Have you switched DAWs, and why?

[nksoloproject]

Just a quick thread. Did you ever decide to switch to another DAW from the one you were using, and if so what made you switch? I'll start. I originally started my journey into DAWs with Samplitude Music Studio. However, when I bought a new computer I decided to switch to Cubase. Why? Simply because 1) Cubase is more of an 'industry standard' and as has been around a lot longer, and a result 2) there are far more in depth tutorials for Cubase than for Samplitube.. It's one of the best decisions I ever made, and I love Cubase now that I've got to know how to use it really well! I've learned so much more about music production that I ever would have if I hadn't made the switch.

What about you?

 

[stephenT]

I ditched Reason a few years back for Logic Pro. Got tired of the yearly $150 updates for Reason. Now I see they gone to a subscription.

 

[Captngeetch]

I started way back with Cakewalk when it first came out (reel to reel & 4-track cassette before that). I found it a nightmare to work with and lets face it, computers were really crappy back then unless you spent a ton of scratch. When I got more into it I started using Tracktion 4. Found it super easy to grasp and user-friendly. But I always wanted Pro Tools. I think everybody dreamed of using it back in the day. I got my hands on it and it’s my preferred DAW today. I have others too. I kept hearing all this hype about it, so I wanted to try Studio One. To me it is confusing as hell. The default color scheme was impossible for me to read or navigate with (I am colorblind), even after figuring out how to change it, certain aspects are still tough to see. I also have a hard time with the workflow. I keep it up to date (same goes for the other DAW’s I own) and give it a chance every once in a while. Then I get frustrated and revert back to PT every time. Funny thing is I use a Faderport 8 as my controller and S1 is Native to it. It would be to my advantage to become friends with S1 that’s for sure. I get about 90% usability of it with PT and the other DAW’s I own/use. I also have Harrison Mixbus. I use it mainly for mixdowns and yes it’s true, it does instill some console sound. What I really love about Mixbus is there is a built in channel strip on every track. I haven’t tried recording straight to it, why I do not know now that I think about it lol. I have also tried Logic (since I am a Mac user it was a no-brainer) and found it ok, but I am so comfortable with Pro Tools, I didn’t purchase it after the trial ended.

 

[electricity17]

I learned on a free version of Protools 7 LE that maybe came with a used MBox I bought? Anyhow Ilearned to work on that, but I switched to Reaper awhile back and I’ve been using it for awhile. A license costs the same as 2 months of Protools, so the economics are pretty clear. It does everything I need, no complaints.

If I needed to go back and forth with projects coming and going to pro studios, then the cost of Protools would probably be worth it. Otherwise I’d rather spend the money on something that will actually affect sound quality.

 

[wildschwein]

I went from Reaper to Cubase mainly because there is more options with MIDI and I wanted the challenge of learning another DAW. Reaper is rock solid though and I still have it installed. So far I have used Ardour, Pro Tools, Ableton, Reaper, Reason and Cubase in that order.

 

[TheSchwartz]

I used Ableton for years, but when I started composing for commercials and film I switched to Logic Pro. If I were on a Windows machine, I’d probably use Cubase.

 

[Bluesful]

Went from Cubase to Logic.

Much prefer Logic.

 

[kiki_90291]

I started on Tracktion (now called Waveform) to do some simple stuff. I had a free copy and just used it by default. I actually got pretty good using it, but then I was working on some stuff that required a fair amount of MIDI editing and ran into some inexplicable behavior that made it really arduous to work with. I even spent some time with their support to figure out what was happening, but they never explained to me why it behaved the way it did or how to fix it.

So I tried out a bunch of demos to see what made sense to me. Reason did not mesh with my brain at all. Ableton was awesome for clip-based stuff, but conventional tracking was inscrutable. I tried a few others and settled on Cubase (I had a free copy of their lower tier version). But I got hung up on an issue I couldn't fix the first weekend I tried using it and gave up.

At that moment, I was working on a project that required me to use a notation program, so I gave Studio One/Notion a try and it made a lot of sense to me, so I stuck with it. It's what I currently use and have been pretty happy with it. I'm a little nervous about the Fender acquisition, though - I hope it doesn't go the way of Cakewalk . . .

 

[Tone_Terrific]

I went from straight sequencing programs to Digital Performer as my first DAW.
I got way behind as my Mac aged out and other things took my time so came back with Studio One.
I'm still not as good/comfy with S1 as I was with DP.
My workflow is similar but DP was more intuitive for me and had some features not in S1..and vice-versa. S1 hides a lot.
I've tried others.
Basically, the more you do it, the more you learn. They all have odd quirks that I would change.
You need expert knowledge to pick a favourite. Who has time for that?
Just work with what you have barring obvious shortfalls.

 

[ctreitzell]

Actually, no
I started using SAW SE as an off the shelf purchase in 1998 with no previous research. I had worked with friends who had used DP and PT but I'd never really used them back in the late 80s and early 90s.
I went SAW Pro and then had been using SAW Studio Lite since 2000 until getting SAW Studio 64 this year. I've been mixing audio daily since 2012 and I use SAW to mix audio and Reason to make music. I've been using Reason since version 1....but I've never religiously followed Reason's upgrade path; I did 1, 2.5, 4, 8 and am now on 10.

I've spent time with PT, Cubase, Reaper, WaveLab, Rebirth, Recycle and been in many, many Logic sessions. SAW has a waveform height zoom capability beyond anything I've seen in any other DAW. Also, the mixer automation functionality is different from all others where all automation is layered on the same track over the top of the waveform display.

I have tried training quite a few prospective mixers over the years and SAW was always previously too expensive and most people I've had attempt mixing audio for my company are mac based...we had many conversations about switching to Reaper or PT.

I mostly mix talking (sadly) and if I can't see inhales or low level noise in the waveform display the efficiency of comping really slows down. I mean, in Reason, the waveform display won't zoom in far enough to see an inhale. Logic was the same in that regard...making music is a different story.

 

[MikeMcK]

I went from Cakewalk/Sonar to Reaper and never looked back. I was several hundred dollars, maybe closer to a thousand into the CW/Sonar ecosystem and got really tired of waiting for bug fixes. There was a particular bug (can't remember what) that affected my workflow directly. For months CW promised a fix "in the next version". That version finally dropped. I paid my money, found the bug still there, and was then told that they hoped to address it in the next next version, several months and many more $$$ away.

In contrast, I'd started checking out the Reaper forum, still looking for "the catch" since it was so inexpensive. I ran across a forum post by one of the developers that basically said, "Hey, we saw your post on Monday and thought that was a great idea. So we coded it Tuesday, tested yesterday and you can download the upgrade with this new feature right now (Thursday)".

 

[ShredTheGnar]

I started in Ableton and used that for about 5 years before I needed to start doing work in ProTools. I also picked up Logic cause it had actual normal stock instruments compared to ableton's weirder-er synth-based stuff. ProTools I pretty much only use for working on other people's projects/edits. I'll use Logic if I'm just sketching out ideas/goofing around cause it's nice to have the drummer right there and the stock instruments are more than good enough for me. If I'm doing anything on my own that's a bit more "legit" I'll still use Ableton because I'm much much much quicker in it than the other two and really like the workflow. I've dipped my toes into Reaper but don't see myself doing much with it other than recording shows. If I was on windows I'd probably bite the bullet and dig into it. I enjoy having the different workspaces for different mindsets, although I have a hunch I'll always be an Ableton person cause it's just what I know best and enjoy the workflow, with a close second being ProTools because I find I can do pretty much all of the same things as I do in Ableton, I'm just slower. Logic is probably my least favorite to work in of the three but that's very likely just cause I don't know it aaaaaaas well.

 

[StratmanSteve]

I started out with Sony ACID through version 7 and Sound Forge. Users waited for years for the next upgrade, but it never came.

Magix bought the Sony audio and video products. Three years ago, Magix offered past ACID users Samplitude Pro X3 Suite at a good price and with lots of extras so I bought it. I wasn't comfortable with the program, didn't like the work flow and I recorded less often.

Last year, I tried Studio One 5 Prime. I liked it much better and upgraded to SO5 Artist. Much happier.

 

[madbob]

I was using ProTools but got to the point where I needed to be on a subscription for it to keep working. Tired the Logic trial and liked it, but then Luna came out and have stuck with it. I still think I prefer Logic over Luna, but it is free to use since I'm using a UA interface.

 

[PBGas]

I switched from Logic Pro to Luna. Logic is an amazing program for the price and what it contains but for me, it is not what I am comfortable using. I love Luna for what it is and it continues to improve and have new things added to it. If Luna wasn't available, I would probably have gone to Cubase.

 

[Gurn]

Cakewalk -->Digital Orchestrator Pro (still my favorite)-->Cubase-->Sonar-->Presonus

I'm about to change again for a new laptop. Presonus is fine for digital audio. It does not meet my MIDI needs. I'll keep Presonus for my old laptop.

 

[MagusFaerox]

Several times, mostly as an amateur.

In the past, I've used:

Logic - it was fine. The layout is unintuitive for me.
Reason - I don't like it as a DAW, but it's okay as a virtual instrument rack. I love ReWire at least as a concept.
Ableton Live - Probably the longest. It's great. The layout is weird.
Pro Tools - It was great. All of my actual "instruction" was it PT, and that's what we used at the studio I used to work at. I didn't feel like dealing with their subscriptions personally.

Now, I use:

WaveLab - I use it for mastering projects. The layout/workflow works great for mastering specifically, and it handles metadata and exporting multiple formats at least as well as anything and better than most.

Reaper - I always have a reaper session running basically as a monitor controller. I've used it for recording (fine), mixing (fine), and mastering (fine for the audio work, pretty bad for metadata) in the past. Mostly, I use it because it's easily the lightest-weight and most efficient in terms of CPU usage.

I still think Ableton is the easiest at ITB production with drum machines and synths and what not. But, at this point, I use WaveLab for mastering, Reaper for monitor control, and just Reaper for everything else.

 

[Tunesketcher]

Early adopter of Pro Tools in 99 with Pro Tools Mix (PT 5.1) PTHD for 12 years and evolved from recording/tracking guitars to more songwriting/production overall which meant more virtual instruments and sequencing. Logic Pro 8 along with Apogee hardware was the answer and never looked back.

 

[Liko]

Went from Audacity to Reaper, for what should be obvious reasons. Haven't seen a compelling reason to change from that.

 

[RevDrucifer]

I went from the Fostex/Tascam 4-tracks to Sonar 7, then Pro Tools for a brief period. Once I got sick of having PC's crash on me and switched to Macs I fell in love with Logic. I never got too deep into PT, but when I started using Logic I remember thinking, "This is exactly how I wish PT worked!"

IMO, Logic truly lives up to it's name.