How To Choose The Right Digital Audio Workstation For You, Part 3

Hopefully you read Parts 1 and 2 in this series, if not, you can catch up here:

How To Choose The Right DAW For You, Part 1

How To Choose The Right DAW For You, Part 2

So in this final part it’s time to look at the more serious studio level DAWs.

From Introductory to Studio Level

These are the most well-known DAWs – now we start getting into recognisably more professional-looking software. The thing about these studio level DAWs is that they all also have little brothers, essentially slimmed-down versions of the larger flagship models. We’ll look at these ‘families’ below.

I feel a quick bit of background might be useful here. All of the big DAW companies – Steinberg, Apple, Digidesign etc. – have developed product ranges which are designed a bit like how a drug dealer would get an addict hooked (bear with me here). They give you a really cheap and inviting introductory program, and then when you’ve exhausted it’s limited possibilities, they hope that you’ll want to move on to their ‘harder stuff’, at which point they ‘jack up the price’.

I don’t mean to sound jaded and cynical by the way, it’s just a nice analogy so I’m running with it :)

So these ‘lite’ versions use the same interfaces and basic working methods as the larger DAWs that they are based on. They are much cheaper though because they usually have limited trackcounts (the number of different tracks you can use in any one project), few or no extra features or plugins, and limited routing and connection options.

Don’t be too put off though. In many ways, this approach does work for us the music-makers as well – it’s not just a cynical marketing system designed to keep us locked into using their particular brand for the rest of our lives… We don’t usually need all those features when we’re starting, it can get quite overwhelming, so there is something to be said for allowing the capabilities of our studio to grow at the same pace as our skills develop. Importantly, that also means we can stagger the amount of money we invest as we go along.

There are six main popular DAW companies in this ‘studio’ category. I’ve listed the complete range of versions for each company’s DAW, with the ‘slimmest’ at the top, and marked the flagship version of each DAW in bold:

Cubase 5

Steinberg:

• Cubase Essential 5 ($190)
• Cubase Studio ($500)
• Cubase 5 ($750)

Available for Mac and PC.

One of the only cross-platform DAWs still around, Cubase is the original sequencer. Cubase is my DAW of choice – it doesn’t necessarily do anything you can’t do on other software, but I started with it 15 years ago and it’s grown up with me.

Website: http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/musicproduction/cubase5_product.html

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Logic Studio

Apple:

• Logic Express 9 ($199)
• Logic Studio (formerly Logic Pro 9, $499)

Available for Mac only.

If you own a Mac and have played with Garageband, this really is the most logical choice (pun unintended). The main DAW rivalry is between Logic and Cubase, but there is so little between them that I find it hard to call. Logic has some great bundled plugins and the advanced routing options are slightly more flexible than in Cubase, but personally I much prefer Cubase’s interface and controls (spoken like a true PC man). But maybe that comes down to what you’re used to.

Website: http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/

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Ableton Live 8

Ableton:

• Live Intro (formerly Live LE, $130)
• Live 8 ($450)
• Suite 8 ($699)

Famed as the DAW for DJs, if you want to perform your tracks in a live set this is the only option in my opinion. There is also now Live Suite, which is more of direct competitor to Cubase and Logic, being geared towards those of us who can sit still for five minutes :p

Website: http://www.ableton.com/live-8

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Sonar 8.5 Producer

Cakewalk:

• Sonar 8.5 Studio (£220)
• Sonar 8.5 Producer (£390)

Available for PC only.

Sonar is probably the flashest-looking DAW, and Cakewalk have been designing sequencers as long as anyone in the field, so you can be sure it does a pro job. Bonus points for the best-named DAW as well.

Website: http://www.cakewalk.com/products/SONAR/

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Digital Performer 7

MOTU:

• Digital Performer 7 (£410)

Available for Mac only.

Not as flash as some, but MOTU (Mark Of The Unicorn) are a highly reputable company in the pro audio industry, and Digital Performer is a solid workhorse DAW that will perform just as well as any of it’s competitors. Or is that work-unicorn? Bdum chish…

Website: http://www.motu.com/products/software/dp/

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Pro Tools 8

Digidesign:

• Pro Tools M-Powered 8
• Pro Tools LE 8
• Pro Tools|HD 8

Pro Tools is a bit more complicated than the other DAWs, because you must also have specific dedicated hardware connected to your computer for each version. I haven’t listed any prices, because there are too many different hardware-software combinations. I’ll go into it a little below, but I also suggest you go to the Digidesign website and having a closer look at the options: http://www.avid.com/US/products/family/Pro-Tools

Basically, Pro Tools LE is the nearest equivalent to the flagship DAWs like Cubase 5 and Logic Studio. You can consider Pro Tools M-Powered ideal if you’re using a laptop and mobility is a key issue for you, because the M-Audio hardware can be very compact (there’s even a USB key-sized option now). Pro Tools|HD is really designed for pro studios dealing with a lot of High Definition film and video work – you can imagine the pricetag.

Above and beyond – how ‘professional’ do you want to go – ‘Industry Standards’

A number of these DAWs could be considered ‘industry-standard’, that is, used by many music and film industry professionals. Pro Tools is the obvious one, with Cubase/Nuendo and Logic not too far behind.

However, I want to make the point that this does not necessarily mean they are the best tools for a given job, or for how you personally want to work – more often it refers to the fact that, by it’s nature, any industry wants to standardise equipment and methods of working so that they can have a reliable and efficient work-flow, limit unpredictability and risk, and train people with skills that can be transferred to many different professional studios without them having to re-learn new software and equipment each time.

On the other hand, musicians are artists, and so should get suitably agitated by the idea of being prescribed a set way to do things :) – creativity is a very personal thing.

So one thing that might be relevant to ask yourself with regards to your own DAW platform choice is, “Am I interested in getting used to and training myself up on industry-standard software, that might increase my chances of future employment in that industry?

“OR, do I have no intention of being employed within the music or film industries unless it’s on my terms – I’m an artist damn it, not a technician!”

If you’re leaning more towards the second option, then you should certainly choose whichever tools you feel most comfortable with purely from a creative point of view. This is a very personal thing, and anyway it certainly doesn’t rule out the option of future employment (particularly on a freelance basis).

If, on the other hand, you think that you might quite like to get a job off the back of your production skills – well in my opinion, the sooner you buy Pro Tools the better!

Notes on Pro Tools

The clue is in the name… Pro Tools is the standard for computer-based audio recording, sequencing and mixing in both the music and film industries. If you go into any proper studio in the world, chances are they’ll have this running (even if it’s not their main platform). In terms of transporting music projects between professional studios, which is extremely important at the industrial level, Pro Tools is the most ubiquitous and therefore the most trouble-free platform.

In reality, most people don’t start out on Pro Tools – until a few years ago, it was just too expensive for most individuals, particularly as it only works with it’s own dedicated high-end hardware. But recently Digidesign bought M-Audio, who make a range of more affordable project studio-sized hardware to work with Pro Tools. This is what ‘M-Powered‘ refers to.

Pro Tools also uses it’s own plugin format, TDM – you can use other plugins too, but the TDM range are the real top of the line in terms of sound quality (and cost).

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Nuendo 5

Steinberg Nuendo

It’s also worth mentioning Nuendo here too. Nuendo is basically a high-end version of Cubase that has been enhanced with extra features for media work – film composing, sound design and dubbing, and other music-to-picture jobs. Traditionally Pro Tools has had a monopoly on this market, and it still dominates massively, but Nuendo is gradually gathering a professional following. Version 5 is coming out very soon.

In fact, as I said earlier I am a Cubase user, and whilst doing my filmmaking course I got into Nuendo because it was a more natural progression for me than diving completely into Pro Tools. You see, this is how it works, they got me… :)

If you’re still confused, or even more confused than before, the important thing to remember is that all of the most popular DAWs are more similar than any of them would like to admit. They all copy each other’s feature sets so that they don’t lose out in the competitive market, which means ironically that they all end up being very similar. In the end, don’t agonise too long over making the perfect choice – you won’t know for sure until you start using it every day. Just go with your instincts, even if it comes down to which looks the best – after all you do have to spend a lot of time staring at the interface, so you might as well find it an inspiring one.

Any FURTHER questions? I’ll be really happy to help on a one-to-one basis if you give me a shout. G.