If you had to stick to one DAW, which one would it be?

[degreco]

Tried out Mixcraft 9 a couple of years ago and it's right up my alley.

What i also love about it is that it's pretty intuitive and the producing workflow is very straightforward. I can normally figure out pretty much anything I want to do without reading manuals or watching YT tutorials. For instance, the routing of instruments and controlling them is done supereasy and very intuitive, no manual needed.

The only manuals or tutorial videos i ever consume are always plugin related (like synth manuals ), the DAW itself feels like a natural thing to control.

Even though Mixcraft is very simple, almost like a Garageband brother for Windows, it can do any of the things all the other DAWs do. But it's not the prettiest software out there. Some of the bundled FX and instruments look quite old. They get the job done, but built-in eye candy is found elsewhere, e.g. in Bitwig, Ableton Live or Logic.

Acoustica Mixcraft is one one of the oldest DAWs out there. Acoustica flies mostly under the radar, though. So you should stick to big DAWs like Live, S1, FL etc. if you need a big user base / community.
On the other hand, if you love underdogs, try Mixcraft out some time. It's a bargain for what it does, even more so, when it's sold in some HumbleBundle.

[Trensharo]

Logic and FL Studio definitely seem a bit underrepresented in this poll. Pro Tools is definitely underrepresented. Not really remarkable, given the general demographics of the forum.

Surprised to see Studio One behind so many. I actually think its fandom has eclipse REAPERs in terms of loudness on the internet. They definitely are on this forum, so I'd have expected it to be up there with Ableton and Cubase (which is actually surprisingly high, considering how it seems to be regarded here).

[cryophonik]

Logic and FL Studio definitely seem a bit underrepresented in this poll.

I’d guess that Mac users comprise well under 50% of KVR members, so it’s not surprising that Logic seems underrepresented. A poll like this is inherently statistically biased against any single-platform DAW

[wangeroge]

A poll like this is inherently statistically biased against any single-platform DAW

A poll like this is also biased because most KVR users come from the US. In Europe Cubase has more users than in the US. But at the moment Cubase is winning even on KVR.

[Dirtgrain]

^ All sorts of ways that could be skewed.

Anyhow, love the one you're with. I got Bitwig Black Friday, but I just don't want to walk away from all I've learned about Live, so I don't use Bitwig for months.

[BONES]

That's what I don't get about people using multiple hosts - you end up being a jack of all trades and master of none.

[Trensharo]

Sometimes what you do necessitates using multiple hosts. You might like using one tool for one type of work (optimized workflow of tool bias towards a specific market segment), and anotehr for different work.

You might prefer producing in Ableton or Bitwig, but Mixing in Pro Tools or Samplitude Pro X. You might prefer to produce in Studio One, but limitations with the platform necessitate using Pro Tools, Cubase or Digital Performer for other types of work (Film Scoring, Post-Production, Mixing Content that needs Spatial Audio Support, etc.).

You might just prefer to mix it up to prevent boredom or burnout... Some people stay motivated in that way.

And it's actually always a good idea to maintain proficiency in more than one solution, for obvious reasons. You can often gain this proficiency during non-urgent time frames over an extended period of time, so you don't actually pay much for it (i.e. doing work in one DAW, and then using hobby projects to acquire and maintain proficiency in another - this is actually quite common among professionals... many Avid Editors use non-Avid NLEs in this way e.g. using Logic Pro or Resolve to create their YouTube content).

Totally valid strategies.

Being a Jack of All Trades, IMO, applies more to other facets of music production - like doing all of the Producing, Mixing and Mastering when perhaps you could delegate some of that out to a specialist; which can increase our productivity in other areas.

[BONES]

Rubbish! The first reason you give is actually a perfect example of why it makes more sense to learn one host inside-out. As is the point about limitations of one host over another. Because if you know your host and your profession (or hobby) inside-out, every task will be faster and easier for you and there will be no task you can't manage in it.

Mixing is part of producing, so that point makes no sense at all. Neither does it make sense to start a process in an application you know you can't finish it in. Given what a massive PITA it is to move a project between hosts, I'd be very surprised if it didn't have a big negative effect on your ability to to your best work.

There are no reasons, obvious or otherwise, to maintain proficiency in multiple hosts and it's nonsense to suggest otherwise. The only Avid editors I know who use multiple NLEs do it because they work at different places that use different software and if they are doing their own projects in other NLEs, it's because they don't own their own Avid license and Resolve is free. And editing isn't even hard. I don't know any 3D artist who'd consider himself proficient in more than one 3D application. I know how to use Cinema 4D and I can get around OK in Blender but if I have work to be doing, whether it's modelling, adding materials, rigging characters or doing complex animation, 3DS Max is the only option for me.

And if you think that mixing and mastering aren't two sides of the same coin and that they don't employ the same skills, then you have no idea what you're talking about. In fact, if anything it proves my point - that you are better off getting someone who only knows one thing really well because someone who knows one thing really well will do a better job than you.

[skijumptoes]

There are no reasons, obvious or otherwise, to maintain proficiency in multiple hosts and it's nonsense to suggest otherwise.

Then perhaps you have not have worked with hardware centric workflows such as Maschine or Ableton Push?

And if you think that mixing and mastering aren't two sides of the same coin and that they don't employ the same skills, then you have no idea what you're talking about.

To be fair, they never said it's two sides of the same coin - you have.

I think the point being made is one of approach, not technicalities or skill sets.

Mixing vs mastering I see similar to author vs proof checker.

A mastering engineer will ensure that your mixes set in relation to one another and universally within the genre of music, without carrying the biases and blind spots you may have established.

It's not so much about skill, but a different perspective. Which is the general theme of using different hosts. It may not be for you, but to shout it down as 'rubbish' is a bit daft when so much successful music has been through this very process for decades.

[andypryce]

I see DAWs as instruments and the ones I use inspire me to do different things and I am happy and do not have any struggle to use any of them. If I do media scoring I use Cubase, if I do electronic or sound design I usually start with Live. Know both inside/out. I know a bunch of friends love to produce on FL but do their recordings with Studio One.
May not be applicable to everybody but to think it is impossible is kind of weird. If one can speak five languages fluently, sure some can master two or more DAWs. If I can master Cubase and Photoshop why can not I Cubase and Live? It is not rocket science.

[Flip64]

Running more than 1 DAW with quite different workflows makes sense. I've heard 1 longtime Cubase user for example, say he also now uses Bitwig as it makes him think and approach things differently - that he sometimes feels like he's in a rut with Cubase. Thinking differently while using Bitwig generates ideas he wouldn't have come up with otherwise.

[BONES]

So why does he still bother with Cubase at all? If he's in a rut, he's gotta get out of it, out of it, out of it. (5 points to anyone who gets this reference.) He should move on.

Then perhaps you have not have worked with hardware centric workflows such as Maschine or Ableton Push?

What difference would that make? I work ITB so I don't have to deal with shit like that. And, for the record, I've had a Maschine Mikro for two years or more and I have used it precisely never. I had it hooked into my set-up for a few months and never found a use for it. It was a cheap way of getting into Komplete, though.

To be fair, they never said it's two sides of the same coin - you have.

Exactly my point. "They" seem to think they're two separate processes requiring different skills, which is ridiculous.

I think the point being made is one of approach, not technicalities or skill sets

Then you didn't comprehend the post I was responding to. Any approach that requires you to move a partially completed project from one host to another is deeply, deeply flawed.

Mixing vs mastering I see similar to author vs proof checker.

Then you and I have equally low regard for mastering engineers, although for different reasons.

A mastering engineer will ensure that your mixes set in relation to one another and universally within the genre of music, without carrying the biases and blind spots you may have established.

a) Why can't you do those things? If you can manage a decent mix, mastering is a doddle.
b) Why would you restrict yourself to a single genre? Why would you even want to?
c) What if your mastering engineer is a clueless idiot? We paid some supposed gun 1000 euros and he made our songs sound worse. Even our label admitted that my rough masters sounded better and they've let me master everything we've released since.

It's not so much about skill, but a different perspective. Which is the general theme of using different hosts. It may not be for you, but to shout it down as 'rubbish' is a bit daft when so much successful music has been through this very process for decades.

Just because everyone else is being an idiot doesn't mean you have to follow suit. People carry on like this is all so hard but it's not. It's easy. If I had to name my best skills in regard to production it would be patience and focus. If you concentrate on what you are doing and keep at it until it's right, you pretty much can't help but do good work, regardless of what tools you use.

People get way too caught up in the technical side of it, which seems to tie them up in knots. If it sounds good, it is good. You don't need to run everything through spectral analysis or any of that stuff. We've all grown up listening to music, we know how it's supposed to sound so just trust your ears. And remember, it's a creative pursuit, not a technical one. We're supposed to be making art.

May not be applicable to everybody but to think it is impossible is kind of weird. If one can speak five languages fluently, sure some can master two or more DAWs. If I can master Cubase and Photoshop why can not I Cubase and Live? It is not rocket science.

It's not impossible but I will guarantee you'd do better work if you spent all your time learning one host inside-out and back-to-front, in much the same way as you may be able to converse in five languages but there is no way you could read and translate a classic novel fluently in all five. i.e. You know enough words to get by but you don't know as many words in four of those languages as you do in your native tongue so, when it comes to the important stuff, you'll always fall back on that one. It's the perfect illustration of my point.

[Trensharo]

There are no reasons, obvious or otherwise, to maintain proficiency in multiple hosts and it's nonsense to suggest otherwise.

Then perhaps you have not have worked with hardware centric workflows such as Maschine or Ableton Push?

Imagine a software developer who refuses to use anything but C++ because:

There are no reasons, obvious or otherwise, to maintain proficiency in multiple programming languages and it's nonsense to suggest otherwise.

He would be laughed out of the room, just as I would laugh at those responses if they were visible to me.

Again, this is common in many creative segments, because not everyone works for themselves, and some people like increasing their value by increasing their ability to hit the ground running when different solutions are mandated to them.

Not to mention doing the same thing ad nauseum can lead to boredom and burnout. Mixing things up a bit is key component to some people maintaining creativity and satisfaction with their profession.

You increase your personal value by diversifying, the same way you increase your economic value by diversifying your investments there.

[machinesworking]

There are no reasons, obvious or otherwise, to maintain proficiency in multiple hosts and it's nonsense to suggest otherwise.

Then perhaps you have not have worked with hardware centric workflows such as Maschine or Ableton Push?

Imagine a software developer who refuses to use anything but C++ because:

There are no reasons, obvious or otherwise, to maintain proficiency in multiple programming languages and it's nonsense to suggest otherwise.

He would be laughed out of the room, just as I would laugh at those responses if they were visible to me.

Again, this is common in many creative segments, because not everyone works for themselves, and some people like increasing their value by increasing their ability to hit the ground running when different solutions are mandated to them.

Not to mention doing the same thing ad nauseum can lead to boredom and burnout. Mixing things up a bit is key component to some people maintaining creativity and satisfaction with their profession.

You increase your personal value by diversifying, the same way you increase your economic value by diversifying your investments there.

I don't really mind the argument, though this is one that Bones has had for years, and nothing will change his opinion on it, so it's as worthless of an argument with him as attempting to get him to admit Apple ever did anything right, not happening even with physical evidence.

I have about 6 DAWs on my system, but I really work mostly in DP11 with Live as a backup. The way I work with it is simple, I know DP like the back of my hand and the others about as well as the average user.


The other elephant in the room is that for some people switching DAWs is really hard, for others it's easy. I've never struggled with it, I like knowing a lot of keyboard commands, but I don't have a problem mousing around menu bars, and relatively speaking all DAWs are doing the same things. Yes you go faster once you really know a DAW and tailor it to your needs as much as that DAW allows, but that's not a deal killer unless you're a film/TV composer on a strict schedule. Some people struggle with feeling lost in a DAW they don't know and I get that, it's just rare that some feature is that buried to where it's an issue at all.

I'm also pretty amused at the idea that moving a project to another DAW for mix down and mastering is anathema, that's 99% of the songs out there done on the professional level. Rarely do composers work in Pro Tools, but almost everything in the USA at least ends up in Pro Tools at the end. Any argument about all of this is hogwash when you compare results, results are all that matter.

[EnGee]

For about a month, I'm mostly using Bitwig and Live with mainly their devices. I'm trying also to concentrate on making my own synths presets, so it's a learning to master those two DAWs (especially their devices) as I find myself now with more ideas and better productivity.

However, I'm trying to get it balanced between restriction and flexibility, so I uninstalled all except those two DAWs (they have big contents especially Ableton Live Suite) and three synths (Phase Plant, Dune 3 and the Legend). I'm also planning to use my MODX and DeepMind synths.

I noticed that restriction comes naturally when I begin to make my own sounds (except drums and acoustic instruments).

I won't spend much time in mixing at all. Just when I feel it is right, that's it! For mastering I will just use Ozone to do it for me!