Help me to choose a DAW combo. very detailed decription.(ableton vs bitwig/+/Studio one vs Cubase)

[kavin2134]

Hello there guys. I mainly make EDM, House and trance tracks apart from producing pop for a few singers. So far i use Ableton live. I, unlike many others mostly only use the arrangement view while actually producing. So for this I'm planning to move to a 2 DAW environment as suggested by some friends. So basically i want one daw without the typical linear workflow, which i will work in to make quick beats, ideas and also simple productions like my solo EDM stuff . And I would like to get another DAW which has a contemporary linear workflow for most of the recordings and full fledged/complex productions. So i want to know what the best combo is out there. I'm willing to sacrifice Live for this too. so please help me out.
The options:
1. The first DAW:
*Ableton Live-- (my main DAW rn)
*Bitwig studio-- heard many many good stuff and looks very tempting to change, kinda like having a crush
on your gf's sister
*FL Studio--It is arguably one of the most common and popular DAW for the EDM stuff.

2. The second DAW:
*Studio one 4-- This is my primary option for me though. It looks very inspiring and has a lot of
very good features which look promising for my purpose
*Cubase-- Kinda popular and the inbuilt effects and sounds are really cool and high quality
*Tracktion waveform-- The Gui looks cool, there r a lot of good instruments too, but this i
have no real experience with

So please help me choose the best combo of daw for the purpose I'm after. I've already demo'd all of these above and they all seem to run problem free and have the seperate workflow elements that im after. I just want to know, out of which duo, i can get the most out of.
I'm looking to move to Bitwig studio too, So by skipping live for Bitwig, can i get any features in live not in bitwig(if any) sorted out by any of the secondary DAW's. So that's why this question of best Duo. take your time and hope i can get good answers

PS. someone suggest me a good title for this, so i can make everyone understand what this is all about.

Edit1. im on windows , so logic is not an option. atleast for the next few years

[SLiC]

I own Live, Cubase, Studio One and Bitwig.

I used to use Cubase and Live, I currently use Studio One and Bitwig.
I reserve the right to change my mind in the future.

Only demoing and long term use can really help you, there ware way too many pros and cons for each, it really is only down to 'your' individual preferences and workflow (and other equipment- ITB, midi, CV, live instruments), there is no 'winner', no perfect combo for everyone, no one else can help!

[Ploki]

If you were running mac I'd suggest logic.
I own Cubase (7.5), Pro Tools (11), Live Lite and Logic.

I think your 1st options are good, so Live + Studio One.
I would've picked the same if i was running windows.

First, you already know most of what it is to know about Ableton. Learning a new one just for the sake of it is a waste of time (unless you have time to waste), + ableton is well maintained, proven, and has good community and dev support.

Second, studio one, because I believe is more cost effective, and since I've tried it, it felt like a mix of Logic and Cubase to me.

Can't go wrong with either tho. I've tried tracktion - i think previous verison, but didn't really click with it

[Passing Bye]

Don't know how serious are you about recording, opening maybe commercial studio, doing pop music and all that, also it depends where you live, but safest bet for that story is Pro Tools which is still industry standard, than Cubase and Logic, not saying you can't do it with S1, Reaper or any other DAW, but this is what most folks are using for whole recording, arranging, mixing and etc duties, again, use whatever makes most sense to you depending on your personal needs, if there's no need for you to be in Pro Tools, than who cares if it's standard or used by half industry.

If you ask me, I would use Logic in that case scenario, but that's just me.

As far as your personal DAW, use whatever fits you.

[kavin2134]

I own Live, Cubase, Studio One and Bitwig.

I used to use Cubase and Live, I currently use Studio One and Bitwig.
I reserve the right to change my mind in the future.

Only demoing and long term use can really help you, there ware way too many pros and cons for each, it really is only down to 'your' individual preferences and workflow (and other equipment- ITB, midi, CV, live instruments), there is no 'winner', no perfect combo for everyone, no one else can help!

haha true, only long term can tell. but i just can't shell out that much money right now for 3 DAW's.

[kavin2134]

Don't know how serious are you about recording, opening maybe commercial studio, doing pop music and all that, also it depends where you live, but safest bet for that story is Pro Tools which is still industry standard, than Cubase and Logic, not saying you can't do it with S1, Reaper or any other DAW, but this is what most folks are using for whole recording, arranging, mixing and etc duties, again, use whatever makes most sense to you depending on your personal needs, if there's no need for you to be in Pro Tools, than who cares if it's standard or used by half industry.

As far as your personal DAW, use whatever fits you.

About that, recording's not my primary thing. i do not intend on recording bands or even choirs. Maybe solo singers once in a while . The thing is , most singers I work with also have the knowledge and setups required to properly record, comp and send me the vocals and their instrumentals, if any . So the secondary DAW will mostly be for those production which i just do not want to use my main DAW for. i hope you understand that i feel working on a vocal pop track is more comfortable in s1/cubase more than in ableton, atleast imo.

[Passing Bye]

i hope you understand that i feel working on a vocal pop track is more comfortable in s1/cubase more than in ableton, atleast imo.

I don't really, using few vocal stems on top of everything doesn't change much to me (recording those vocals does change), maybe ARA2 integration if you are into heavy editing, of course your mileage may vary, personally I would avoid adding another DAW at any cost, but if it's unavoidable, than what else one can do, you need to decide, it's so personal thing.

[SLiC]

i hope you understand that i feel working on a vocal pop track is more comfortable in s1/cubase more than in ableton, atleast imo.

I don't really, using few vocal stems on top of everything doesn't change much to me (recording those vocals does change), maybe ARA2 integration if you are into heavy editing, of course your mileage may vary, personally I would avoid adding another DAW at any cost, but if it's unavoidable, than what else one can do, you need to decide, it's so personal thing.

I tend to agree, If you are just adding the odd vocal track to EDM, Live is more than capable. You can run Melodyne in Live if you want the best audio editor within Live....

http://helpcenter.celemony.com/hc-2/doc ... e?env=live

May be a better investment initially, its a hell of a tool (and you can use it in S1 or Cubase fully integrated with ARA if you do go down that route latter, so nothing wasted...)

[kavin2134]

i hope you understand that i feel working on a vocal pop track is more comfortable in s1/cubase more than in ableton, atleast imo.

I don't really, using few vocal stems on top of everything doesn't change much to me (recording those vocals does change), maybe ARA2 integration if you are into heavy editing, of course your mileage may vary, personally I would avoid adding another DAW at any cost, but if it's unavoidable, than what else one can do, you need to decide, it's so personal thing.

I tend to agree, If you are just adding the odd vocal track to EDM, Live is more than capable. You can run Melodyne in Live if you want the best audio editor within Live....

http://helpcenter.celemony.com/hc-2/doc ... e?env=live

May be a better investment initially, its a hell of a tool (and you can use it in S1 or Cubase fully integrated with ARA if you do go down that route latter, so nothing wasted...)

i do agree that live is very much capable for the one odd track but usually they have guitar, etc that i have to use. also i feel working with audio and big productions would be easier in a linear daw nonetheless. just my opinion

[Passing Bye]

You seem to use Live like traditional linear DAW anyways, so just get one of those and become proficient in it, seriously, if you don't have a thing for sampling, clip launching, modulating and whatever, than DAW's like Live and Bitwig may be redundant to you, on other hand Logic, Cubase, S1 and the likes started getting interesting features and updates than make them more attractive to artist's and producers of all kinds, in few years I feel that most of them will be on much even playing field sharing so much features and solutions.

If you wanna go with numbers, most used linear DAW among most popular EDM guys is Logic, than there's a big thing for Cubase in trance circles also.

[Ploki]

fwiw logic is getting a clip launcher, so "partly" non-linear workflow, but you can contain everything within a single DAW.
Also Digital Performer already has it...
But that's all on macOS unfortunately.

in any case, Ableton is great - but mixing is really a pain in the ass - or i'm missing something crucial here.
But i can't seem to find anything that would resemble an overview of all tracks with all plugins on them

[original flipper]

Hi

ALL of the DAWs you mentioned have a traditional linear workflow, can handle 'BIG' productions and offer a wide variety of tools.

Personally I don't believe that any of them have universally unmatched qualities when compared to their competitors - they are all variations of a theme (although I might eat my words for the Ableton/Max for live combo...).

The only way is to demo the lot and give Acoustica Mix craft (https://acoustica.com/mixcraft) a look as it is a lot easier to get into than the ones your looking at - which probably is an unmatched quality. given how complex DAWs are becoming.

[starflakeprj]

From those mentioned, I would go with Bitwig + Studio One. They are my no. 3 and no. 1 DAW. However, since Reason 11 (Reason is my no. 2 DAW) was released I kind of enjoy running the Reason Rack in Bitwig rather than in Studio One.