Picking a DAW is hard…

[SidNice]

I've been recording and producing for 25 years and tried most that were available then. I ended up using Cubase as my friends used it. As good as reason as any. I always found it amusing when some smart alec said their DAW was "more serious" than mine. Same with hardware. Could explain why I grew more and more interested in 50s/60s recording techniques. Simple is best and less is more in my eyes. Funny how the better I got at songwriting and playing guitar/bass the less fancy hardware and software I seemed to need!

- one thing I've noticed is how a lot seem to be converging to a similar layout
- I mainly record live so the world of midi remains to a degree mysterious - but a quality vst instrument can be a wonderful shortcut
- I've tried switching to other DAWs but it's too late for me - too used to Cubase but like I said they are similar. I do use GarageBand when recording in different locations as I find it incredibly easy when recording multi-track drums
- the advances in mastering are remarkable - very positive use of AI
- used judiciously tape saturation/valve emulation plug-ins can be a thing of beauty

[Awats]

I don’t get the belief that you can’t do anything on Reaper until you do a bunch of stuff. You don’t have to do anything beyond what other DAWs require … pick the interface and start recording. The fact that you can do a lot of customization in Reaper is just icing but don’t have to anything. Record.

[Wriggle]

I hate Ableton with a passion - I have no idea why

I have Logic, Cubase Pro, Bitwig, Reaper, Luna and have tended to settle best with Cubase. I write instrumental synth music.

I recently thought I would try a Push 3 which tethered me to Ableton and I discovered I was writing much more music. More importantly, I was actually finishing tracks. I still hate it as software but it is a tool. The value of any tool is how easily and efficiently it works in your hands.

[DCrown]

I tried Logic, then Pro Tools and ended up using Reaper only. I customized it for my workflow and there is nothing I could complain about.
I prefer a very fast workflow and I have created templates, so before I start , I have everything set up: Vocal tracks, bass, drums etc. with busses.
Of course, I often change or add things depending on what plugins I chose, song structure and music genre.
AI is not even tempting for me, I want to add my flair of mixing.
I know my main plugins, they are categorized in one folder, so...ready to go!

[kuromir]

Bitwig’s plugin sandboxing/crash protection seems to be something that gets mentioned a lot (e.g., separate plugin processes and crash protection). I know Bitwig has several hosting modes for VSTs — but is it truly the only DAW that offers this level of sandboxing? How do other hosts (Live, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One, etc.) compare in terms of plugin isolation and crash protection?

[machinesworking]

I hate Ableton with a passion - I have no idea why

I have Logic, Cubase Pro, Bitwig, Reaper, Luna and have tended to settle best with Cubase. I write instrumental synth music.

I recently thought I would try a Push 3 which tethered me to Ableton and I discovered I was writing much more music. More importantly, I was actually finishing tracks. I still hate it as software but it is a tool. The value of any tool is how easily and efficiently it works in your hands.

I resemble this , IMO the main reason I hate Live would be a hodgepodge of WYSIWYG then f**k it, let's hide a feature! The keyboard shortcuts suck, no nice way to put it, three freaking keys for most things, and some things like plugin windows open/close has to be an example of the absolute worst implementation I've ever seen in any DAW. The interface makes everything look the same, cool I guess until you're dealing with mixing and the grey gets in the way.

On the other hand, Push 3 is pretty great, there are issues, just the other day I'm trying to set the start marker in a Clip and on the push it only jumps to full bars, doesn't react to modifiers, and doesn't react to quantize settings. So again I'm turning to the computer. In terms of quick adjustments of a mix, and many other things it's fantastic though. I'm even getting used to editing MIDI on it.

I'll be honest though, I wish Bitwig could hijack the built in computer for standalone. I would probably switch.

[eLawnMust]

Yeah, No go on ableton dead... The special audio warping & stretching it had in the very beginning & no MIDI till what?...Version 3 (Limited) then version 4 (Full)... Always a bad omen when music apps acquire MIDI 'down the road'... Never liked the sound of it... I think it would've been good as a plugin... The old Cakewalk stuff way better... Project5, Kinetic, Plasma, Pro Audio, SONAR...

[sonic_ally]

Except for the browser, I really prefer Logic these days.. Ableton is a close second.

[audiojunkie]

Bitwig’s plugin sandboxing/crash protection seems to be something that gets mentioned a lot (e.g., separate plugin processes and crash protection). I know Bitwig has several hosting modes for VSTs — but is it truly the only DAW that offers this level of sandboxing? How do other hosts (Live, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One, etc.) compare in terms of plugin isolation and crash protection?

Reaper has it too.

[kuromir]

Bitwig’s plugin sandboxing/crash protection seems to be something that gets mentioned a lot (e.g., separate plugin processes and crash protection). I know Bitwig has several hosting modes for VSTs — but is it truly the only DAW that offers this level of sandboxing? How do other hosts (Live, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One, etc.) compare in terms of plugin isolation and crash protection?

Reaper has it too.

Right — Reaper does indeed support plugin sandboxing.

From what I can tell, the distinction is less about capability and more about defaults and ergonomics: Bitwig treats sandboxing as a first-class design principle, whereas Reaper exposes similar protection through highly configurable (but more manual) settings.

Thanks for pointing it out.

[Grizzellda]

Hey, look...

Just get MuLab, alright?

[phreakrentertainment]

Renoise 3.5.3!

32bit native@192k, 32bit oscillators , draw oscillators, kickasss instrument sample editor and in a tracker interface! DAW quality is top notch in 3.5.3

[vitocorleone123]

Bitwig’s plugin sandboxing/crash protection seems to be something that gets mentioned a lot (e.g., separate plugin processes and crash protection). I know Bitwig has several hosting modes for VSTs — but is it truly the only DAW that offers this level of sandboxing? How do other hosts (Live, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One, etc.) compare in terms of plugin isolation and crash protection?

Waveform has had sandboxing for many years. 5-7? Just not as detailed in terms of options around it.

I’m using Bitwig6 now. Chose it over Cubase. Moving from Studio One Pro. Bitwig 6 is incredible for electronic music, especially. Not perfect, though.

Hate Reaper. Dislike Ableton. Support Waveform.

[Starbright]

Bitwig’s plugin sandboxing/crash protection seems to be something that gets mentioned a lot (e.g., separate plugin processes and crash protection). I know Bitwig has several hosting modes for VSTs — but is it truly the only DAW that offers this level of sandboxing? How do other hosts (Live, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One, etc.) compare in terms of plugin isolation and crash protection?

Not the only one, but Reaper, Logic and Wveform have sandboxing.
In my kist Logic just outperforms Reapers sandboxing by 10 or 15 percent. While Waveform is last place due its sandboxing working sometimes and sometimes not (though I haven't used the last 2 version)

[SLiC]

Do people actually have VSTs crash anymore? Its been years since I have seen a VST crash any DAW I use.

Based on the quality and quantity of updates and innovation recently I would pick Ableton Live- still privately owned and heading in the right direction- amazing hardware as well (Move, PUSH).