I use Cakewalk, starting when it looked like this and right through to today and anyone who has something to say about it can lick my taint

 

Cakewalk V-Studio 100

There's also a special edition of Sonar (for PC only), called Sonar VS. For those seeking a new tool for multitrack recording and arranging, this is a strong choice, as it feels like a full-on DAW and not just a bundled extra. The interface is clean and straightforward, being user-friendly but without sacrificing any serious functions. It certainly contains everything most users will need for audio/MIDI recording and arranging.

 

19 Best Free DAWs in 2025
https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2015/11/11/free-daw-software/

 

Last edited: Mar 20, 2025 at 4:01 AM

30 years of Cubendo.. I never understand these constant DAW changers(expect for costumers).. Why would you want to learn to write with left hand, if you already know how to write with the right one?

 

For one, not all DAWs are linear. It's common for people to use something like FL Studio or Renoise to create content for later use in a linear DAW. Some DAWs are better at creative workflows, or mixing workflows, etc; and some people use different ones for each production stage, i.e. write in Ableton and then Mix in Cubase or Protools. Another decent reason is people switching OS/hardware which does not support their favorite DAW.

But you are right anyway. Most of these "Daw switchers" are people who believe some marketing, or other people; that a new DAW will cure their problems. Rather than just admit to themselves they still do not know what they are doing. The hardest part about learning this stuff is when they hit a brick wall after learning their DAW, because they figure out what they are making is not up to what they want to hear.

 

A lesser known (for whatever reason), but very intuitive and continually developing, DAW that I've used for years now is Roland Zenbeats. It's great for laying down ideas quickly even if one was to use it in conjunction with another DAW for finishing touches or mastering.

 

The list that @Balisani posted is in alphabetical order, not in order of popularity.

 

Negative, it's quite current.

Not you, not me, but I have a friend who got a Dance Music award (Best Dance Music Album) in his country (ZA), that he produced with Acid Pro. We're not DJs, but there are people who can't (and won't be bothered to learn to) play an instrument, but will drag & drop and lay down loops and pre cooked and chunked MIDI phrases, hire a vocalist or two, and off to the clubs they go.

Someone dear to my heart just ran up to the top of some club house music chart (#1 in two weeks since the single dropped) - all Acid Pro, she's the vocalist, and the DJ is the "producer."

In short, I was just as surprised as you are, not to say disheartened: I went to music school for four years, practiced piano 10 hours a day, scored musicals, traveled the world, lost a million hours of sleep, and now you tell me you can just load up loops from a CD, hire a hottie with a sultry voice, and get a million streams in two weeks (and Dance Music Album awards in ZA).

It's a reality check, for sure, but yeah: Acid Pro is a DAW, and SOS don't hire top shelf audio technology writers to pen columns on obsolete or deprecated software. The list is current. Note that SOS doesn't yet include LUNA as a "major" DAW (to many, it's still in Beta).

Have a little faith in the best audio technology magazine in the world, and if you don't and doubt, ask people who know inside out those parts of the industry you never experienced, or explored. When you start a sentence with "I don't know...," that should be your first clue to ask and find out. I tried to offer my insights and experience, but seemingly thou doubteth me still, so do ask those who you do trust.

 

when it was v6 till now (Bandlab) as a main DAW...others are:
Mixcraft
Reaper
I use them mostly for checking plugins which are installed, but Bandlab doesn't see them

 

I like testing new daws, and I tried all of them. I also own most of them. But I cannot find a daw that does all the things I want, but that's to be expected with every piece of software.

Smaller daws that I liked through the years are, Tracktion Waveform (not the free one), Mixcraft, Mulab.
My main daws are Reaper, Studio one and Reason as a vst. Logic on apple, but I rarely use my mac.

 

The first two DAWs I used were Cubase and Reason but for the past ten years I have been sticking with Studio One.
At one point, I also tried Digital Performer but it was so un intuitive to me that I gave up in less than a month.

 

Cubase is my primary DAW.
I also own an use Ableton Live & Reason regularly for collaborative purposes...
I have significant experience using Studio One, Bitwig, Sonar, Cakewalk, Logic and Protools.

The DAW I like least is FL Studio for more reasons then I can bother typing here...

 

The DAW I like the most is FL Studio for more reasons then I can bother typing here...

 

Totally agree.
I have been using Studio One since 2014.

 

Cakewalk was running on the Apple II?

 

DOS and an EGA monitor- 16 colors, baby!

 

Attempting impartiality, the look and feel and workflow for each individual should always be the choice.

If I was to put any DAW into a category name "Minor" it would be for one reason only. It would lack most of the professional features of what are called professional DAW's which are many.

I have tried most of the named professional ones, and every one had something to offer that a competitor did not, even if it was only one small thing. So professional DAW comparisons to me are senseless if they can all produce the same results. I permanently chose the one I was comfortable with and it was what I started with, but not without respect for the others.

So your MIDI was running on the old 16550 UART? Yes they weren't the most fun latency times.

 

Yeah, that's why I commented this yesterday:

 

I don't remember ever having any problems, back then if I remember correctly keyboards themselves could have an internal latency of about 40 milliseconds, I've always been used to it. I grew up playing a church pipe organ that had about 500 milliseconds of latency when you played it

MIDI was designed as a (relatively) slow serial interface and it remains so to this day

 

Last edited: Mar 21, 2025 at 12:58 AM

The 1st DAW i ever used, n-track... im surprised no one else mentioned it 1st