Photo courtesy of fd
Photo courtesy of fd

September 2nd, 2009 – I’ve discussed why I use Logic before, and Joe Gilder over at HomeStudioCorner wrote a counterpoint to my article. I’ve also stated that I use different software for different jobs; I might use Reason, Ableton Live, Logic and Protools at any one time.

Which DAW, dear reader, do you use and why? Do you use multiple software titles, or stick with one? If you were presented with a new DAW that looked better than what you were using, would you switch for the new features, or stick with what you know?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 pm.
Categories: Engineering, Questions, Software Review.

12 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. Sebastien Orban

    For now, I’m trying to find my way in one DAW, so I’m not overwhelmed, and get some things done. I’ve chosen Ableton Live since it’s where I feel I want to be (the meta instrument idea), and well, I do things.
    So I am gonna change my favorite workstation ? Maybe later – if another paradigm appealed to me, or if I change my process and NEED something like Pro Tools, for engineering purpose or whatever. But in the meantime, it’s only Live.

    I’m must admit, Reaper is on my HD too, just to see. For now, not much to say, but it’s an option.

    Sep 3rd, 2009

  2. Jason Burns

    I have ProTools purely for sharing projects with others, but when I am ready to work on my stuff, I always open Logic Studio….

    Sep 3rd, 2009

  3. jakub

    I use Logic Express, because I like it, i know how to meke sounds I want with it, because it has great instruments included, because I had some projects in GarageBand, and because it`s quite cheap. Now I am thinking about using Ableton for more fun when playing live, but for composing/studio I will probably still use Logic.

    Sep 3rd, 2009

  4. Jeff Shattuck

    Pro Tools LE. Why? Um… habit? No, but seriously, I do audio-only, which PT has always been good at, and I find the interface to be intuitive, the software stable (mostly!) and the Pro Support indispensable, if a little pricey.

    Jeff
    http://www.cerebellumblues.com

    Sep 3rd, 2009

  5. WHIV

    Ableton Live forever. I love how logical and intuitive it is, I love how the interface works on my laptop, and I love that it can go from the studio to the stage. Everything about it feels (and sounds) good (except for Live 8′s current instability — alas!).

    Sep 3rd, 2009

  6. Sean

    Thanks for the responses everyone! Anyone use Fruity Loops or Reason exclusively? With Reaper taking a more prominent DAW role with the release of the Rockband development kit, would you consider switching from the bigger name programs you use now?

    Sep 4th, 2009

  7. vinayk

    I have many programs installed, Logic/Live/Reason. However i’m essentially sticking to Live – I use it mainly for composing (haven’t really gotten to the production stage much just yet) – but I love the way I can do everything in realtime while the song is playing, Logic tends to get less happy dropping in new plugins or settings during playback. I wasn’t a huge fan of lives plugins however, but bought komplete5 and omnisphere so i’m well setup for those. Maybe when I get more of my songs to the production stage i’ll use logic for the mixing/effects. I’m also eagery awaiting max4live so I can get my monome more tightly integrated!

    Sep 5th, 2009

  8. Sean

    @vinayk : You’re definitely right about Logic’s on the fly loading of plugins. It seems no matter how powerful the system I try dropping on the fly plugins with Logic, it still loads them relatively slowly.

    Sep 7th, 2009

  9. John Dang

    I used ProTools HD when we’re tracking vocals and live instruments in the studio but at home I’ve been a big fan of Nuendo to arrange and compose. It’s probably because I’ve been brought up on it but it feels really intuitive to me and plugins are handled really easily.

    I’ve just bought Cubase 5 though and I’m thinking I might move over to that platform instead of moving up to the new Nuendo 4.

    Sep 8th, 2009

  10. Ben L

    I have tried different DAW’s but the most intuitive and easy to use is in my opinion Ableton Live. I also like the smooth interface a lot! When you sit down with a well designed app you automatically feels more creative. My only regret is that I bought Live Suite and not just the plain app! That way I could have saved some money instead of going for the big box with the extra content like built in virtual synths, samples and loops that I don’t really use!

    Sometimes I’m very tempted to switch to Logic because there so many great resources on the internet that can help you learn how to get the most out of it.

    Furthermore, I have tried Pro Tools LE 8 that comes with the Mbox2 Mini sound card/hardware interface. However, I was very disappointed in this so-called »industry standard« DAW. Both the app itself and the audio drivers seem very buggy and I have experienced a lot of system crashes when trying to use the app on my MacBook Pro. Finally I just gave up and uninstalled the app and drivers completely! Also, I don’t like the idea of being tied to specific hardware. Personally I can’t recommend PTLE 8 to any entry level Mac user!

    Nov 14th, 2009

  11. Sean

    @ Ben L : I’ve always wanted to learn Ableton but I’m comfortable with Logic and don’t really want to distract myself by learning new software. So the Suite package isn’t worth it? I was looking at getting it because some of the extra instruments sound pretty good (in the samples I’ve heard anyways). I always thought there were more Ableton tutorials than Logic out there…maybe I was looking in the wrong place lol

    Nov 14th, 2009

  12. Ben L

    @Sean: Maybe I am looking in the wrong places for Ableton Live video tutorials? I like to watch video tuts that takes you through a project from start to finish, i.g. recording and mixing a song etc. Most of the videos you find on youtube etc. that are tagged with »tutorial« are in fact just small video snippets that are merely demonstrations and not real tutorials!

    On macProVideo.com there are some great Logic Tutorial series but only one about how to get the most out of Ableton Live!

    Anyway, the built-in synths that comes with Ableton Live Suite are very capable of producing nice sounds. I just don’t use them personally (or have the time to learn how to use them) because I’m still too much in love with the Spectrasonics trinity; that is Stylus RMX, Omnisphere and Trilian!…

    Also, I like the »mini-DAW« Numerology 2 from Five12. It’s a small package containing a great programmable step-sequencer, which is also nice to have if you’re into so-called Berlin School Electronica… :-)

    Nov 15th, 2009

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