I have also made this observation. Also in other technology fields: Often the real PROS use extremely unintuitive and old-fashioned software because "they have always used it".
Recently I was at an industrial company's plant and saw a character-based software running on a computer in a DOS window. When I asked the engineer why they were using such old-fashioned software, I got the answer: This is the 2020 version.

The statement "is used by the Pros" means nothing when it comes to usability, learning curve or intuitiveness.
On the other hand, even a program with an extremely modern interface and lots of colorful pictures is no guarantee.

 

Last edited: Dec 28, 2021

I would still phrase it a little differently. Since PT was one of the first DAWs and was used so widely, it can be assumed that every professional knows how to use this software. This is especially worth mentioning because in the larger studios, engineers also rent studio time to work on projects. And I don't feel like taking someone who has rented studio time by the hand every time they click the mouse.

In addition, a changeover is usually very cost-intensive and often leads to many problems in the transition phase.

At least many studios now offer alternative software. Mostly Logic...

 

Very true...

Spoiler: OFF TOPIC

I worked as a programmer for some time at the end of the 70ies. We had programs there in our computer center that were so poorly documented but so complex that changes were almost impossible.
I remember a subproject where a line printer printed out useless protocols which a retired colleague had forgotten to switch off. Every attempt to switch off or cut off the printer failed, because the program on the mainframe then failed.
In the end, we ran the tabulating paper from the log printer directly into a paper shredder.

 

FL STUDIO was a time machine, it can take your CPU back in time

 

DAW popularity stats (no guarantee)

• Pro Tools - 143k members.
• FL Studio - 132k
• Ableton Live - 101k
• Logic Pro - 85k
• Cubase - 51k
• Studio One 39k
• Reason 25k
• Reaper 18k
• Sonar 7.2k
• Bitwig - 5.4k
• Digital Performer 3.7k
• Traction Waveform 1.1k

 

Ahhh....NO.They use what is set as the industry standard, whether you like it or not. And some real studios weren t born 30 years ago, some were born in more recent times, nonetheless they use pro tools. And pro tools didn t exist 30 years ago.Obviously there is no competition in the music industry, every business in the field has no need to look for the best quality they can achieve because they all surely go on with what they started and nobody tries to overwhelm the others with innovations, they all settle with what they have , because it is what they started with. I always forget that on this forum up to five years ago there were still people who refused to upgrade from windows xp, thus it wouldn t surprise me if some self claimed real studio insisted on using the same stuff they started with. After all the best selling record of all times was released in 1983, so why bothering using 2021 technology? Ah right, so people on a forum,who for the great part are playing professionals in their parents basement,can spend their days arguing about what the best cracked software they found on the net is

 

Last edited: Dec 29, 2021

I will say that Cubase/Nuendo have a fair amount of customization considering it is a mainstream DAW. Two things that are not great is limited audio routing, it is still based on simple console routing. The other is the lack of handling multiple sample rates at the same time. It is also not a simple DAW at entry but is very powerful including macros. Reaper is seriously awesome because of the freedoms that the audio engine provides, one example is powerful audio routing including multiple sample rates. The customization from the community are also super powerful but also can make for two things. 1. Time consuming building your perfect DAW 2. It is possible to mod far past forward compatibility. I do use Nuendo but always have my eye on Reaper. I may someday choose to do the hard work and make it work the way I prefer. Reaper could, in the future, become my DAW of choice. I do require built in Eucon integration as I never will be a mouse mixer. I have a console that uses Eucon and love it. I almost never touch a mouse.

 

The only thing I missed in Reaper which stock Cubase/Logic have,
is the Articulation and Expression Maps..

A little menu that integrates the Libraries capabilities with the DAW..


Ofc you can do it manually with Reaper,
just using Keyswitches or Envelopes..

But when you've got 30-40 Orchestral instruments going on (from a pool of hundreds) it's a bit of a mess,
hard to remember the details of each instrument etc...


Luckily there is this Reaper extension called Reaticulate which addresses this very aspect,
allowing you to Create and Share personalized Maps..


Also check Reapack, some kind of automatized Reaper packages/extensions manager..

 

Last edited: Dec 30, 2021

Google trends:

To make it fair, I included both reaper (search term) and reaper (software) in this comparison.









2. Following screenshots are taken from similarweb.com:















Obviously, Steinberg and Avid websites rank much better as they provide much more than just a DAW.

 

Reaper vs Cubase:

 

Actually Pro Tools is around 32 years old you should probably double check before trying to post facts. The reason people still jump in with ProTools is because 30 years ago it WAS the industry standard for digital audio because nothing else was around. Guess what, because of those 30 years on the market, its STILL the industry standard because thats what most big professional studios started with and thats what they know how to use. Long before 'pro audio' came to every other DAW on the market, Pro Tools was the ONLY one. Cubase didn't have audio recording until almost the end of the 90s, same with Logic Platinum. Pro Tools TDM systems were already well established in studios by the time the rest of the world caught up. When I was in school around 95-97, this is around the time when the other DAWs began adding audio. ProTools was up and running on a TDM system in the schools studio, all of our books taught us ProTools as far as digital multitracking on a computer went, everything else at the time was not even remotely close to being 'prime time' because it was brand new. Professional studios don't just jump up and change DAWs over night, they don't even update their systems unless they absolutely have to. They are in the business to make money, and you don't use your business to test out new software or OS updates, you keep it running so your clients keep coming in and paying and leaving happy.

You might want to try working in one for a bit to see how it goes in the real world outside of your own parents basement.

 

Oh wow, i made the mistake to say PT was not around 30 years ago when ideed it was, even 32 years, when motu was already around, how fool of me.So what? Does it change the fact it is the industry standard? no.Does it change the fact that real studios don t use cubase or whatever comes to your mind ?no. It s correct that studios don t change daw overnight, although it s hard to consider 30 years overnight.And since their goal is to make money, they would if it made their workflow and consequent income better.Nonetheless even today with all the alternative available, after 30 or 32 years,a real studio chooses pro tools.
I didn t know Eddie Kramer or Bob Rock was here in disguise to explain how recording studios work

 

I use legit Cubase and it's a great pro DAW.

 

I wonder where you get those numbers?

if I check let's say Facebook:
Reaper user groups actually have around 17-19.5k users, so that could be rather accurate,
ProTools user groups have around 6-7k users, which is a disappointingly low number, but can indicate a severe decline of popularity in nowadays modern online world where lots of options break industry standards

 

It's such a thing with numbers. There are no reliable figures because nobody knows what you and I are installing at home.
Voting results are certainly helpful to read a trend.

 

Popular DAW Ranking Poll in Japan - 2020! We Asked 3952 People
https://sleepfreaks-dtm.com/en/dtm-materials/2020-daw-ranking/

 

If you choose the topics as Software/Apps the stats are a bit different..

In terms of Global Interest,
Cubase was king until ~~2007, then FL took over for good..

Interest in Reaper and Logic has been increasing over the years,
while the rest has been decreasing.. although nowadays they're all pretty much on par. (except FL..)

In terms of Countries,
Only Iceland, Ireland and Australia seem interested in Pro Tools.
While Japan, China and Israel look for Cubase.. the rest is all about FL

 

thomann sales rank: sequencer software and virtual studios - 12/30/2021

1.) Image-Line FL Studio Producer Edition
2.) Steinberg Cubase Elements 11
3.) Steinberg Cubase Pro 11
4.) Steinberg Cubase Artist 11
5.) Image-Line Fl Studio Signature Bundle
6.) Avid Pro Tools
7.) Steinberg UR22 MK2 Recording Pack Elem.
8.) Steinberg Cubase Pro 11 Mix Bundle
9.) Steinberg Nuendo 11
10.) Steinberg Cubase Artist 11 Mix Bundle
11.) Steinberg Cubase Elements 11 Mix Bundle
12.) Presonus Studio One 5 Professional
13.) Presonus Studio One 5 Artist

23.) Ableton Live 11 Suite

Source: www.thomann.de/de/cat_rank.html?ar=263628&gk=SWSQ

 

Ok, for the quality comparison:
I just screwed up the SR to 12.2MHz (yes, 12.2MHz!! ... 12288kHz!!!) for fun and Reaper and its plugins have absolutely no problem with it (except FFT based effects OC). Good luck trying to get Cubase to go to such a high sample rate. I could go even higher, but why? No converter I know of supports this stupid insanity. Well, maybe hardware from the scientific field, IDK.

Here is a test with a 1kHz sine tone and JS Waveshaping Distortion:

 

Last edited: Dec 31, 2021

Bah ...i don't care...is only a workflow habitude and personal taste, btw Reaper is a nice tool with Audio but missing some details for midi...maybe in few years will be the most used?