KVR Audio

Studio Saturn · Post by **Studio Saturn** » Fri Sep 23, 2016 6:39 am

There is no one best DAW. What type of Poll are they pulling? I love Logic to start my beat going and I love Studio one arrangement tool I love Harrison 32c for my mixing and I love Reason for fooling around. I ain't choosing anything.

EnGee · Post by **EnGee** » Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:39 am

The advantages or one of the advantages of such threads, is that maybe someone has new information or workaround about specific problems in a DAW that would affect your decision to switch.

In my case, I was returning to Studio One from Bitwig, but some small info about Cubase and Steinberg's instruments in general made me trying the dongle which solved all my past problems with Steinberg. That made me upgrade my Cubase version instead of upgrading my S1 version. I'm happy that this small info of the dongle could made Cubase my main host. Of course I don't know what will the future hides, especially with OS updates.

So, IMO, discussions of why you hate or like a specific DAW can help the others know what the best for them (besides the personal experience with it of course).

NebRanger · Post by **NebRanger** » Fri Sep 23, 2016 11:17 am

ShawnG wrote:quite a lot of responses to this are variations of "there is no best DAW, its up to your personal choice" This is completely and 100% true, however there is a lot to be gained from the exercise of arguing about the best DAW, so I'm not sure that's the most helpful response. I mean FL Studio wins this thing just about every time, and I HATE FL studio, so obviously, I don't agree with the masses on this one. I have zero problems with people telling me why their DAW is the best, in fact I encourage it. It might not sway my opinion, and I may read your piece and think that it doesn't apply to my deal, or I may quietly think you're an idiot. However, I might see some merit there and find out something I've been missing. having an opinion is good. This doesn't apply to slagging off somebody else's DAW, or constantly pimping your DAW out in every thread whether it's welcome there or not (I'm Looking at YOU, reaper people!) but for God's sake if you like your DAW tell me why.

You don't like FL Studio? YOU, SIR ARE...

... completely fine and entitled to your opinion.

It's not for everyone. A friend of mine who's more for the notation side of things couldn't get her head around it, so I pointed her in the direction of a notation app. I cut my teeth on it, so of course my opinion on it will be different. For me, the workflow is really fast compared to something like Sonar (which I also have). Just drag a generator to the channel rack and you're off.

If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is it you don't like about FL? Since you want people who swear by a particular DAW to tell you why they like it, the reverse is fair game, right?

telecharge · Post by **telecharge** » Fri Sep 23, 2016 4:44 pm

NebRanger wrote: If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is it you don't like about FL? Since you want people who swear by a particular DAW to tell you why they like it, the reverse is fair game, right?

I'd like to know as well. I'm a bit of a philanderer. Of the ones I've tried, they all have something I like. The only feelings I've had that approached hate were caused by poor support from PreSonus and Cakewalk. More rage than hate though.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Fri Sep 23, 2016 5:23 pm

NebRanger wrote:You don't like FL Studio? YOU, SIR ARE...

... completely fine and entitled to your opinion.

It's not for everyone.

+1 It is only for the best of us

There are many things I like about FL Studio, but what can make me crazy using other DAWs is trying to figure out how to add the FX I want to a channel. I just dig the way it is implemented in FL Studio.

ShawnG · Post by **ShawnG** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 12:37 am

Heh, I was wondering if anyone was goong to call me out for saying not to slag off other DAWs, when I already said I hated FL. i did that just to show that even though this poll never comes out the way I want, I still think it has some value. Since you guys asked, I have tried various demos of FL over the years, and never really "got it". Even though I am mostly Midi and soft synths these days, I started this gig with recording audio only on analog tape, so FL doesn't hit where I live too much. I still have considered buying a license just out of a sense of completeness (i currently own seven DAWs) but its not my thing. However if somebody thinks its the greatest thing in the world, I am not affected at all, so go ahead and tell me why it wins the top spot every year.

ATN69 · Post by **ATN69** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 12:43 am

ShawnG wrote:Heh, I was wondering if anyone was goong to call me out for saying not to slag off other DAWs, when I already said I hated FL. i did that just to show that even though this poll never comes out the way I want, I still think it has some value. Since you guys asked, I have tried various demos of FL over the years, and never really "got it". Even though I am mostly Midi and soft synths these days, I started this gig with recording audio only on analog tape, so FL doesn't hit where I live too much. I still have considered buying a license just out of a sense of completeness (i currently own seven DAWs) but its not my thing. However if somebody thinks its the greatest thing in the world, I am not affected at all, so go ahead and tell me why it wins the top spot every year.

It wins because the majority of people doesn't agree with you

..there is the answer

ShawnG · Post by **ShawnG** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 12:43 am

ATN69 wrote:
ShawnG wrote:quite a lot of responses to this are variations of "there is no best DAW, its up to your personal choice" This is completely and 100% true, however there is a lot to be gained from the exercise of arguing about the best DAW, so I'm not sure that's the most helpful response. I mean FL Studio wins this thing just about every time, and I HATE FL studio, so obviously, I don't agree with the masses on this one. I have zero problems with people telling me why their DAW is the best, in fact I encourage it. It might not sway my opinion, and I may read your piece and think that it doesn't apply to my deal, or I may quietly think you're an idiot. However, I might see some merit there and find out something I've been missing. having an opinion is good. This doesn't apply to slagging off somebody else's DAW, or constantly pimping your DAW out in every thread whether it's welcome there or not (I'm Looking at YOU, reaper people!) but for God's sake if you like your DAW tell me why.
So that's the Point! You hate FL Studio and I like it. We don't agree and that is why the result from polls like this does not help much when it comes to buying a DAW. As a buyer you need to look at them yourself one by one and choose the one you find more suitable for you. Why do I like FL Studio? I bought it because it was value for Money. I love the piano roll and I use it all the time. Workflow suits me. So is FL Studio perfect? The answer is of course NO! There are certain things I don't like with it and I am sure that is true for any DAW. Even if you love your DAW and is the biggest fanboy on the planet, I am sure there are a thing or two that you don't like so much with your DAW.

Yes, the results of the poll are not really important unless you have a really low sense of host self esteem. the process of the argument though is important, since it's an opportunity to broaden your horizons. Thw knee jerk response of "there is no best DAW" to these things is based on not wanting to see a flame war erupt, but it has effect of stifling actual constructive debate.

ShawnG · Post by **ShawnG** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 1:05 am

And To follow my own advice, I just cast my vote in the poll for Cubase. Last year I would have definitely said Logic, but 2 things happened, I got tired of apple updates breaking my stuff, so I ditched Mac, and I was able to snag a closeout boxed copy of cubase 8 with a hardware controller for $170 ( and then I sold the controller for $70). Cheapness notwithstanding, the main thing I love are the chord tools. This is such a great songwriting assistant, and I find myself using chords I never would have on my own, because it gives me means of playing with progressions in real time. It extends to the midi editor which is the deepest I have used ever, and all the other boxes are ticked as well. I miss Logic's drummer, and a couple of the instruments, but not too much else. Steinberg is still steinberg, which is a downer, and I always have some love for my faithful scratchpad Reason, but Cubase is my choice this year

EnGee · Post by **EnGee** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 1:41 am

ShawnG wrote:And To follow my own advice, I just cast my vote in the poll for Cubase. Last year I would have definitely said Logic, but 2 things happened, I got tired of apple updates breaking my stuff, so I ditched Mac, and I was able to snag a closeout boxed copy of cubase 8 with a hardware controller for $170 ( and then I sold the controller for $70). Cheapness notwithstanding, the main thing I love are the chord tools. This is such a great songwriting assistant, and I find myself using chords I never would have on my own, because it gives me means of playing with progressions in real time. It extends to the midi editor which is the deepest I have used ever, and all the other boxes are ticked as well. I miss Logic's drummer, and a couple of the instruments, but not too much else. Steinberg is still steinberg, which is a downer, and I always have some love for my faithful scratchpad Reason, but Cubase is my choice this year

$170 with a controller?! I hate you!

I agree with most you said about Cubase. I only have it now with Reaper installed. Reaper is my scratchpad or testing host, while Cubase for composing. (Oh and Notion for scoring maybe till I upgrade to Cubase full). That's it! I even begin to feel that the Drums in Cubase are more than enough for me! Groove Agent SE is amazing

telecharge · Post by **telecharge** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 2:00 am

ShawnG wrote:Heh, I was wondering if anyone was goong to call me out for saying not to slag off other DAWs, when I already said I hated FL. i did that just to show that even though this poll never comes out the way I want, I still think it has some value. Since you guys asked, I have tried various demos of FL over the years, and never really "got it". Even though I am mostly Midi and soft synths these days, I started this gig with recording audio only on analog tape, so FL doesn't hit where I live too much. I still have considered buying a license just out of a sense of completeness (i currently own seven DAWs) but its not my thing. However if somebody thinks its the greatest thing in the world, I am not affected at all, so go ahead and tell me why it wins the top spot every year.

Well, to each their own, but not getting on with something is quite a bit different than hate. Perhaps you were exaggerating for dramatic effect?

I don't have a love/hate relationship with DAWs, but I will tell you why I like FL Studio which are the reasons (I believe) they win in the polls.

Affordable

Lifetime Updates

Value - You get a lot "in the box" as opposed to say, Tracktion (which I love). Not a fair comparison really.

On a more personal note, I like that FL Studio supports both 32-bit and 64-bit plug-ins. It also plays well with others. What other DAW can you load as a VST?

My problems with FL Studio are minor. I would like to see more options for plug-in management and some of their interface choice I'm not crazy about, but that's being nit-picky.

Another quibble, which may be my own ignorance, is I've not yet figured out how to reconcile their free web-based downloadable content (loops and samples) with what I previously downloaded via the "old" IL Download Manager.

For the record, I've yet to vote.

Doug1978 · Post by **Doug1978** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 7:05 am

I like Ableton Live 8 but its midi zooming and tools could be better.
Reason was great during the mid/late-2000s, but (for me) its lost some of its allure since then.

telecharge · Post by **telecharge** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 7:15 am

I've never used Reason, but I've seen a number of positive comments about Reason 9. Some of them in the poll comments.

Zexila · Post by **Zexila** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 11:51 am

trickle down wrote:If a beginner asked me which DAW I would recommend starting on, it wouldn't be FL that's for sure.

I'm almost always recommending MuLab, great entry level DAW.

LawrenceF · Post by **LawrenceF** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 4:37 pm

Zexila wrote:I'm almost always recommending MuLab, great entry level DAW.

Mulab is pretty nice indeed. At least from the short time I demoed it.

Which points out the obvious, that as much as some like to pretend that marketing doesn't matter, it very clearly does, as evidenced by the products doing the most (or most effective) marketing generally being the most popular while some of the others are not talked about as much.

As to sales and all that, I'd still easily bet that Apple probably makes more money from Garageband than from Logic. All those $5 sales on i-stuff probably really add up.

Musicradar's "The bestest DAW in the world" poll.