1. I use Ableton Live since Ableton 6 in Windows, with Reason as a backup for synth sounds... Now I have Mac OSX and keep using it to compose, mix, produce and lay down ideas, and I started to use Logic just for fun and sometimes I come up with some cool stuff, but I've never been able to finish one track just with Logic. Plus I still use Reason because I can always get a usable sound out of it.

2. I just love that I lay down my ideas like I do it normally, performing... arranging stuff into clips its one of the main reasons this is amazing, I can lay down one idea (Bass for example) and try it with a drum loop, maybe another drum kit, change tempo, reverse it, change pitch, add efects (just by drag and drop), tweak it, (maybe I like the drums but I don't like the bass anymore) record another one, double it, add a guitar track, chop it, randomize it... and a lot things more... and everything without having to stop the audio at all, and at the end I have a lot of options to choose from, all of them very organized and I can redo everything, one thing that I also love is that you can play Midi keyboard with the qwerty keyboard, so I don't need to have a Midi controller to use it.

I can create an effects rack, or put all of my important midi parameters to specific keys or knobs and have them ready, without the need of a midi controller handy...

And thats just with the main tools... start adding VST, AU, Rack them and its just unstoppable.

Plus I can perform with it

3. What is stopping u from swapping to another DAW?

That I have a powerful army of tools just by loading it up, the way it handles audio (reverse, pitch, automation, clips, scenes, quantize, stretch, timing, freezing, chopping it), the way you can move around it and the workflow its much more inspiring for me than any other DAW I've been trough: Cubase, FL Studio, Studio One, Sonar, Logic, Pro Tools, Reason, Reaper, Samplitude, Digital Performer, and some others that I can't remember like Mu Lab or something like that...
And the drag and drop for effects, loops, and even live sets is really cool for people that like to try a lot of stuff on their tracks...

 

i have to go with logic pro!!! ive used sonar and cubase and fruity loops also presonus and reaper.
logic pro just sounds good, its easy to use, midi edeting is awesome, flex time is great and a handy tool when you need it!

 

Well I'm a creature of habit...so I use the same shit I've always used, even though I know it's probably not the best...

Making music: FL Studio, which I've been using since it was Fruity Loops 3. Simple, quick & fun and it keeps getting better!

Recording/Mixing: Adobe Audition, which I've been using since it was Cool Edit (yes even before Cool Edit Pro!). I recorded my first music to computer using CE, it worked and I stuck by it. I was a bit pissed off when Adobe bought out Syntrillium, but that's progress for you.

I love Audition, but it's more fragile than a baby's skull and if you use too many plugs it'll crash constantly and sometimes not even let you load your project unless you rescan all VST plugs! Not loving CS5.5 too much at the moment because of this, and other limitations it has compared to v3.

I'm giving serious contemplation to switching to something else. Not Ableton though (sorry Live users), it may work great but that GUI is feckin' hideous and looks like a kid's toy (and that's coming from a guy using FL Studio!).

I'm a bit Reaper-curious due to all the comments I keep seeing about its light CPU load, might give it a try...

 

my favourite DAW is definitely Cubase as its the one I know best, I like the way it handles audio and MIDI

but when I switched to a 64bits OS, I left cubase behind, and tried FL as I know that one well and used it since it has been released, but it was just too awkward to use for audio recordings so I gave up.

so I moved onto Live (which i also used since it's first version)...quite like it, a very good compromise ...no 64 bits version alas!

had a go at Sonar X1 as I used sonar since its very first version and never got to like it! surprisingly I quite liked it at first but then some annoying bugs with the MIDI editor chiefly and the weird ways of Roland slowing me down made me reconsider my choice.

I used samplitude once and a while in the past so I had an idea of what to expect but after all these years the GUI is still as plain and ugly as I remembered it to be... and like in sonar, the workflow isnt really my cup of tea.

then came studio one....=) really easy and fast to work with ...but a few shortcomings...no bridge to handle 32bits plug ins being the worst one!

finally came reaper...ugly as hell (ha ha!) but quite efficient overall (or so it seems at first sight at least, I need to experimenta bit more!)

nothing is to stop me from swapping as you can see...and i'm still looking for a proper DAW on windows...hopefully I'll find one soon if S1 or Reaper make some improvements...or if C6 is released!

 

1. Being a classical music engineer/Tonmeister, I have been using Sonic Solution for many years, as it was the only option back in 90', when Sonic abandoned audio world (almost) I decided to go with native DAW, preferably PC, so even if my main main machine dies along with my laptop, I could immediately replace it or use office PC to make the editing done in time. Magix Sequoia was pretty close to Sonic, they copied GUI colors, 4-point editing and even had a Sonic keyboard shortcuts preset, so the transition was easy. As a mastering tool is has the capability to work with DDP files incl. Sonic's Pre-Master CD files. I love the sound of the engine and bundled plugins esp. VariVerb, though prefer an analogue summing box and Lexicon 240.

2. Despite having a StudioLive mixer I could not get used to S1. Maybe it is not there yet.

3. Native ProTools - good to have for compatibility.

4. Pyramix - good sound, no MIDI

5. Digital Performer - good sound, no PC version.

 

I mainly use Adobe Audition 3/4 on PC, as that's what I started with in 2008.5. Then I found about the multitrack capabilities and i was like whoa, and the 5.1 mixing capabilities in Audition 4.

I have Logic Express 8 & Garageband 3 on my mac, I use that occasinally.

Reason, I don't like, because it can make you blind to some problems like mononess with no good way of fixing them, and OMG the routing.

Ableton live, it's a very different way of working, but i didn't get used to it.

Reaper, it is lite and fast, but managing VSTs isn't very nice, which I use a lot.

I might have to download FL Studio one day just because some dude made his mix in FL

Pro tools, well, pros use it, but >hardware protectionz and huueg filesize. Oh, and RTAS.

 

I've used quite a few DAW myself. But like 'OneReason', I find myself back to Ableton Suite (Live 8)


I used (or attempted to use) Cubase 3.x TDM & VST way back when, but found the learning curve to be a bit steep -- at least for what I was trying to do at the time (the manual was a bitch too -- Cubase later required the SX key dongle so -- fuckdat) -- Up until early 2000 (when I abandoned my hardware setup for a slimmer, more powerful computer option), I was tracking nearly everything on an makeshift Digilog system (Tascam 644 MIDI Studio > Tascam DAT > Sony MiniDisc)

I used Logic when Emagic was running things (early 90s, before the Apple acquisition) Logic was sorta rough at the time, had a learning curve, and froze on my system at times (not good for workflow)

I fucked with ProTools back in the day as well, but then Digidesign decided to implement code that required Digedesign hardware (hardware dongle) for the application to execute -- this was a dealbreaker -- as I had just bought an interface, and it wasn't Digidesign -- I haven't looked back, though I hear the echoes of many singing it's praise ...

I moved to MOTU Digital Performer (by friend's recommendation) for awhile, but again didn't dig some bits; learning curve, MOTU PlugIn format (MAS), etc -- You can use VSTs in DP, but it requires the use of a VST wrapper application/PlugIn --- fuckdat

After Apple took over Logic, I decided to give Logic Express (and later Logic Pro) a try -- was really digging both (and still do), but truly dislike the AU (Audio Unit) PlugIn restrictions -- and running a VST wrapper application to use VST PlugIns is buggy at best -- I still use Logic Pro at times for mastering, but truly dislike the CPU load of anything ReWired.

Initially, I hated Ableton Live (very early stages) -- the 'blocky' look and feel of the app was unappealing and not very intuitive, and I couldn't get my head around it --- It wasn't until a few key incompatibilities with VST wrapped PlugIns caused Logic Pro to crash (and hours of work to be lost), that I opted to give Ableton Live another shot (after all, the damn thing runs VSTs natively on the Mac !) -- by this time Live was at version 5, and it was solid, easy to use, and saved me hours -- I eventually grew to accept the 'blocky' interface -- and can't say enough about it's features ! I use Ableton Suite 8 for 98% of all my work -- nuff said.

I have tried PreSonus OneStudio (early releases) -- simply because it shares some of the 'ease of use' features as Live, and a GUI appearance that I am more familiar with (somewhere between Logic and Cubase). Overall I really dig the performance on the Mac -- CPU friendly, easy to use, nice interface -- My only bitch about the soft was that (at that time) some of the file associations created during installation or after application launch were hijacked by OneStudio (example: Files that ended with a certain file extension and were associated with it's parent application, were falsely re-associated with OneStudio somehow after installation - could lead to possible file corruption ?) -- While I am sure this would eventually get sorted out in future point releases, but I don't have the time or data to waste waiting (not taking any chances). Other than that, I really dig the thing -- it has promise -- I may grab the next liberated update and give it a go.

The new Cubase has peaked my interest as well, as they seem to have really worked on easing the workflow, with an improved interface, and Ableton-like 'ease-of-use' features. I am really waiting to hear more on this (performance reviews) from others (Mac Cubase Users) before I take the plunge or take the time to dabble -- looks better tho -- in my opinion

Now -- I do sorta like Reason, but can't really call that a DAW -- even the latest version (Including Record) -- not a DAW -- quite restricted. Now if Reason would improve their sound engine, and host third party PlugIns (VST and what not) for proper mastering, softsynths and the like ... they might have a shot -- but really, Reason (as a tool) is for a select 'targeted market' and I'm not really feelin' that -- and again the overall sound of Reason is currently, well ... meh

 

Lately I have been using FL studio for song writing and most production.

Not so good for mixing. First the mixer is small, and you can only see one channels worth of plugins at a time.

Just try to do a sub-mix, it's a pain in the ass. and when you have a sub-mix the solo and mutes on the sub-master don't work as expected,
you have to solo every fader in the sub-group and the sub-master, to solo the whole sub-group. Not the way real analogue consoles operate.

So, I export stems from FL, then Import them to Reaper for mixing and final production.

Don't let Reaper with its low CPU load, super fast start up time, and no copy protection fool you, the more I use it the more I like it.

Full screen Mixer if desired, Sub-mixing is simple and works exactly as it should. Drag to copy FX. Sends and receives are easy to set up.

Everything can look better with themes, If you color code faders and groups, and use Icons for visual channel ID. It can really look impressive, make it easy to keep track of things visually.

I really like the way it records MIDI with the audio at the same time, same channel, great for production.

One thing I didn't like was the menus, It made it difficult to find things, on their forum I found out you can replace them with a different menu set. I did. It is sooo much easier to navigate.
Yes, it is true you can even customize the menus! Wow! It took two minuets.


We all work differently, work in different genres, in different places.
We all require a unique set of requirements to meet our needs. There is no best DAW
What we do is very personal. Our choice should be the one that will satisfy us and defines our craft.

Perhaps One Reason will find the DAW or combination of them that fulfills all his needs.

Good Luck, And Keep Creating

 

LIVE

i used to use Cubase for 10 years

LIVE is just better in so many ways

you lose some shit but then gain so much more

took about 3 months of learning curve to swap (lots of video tutorials helped)

Lives FX are a bit poop - but some people love them

live leaves you thinking
"why havent i always written music this way"
not
"erm where's the button for ....the .....err...that....whats is ....menu.....buzz kill"

I learnt Cubase and didn't want to swap but i dont miss Cubase at all


If you are banging out tracks learn Live

if you are "scoring a movie in surround 7.1" or "some Sound on sound boring thing" then dont use live

 

The best DAW is the DAW you know the best!

I second that.

And i have tried most of them except those Mac only DAW:s
(Well i installed the Logic PC version but it crached all the time so i´m not really familiar to Logic.)
And those hardware dongle ones Like Pyramix Sadie etc.
(Same here i installed a H2O released version of Pyramix but couldn´t get any sound from it with my own soundcard it looked like it has a steep learning curve to learn that one)

I use Cubase Nuendo and Reaper most nowadays beacuse i now them best and is those I LIKE best.And in the end that is what it´s all about.

I´m gonna try the new Samplitude version even if it crashed yesterday but i´m still gonna give it try to see.

I also wanna try the new Pro-Tools version as we dont need Digidesign oohps:!! sorry Avid hardware anymore and most importent they finally have no latency option on the non HD versions.

And as soon as i built my hackintosh (or buy a real Mac?It depens!!As i see many second hand Mac:s for almost nothing today) i´m gonna try Logic and Digital Performer

 

i did a quick project with two guitar tracks a bass and drums today to see if I could make do with it (samplitude x pro) but the GUI crashed (and soon after that the audio engine too) ...and from plain ugly it became horrid! lol...so I quickly uninstalled it all!

 

I like Live and Logic I find both good.
I use Reason but I don't fully understand propellerhead's philosophy.
All them are fuel for my imagination

 

What's wrong with this thread?

 

You can! But it's a bit trickier, especially the midi part. You have to route midi out and into your DAW, and record "manually". Oskari is probably working on something more swift right now as there are more people asking for it.
You can also render/export clips/audio quite easily, both in "hard disk recorder" in menu or via a recorder machine like Sgorpi multitrack writer (or Jeskola Loop Recorder).

 

The DAWS that are good for you depends on what you are doing with it!

So with that in mind, can we please also say what we spend most of our time doing on that daw?!

For instance, I love Cubase 5/6 it does everything well, songwriting, producing, mixing (perhaps one-song mastering). But I use Presonus S1 now For songwriting and producing, there is nothing faster or more transparent than Studio One. With Cubase there is the unwieldy windows - it's fine if you have 2 monitors, but for the rest of us the piano roll and audio window etc. is annoying - and now that I switched I also realise how time-consuming the instrument and fx selection is (drop down list, and if you have a long list, you have to open up another list OR you have to go through multiple folders before getting to the plugin!!)
I still have Cubase because it has a wealth of features S1 doesn't, features that I probably will never need, but it is good to have around. Sometimes, rarely, I will boot up Cubase because I want to write complex midi track, and I want all of those quantize tools and the split tool.

Also did you know Teddy Riley endorses S1? He uses it and is bug crazy about it!

I Cubase and Studio One
One other thing, I always wanted to look at Live, but I never do

 

What do you mean "as soon as I will have finished to crack it"???! Afaik cracking Cubase is a really hard thing to do..

 

Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarcasm

 

Why is Cubase so hard to crack anyway?

 

simply because its well protected!

 

One Reason, You've got it m8... I was wondering how long I would have to wait until someone ask me about that...

An endorsement just proves that a company has the financial resources to pay people to tell how bug crazy they are about their products. Nothing more.