I used SAW Studio for a few months when I was reviewing it for a magazine. It is indeed skinnable, and the GUI isn't really as bad as all that...you can do some customizing to suit your workflow. It doesn't sport the finest graphics on the planet, to be sure, but it is very usable once you get to know your way around.
My impressions of the overall program were that it was a kickass audio recording and mixing environment. As stated, it was super, super fast and rock solid. It did what it was supposed to do and did it transparently. The two best features about it were the mixer and the EQ. I would venture to say that it was one of the best sounding software EQs I had used.
The only real letdown is the MIDI implementation. MIDI sequencing is done via an add-in app, and it is "okay". Certainly not up to the standard of most sequencers available today. Now, this was over a year ago, this might have changed. Still, SAW is an audio app first and foremost, and it does that very, very well.
Can the price be justified? I don't know...like I said, the mixer is awesome. The CPU consumtion is well below the other Windows DAWs I have tried. I did a number of big, big projects and never wanted for more power.
What it comes down to is speed and stability. These things are very, very important to studio owners who can't afford for their clients to sit around waiting for a reboot or for the second engineer to dig through menus looking for certain functions.
Bob Lentini is a very responsive and supportive developer, and he updates SAW quite regularly. He aint the kind of guy who adds new features to get an upgrade fee, while leaving old bugs unresolved. Far too many big comapnies do that. That's gotta be worth something, if you ask me.
What can I say? I used it, I liked it, and it cost a whole big buncha money. But so do the preamps the targeted customer is likely to plug into it. Some folks will pay the price.
SawStudio
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- KVRAF
- 2017 posts since 21 Mar, 2002 from Hutchinson, Kansas
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- KVRer
- 15 posts since 18 Nov, 2004 from califurnia
I am a SAW user and I like it. Been through the other's in my 10+ years of doing DAW. It really is a whole different game, once you get to know the program. Well worth the money.