Which DAW is for me?

[TheNossinator]

First thing to note - yes, I've done some research. Just so you know I'm not a noob who'll never check back who just wants to waste your time. I know what I need in a DAW. But I'd still like to ask people with experience what they'd recommend.

Anyway, I'm looking to invest in a DAW. At school, we have Logic Pro 9, so I'm semi-experienced with that, and I've used Cubase 5 for a while, and I'm sort of happy with it, but it does some odd stuff with audio drivers and such. ANYWAY, I'm looking to change to something else, and, as I said before, I wanted to ask the people with experience.

So, what I'd be using this DAW for is mostly VST-based sequencing (I use East West's PLAY Symphonic Orchestra, Choirs, SD2 and Goliath). Very little if any audio recording. Platform does not matter, I dual boot Windows 7 and Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard. I have 6GB of RAM (soon to be 12GB) so that's not really an issue. In essence, I've narrowed down to a few criteria I need in the DAW I choose:

• 64-bit (to take advantage of all my RAM)
• More geared towards MIDI sequencing (not to say it can't be for recording, just, it should have an intuitive interface for MIDI editing)
• Can be for either Mac or Windows
• Works with EW PLAY (64-bit VSTs)

Hopefully that's not asking too much of one program.

I've been looking at Pro Tools, but I've discovered it's only 32-bit. Is there a way to only use Pro Tools to trigger the samples, but not load them into the program? Otherwise, Logic it might have to be, or stick with Cubase.

Anyway, looking forward to hearing what you think.
Thanks in advance!

~Nick.

[Mr Illusive]

To take full advantage of Protools, you really need to be looking at the higher end systems, and from what i'm aware, it's a more costly route to go down. If you are interested in VSTI's more so than recording, there should be no reason why you can't get enough out of the likes of Logic or Cubase.

Out of interest, what issues have you had with Cubase regarding the audio drivers?

[af-TimOBrien]

You've had experience - check

Why not go with what YOU are already comfortable with?

The major sequencers all work with what you want.

Beyond that, YOU have to make up your mind what YOU can get something done with.
We can't come there and hold your hand.
YOU have to man up and make up your own mind.
(Yes you will look around from time to time)
But in the end you have to ask yourself:
Am I comfortable with the toolset and workflow?

Only YOU can answer that question.....

[Mr Illusive]

The thing with all programs in all sorts of fields, they each have leading brands with variations on each one and then of course budget range software. At the end of what it, it comes down to what you need out of the product. If you suddenly say, well im not totally sure, but I want to make sure ive got the best, you won't know either way without trying something. Once you get to the stage where you require certain features, thats when it can get a bit more difficult to choose the right product if you do wish to switch to something else.

In this day and age, most software can do a suprising amount.

People argue between platforms all the time, but I can guarantee that most who say, argue against Cubase for example, don't know it as well as someone who uses it as their primary Soft-DAW People form opinions on their own experience or even from word of mouth which is even worse.

The sooner you just pick something and try it out, the better, and like others have mentioned, it's certainly wise to stick with what you know if you are making the decision to upgrade your DAW.

BTW I still wanna know what Cubase does to your drivers?


There have been obvious limitations in the past with some products, such as the day when FL Studio didn't have audio tracks and also the same with Reason, but beyond this, most programs can do the same sort or thing.

[Bops2000]

I lean towards Sonar producer BUT I think Logic pro would be best for you. Just an opinion.

[zildjidan]

What more are you looking for that Logic 9 hasn't fulfilled? imho, compared to Pro Tools and (especially) Cubase.. it's a producers DAW.

[TheNossinator]

Alright, well I purchased Cubase, works perfectly well.
The reason I didn't chose Logic was because with the software I use it (apparently) tends to crash/be buggy.

Thanks for all your input.

[Mr Illusive]

What more are you looking for that Logic 9 hasn't fulfilled? imho, compared to Pro Tools and (especially) Cubase.. it's a producers DAW.

I'm interested to know what you mean by "Logic (especially) compared to Cubase is a producers DAW". I was under the impression they were very similar. Pro Tools was always the odd one out of the lot more focused around audio from my knowledge. I haven't used PT and have a limited knowledge of Logic, but as far as I was aware, Logic and Cubase are quite similar.

[CJs-Lab-Project]

Have you looked at sonar Producer 8.5. It 64bit and it also has the 64bit processsing engine. It supports all VST's VSTi's, DX and DXi's. It for windows only
Cj

[zildjidan]

I'm interested to know what you mean by "Logic (especially) compared to Cubase is a producers DAW". I was under the impression they were very similar. Pro Tools was always the odd one out of the lot more focused around audio from my knowledge. I haven't used PT and have a limited knowledge of Logic, but as far as I was aware, Logic and Cubase are quite similar.

The Logic work flow always just seemed geared toward producers.. but maybe I'm just not used to Cubase. I used Cubase for a semester at school, and honestly even just the user interface always seemed unnecessarily complex.

Also the MIDI software instruments/jam packs that come with logic are quite handy for production.

When I say "producer," I'm referring to a producers role in electronic/pop/hip hop production, so making beats (probably with synths), opposed to say a Rock/Country type of producer.

[Mr Illusive]

I work with someone who uses Logic as his main DAW and after seeing them both, they are similar in the way of their functions, however what I think most people dislike about Cubase when using Logic is the way it splits things into multiple screens. Logic does seem to self contain a lot of the elements such as the mixer being accessible while you are using the arrangement screen. Cubase brings these things up in separate windows and can get in the way if you are on one screen.

I use Cubase primarily and use it for electronic music production and it's very powerful. I see bigger differences with programs like Reason and Ableton in comparison to Logic and Cubase. I regard Logic and Cubase as similar programs but slightly different workflows.

Protools on the other hand ive always regarded as an audio focused program with in depth audio editing features. It has got midi capabilities but they have been limited in comparison to other DAWS. Protools 9 (i think the latest one is) has had a graphical update and looks a lot better than it used to. Everything's catching up with one another.

Reason's a good program for electronic music but doesn't have audio recording facilities, however, they brough out an independent program called Record which is just as much as Reason is, but that can do audio recording. To buy both of those, you are paying simililar if not slightly more than you would for say Cubase or Logic which im sure are cheaper these days than they used to be. Reason has the ability to rewire itself with other DAWs and work along side them, although that can strain cpu more and add a little more complexity to your workflow. I'm trying to get back into using Reason myself re-wired to Cubase.

Then you got FL Studio which some ppl swear by. Definitely more for the electronic producer, as is Ableton which works well with loops and is brilliant for live use, such as the more ambitious DJ's of today.

Ive used Sonar briefly and it reminds me of Cubase. Sonar has excellent time stretching abilities using its Radius algorhythms. I think there's a Radius plugin within Logic that uses the same algorhythms too.

[kope]

The winner is Cubase in conjunction with FL Studio with Reason in pocket and just in case Sonar on second comp. Finally PT just for showing up and couple books of using Logic on table. Man, just take anything and do your job J