Cubase/Nuendo for sure. it has greatest editing tools!
And ofc Performance

Studio One just bad copy paster of Cubase.

 

Unless I get lucky on some offer then backpedal on my decisions then I don't think I really need any of that. At least not from where I'm standing now.

This sounds intriguing because I do plan on recording live more.

I have read people saying you can substitute a lot in Reaper nowadays by downloading additional content, or something like that.

Thanks I've come to that conclusion from starting this thread that I probably don't need Sequoia or Nuendo.

 

Having used Ableton for many years, during which I longed for Cubase, I finally purchased Cubase two years ago. My problem is that I know Ableton so well now that I find Cubase hugely disruptive to my workflow. It's a highly complex program and I like many of the features but I can just do things with Ableton very quickly whereas Cubase sends me down a rabit hole of web pages and youtube videos to learn how to do something and that stops my creativity in its tracks. I know that if I want to use Cubase I will need to invest a great deal of time to learning it first but I know Ableton so well I'm not sure I'll ever bother. However, I did have a different experience with Studio One, I found it much more easily accessible, to the point of not really needing to invest time into learning it. I'll probably continue to use Ableton but that's not to say I would recommend it over Cubase or any other DAW.

 

This is where assume the grass might be greener on the other side. Something tells me that once I invest some time into a new DAW that I may find that my old DAW disrupts my workflow for live recorded projects than what I have now.

As far as sound design, I'm well set. But I think there may be more to be desired for projects that are primarily geared towards audio recording and more ideal workflows. Which is why I think adding another DAW might actually benefit me. Who knows, maybe even switch over completely.

I know at first that's all I will do when I put time towards demoing each DAW, constantly searching how to do the most basic tasks.

I hope this will be my experience when I try Studio One as well. I don't want to be trying to figure out too much either but I know that's the name of the game no matter how intuitive I want it to be. I'm hoping I will find something that just clicks with me and makes sense in a speedy workflow type of way.

Actually Ableton was that confusing DAW for me. It looked endlessly wrong to me, in the same vein as Bitwig.

 

Last edited: Jun 18, 2021

I use Studio One because I found it more intuitive and easier to understand than Cubase. So much of Cubase's functionality is unnecessarily complex e.g. setting up an expression map

 

it's like that any time you switch. You will need to watch/read quite a bit of stuff no matter what DAW you switch from/to. I still learn something new almost every time I use logic, but I would say about 6 months in or so, of exclusive use, it clicked to where the feeling you describe was over. if you are trying to write/produce music, nothing sucks more than being hindered by your DAW software. ; but you have to put up with it for a bit. I would take Cubase over Ableton on either platform, and especially if I paid for it. Just uninstall Ableton if you want to learn Cubase so you don't have a choice.

 

On a small scale this is sort of playing into my decision to check out other DAWs as well. Future collaboration and general compatibility in tech and mind. That way I might have more than what I use on hand and know how to use something else with another producer.

 

I hope this is my experience too. I just want to get in, use my relative DAW knowledge to find my way around quickly, like you have with Logic.

Sorry I meant to say that Ableton was that confusing DAW for me as some have stated Cubase was confusing to them. I realized I worded that pretty shitty.

Ableton and Bitwig just look like warehouse loading pallets to me where I have to be some Ableton certified forklift operator to use them or else I have to flatten the boxes by hand.

 

Last edited: Jun 18, 2021

If you're looking for a more "traditional" (as if that means something anymore) DAW workflow Cakewalk is worth a look, it's still very capable, runs well and most importantly, the price is right.

 

Another thing about Cubase - their whole business model is to introduce a new version with a consistent timeline to ensure an expected income so if you decide to go with Cubase expect to keep paying every year/two years and the upgrade price to go higher each version that you skip. The new features are often entising though... I skipped the latest version mostly because I didn't invest the time into learning it but I think you should factor in cost ownership over maybe the next five or ten years because I suspect Cubase, if you want to keep it up to date, may well be the most expensive option.

 

I've been choosing Cubase for 25 years now (and I will still pick it it as long as I have a chance).
If I would choose again (from scratch) I would just try them all out and go with the one that felt right and had a good workflow. It's more about how well you know your DAW.

Sidenote: Studio One was created by two ex-employees at Steinberg, hence the "copy" (or the Cubase/Logic breeding).

Edit: There are more than those mentioned, btw. I really like Sequoia and Bitwig too:
https://www.slant.co/topics/1835/~best-daws

 

Last edited: Jun 18, 2021

Try all, it is a personal choice.
I love the Plugins which comes with Logic.
I love the native performans of Logic on a Appel Silicon Mac.
I love Autosampler for its supeer smooth penrose machine.
I love The Faderport Integration with StudioOne.

 

As a Studio One user I would suggest either Studio One or Nuendo then Cubase. If you are a professional person who does Film, music then choose Nuendo first.

Studio One and Cubase are very similar however Cubase does have more to it and their is a larger learning curve to it compared to Studio One.

For me the workflow of Studio One is 10 out of 10, Cubase/Nuendo is 7.5 out of 10 for me.

 

If your intent is to collaborate with another producer, outside of the standard exporting / rendering of audio stems, if project layout is the goal, ensure whatever DAW you choose contains other useful features like Open Media Format export (OMF) or/and Advance Authoring Format (AAF), and, if project-related information (metadata) is also included (iXML), all the better. If you decide to choose one with scoring functions as well and you use it, MusicXML is handy.

Possibly the most important thing is to check it is RF-64 compliant. If so, any wav files you export as stems can be opened in any wav editor, DAW or player - On MAC, PC or Linux.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 18, 2021

All good DAWs so pick your choice!

Me:
Just switched to Nuendo from Cubase but I also have StudioOne & Samplitude which both are good DAWs.

Good luck

 

Musician Friendly.. Better Than Most.. Try The Free Version S1 Artist .. You'll will see

 

Haha! Love it!

 

This is also making me curious because I just locked into whatever was around at the time and never had this experience new producers have where they shop around to see what makes them feel more comfortable using.

I'm afraid of that because I have heard Cubase is terrible with the updates running you tons in the long run.

 

I don't know anything about these formats or features to be honest. I've only read about them in passing but never dove into what they are.

lol I don't know how that message got marked best answer because I wasn't even on at that time.

Actually, I'm going to try Reaper now that people have mentioned it more but never really considered Ableton. Always looked extremely confusing.