the software that works for your needs and just keep making great music

 

[Doctor Varney]

They are different, but as you say - only in workflow and policy. Not in sound quality - with perhaps the exception of the way plugins can sound because, of course, most of what you do to audio arguably amounts to distortion. But the unprocessed path - in and out - the quality of which would, in theory, depend entirely upon gear which lies 'outside the box'. Pre-amp, amplifiers, speakers, etc.

As for policies, well, I don't know anything about the 'elitist/ exclusive nature' of the thing but some software companies are aware of the home user's budget. For example, I use FL Studio which is often viewed as a toy by some, though it has been used by many top professionals. Since it's geared for electronic music, it's workflow and features may not be for everyone. VFM wise, it gives me lifetime free updates for all software and plugins I have purchased. So yeah, by comparison, it seems to me, many software companies are up themselves, LOL. It arguably might not do everything Pro Tools can, but Pro Tools would be useless to me, as it does not come with built in synthesizers - and I don't happen to own an orchestra's worth of acoustic instruments! My FL bundle came with a whole stack of amazing synths, the equivalent of which, would each cost an arm & a leg if bought individually.

Also, I think Pro Tools is the only system which has specific hardware requirements for the output side. To my knowledge, everything else allows interchangeable I/O interfaces. Though I see from reading this thread that this has changed.

Logic is said to be a very fine program. I notice Hawkwind have been using it recently as they, too, jump on the digital bandwagon, so as not to get left behind.

A lot of people here are using Reaper and swear by it. It's free. What have you got to lose by trying it?

 

[Steenamaroo]

Also, I think Pro Tools is the only system which has specific hardware requirements for the output side.

It doesn't any more, but yeah, that did suck.

OP, what do you mean, "such as the elitist/exclusive nature of the software and it's limited compatibility with a lot of stuff."?
If you're considering logic I guess you're using a mac.......

 

[SloppyJo]

It doesn't any more, but yeah, that did suck.

OP, what do you mean, "such as the elitist/exclusive nature of the software and it's limited compatibility with a lot of stuff."?
If you're considering logic I guess you're using a mac.......

Well it seems to me that Avid just really likes to drive the idea home that Pro Tools is the "industry standard", and because of that they think they are, among other things, entitled to doing stuff that forces Pro Tools users to buy more Avid stuff, like HD being only compatible with Pro Tools interfaces [not to mention it being quite pricey].

Recently they introduced a new plugin format, AAX; I suspect that from that point on only plugins in the AAX format can be used by Pro Tools [but don't quote me on that; I probably shouldn't be making such outlandish claims on the internet without backing it up]. This sucks for people like me, who use the "older" Pro Tools 9. If I want to buy more plugins I'm forced to buy Pro Tools 10, or I just gotta use what I have now. If I move to PT10 or what not, then what I have now will no longer be compatible, etc.

That said, I am no expert when it comes to what does and what doesn't work with PT. It's just that over the time I've had moments where I'd gone "oh I wish it did/didn't do that", and that other DAWs don't have as many moments like that.

And about the Logic/mac thing... I assume you're implying that that in itself has it's compatibility limitations and elitist connotations. Well I guess you're right there. You got me! But I suspect that it is more open, and it has more of a bang for your buck when compared to Pro Tools.

As well, I'm sure every DAW has it's compatibility issues... but perhaps Pro Tools is the most annoying.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Well it seems to me that Avid just really likes to drive the idea home that Pro Tools is the "industry standard", and because of that they think they are, among other things, entitled to doing stuff that forces Pro Tools users to buy more Avid stuff, like HD being only compatible with Pro Tools interfaces [not to mention it being quite pricey].

I don't know much about HD, but yeah, it certainly seems that way.
You'd like to hope that the hardware tie makes for a very stable and reliable system, just like apple OS and their limited hardware.
Can't say if that's the case or not though.

Recently they introduced a new plugin format, AAX; I suspect that from that point on only plugins in the AAX format can be used by Pro Tools [but don't quote me on that; I probably shouldn't be making such outlandish claims on the internet without backing it up]. This sucks for people like me, who use the "older" Pro Tools 9. If I want to buy more plugins I'm forced to buy Pro Tools 10, or I just gotta use what I have now. If I move to PT10 or what not, then what I have now will no longer be compatible, etc.

AAX was introduced in v10 along side RTAS+AU.
PT 11 will support AAX only, but AVID will provide all users with a 10.3.2 license as well as their 11 license so they can continue to use RTAS/AU on PT10 if they wish.

As far as I can tell PT8/9/10 users just go about their business.
I don't know for sure but I suppose companies will continue to produce RTAS plugs as many users will stick with v8/9/10 for the forseeable.

Long story short, I doubt AAX will have any impact on you, but like yourself, I'm no authority.

And about the Logic/mac thing... I assume you're implying that that in itself has it's compatibility limitations and elitist connotations.

Nah, that's not what I meant but I wish it was now. That would have been smart.
I thought maybe you had compatibility issues between protools and the computer.
Being that any off the shelf mac is gona work with PT, it seemed a bit odd.

As well, I'm sure every DAW has it's compatibility issues... but perhaps Pro Tools is the most annoying.

I'll give you that.

 

[kidkage]

The only DAW I can think of that is really different is Ableton Live.

FWIW I use Cubase and Ableton.
I've experimented with others. PT, Reaper, Logic, etc. even GarageBand and Audacity. Cubase and Ableton are my favs.

 

[Doctor Varney]

Yes, Ableton is just... weird!

 

[KineticSound]

But from what I've learned, the only difference between DAWs is the GUI and the workflow [although some basic principles are probably the same in all]. Would I be right in saying this?

I disagree. Different DAW's process audio in different ways. Pro Tools' summing algorithms are altogether different from Logic, which are different from Sonar, which are different from... etc. The way plugins are processed - Audio Units vs. Real-Time Audio (RTAS) vs. AAX - all different.

If one brand of digital audio workstation (DAW) was truly the best, we wouldn't have the number of choices we have today because everybody would be using "The Best" one. It's the same thing as guitars, cars, or even scuba gear. Naturally we all have our preferences but none of them are hands down "The Best".

Agree completely. Different features are important to different people, and (surprisingly) it's not always about the audio quality, at least in the home studio market.

Also, I think Pro Tools is the only system which has specific hardware requirements for the output side. To my knowledge, everything else allows interchangeable I/O interfaces. Though I see from reading this thread that this has changed.

Well it seems to me that Avid just really likes to drive the idea home that Pro Tools is the "industry standard", and because of that they think they are, among other things, entitled to doing stuff that forces Pro Tools users to buy more Avid stuff, like HD being only compatible with Pro Tools interfaces.

This originated, and still exists in certain cases, because of the differences in the way Pro Tools processes audio vs the other 95% of DAW's. Initially, in the days of far less computing power than is currently the norm, Digidesign developed the system to use the hardware to do most of the heavy audio lifting. Not only front-end conversion, but processing (including plugin processing) was all handled on outboard gear rather than by the host CPU. This allowed studios to work on large projects with heavy processing loads using the technology of the time.

Today, advances in computing power - combined with cheap and accessible memory - allows Pro Tools 9 / 10 / 11 to use the host CPU to do the processing. This is why PT9 and above can work with non-Avid hardware... Prior to that, you needed the hardware to provide processing power. HD/HDX still functions this way, with many processing functions happening in the Avid hardware boxes to alleviate CPU load...

Apologies for the soap-box'ing. I just get a little annoyed with Pro Tools bashing. It's a fantastic, great sounding DAW... probably the best sounding, IMHO. For those of us who work in collaboration with other studios, it's also invaluable that I can send a .ptf file just about anywhere to share work.

To Raymeous' point above, if you find Pro Tools' functions frustrating - MIDI, for example, is handled much better by Logic than PT - then look around. But I would argue that you will not find sonic superiority in any other DAW.

I use both Logic and Pro Tools 9 in my studio. I can tell the difference in audio (PT wins every time). But if it comes to working with loops or MIDI, I work in Logic first (and then export to PT for mixing).

 

[godchuanz]

I think there's negligible difference in audio quality. You can get fantastic sounding tracks from any modern DAW software you use. The main differences in sound/functionality comes from the fact that:
1) Some are 32-bit, some are 64-bit.
2) Some have native bit-bridging for plugins, some don't.
3) Sometimes these native bit-bridges work, sometimes they don't.
4) Each comes with its own set of useful plugins (EQ, compressor, brickwall limiter). If you use your own set of tools, then this is no problem.

Most importantly, you must be comfortable with using it. Any sonic difference between DAWs is usually due to the differences in the way you process the recordings when in different DAW environments, and very unlikely to be due to the audio engine. If you're 100% comfortable with a certain DAW, chances are you can come up with a better sounding final product. Does that make the audio engine better? No. But it means you're most accustomed to it and knows how to get a good sound out of it.

You can usually get a limited trial edition download for most of them, so you can definitely figure out which one you're most comfortable with before you commit financially.

 

[Mo Facta]

Assuming my above statement is true, then there should be no change in quality if I use the same interface, cables, mics etc, the DAW being the only thing being different.

Thoughts?

In short, yes. To me, the 'sound' of your system comes from the hardware you use.

I have spoken to some engineers who claim that TDM/AAX plugins sound better than their RTAS counterparts, but there has been no proof to this. I think it's just buyers' justification.

I for one am getting so tired of the obsession over the minutia of hardware. To me, the most important hardware to invest in is your front end and your microphones.

Ironically, a bad sounding room will only be more accurately captured in that case!

Cheers