Whats a great DAW software for recording?

best daw software for recording?

  • Sonar

    Votes: 75 14.0%
  • cubase

    Votes: 99 18.5%
  • acid

    Votes: 9 1.7%
  • adobe

    Votes: 20 3.7%
  • pro tools (m-audio)

    Votes: 67 12.5%
  • nuendo

    Votes: 15 2.8%
  • logic

    Votes: 77 14.4%
  • other (please specify)

    Votes: 173 32.3%

  • Total voters
    535
The amount of control (or sometimes more necessary is the ability to 'fine' tune things within a track) is what sets the full version apart.

Jimmy, I think you're on to something here. I know you were commenting on Melodyne, but you could easily apply this line of reasoning to a DAW as a whole when picking one.

So the first question I would ask if the extended feature set in an Autotuner or a DAW (either one) matters if you can't see yourself using the features in the immediate future, but wouldn't rule out using them eventually. With an Autotuner you may be able to upgrade it later, but with the full version of a DAW you just have to find workarounds. And if the inconvenience of lacking the features starts to get in your way you then have to make a decision to tolerate it or re-learn a different DAW. So there's an important question to be answered on weather someone should evaluate any software purchase based on a full or partial feature set, and weather they would really miss the absent features in the partial set.

Also, the amount of control is a big deal to me in a DAW, but they all give you more/less control over different things. And then some give you the same amount of control (say over parameters of an audio clip in a track) but in a very inconvenient way. I would say asking 'how does this DAW fine tune things' would tell someone a lot about if certain programs are a better fit for them.
 
Which other DAW's are packaged with hundreds of dollars of software?

Not sure about what comes with every DAW out there...but during the winter time, people were able to buy the full-tilt Samplitude ProX3 Suite for $150...which has the Melodyne, a whole bunch of stock plugs, some iZotope stuff, cleaning/restoration stuff, plus a huge synth player/library setup.
Quite a substantial collection of software along with the high-end DAW app at the core.
That was the deal of deals.
 
That was the deal of deals.

That sounds like a crazy good deal. I just think people should spend more time considering those type of freebies/add-ons/discounts for 3rd party stuff, when choosing a DAW. Most of them do the same thing, but the biggest differences are the extras that are either included or extremely discounted. What do you think?
 
That sounds like a crazy good deal. I just think people should spend more time considering those type of freebies/add-ons/discounts for 3rd party stuff, when choosing a DAW. Most of them do the same thing, but the biggest differences are the extras that are either included or extremely discounted. What do you think?

Same question to you as I posed to Jimmy. In order for that line of reasoning to apply, its seems you'd have to assume the user won't ever need certain feature sets which do make the DAW itself different (though they're the same in many ways). So doesn't it seem reasonable to start by examining the difference in the DAWs and make the decision based on that rather than the freebies? The DAWs do the same thing but they're certainly not identical.
 
I use Propellerheads Reason since 4.0

Pretty much use this for everything. I have but no longer use, Ableton 7, Cubase ?, Fruity Loops ?, Acid Pro 7.
 
That sounds like a crazy good deal. I just think people should spend more time considering those type of freebies/add-ons/discounts for 3rd party stuff, when choosing a DAW. Most of them do the same thing, but the biggest differences are the extras that are either included or extremely discounted. What do you think?

I have to buy a copy of Studio One Pro 4 tomorrow. Spent some time today looking over the features....I have to hand it to ya. This is a really nicely packaged DAW. I see what you mean by this having an excellent set of add-ons.
 
I have to buy a copy of Studio One Pro 4 tomorrow. Spent some time today looking over the features....I have to hand it to ya. This is a really nicely packaged DAW. I see what you mean by this having an excellent set of add-ons.

Did you end up getting it?
 
Did you end up getting it?

Yes!! And I love it! I'm still getting to know some of the features a little better, but this thing is SO well put together. I'll keep using the other DAWs obviously, but I'm glad I had a good reason to pick it up. A ton of small studios around here are using it, and it'll make it so much easier to work with them.

I also can't believe how familiar everything feels right off the cuff. I guess its a bit like a language. This is the last major DAW that I'm not real familiar with, but already having 8 others pretty well under my belt (Logic, Live, Reaper, PT, Nuendo, DP, Reason, Maschine) helped make this thing truly is a breeze to learn! Some parts feel a lot like Logic. The inspector, the way the windows open and close, the way the mixer is integrated with other parts the main workspace. The inserts to the right of the channel strips is a little different, and I thought I would hate this but I really started liking it. The way plugins are instantiated somehow feels like you're in Reaper. That was my first thought. I'm still going through and re-creating my pro tools key mapping schemes, but once I got my basic transport and edit commands firing like Pro Tools, I started getting real comfortable real fast! :) Amazing. This is SUCH a well designed software program. Loving it :)

About they key commands, the reason I overwrite them with PT commands is because if I tried to remember 9 sets of key commands I'll go insane. Five years ago I was trying to learn them all separately, and it got the point where I was mentally struggling to compartmentalize all of them and was wasting a ton of time mashing wrong buttons lol. Its really about client workflow. Ableton is the only other DAW with a fixed key command set and I deal with it. But as for the other 8, Cmd+= always being the mixer, or 3 on the numeric keypad always starting record, or Shift R being my record arm, is just something I have to do.
 
I use studio one the most. I grew up using Pro Tools though. I only mix and master now, but I still think Pro Tools is the best for recording.
 
Hi. I've been using Cakewalk/SONAR for 20 years this year, but am in the process of learning Studio One 4 Pro properly.
I also use MixBus 4 at times, as well as Wavelab 8 Elements and (just got) Cubase 9.5 Elements.
I also have REAPER and PT 1st installed, but haven't gotten along with them so far :cool:
All the best.
 
Wow. I am surprised and happy to see Sonar rank No. 2. Have been using it for 18 years. Still using it today and loving it!
 
I'll go with an unknown DAW for recording called Acoustica.

HI, it's not helpful to hide an affiliate link appearing to be a link to something else...
Here is your actual link
https://reverb.grsm.io/recording

By Acoustica, you mean Mixcraft, which is not a good DAW, which is why it is not used much.

I'm not sure if this group allows affiliate links.

You'd be better off just typing or showing the actual link. It will be clickable just as it is.
 
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I use cubase pro and have for almost 15 years now.

That said, I don't recommend it to people starting. If reaper existed when I started I would have gone with that. The price is just to good for a full featured daw.

Studio one is also excellent and not so dang expensive.
 
I was a Pro Tools Digidesign Guy forever now I am switching to Reaper and I also record with NanoStudio2, Cubasis2 and Auria Pro on the iPad
 
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