Best DAW poll

[Ploki]

And now whether the GUI is compatible with touch screens and higher resolutions.
Live at times fails because all of the embedded plug ins look exactly the same, the same adherence to looks over function that skeuomorphic design is guilty of can be easily argued with Live giving no GUI difference between their plug ins. I love Live's interface, but it's not 100% the best for actually using. I'm not a fan of Logic in the sense that I don't use it really, but the GUI is a good balance between skeuomorphism and flat.

Of the three GUIs for tape emulators posted above in my mind it's Satin, and actually the 3D buttons on the Waves plug in, because touch screen wise they make sense. Fabfilter could be a contender but they clutter their screen making it difficult to use with a touch screen. Also this tendency towards dials within dials is a PITA IMO, it again is not that compatible with touch screens.

Except for some adventurous guys I have yet to see touch screen implemented on a true workstation at any decent capacity that's not clumsy or fatiguing, honestly.
It doesn't have the advantage of hardware controls (not having to look away from what your doing) and it doesn't have advantage of mouse+keyboard (accuracy).
Software, workflows, nothing is really there. Everything false apart on big projects.
I tried Logic Remote as a "touch screen" controller for Logic and i hate it.
Most of touch screens don't even have any feedback.

Gonna order NobControl when it's available again because "point + adjust" just seems like the fastest most reasonable and most accurate control you can get with plenty of parameters.

As far as waves interface goes; when you have a lot of parameters, having a tabbed selector is pretty much wasting space on something that's not touch.

[machinesworking]

Except for some adventurous guys I have yet to see touch screen implemented on a true workstation at any decent capacity that's not clumsy or fatiguing, honestly.
It doesn't have the advantage of hardware controls (not having to look away from what your doing) and it doesn't have advantage of mouse+keyboard (accuracy).
Software, workflows, nothing is really there. Everything false apart on big projects.
I tried Logic Remote as a "touch screen" controller for Logic and i hate it.
Most of touch screens don't even have any feedback.

I bought a Slate Raven when I was flush a few years ago, their interface for the most part is just OK, but they spent a lot of money and time integrating V Control and UPDD into the interface, and it really pays off.The big one is gestures, so you can set two finger spread to Zoom the entire screen and pinch to go back etc. This is crucial since most interfaces aren't designed for touch screens.

With that you get a pretty great experience with 90% of the plug ins out there, and any DAW like Reaper or the MPC2 software with expandable faders doesn't need a dedicated separate GUI mixer like Logic Live and DP do. Owning all those DAWs I'm not using the mouse that much anymore, and IMO it's a much nicer experience. It's kind of funny really, because I think the Raven is better with the MPC and Reaper because their GUIs respond better to touch than the Raven templates and controls I have for Live and Digital Performer.

Basically a well set up touch screen is a great thing and I can't imagine that there aren't crafty Windows users out there that have a smooth experience without a Raven using multi touch and the like. I think in ten years or less multi touch screens will be common, and only certain tasks will require a mouse. Keyboards aren't going anywhere though.

[Ploki]

Sorry I get tremors when someone mentions Slate. Let me recompose myself.

I haven't tried Raven, but every video of it working in action makes me get carpal tunnel syndrome and aching elbows. It has the bells and whistles, but
a) software is not optimised for touch
b) nobody gave two f**ks about ergonomics of it

my friend works mostly on touch screen tho, in cubase. but has a dedicated screen, not raven. I hated the experience, I'm just not feeling it yet unfortunately. Feels sloppy, like trying to do surgery with fingers and butter knives.

How am I supposed to edit with a finger? It's a terrible editing tool.

[machinesworking]

How am I supposed to edit with a finger? It's a terrible editing tool.

IMO you're jumping around a lot here, the touch screen doesn't get rid of a mouse entirely, but personally I would rather use it for faders and knobs. So mixing and programming most soft synths is where it makes me happy to use. Things with complex drag and drop etc. like a MIDI editor not so much.

A mouse is far more likely to give you carpel tunnel.

[zenophilix]

Most DAW's are, broadly speaking, equivilent in capabilities if you know what you're doing (and yes, there are some obvious differences in workflow). So the 'best' DAW is the one your currently using, and (hopefully) know inside out.

This. The problem with these threads is it inevitably turns from "I like this, and dislike this." to "This is good, and this is HORRIBLE," etc. None of the DAWs brought up here are inherently bad, we all just have different takes on them. Personally, I have a difficult time with Cubase, while others love it. Neither viewpoint is wrong, just different. Your DAW says a lot about how you work, and finding the one that works for you is vital. Thus, it seems a bit odd to be judging them based on things like UI, since each one is tailored to a different way of thinking about production. If we're going to argue the objective best DAW, then I'd think it would be more based on features/core functionality alone.

But hey, this is KVR, and anything can be argued.

[Ploki]

How am I supposed to edit with a finger? It's a terrible editing tool.

IMO you're jumping around a lot here, the touch screen doesn't get rid of a mouse entirely, but personally I would rather use it for faders and knobs. So mixing and programming most soft synths is where it makes me happy to use. Things with complex drag and drop etc. like a MIDI editor not so much.

A mouse is far more likely to give you carpel tunnel.

it didn't in 20 years tho. Magic Mouse for the last 10 years to boot!

Using touch screen for faders and knobs is what Logic Remote does tho, and i did try that, on several ipads (from 7,9" to the 12.9") and it all seemed like garbage. If I mix with faders, physical faders still feel better. Something like NobControl controlled by eye movement for example would eliminate mouse and give you a hands-on approach that would by far exceed any touchscreen experience

[george]

Logic Pro still #1 for me since 2007.

[AdvancedFollower]

FL is superior as far as music creation goes. They have countless midi editing tools necessary to create and create quickly. all other daws i have tried, cakewalk, reaper, waveform 9, pro tools, and soundbridge, and none of them stand a chance against fl as far as the creation process goes. IMO those DAWS more so specialize in audio editing and mixing. That part can be up for debate, as i know about the specialized playlist fx feature in pro tools and waveform, which fl doesn't have, but this can be easily achieved with automation. Routing options in the mixer, etc, FL's mixer is powerful as well. but going back to the point of music creation process, lets say you have no instruments, or audio files, no problem, easily start a midi session with a vst etc. Itried recently switching to Waveform 9 for example because i love the ui and some of the features like clip layering, lfo tool and the built in music theory. I start making a beat and suddenly realize, they dont have a way to quickly differentiate a midi pattern. I copy one pattern and tried to change the name, but the original file changes as well. And i see no where in settings to change this. The only way i found is to create a new pattern and copy and paste. Fl has them over beat in this department, with a simple click, you can make the pattern unique, speeding up workflow drastically compared to the copy paste method. FL

Never used Waveform 9, but Studio One and Reaper make it easy to either treat a MIDI clip ("pattern") as shared, where changes to one are reflected everywhere it's used in the song, or make it unique. I find the arrangement process very similar across those DAWs, apart from small things like how FL shows each pattern in the pattern picker, and it's slightly quicker to "paint" patterns on the playlist.

One thing that annoys me about FL in terms of the creation process is that ghost channels can only be shown for other items in the same pattern. However it's considered "best practice" to only have one instrument playing in each pattern. So you end up temporarily copying e.g. the block chords from the Chords pattern into your Melody pattern, just so you can see them while you compose your melody, then you have to remember to delete them afterwards. In other DAWs, it's easy to view the ghost notes of any other MIDI clip without going through those hoops.

Of course FL also does some things really well that I wish other DAW's would do, so there are always trade-offs... Unless maybe if you get Reaper and then spend the next 3 years customizing and scripting it to your particular workflow, instead of making music...

[ubailey]

FL does a lot of things wrell that I wished other DAWS, could like support both 32bit and 64bit vst's insteadof having to load a separate daw for each type. Copying/pasting/slicing/chopping notes/and patterns, options yto flip a pattern. or arp it. or strum it , etc. Hell, lets say you are having beat maker block or something, you can litterally have FL generate a song by itself with the Riff feature or the random feature. And all of this stuff and lots more, work right out the box for the most part, I don't have to sit there and tweak FL like i would need to tweak Reaper, or Tracktion/Waveform. Another example, I can take an 808 in FL and send it to the piano roll to use other notes instead of the default root note and play the melody with piano, I haven't seen any other DAW, that allows you to do this. Also, everything from the playlist to the piano roll can be easily dragged and dropped to speed up workflow. Other Daws need to take not of FL's piano roll/sequencer options, and playlist options, because they are light years ahead of othera

[maggot22]

best: FL Studio
worst: reaper

[Googly Smythe]

Oh what the hell
Cubase is best.
The worst are all the rest.

[martinjuenke]

Oh what the hell
Cubase is best.
The worst are all the rest.

Have you tried Reaper?

[starflakeprj]

Oh what the hell
Cubase is best.
The worst are all the rest.

Have you tried Reaper?

If Reaper would be an OS, it would be Linux. Nothing wrong with that, but if you want to get the most out of Reaper, you will need to look "under the hood".

[leeleema]

I like this so it's better. Well I like this so it's better than that. No, this one is better. Etc. Even if someone has experience of a few different DAWs it's still only opinion as to which is better. Magazines have their own agendas which are entirely different to any particular individual agendas. It's a bit like buying a car and reading all of the available reviews. The best car in reviews and best of the year polls will rarely be the best for any particular individual, as an individual will have different needs and pick up on many more details from long term experience with one car, than a team of reviewers over a short period with many cars.

[Googly Smythe]

Oh what the hell
Cubase is best.
The worst are all the rest.

Have you tried Reaper?

I liken Reaper users to car enthusiasts, the ones who like to get their hands dirty, doing their own oil changes, putting in a new clutch, and so on. Me, I just like to drive the damn car. Nothing wrong with either approach, so long as it's enjoyable.
(That was a yes!)