Deciding on DAWS.

[Lukepercy]

Im finding that deciding which DAW/sequencer to use for my next song is always on my mind. I have finnaly settled with Logic pro 9 but for months this was an issue constantly trying to figure out programs and what worked for me best.

http://soundcloud.com/lukepercy/downunder-ft-syncere-tamoke

[Pokey]

Put them all on a dart board, put on a blindfold and have a shot. Pick one and stick with it. I chose Reason because of the ease of use and the fact it doesn't support VTS's so everything had to be as good as it could be straight out the box. If you've got Logic then use Logic, simple as. If you REALLY hate it then maybe switch to another one, but stick with the new one. If you spend a while on one thing you'll get to love it. If you keep switching you'll never really find out.

[Genex]

All professional DAWs do essentially the same thing, just in diferent ways, but for me Cubase 6 and Reason is the dream combo

[izotonik]

try them all
choose the one that allows you to get a better work flow..

the daw that works the best for other people and your friends might not be the best for you.

my choice is ableton. I also use fl studio, but just for loops and slide notes. and to write some ideas on the piano roll.

[StudioEightySeven]

When it comes to choosing a DAW I have what I call my scale of evil.
We start off with Logic, great at midi and "in the box" synth work but does trip over audio recording and editing work in terms of ease of GUI.
Cubase handles both recorded audio and midi along with synth work well but doesnt really stand out in one area, its the mainstream in my opinion.
Finally ProTools, great at recording audio, dodgy as hell when inputting and editing midi date and a limited availability of VSTi.
Reason is a great backup when used in Rewire mode so there was a statement earlier that said Cubase and Reason is a dream combo, I totally agree, it offers everything I could possibly need.

All in all though, all DAWs are the same, they differ on appearance but all other the same services in one fashion or another and it is amusing to see how few people recognise that hehe.

[NinjaNinja]

REAPER 4 lyfe. ;P

[Rmonik]

StudioEightySeven, i'm sorry, but your reviews are ridiculous.

Logic is dream for recording, it's so easy. It's definitely the best DAW around there for comping and (over)dubbing recordings. The audio tools are very, very good and easy to use (timestretching, flex time, resampling (bounce-in-place), ...)
It sucks at automation and it does not support VST. Quite glitchy sometimes.

Haven't tried cubase very thoroughly but it looks quite complex to work with, but i guess it's okay when you get your head around it.

ProTools is basically the same as Logic to me. It's a tad harder to use in terms of user friendliness but it's a tad less glitchy too, i feel.

Also, Ableton.

Ableton is a greatly underrated piece of software. It looks really easy, and because of that you would think it's unprofessional, but there is sooo much going on on the background. I feel the GUI of ableton is the futur for every DAW. It moves away from the conventional DAWs, but that makes it so great. It's not so great for everything though. The piano roll is crap. And there's no timestretching on channels, you have to open the audio clip to stretch it.

[JannikR]

Come on, can we stop comparing these DAWs from personal views any time soon? Cubase, Pro Tools and Logic are all basically the same thing. They can all do the same thing and are all good at it, but with tiny differences. I've worked in all of them, and I love Cubase. But that's my opinion, and the next guy who will try them might favourise Logic, it's that simple. None is better than the other.

[Rmonik]

Honestly though, there are valid differences between all of them, that's what makes it so hard to choose. Even big names like Deadmau5 use 5 different daws just because they do different things. There's no such thing as "the best DAW", but there's no harm in trying 'em all to find out which one suits you best.

[TheSoundCenter]

Honestly though, there are valid differences between all of them, that's what makes it so hard to choose. Even big names like Deadmau5 use 5 different daws just because they do different things. There's no such thing as "the best DAW", but there's no harm in trying 'em all to find out which one suits you best.

Yeah, and like izotonik up there said (last year, I might add...), mainly Ableton, but FL for loops and the more intuitive piano roll. If you have multiple ones at your disposal, those differences in the ways it accomplishes certain things will affect how you create your music, and some daws will be better suited to accomplish what you want than others. I would want to utilize those different possibilities for my track by attempting to write seperate elements of it in different daw settings. Of course the bulk of your work will be done in the one you know best, but what's the harm in spending a little extra time with your music by forcing yourself to see it from a different workflow perspective? Kind of like a keyboard player trying to write with guitar. Yes, you're still making music, and you can relatively accomplish the same things, but there are more possibilities you wouldn't have otherwise seen, no matter how well-versed in your main instrument you think you may be.