How many DAWS have you tried and what's the winner?

[EnGee]

I have a Hackintosh with Win 7 dual boot).

EULA violation.

Sumptuary Law Violation!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumptuary_law

hahaha! It must be like this!

Oh I feel like an African-American trying to take the bus in the 50's.

Ban me, sue me or do whatever you want, but I'm going to take that bus!

[engine]

all.
win: renoise, buzz, s1, ableton, fl studio.

mac: numerology, logic, DP6/7

linux: qtractor, lmms, renoise.

[EdgarRothermich]

But I'm interested of an alternative DAW right ....

Quite frankly, I don't get these kinds of posts, I don't see the point in it.

How valuable is it if you ask what kind of cars people prefer and you get those answers:

Porsche
Ford Pick-up truck
Honda Civic
Yellow School Bus

A DAW is not a shiny object that you desire or a pair of socks that you change once in a while. A DAW is a tool to do specific things and depending on your type of work, you pick the one that provides the right tool and the best workflow for your needs.

If you want to score for orchestra, what's the point of getting (liking) "Live"
If you want to do beats, what's the point of learning (liking) "Logic"

If someone wants to toy around then "play" around with whatever DAW you get your hands on. If you use a DAW to make a living, then it all depends on what the DAW is doing for you and how good you are using that tool.

You can start to learn 5 foreign languages or concentrate on one language and getting really good at it.

Most DAWs (and pro applications in general) are getting so deep nowadays, I don't understand how users can master multiple apps anyway.

[fluffy_little_something]

I don't think DAWs are as different from each other as a school bus, a Porsche and an SUV. More like different SUVs. And I guess this thread could help some people avoid wasting time and money by ignoring certain DAWs based on the experience of others that have similar needs and priorities.
So far I have tried a couple of DAWs and while I like some more than others, I can't say that I am really happy with any of them.

[dgkenney]

Voyetra Digital Orchestra
Cakewalk
Cubase VST
Sonar
Cubase SX
Live
Cubase
Pro Tools
Reaper
Studio One
Pro Tools
Studio One
Pro Tools
Studio One
Pro Tools <-> Studio One


I think I'm home. Haven't upgraded Sonar since 3 (never had a good stable experience), Live since 7 (became just too electronic music focused for my needs)and Cubase since 6 (had to try one last time) Never warmed up to reaper rather play music than tweak.

Dan

[fluffy_little_something]

Is it just my impression or is the gap between entry-level DAWs (below 100 dollars) and professional DAWs (hundreds of dollars) closing rapidly? Tracktion for instance seems quite professional at 59 bucks (I have not tested it, only read the manual). Mulab, Mixcraft etc. are all under 100 bucks. Competition must be fierce...
The big ones offer more features, sure, but I wonder if people really need them. Maybe it is a bit like with MS Word. With every generation MS adds new expert stuff, but only few people really use that. I know people who still use Word XP because it does what it is supposed to do, no more no less.

[Quietinthedark]

Tried? Ones I've owned, used on friends' systems or demoed

Ableton Live
Cubase
Pro Tools
Reaper
Reason
Samplitude
Sonar
Studio One


I am currently happy with Reaper..however, largely for fairly idiosyncratic reasons.

They have all evolved to have most of the same functions and quality at this point so I don't know for whom or how these threads are helpful, but here is my answer...

I do most heavy lifting with the VSTs.

I would be more upset if I had to give up the VSTs than the DAW quite emphatically.

As fluffy notes, the pricing is now pretty wacky.

[blueman]

Everyone's a winner

[Arglebargle]

But I'm interested of an alternative DAW right ....

Quite frankly, I don't get these kinds of posts, I don't see the point in it.

How valuable is it if you ask what kind of cars people prefer and you get those answers:

Porsche
Ford Pick-up truck
Honda Civic
Yellow School Bus

A DAW is not a shiny object that you desire or a pair of socks that you change once in a while. A DAW is a tool to do specific things and depending on your type of work, you pick the one that provides the right tool and the best workflow for your needs.

If you want to score for orchestra, what's the point of getting (liking) "Live"
If you want to do beats, what's the point of learning (liking) "Logic"

If someone wants to toy around then "play" around with whatever DAW you get your hands on. If you use a DAW to make a living, then it all depends on what the DAW is doing for you and how good you are using that tool.

You can start to learn 5 foreign languages or concentrate on one language and getting really good at it.

Most DAWs (and pro applications in general) are getting so deep nowadays, I don't understand how users can master multiple apps anyway.

+1

A thread like this is pointless because you will get absolutely every answer across the DAW spectrum.

[robogone]

I don't think DAWs are as different from each other as a school bus, a Porsche and an SUV.

What if you compare Cubase, AudioGL and Bidule? Perhaps they are.

I do agree that the comparison is not particularly valuable though - you end up comparing pieces of software that are designed for very different workflows and the only common thing is that they output sound. People will give different answers in the same way that they will give different answers when you get them to compare any other arbitrarily related group of items.

[billcarroll]

Reason (since 2.5)
Ableton Live (since v2)
Logic (since 7)
Pro Tools 10
Cubase 6.5

Cubase 7 is my favorite, and my DAW of choice now.

I enjoy each of the other DAWs and still use them when needed.

[mandolarian]

I don't think DAWs are as different from each other as a school bus, a Porsche and an SUV.

Yeah, but none of the DAWs mentioned so far have as many cup holders as even the worst SUV. So that's why we keep changing DAWs. Not enough cup holders.

That will all change when BitWig is released (before the sun goes nova). Expected to have native cup holder support on EVERY track! No 3rd party duct tape thingies.

[danbroad]

Tried many. The winner is Studio One.

Funnily enough, I downloaded the T4 demo expecting to rush back into the arms of an old flame... I've moved on, I guess. S1's effects and flexible routing are just too comfortable for me now.

[DuX]

I have tried most of them, really. Reaper wins, hands and all other limbs down [yeah, that one, too ]. And EnergyXT wins for simple "jotting", two bars stuff, in my book. It just feels great to start the DAW in a second or two and just start "jotting" ideas. Then refine them in a proper, STABLE DAW, later, like Reaper.

I find it really annoying when Cubase and all other "pro" DAWs take a while to start. "Pro Tools" at my client's place takes about a minute to start if not more. It just takes ages. That's just bs programming. That should be punishable by death, if you ask me.

Either program a good program dear programmer, or flip burgers for living. People used to make sequencers in 31KB of memory on C64. Nowadays they can't make a proper sequencer no matter how much memory you give to the programmers. That's just laziness and egotism. Programmers could use some kind of a competition in efficiency of programming, programming skills competition, to make them less lazy and better programmers.

I say nuke them all bad programmers. I'm on a war path against inefficiency!

[bduffy]

Seriously used, long-term:
Sonar, Cubendo, Reason, Vegas

Short-term:
Live, Reaper, Tracktion, eXT, Ohmstudio, Pro Tools


Winner: Cubase.