Anyone jumped ship / switched DAW this year?

[theoryzero]

I'm on Cubase 6.5 and I'd be interested in buying 7.5 or later if anyone knows what is the latest version to still support Mavericks? Is 7.5 or 8 any more stable than 6.5 does anybody know? I know 9 doesn't support Mavericks unfortunately.

Cubase 8.0 was the last version to support Mavericks. I can't comment how it runs as I am a PC user, but I can say that if you upgrade to 9 you can download the installer for 8.0 and use that. The license on your eLicenser is good for the highest version you bought and any version prior.

[christian f.]

Went from Ableton Live to Bitwig .... LOVE Bitwig !!
Once you get used to the modulators you can't live without.

[pottering]

I still use Cubase 6.5 and don't see ever fully abandoning it until someone else develops retrospective record on a PC DAW I like. I have and like Ableton but absolutely need the ability to say, "Hey, that little keyboard riff I just played was pretty cool..." "Oh hey, retrospective record!"

For audio, there is this M4L device (named Hindsight):

https://gumroad.com/l/UveaJ

Also, you can just leave a instance (or more) of the Looper device running, perhaps on a Group or in the Master (template maybe?). Less fancy but free.

FL Studio has a function for retrospectively recovering MIDI played (not sure about audio), pretty cool.

[JerGoertz]

FL Studio has a function for retrospectively recovering MIDI played (not sure about audio), pretty cool.

Thanks! I didn't know that about FL Studio, will check it out sometime here.

[mholloway]

I'm doing all my 'electronic' music in Renoise now, instead of Live.

I'll continue using Live for my dark jazz / hybrid and scoring projects.

But for my industrial, IDM, etc I needed to seriously shake things up, workflow wise. The more I use Renoise, the more I'm astounded by it. It's an incredible piece of software-- efficient, deep, staggeringly well designed. I love it.

-M

[v1o]

Still in Ableton. However since buying a macbook pro, gotta a chance to get reacquainted with logic since it was discontinued on the pc. Plenty of old projects still work which is great. The price is a joke with what you get. Alchemy yeah!

Other smaller ones I use depending on what I do: Mulab, tracktion and audiomulch (not sure I'd call it a daw) for drones, ambiences and weird stuff.

That does remind me, technically I did switch DAWs for about a week. My dad snagged a used Mac Pro with Logic X Pro installed on it, so we've been trying to learn how to use it. We both find it illogical. He also has DP7 that he's installed, which I find to be confusing. Still more natural than Logic, though.

What DAW do you normally use?

Logic X has improved leaps and bounds in terms of ease of use. It's super easy to use now undoubtedly because it has borrowed some workflow from GarageBand.

Now Logic Pro 5 was difficult to to use. You needed to actually read the manual to use it properly. This was before the days of YouTube. The current version of Logic has a completely different workflow and a lot of things have been simplified.

DP is a good program but lets not pretend it is easy to use and learn. You can see it's archaic roots in its cluttered multiple windows system. The consolidate window is a mess. All those tabs selections is too much and the order makes no sense at all. The only advantage is that you learned DP first and you already know the workflow, but if you were completely green and had never used a Daw before trust me LPX would be easier.

[inkwarp]

FL Studio has a function for retrospectively recovering MIDI played (not sure about audio), pretty cool.

yes, it is for midi only.. "dump score to piano roll'.. can be useful for cak-handed players like myself : )

[Kalamata Kid]

Now on Cubase 7.5

but will quickly switch to
FL Studio my first choice!!!
or
Reaper this would be my first choice if it had a Patcher
as soon as they support ARA

if thy do not do so soon
I may switch to a DAW that already supports ARA
Studio One 3 - CPU hog
or
Sonar Platinum - No "multi-instruments"

also looking at Samplitude!
Unlikely but not out is Waveform and MixMaster

With Studio One now on V 3.5 and no longer a processor hog
I will make S1 my main DAW.

But

all can change with the soon to be released FL Studio 12.5
And hopefully Reaper 5.5 by year end. If either includes ARA
support will make it my main DAW.

[jtrake]

Cubase user for maaaany years. If Studio One 3.5 is stable and the CPU utilization really is fixed it will most likely become my main DAW. Always liked the workflow and how they implemented new functions but the CPU utilization just ruined the experience.
Tracktion Waveform will be my "sidekick" that I will use when I want an environment change when sketching ideas. Really like to look at that DAW and that can make a difference when in the "creative zone". With the new Mixer view and midi editor it is really nice.
Amazing to have all these great tools available. If only the young musician, who never have had to use a C tape Porta Studio, knew how spoilt they are

[incubus]

I'm curious, seems like a lot of cubase users like switching to S1. I'm in the task of demoing cubase and find it to be far more mature than I ever thought S1 was (regardless of the cpu thing)

What are the pitfalls that are bothering people?

[EnGee]

I already have both and can't say I'm completely switching because still there are some tools missing.

The thing made me always cancel a project in Studio One was due to CPU usage, so I never felt comfortable concentrating on my music/syntheses only.
Now, that the main obstacle has disappeared, I'll give Studio One the attention it deserves.

Some reasons that make me lean towards S1 are:
1. S1 is friendlier in installations and software protection.
2. Starting, saving and exiting are faster without crashes.
3. Cheaper upgrades and more generous gifts in the long run (and they are very valuable).
4. The workflow is similar but S1 is little better in overall organisation and design.
5. Support is more responsive than Steinberg.

Still, both are incredible DAWs (now when Presonus finally nailed it and fixed number one flaw in their software compared to others). So, I'm starting a new project in S1 and will see how it goes

[PB2000]

Yes.

After the VST announcement by Propellerhead and watching YouTube vidoes of 9.5 and the new version of Studio One, I'm jumping back to Reason and Studio One from trying the Reaper and Live demos.

Those other two just don't handle the workflow that I like to use with routing and with VST's in Reason, Combinators using VST's and Rack Extensions together is going to be insanely interesting.

[Phorous]

Moved from Bitwig to Cubase early last year. Was having performance issues and problems with certain plugins that were crucial to my workflow (since resolved). Ultimately I realized that I do not end up being creative with Bitwig/Ableton style workflow, and much prefer the old linear nature of composing in a traditional DAW. Logic was out of the question as I work with both macOS and Windows, so Cubase was the logical choice.

I really liked Cubase 8/8.5, but missed some features from Bitwig. However, come Cubase 9, all of my gripes have been resolved! Mostly related to window management which has been fixed by the lower zone.

[Kalamata Kid]

Now on Cubase 7.5 and was thinking about upgrading to Cubase 9 on the next sale.
Thought it does not support ARA I do like the feature set!

But then Studio One 3.5 happened.

Looks like Fl Studio will not get ARA support in version 12.5 so that is out.
Reaper may get ARA but it is too far down the road so that is also out.

Samplitude is the only other DAW that may sideline my S1 3.5 plans.
Oh, Sonar is also still in the running only if it had a Patcher or Multi-Instruments.

Mixmaster and Waveform both are out of consideration.

Soooo, Very likely Studio One 3.5 will become my main DAW.

[incubus]

I thought reaper had ARA. That twilight zone, it's a bitch.