What DAW are you using?

  • Thread starter Thread starter joey2000
  • Start date Start date

Well?

  • GarageBand

    Votes: 8 2.2%

  • Logic Pro

    Votes: 37 10.0%

  • Mixcraft

    Votes: 11 3.0%

  • Pro Tools

    Votes: 23 6.2%

  • Reason

    Votes: 7 1.9%

  • Sonar

    Votes: 23 6.2%

  • Reaper

    Votes: 95 25.6%

  • Studio One

    Votes: 44 11.9%

  • Cubase

    Votes: 46 12.4%

  • Ableton

    Votes: 15 4.0%

  • FL Studio

    Votes: 16 4.3%

  • other

    Votes: 46 12.4%
  • Total voters
    371
IIRC, the person setting up the poll has the option of allowing single or multiple selection. The OP could change it, but hasn't been seen since 2017.
 
Interesting poll :) I think my scenario is a tad unusual. I'm in my 22nd year of mixing audio for television and in so I've had my nose buried in Pro Tools 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. I found, however, and somewhere along the line, that for my personal music, I needed different "scenery" just to step away from the Work/Pro Tools world. No complaints about Pro Tools I just needed to leave work, at work. I tried everything I could get my hands on as an alternative DAW. For me, Studio One was simply the best and on par with Pro Tools and actually advanced in many areas. I also updated my Reason license which I hadn't used since v3. Back then Reason was more of a toy than anything. However, not the case now. The fact that the architecture is now open to third-party synths is massive. I think the midi environment in Reason is the best, most intuitive of all the current DAWs. Some of the "players" (chord sequencer, dual arpeggio) in Reason are also ultra-creative. I haven't done much audio but I really wonder if I was starting from scratch that Reason may now be a competitive all around DAW.
 
I think the cheap and expensive ones now all are perfectly usable and up scalable. Years back we had protools at work but it was really horrible dealing with midi. It seemed an afterthought sort of bolted on and awkward. We went to Cubase at work and I bought my own for home, just hobby music at that time. The trouble with software you use every day is that change is often too much work. So I’m still on Cubase and premiere for video. Editing I like sound forge. I have cakewalk on one computer to try and it was fine, just different. Adobe audition sometimes but I like sound forge. I have a black magic video editor people rave about but I’ll stick with premiere. I suspect I’m just too used to them to even change now.
 
I agree with Rob, you get used to a DAW and all others seem clunky. Son and I started with MAGIX Music Studio Gen 6. Ten quid from WHSmiths! Then we got a freebie of Samplitude SE8 in a magazine and never looked back. He is now on Sam Prox 3 and I have Pro X6 (but have little use for it now)

But! I would always suggest a newb gets Reaper. Nothing comes close for the price and depth of functionality plus it has a low CPU hit.

BTW, the chap who said Adobe Audition 3.0 has a "track sync" function no other DAW has is IMHO out with the fairies?

I am NO studio guru but I have read audio mags since 2005 and followed this and other forums for years. I do not recal a single incidence of anyone having "track sync" problems?

In a dim recess of old brain Cubase has a "Use system Timestamp" function. Is that mayhap to do with "syncn"?

Ah, seems it is only to do with MIDI. As yer were!

Dave.
 
I've used the open source LMMS since 2020, but recently I've become aware of its limitations. OK, it's fast for getting things done, and it's very flexible, but there's something lacking in the sound somehow.

So... last Saturday morning, I downloaded the 3-month trial of Ableton Live 11 and worked through LNA's excellent YouTube stuff (she's a Certified Ableton Trainer, so it was a breeze). By Sunday night, I realised I'd be exporting all my MIDI, samples and instruments from LMMS into Ableton this coming weekend, and buying it when the trial runs out.

WHAT a difference, both in terms of facilities and sound quality!
 
Jon Thompson said:
I've used the open source LMMS since 2020, but recently I've become aware of its limitations. OK, it's fast for getting things done, and it's very flexible, but there's something lacking in the sound somehow.

So... last Saturday morning, I downloaded the 3-month trial of Ableton Live 11 and worked through LNA's excellent YouTube stuff (she's a Certified Ableton Trainer, so it was a breeze). By Sunday night, I realised I'd be exporting all my MIDI, samples and instruments from LMMS into Ableton this coming weekend, and buying it when the trial runs out.

WHAT a difference, both in terms of facilities and sound quality!
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Jon, I am sure the top people here will agree with me when I say any perceived improvement in sound quality is NOT due to the DAW.

Choosing a DAW is quite a difficult task for many people, balancing features, ease of use, cost and other factors. We shoild not throw differences in sound quality into that mix.

Dave.
 
i have been using something called acid pro for sooooo long. like…20 years.

i have tried to use ableton, cubase, garageband, cakewalk…but they were not as professional or easy to use.

i was a contemporary music major and took 4 semesters of recording classes using protools.

protools is great for having every bell and whistle known to humankind, but it’s cpu heavy and overly busy for my simple projects.

acid multitracks, uses directx and vst plugins, easily automates, auto-crossfades (a MUST for me), and i was used to all of the keyboard functions.

i just got some free eq’s, verbs, and compressors, and that’s all i really need.

protools is way better for midi or midi controlled vocoder automation, but that is not really my style of music…so it’s perfect.

i’m sad no one really uses it. i have their video editor too. vegas.

it costs a few hundred, but to me it’s worth it. very compatible with onyx 400f, blackjack, presonus firestudio, and i’m about to get a zedi10fx.
 
cello_pudding said:
i have been using something called acid pro for sooooo long. like…20 years.

i have tried to use ableton, cubase, garageband, cakewalk…but they were not as professional or easy to use.

i was a contemporary music major and took 4 semesters of recording classes using protools.

protools is great for having every bell and whistle known to humankind, but it’s cpu heavy and overly busy for my simple projects.

acid multitracks, uses directx and vst plugins, easily automates, auto-crossfades (a MUST for me), and i was used to all of the keyboard functions.

i just got some free eq’s, verbs, and compressors, and that’s all i really need.

protools is way better for midi or midi controlled vocoder automation, but that is not really my style of music…so it’s perfect.

i’m sad no one really uses it. i have their video editor too. vegas.

it costs a few hundred, but to me it’s worth it. very compatible with onyx 400f, blackjack, presonus firestudio, and i’m about to get a zedi10fx.
Click to expand...
I miss my ACID Pro 7. The subsequent versions from Magix didn't feel right. I'm very happy with Studio One and just upgraded to version 6.

I still have ACID Pro on my hard drive. I just can't let go. ?
 
StratmanSteve said:
I miss my ACID Pro 7. The subsequent versions from Magix didn't feel right. I'm very happy with Studio One and just upgraded to version 6.

I still have ACID Pro on my hard drive. I just can't let go. ?
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Are you using any control surface like Faderport 16 or the StudioLive?
 
Sonar from 2004, been using it 20 years and still only utilize 1/3 of it's capabilities.
Cheers
 
Earlier this year I switched to a DAW from my Tascam DP24SD, and I chose Reaper mainly because of the tutorials and other information available online. I'm liking Reaper a lot. There are so many ways to configure it and it seems to be very stable.
 
I've recently gone back to trying Magix Sequoia. I gave up years ago because it was so complicated but then I actually took the time to do some research and read the manual and it has got so many features it will make your head spin. But well worth diving in
 
My son has been a staunch user of Magix Samplitude since we got a magazine freebie of Samplitude 8SE. Some ten years on he uses Sam ProX3 but has very recently moved to Reaper for MIDI work. He says Sam is still great for audio editing but a bit rubbish for MIDI.

Dave.
 
fuzzsniffvoyage said:
I learned on Sonar, so that's what I like. I tried Pro Tools, even bought a book to help learn. To steep a learning curve.

If I'd found this site first, I'd probably be using Reaper.
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I use sonar 7 and Calkwalk before that. I just got Logic Pro and am wondering if I can go back to Sonar. LP seems to be clumsy and I am old and just used to Sonar.
 
I used Cubase for years and years, and then stopped recording for awhile. I tried to pickup Cubase again, but it had changed quite a bit, and never liked the whole dongle idea anyway. I have a Cubase dongle, and a stupid iLock thing that I forget what I even bought it for.

I tried Reaper for awhile, but find the interface very dated and clunky. I think it is an awesome program for the price and what it is capable of, just not for me. All the graphics seem super small no matter what custom skin I installed. You can edit a bunch of config files to change and customize it, but I'm not really into that kind of tweaking anymore, I just want something that works, and has a GUI that will change what I want.

Studio One is very similar to Cubase (I find). It has its share of quirks and bugs like any piece of software, but it does ok. I'm on the yearly plan.
 
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