Favorite DAW

[altruistic8]

With all these new versions of the major DAW's coming out recently what is your favorite?

[loudboy]

I've been a happy Sonar user for many years and have no intention of switching, at this point.

That said, they're all functionally identical, w/the exception of PT HD. Just choose the one that does the best job at helping you do yours...

[hobbes1]

Reaper. google it. uncrippled ware to try it out.

[fyrwyr]

Samplitude

[andybaylor]

Nuendo and Sequoia.

[gixxerrock]

Logic just feels right for the way I work. With a different workflow, Live would be really cool. I am on a Mac, but have tried most of the other DAWs.

[devinb]

I use Logic at home, Nuendo in the studio I use most often. I guess I like Nuendo a little better, but maybe that's just because someone who really knows what they're doing is running it.

[Lance]

N-Track Studio.

[SBRocket]

PT HD. It's expensive but it's great.

SB

[jzucker]

FYI DAW is the computer. I assume you're talking about DAW Software?

[jammybastard]

Reaper.
Cubase
PT LE

[Bussman]

I use Ardour/Jack/Rosegarden/Lillypond under Fedora at home on an old Dell Platform with Delta66 I/O.

N-Track Studio.

Haven't heard that name in a while. Cool little program.

FYI DAW is the computer...

If you want to get technical, a "DAW" is a specific combination of hardware and software. A computer by itself is not much of a "DAW".

[Ed DeGenaro]

Sequoia

[kludge]

I like Tracktion, but I use Nuendo, for compatibility with another studio.

[decay-o-caster]

Ableton Live for me.

[soundbee]

1) Ableton Live
2) Nuendo / Cubase

[madscientist]

Logic for me.

[retro]

Digital Performer 6, Logic 8...

[troykennedy]

Pro Tools

[Dale]

Some version of Sonar Home Studio.

[timmers]

Digital Performer

[niseiworks]

Although there's always going to be little things in Logic, DP and Live that are unique and very handy but I'm going to try do my next project front to back in Pro Tools. I'm getting tired of hopping between apps.

The new version (v. 8) that was just released looks like a mammoth update with loads of new features for musicians. Let's see how far I can get before I start to yearn for firing up Logic of Live...

[eyeteeth]

Digital Performer

[alschnier]

I'm a BIG fan of DP (& often use in conjunction w. Reason, which works flawlessly). As much as I try, I cannot bond w. Monkeytools

[Bassomatic]

I like Nuendo, but that's mainly because I know Nuendo.

Lately, running Ableton Live thru rewire from Nuendo.

[StudioCat]

Logic for music composition, building your ideas, and home use. It has tons of great synth's plus the Convolution Reverb is the best, better than anything in PT, maybe better than a Lexicon 480L. And how about the Phase Linear EQ, much better than the Waves or Renaissance plug in's IMHO. Not to mention you can't beat the price.

Pro Tools HD for pro studio use and it's awesome for post production. A much better audio editor than Logic will ever be. Also, if you need to punch in on 20 separate tracks at a time, Pro Tools is my only choice.

And let's not forget the lowly Garageband. Jeez, it's free on a Mac, and don't be fooled by the little 1/8 stereo input jack on your Mac. It works just fine as an A to D converter. Just buy a 1/4" to 1/8" or XLR to 1/8" adapter. FREE is GOOD as long as you only need to record one track at a time.

[E-Rock]

Logic Pro @ home.
PT HD @ work.
Love 'em both for different reasons!

[drgonzoguitar]

Garageband '08!!

(I know its simple....but it works for me!)

[pickaguitar]

Another for Garageband 08

[Mike Dresch]

Pro Tools for me. I'm sooo darn comfortable on it that I can't imagine using anything else as intuitive for my line of thinking (i.e. the way signal flows through analog consoles). I know it's not as pretty as many other apps, but if you started on tape or ADAT, it's very intuitive, at least IMO.

[Rusty G.]

ProTools TDM and new ProTools LE 7.4

Man, Elastic Audio is the shiztnik!

[Clumsy Fingers]

DP 6



It's worked remarkably well for me, and it suits my workflow easily. Of course, had I started with Logic instead, that my be my choice. Logic certainly has more toys bundled with it, but I have more than enough plug-ins at this point.


Like any of the available sequencers, it has its learning curve, but once I got the hang of it things progressed smoothly.



Of all the others, I think Live intrigues me the most. If you haven't done so, you owe it to yourself to check out the demo- it's fun!

[fyrwyr]

Just downloaded Reaper, so far it seems like a great program;)

[GuitarsFromMars]

Cubase 4.

[MetalGuitard]

Ableton Live here. I've used Cubase, Sonar, Reaper and a few others and none compare to Ableton for simplicity and intuitiveness. So far I've not found anything Ableton can't do that the others can.

[trisonic]

Mac with:
Garageband for sketchbook ideas (though I've done two minor soundtracks with it (or so).
Logic Pro 8 for when you wanna get serious. As someone already said, great library of synth stuff!

Best, Pete.

[playon]

samplitude

:agree yup... +1

[Cyclophenia]

Dell Optiplex with Sony Acid Pro for arrangements and sequencing & Soundforge as my audio editor.

Especially since they added VST/VSTi and full-on midi implementation in Acid.

EzDrummer is my most used vsti, until i can afford a firestudio and drum mic package, anyway.

I tried cubase (LE I think), and while it would do the same job for me it just didn't have the mojo i have when i use acid and soundforge. plus a different work flow....I liked Reaper too, for being an almost free package.

[jb70]

i learned on pro tools LE last year and like it. i do all of my programming in reason 3.0 and import it into pt to lay down my guitar tracks. i've heard only good things about reaper and would like to try that soon.

[Janne.M]

Logic Studio...

[elambo]

ProTools 8 has raised the bar again. If you haven't already, you should check it out. I installed it the first day it became available (Wed.) and haven't had a hiccup yet. Great new look, new plugins, and snappity fast.

[Tone_Terrific]

I'm a casual user but I came from using MasterTrack for MiDI to Digital Performer and the workflow pattern and basic track layout was sort of similar and I have become programmed to find other sequencers cumbersome by comparison. GarageBand just annoys me, even though I can appreciate some of the features, it lacks the intuitive layout of a mixing desk, IMO.
So many choices, now!

[wildschwein]

Ardour + Jack on Linux.

[Scott Peterson]

Cubase and Acid.

[GuitslingerTim]

Sonar.

[s2amps]

Long time Sonar user here. I have a love-hate relationship with it. I've lately been using Samplitude to send tracks to another studio and have decided I really like it, but I'm so heavily invested in Sonar, I won't switch over.

I've also been using Reaper lately just for tracking and then importing into Sonar for Mixing and MIDI work. I can definitely see the attraction to Reaper. the reason I started doing this is Sonar's audio engine can be finicky when running at lower ASIO buffer settings, which are necessary for low latency overdubs. So I've been tracking overdubs in Reaper at low latency settings and mixing in Sonar at high settings. Works great so far.

[Dajbro]

Ableton Live

[gdomeier]

fl studio

[LSchefman]

Logic Studio and DP.

There's a lot of depth in both programs, and I like working with them, though I use Logic more lately, just because it's kind of a novelty after spending 21 years with Performer and later Digital Performer.

[Greggy]

Downloaded Reaper recently to use in conjunction with my Roland VS2400 recorder. I track to the Roland with no latency using outboard pres and A/D. Then use a ripper software tool to transfer the project tracks to Reaper for additional processing. I'm a Reaper newbie but so far am happy.

[decay-o-caster]

Cubase and Acid.

See, I use Scotch. Acid makes the knobs talk to me and I just don't like what they have to say.

Sorry, I'll shut up now. :o

[Lo Blues]

Pro Tools. Very easy to use. It Makes Sense.

[patrickisbusy]

Adobe Audition is by far my favorite.

[dobro man]

I've use Cubase SX for years. It may not be as flashy and "pro" as Protools but delivers some good results

[dnumde]

Logic for me, PT for ease of editing though

[jammybastard]

I've had about 3 weeks of solid work with PT 8.0 now, and it really blows my mind how great it. The reason I love it more than ever is the improved workflow.
They finally got it right.
The fact that you can right click on everything and immediately make necessary changes is the key to doing things quicker so you don't lose your train of thought while fishing around for the right sound/patch/preset.

Here's an example:
I had a client in yesterday, just stopped by to talk about some upcoming work, and spur of the moment he had an idea for a music theme for a tv promo he's working on.
I fired up PT 8.0. and 30 min later we had the track.
He dropped a bassline, verse-chorus-hook.
I grabbed a Clyde Stubblefield groove from EZDrummer.
Cut, paste, cut, paste then looped 'em both and built the verse and choruses out of the loops.
Then I opened up the new AIR DB-33 organ soft synth that's included with
PT 8.0 (there's a ton of soft synths included ), and tracked a fat organ bed and the doubled then doubled the hook as well.
All that in 30 min.
He walked away with the whole thing on a cd and then I uploaded the track to his company's server as a backup.

I gave up on PT after 7.4. I found it slow and clunky compared to other programs.
I'm glad that Digidesign fixed a number pf those issues and I'm very happy to using their product again.

[Maxer]

I started with Garageband and switched to Logic a couple of years ago. Works well with GuitarRig 3 and MOTU's Ethno Instruments. Perfect for the small home recording setup and you can get very impressive results if you're willing to climb the inevitable learning curve.

[BoxOfSnoo]

Reaper is stunning. And only a small download away!

[DaveDaveDave]

Cubase 5 does the trick for me. I also have Live and Logic Express and Tracktion, and have dabbled with Ardour. I must try out Reaper, and I really should have PTLE on hand for the odd task. My main requirements for a DAW are: - Mixing engine must sound good. (hard to beat Cubase there, IMHO) - must be cross platform, and support OMF import and exports. (bye bye Sonar) - must have decent midi editing (I guess PTLE just stepped up the plate.) - must have bundled instrument plugins for comping (Cubase has really done well here) - must be easy to use (Tracktion is the tops in this category, IMO).

[jjboogie]

PT works great for me!

[blueguitar322]

Samplitude 10 Pro here. Great-sounding audio engine, very reliable / no crashing or BSODs, surprisingly great sounding effects out-of-the-box including a wicked awesome transient designer and their version of elastic audio.

If I were an Apple guy, I'd go with Logic....but not necessarily the newest version.

If I was just doing this for myself (non-commercially), I'd get Reaper.

But ultimately the software you use (1) has the least sonic contribution to the sound, far behind microphones, preamps, compressors, converters, plugins; and (2) is going to depreciate the fastest. So unless you NEED certain features, spend your money elsewhere.