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How to Choose a DAW That Inspires You
Finding a DAW is like finding a partner. Once you commit, you’re in it for the long game.
Sure, you can flirt around. You can open a different one up every time you sit at your computer.
But without committing to one DAW, you won’t get the benefits that come with a long term relationship.
When you find the best DAW for you and settle down you can:
● Finally figure out all the advanced features ● Avoid the frustration that comes with learning a new piece of software ● Produce music with greater ease and efficiency ● Focus on what matters (the music)
I’m not here to give you dating advice. Everyone has their type, and I don’t know yours.
Instead, I want you to think about what your goals are.
Do you spend more time writing music, or mixing music?
Do you want a DAW that does one specific job well, or an all rounder?
Once you have figured out what you’re looking for in a DAW, you can choose the best DAW for you.
In this article, I will present you with the best DAWs of 2016.
Look through this list and choose the DAW that suits your needs.
Once you have made a decision, stick to it. Learn it inside out. Use the stock plugins. Become intimate with it (heh). The better you know your DAW, the better your results will be.
1 Best DAWs of 2016
Pro Tools 12
This is perhaps the most popular DAW in the professional world. For professional mixing and editing, this is the industry standard. A lot of people have a love/hate relationship with Pro Tools.
What They Say: Power your sound with the tools that power the industry. Create music or sound for film/TV and connect with a premier network of artists, producers, and mixers around the world.
What It’s Best For: Recording, Editing and Mixing
Click here for more information
2 Best DAWs of 2016
Logic Pro X
Another extremely popular piece of software. Although Logic pro is great for composing and producing music, I love using it for mixing too. The stock plugins that come with Logic Pro X are perhaps the best stock plugins of any DAW.
What They Say: Logic Pro X puts a complete recording and MIDI production studio on your Mac, with everything a pro musician needs to write, record, edit, and mix like never before.
What It’s Best For: All Rounder
Click here for more information
3 Best DAWs of 2016
Studio One 3
This DAW has become increasingly popular over the last few years, with good reason. It is now one of the most commonly used DAWs.
What They Say: Instantly familiar—yet nothing feels like it. Studio One® 3 contains everything you’d expect from a modern digital audio powerhouse. Once you touch its fast, floworiented, draganddrop interface, you’ll realize Studio One® 3 was built by creative people for creative music production.
What It’s Best For: All Rounder
Click here for more information
4 Best DAWs of 2016
Ableton Live
Top electronic music producers around the world use Ableton Live. Although it lacks some advanced editing and mixing features, it can seamlessly integrate into your live sets.
What They Say: Live is software for creating musical ideas, turning them into finished songs, and even taking them onto the stage.
What It’s Best For: Electronic Music Production
Click here for more information
5 Best DAWs of 2016
Cubase Pro 8.5
Cubase has been around for a long time, and remains popular to this day. It’s innovative, trustworthy and stable.
What They Say: Used by star producers and musicians for composing, recording, mixing and editing music, Cubase combines outstanding audio quality, intuitive handling and a collection of highly advanced audio and MIDI tools.
What It’s Best For: All Rounder
Click here for more information
6 Best DAWs of 2016
Cakewalk Sonar
This Windowsonly DAW has a great user interface and range of powerful features. There’s no need for a USB dongle, either! Take a look at the various versions for some highly affordable options.
What They Say: Fueled by over 25 years in the relentless pursuit of innovation, SONAR is reinventing the modern recording studio.
What It’s Best For: Recording, Editing and Mixing
Click here for more information
7 Best DAWs of 2016
Propellerhead Reason
This is the perfect piece of software for electronic music producers that love the look of analogue equipment. The bundled virtual instruments are powerful and versatile, and Reason comes with some great collaboration tools.
What They Say: Reason is easy to get started with, yet as deep as you want it to be. Create, compose, mix and finish your music–Reason will help you along the journey, from inspiration to mixdown.
What It’s Best For: Electronic Music Production
Click here for more information
8 Best DAWs of 2016
FL Studio 12
Another affordable DAW that’s extremely popular among electronic music producers. FL Studio is easy to use and has some great composition features, but isn’t so great for working with audio.
What They Say: FL Studio 12 is a complete software music production environment or Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Representing more than 18 years of innovative developments it has everything you need in one package to compose, arrange, record, edit, mix and master professional quality music. FL Studio is now one of the world’s most popular DAWs and is used by the most creative artists.
What It’s Best For: Electronic Music Production
Click here for more information
9 Best DAWs of 2016
Cockos Reaper
This DAW is powerful for the price (it’s a steal at $60 for a personal license) and is one of my personal favourites. You can customize the layout and functionality of the software to suit your workflow.
What They Say: REAPER is a complete digital audio production application for Windows and OS X, offering a full multitrack audio and MIDI recording, editing, processing, mixing and mastering toolset.
What It’s Best For: Recording, Editing and Mixing
Click here for more information
10 Best DAWs of 2016
Bitwig Studio
This littleknown DAW is great for music production and live performance. Founded by exAbleton engineers, Bitwig Studio shares a similar concept based on ‘clips’. It has a great modular synthesis environment and networking features.
What They Say: Bitwig Studio is dynamic software for creation and performance of your musical ideas on stage or in the studio.
What It’s Best For: Electronic Music Production
Click here for more information
11 Best DAWs of 2016
MOTU Digital Performer 9
Despite being one of the oldest DAWs available, Digital Performer has only recently made its way from Mac to Windows. Unlike the others they have a 30 day free trial available, so you can give it a whirl.
What They Say: Spark your creativity, then refine your mix — all in a singular workflow. Digital Performer 9 delivers inspirational features devised to ignite your creative muse, combined with stateoftheart studio production technologies.
What It’s Best For: All Rounder
Click here for more information
12 Best DAWs of 2016
Mixcraft Pro Studio 7
This affordable option has gathered some serious fans over its lifetime. It’s simple, userfriendly and easy to use.
What They Say: Mixcraft is The Musician’s DAW – the ideal application for creating professional quality songs, mixes, and videos with ease.
What It’s Best For: All Rounder
Click here for more information
13 Best DAWs of 2016
Conclusion
Although it may seem like a daunting task, with some more research you will find the best DAW for you.
Once you have purchased a DAW, stick to it. Despite their differences, you can produce great music and mixes with absolutely any of these DAWs.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Mayzes
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