Hello everyone, im saving money to buy a DAW and i wanna know wich one is better and mainly in terms of CPU usage, if you guys could help

thank you so much

 

Yup Studio One

 

it really depends on the genere ...
i mean .. for orchestral stuff .. recording audio .. midi capabilities .. expression map for controlling articulations ... i would go for Cubase ..

for samplers and loops staff.. working without Dongle... live performance ... producing by using the session view ... i would go for Ableton..

for cpu usage .. i like Cubase for sure ...

 

still missing a lot of stuff .. Expression map(articulation controller) ... Track Finder for Huge templates .. Track template ... etc

 

Both daw are great but if use midi alot is better cubase, you and try for both a 30 trial, for cubase u need a usb elicense is like 35 dollars.
I use most cubase as my main DAW but ableton for me is my secondary daw. ableton does not have pitch correction for vocals and cubase pro comes with a pitch correction is like melodyne and u can create really easy chords in cubase.

 

Lol And I thought no one would answer, thanks a lot, you guys are helping s lot for my decision.. and yes i do a lot of midi stuff and cpu usage is a must for me as well and if Cuba se is better than ableton in terms of cpu that already makes me rejoice

 

If you already knew what you were going to do, you would not be asking.

Honestly, doesn't matter just mess around pick one and stick with it... if you can't get what you want learn to blame and fix your approach first.

They are all pretty much the same, for your first go around.

 

i'm sorry ... but that's really kinda wrong ..
if you write midi stuff .. and want to view 2 midi clips at the same midi editor .. In ableton 9 .. how can i fix my approach?! that feature will be avaiable natively in ableton 10 ..

controlling articulation in Ableton .. imagine opening the instrument every time to switch articulation or write the keys down on a paper!

on the other hand .. the session view makes people WANT to make music ... music production is so easy by using it .. u creat many ideas in one song by using it.

features matters .. and asking Qs before buying is important .. because we faced the same situations before and had the same Qs..

 

I sometimes use Ableton Live 9. Never used Cubase. But I am sure that Cubase is a sure winner here. Cubase is most complete DAW IMO.
Studio One 3 is also good.

 

Reaper is the best daw for composing mixing and mastering in every genre like electronic pop and rock
I have worked with almost all of the daw but I found reaper more complete than the other daws and you can do everything that you like easily
this is my opinion about choosing daw
I love cockos reaper

 

Meh, I can see how looking at two midi lanes super-imposed can be useful if you write your notes in with a mouse. We don't all work the same way, I just play them in with a controller or a keyboard.

As far articulations go, I've always been a fan of key switches, after-touch and automation lanes, never felt the need to write anything down after learning the instrument a bit. I can understand the convenient nature of having it all spelled out for you.

We all work differently though, I still use Digital Performer most of the time, a dinosaur of a DAW the majority of the time and I am quite happy with the the way it works because I understand it thoroughly, it plays nice with my hardware synth modules and keyboards.

I've never believed there is a best DAW, there is though the best fit for each of us and we all work differently. The problem for someone getting their first DAW is they don't know how they are going to work. I have Cubase 8.5 Artist was a cheap upgrade from LE which came for free with a Yamaha keyboard, so I decided to try it. As good as Cubase maybe for some people I am too set in my ways and just do not use it. I am too set in my ways for MIDI or even audio processing.

 

Last edited: Jan 12, 2018

This is very interesting about ableton...

 

So between both cubase is better in cpu usage?
I wonder cause that factor will weight the most on my decision on buying it.

 

I used ableton for a long short time I would say cpu wasn't so bad, but considering I used 9, cpu usage on 10 certainly will slightly change, I'm thinking I might download both demo cubase 9.5 and ableton 10 to Check it out

 

I completely agree with you .. especially after a long time .. u can't change your approach and want to focus only on music itself not the ways of making it.

that would be great opportunity to experiment with your PC ... have fun man

 

The best thing you can do is really try both of them with demo versions and draw your own conclusion. I've used both of them a LOT. Both of them are great.

CPU wise, I believe Ableton is the winner. Even version 10 is light as a feather. In fact I think it's even lighter than 9 if you consider M4L devices since Ableton 10 they are now native devices but I never benchmarked anyone of them, Cubase included. Of course this only applies if you use them.

Regarding stock plug-ins, Cubase has stuff that Ableton lacks and Ableton has stuff that Cubase lacks. Like someone mentioned before, Cubase comes with a pitch correction/shifting tool pretty much like Melodyne/Autotune that Ableton doesn't have.
The mixer panel is also a big plus of Cubase imho.

On the other hand, with all the M4L devices being incorporated in Live 10, you get stuff like granular synths, convolution reverbs, drum synths, and a lot of crazy stuff that can be used for experimental stuff.

I would say that if you like to take your time with your music, tweaking parameters and mixing into the real small details, Cubase should be your go to DAW between these two options. Not that you can't layer down a proper mix in Ableton, but you can tell that Steinberg put a lot of work in the small details and the GUI is a good example of that.

If you value workflow above all and want to sketch ideas that can turn into full tracks on the fly as well as having a decent software to play your (and other people) stuff live, then Ableton is what you're looking for but you just don't know it yet.

More important than all of this is the kind of music you'll be going to work on.

For instance, if you plan mix stuff like Rock and acoustic stuff and you do a lot of recording from external devices, Cubase is the one to focus on here. Ableton 10 corrected this clumsy issue with the "Takes" approach, but if you're used to comping in the "classical way", you'll feel at home with Cubase.

If you're more into electronic music, Ableton might be the best pick, since it offers stuff (mostly in the form of M4L devices) that let you accomplish stuff that would take a lot of time and effort pull in Cubase. For instance, I don't see myself doing a Dub Techno track in Cubase.

Also, I feel like a lot of native devices in Cubase are better than Ableton's ones. Not that Ableton's native or even M4L stuff is weak, but for me, Cubase's native stuff sounds better. Especially the reverb. But here it's just me, take this last line with a grain of salt because even having both here, I mostly use Live these days so I'm kind of going against what I'm preaching here.

 

Last edited: Jan 12, 2018

If you assemble loops go for Live, but If you actually compose music, go for Cubase.

 

Former cubase user here since a while switched to ableton.
It depends on what kind of music you make, for dance music and electronic Ableton it's so made for it, I mean it's super fast to block out ideas and its loop capabilities are great, session view it's a god send to play around with ideas and experimentation, also I like a lot the instrument rack function to create parallel processing. I am using Ableton 9.7 atm waiting for 10...
Cubase it's a more capable daw and quite deep midi functions are second to none, now the all in one window workflow is a godsend as its old system of multiple windows was a very time consuming open and close deal...
Plug in wise they are both great, but I find ableton better for experimentation cubase has a more solid feel.
Sound wise they are a bit different:
Cubase feels more solid, Ableton has a particular less detailed summing. I like both flavours.
As for everything they are just tools with their own strength but if you are into recording, lots of midi editing and expression, more robust but less speedy workflow Cubase has an edge here. For electronic music with fast workflow and experimentation, specially with samples and loops, Ableton is the one to go for.

 

Last edited: Jan 12, 2018

as I said with lots of words...

 

Hi,

Same of others.
Live 10 with Max for Live natively inclued take less CPU than before.
Max for Live also open the doors to many good addons and plugins.
Like the name says, "Live" give you many capabilities in live act (Ed Sheeran use it in concert).

Imo, Live 10 still laking in terms of mixing, isn't look a console and laking multi layer midi.
Yes it's implemented in 10 but look this :

I don't know well Cubase, but they is knowed for his stability.
In this version 9.5 : finally a file explorer inclued and you can now drag and drop a VSTI ...

Finally, like always, depend of the style of music and the most important think, take a daw where you feel well.
Download free trial to test and take the one does not limit your creativity

My 2 cents