DAWs?

[ThePIGI King]

I had a random amount of free time today and got a ton done in prep for finally being ready to record. Now I need to make a decision and get a DAW. But I would love feedback here - even though I feel like everyones going to say Reaper lol

I don't have anything currently, I have no experience in this space and am not tech savvy or good with a computer. My computer can handle any of them.

I've read some posts around Reddit and various sites, and watched a couple youtube videos and I (think I have) narrowed it down mostly to Reaper or Studio One (Artist).

I write exclusively metal - from not so tech-tech death to Scale the Summit-esque prog. I am not planning on using more than one or two VSTs at a time. I will be using Get Good Drums (probably. Still figuring that out too), a real bass with my helix, guitar with helix.

I hear a ton that the biggest nod to reaper is the customization, but I don't really tweak user interfaces or enjoy playing around with that sort of thing. And because I'm new to this, whatever I get is what I will be used to.

The price difference isn't much, but I could upgrade to the Pro version of Studio One down the road if I needed to. What say ye, SSO? What do you recommend, and why? I'm really wanting to pick something and stick with it.

 

[asopala]

I use neither between the two, but I know MANY more engineers who use Reaper compared to Studio One. Just as some examples, Joey Sturgis and Josh Schroeder use Reaper as their mains as of this post. Joey's reputation precedes him, and Josh did the last few Lorna Shore records, including the EP with "To The Hellfire" that blew them up.

 

[Moongrum]

Most DAWs have a trial version, download them and see what you think.

 

[TedEH]

everyones going to say Reaper

I can't speak for everyone, but I'll say Reaper. It's capable, it's inexpensive, it's customizable, there's enough community around it to get help, and once you're used to it, it's reasonably intuitive.

I haven't used any alternatives in a while, so I can't comment on any comparison.

 

[asopala]

I can't speak for everyone, but I'll say Reaper. It's capable, it's inexpensive, it's customizable, there's enough community around it to get help, and once you're used to it, it's reasonably intuitive.

I haven't used any alternatives in a while, so I can't comment on any comparison.

I think the closest is Cubase as far as GUI and function, though for the more micro comparisons of how they work compared to each other, not sure. I don't use Reaper myself.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

I started with Reaper for 3 years, later switched to Studio One 3/4 Artist for 4 years. And for the last 2 years I've been using Cubase 12 Pro, which I plan to upgrade to 13 when the summer sale hits.

Reaper is the best for a beginner because it's free, there's no compromise. And it can do everything the big DAWs can with no limitations. It's just ugly (in my opinion) and there's configurations which can mess up your project.

So the best thing you can do in my opinion, is to start with a free program like Reaper and as you get some experience and start to see what you want from a DAW, then you can spend the money and compromise with a DAW that's more suited to your taste. Like I did with Cubase.

Studio One was bought by Fender (?) and changed CEOs and have taken a more beginner oriented approach to the DAW. Also some very sketchy decisions. Like for example you can no longer upgrade the Artist version. And having a subscription plan option for the DAW.
It also might have some technical problems related to bouncing audio (if I remember correctly) which you can read about on Gearspace.
But when I used it I thought it was good, I just wanted something better, more serious and more complete eventually.

Just my opinion.

 

[crushingpetal]

I've been using Studio One for at least 12 years (formerly it was Cakewalk), and it's good enough. At some level a DAW is a DAW and it doesn't really matter as long as you're down with the workflow. I'm likely going to move to Logic at some point, but that means prepping old sessions for general DAW work, and I should have been doing that the whole time.

Agree with @AwakenTheSkies that Studio One is likely sketchier now due to Fender. I'm on an older version so it's not affecting me.

 

[nightsprinter]

No love for Logic?

 

[asopala]

No love for Logic?

I like Logic (even though I can't use it most of the time because I'm mostly on PC), but OP didn't ask about Logic.

 

[ThePIGI King]

I like Logic (even though I can't use it most of the time because I'm mostly on PC), but OP didn't ask about Logic.

Well, I'm open to all suggestions really. I just am leaning towatds Reaper or Studio One. But I'm open to whatever.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

Well, I'm open to all suggestions really. I just am leaning towatds Reaper or Studio One. But I'm open to whatever.

Logic Pro is Mac only. That's why it's not mentioned. I've never used it but it's a DAW that many serious artists use.
And it seems to be cheap too, at $230. But I never investigated so I don't know if you get the full package for that price.

 

[crushingpetal]

Logic Pro is Mac only. That's why it's not mentioned. I've never used it but it's a DAW that many serious artists use.
And it seems to be cheap too, at $230. But I never investigated so I don't know if you get the full package for that price.

You get "the full package". One thing that's attractive about it is that the updates are free, so it's "buy once". Studio One, as an example, comes out with a new version every two or three years.

 

[Drew]

Pretty much any "professional quality" DAW can be used well to make music. If you use Logic rather than Reaper or vice versa you're not going to be missing anything - for the most part* the differences are going to be things like workflow and stock plugins and look.

I'd start by trying whatever came bundled with your interface, since it probably came with something. If you like it, and it's not somehow limited (i.e - only 16 tracks), then great! No need to spend anything else.

If not, I'd put in a vote for Reaper for three main reasons:
1) It's free to try, and cheap to buy if you like it.
2) it has a very active user community, so if you get stuck trying to do something, there's a ton of people who can probably help you our.
3) As you get more familiar with it, it's insanely customizable, so you can make it fit your needs better. Easy example - I don't like the default scroll wheel function, scrolling up and down makes your project scroll left to right, in time, rather than up and down, through your tracks. Dig into preferences, and you can edit this - I have my copy set up to scroll up and down, unless I happen to be mousing over the L/R bar at the bottom of the screen, and if I am it then scrolls L/R. Cool stuff.


*Where you see differences is in some of the more technical stuff - some DAWs have different "pan laws," where for example a centered sound may be slightly attuned compared to one panned hard L or R, to keep the "perceived" volume constant as you pan something around. Like this. This, too, can be configured in Reaper, if you're really curious.

 

[nightflameauto]

Lots of people love Reaper, but I consider it the worst possible answer to the question, "What DAW should I use?" It takes the super simple things and makes them uber complex for the sake of versatility that nobody actually needs. Maybe it'd work better for somebody not familiar with other DAWs, but for me it was a mildly useful, mostly annoying obstacle to getting anything done.

Ardour is an open source option, pretty lightweight, and definitely gets the job done. Mixbus uses Ardour as the base and adds some polish over the top. Studio One is pretty nice. ProTools is pretty good, but seems the expensive option. I haven't used any others in long enough I wouldn't know about recommending them.

 

[asopala]

Ardour is an open source option, pretty lightweight, and definitely gets the job done. Mixbus uses Ardour as the base and adds some polish over the top. Studio One is pretty nice. ProTools is pretty good, but seems the expensive option. I haven't used any others in long enough I wouldn't know about recommending them.

The only thing is I don't know of a single person who actually uses Ardour. I think I know more people who use UA Luna, and that's still in the single digits.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

Hahahah using an obscure DAW as your main, way to make your life harder
I have both Mixbus v5 and v5 32C. And the idea is really cool, but it's light years behind in workflow and comfort. So much that I didn't bother to upgrade to the next versions. I just have it around waiting until it becomes usable.

 

[thebeesknees22]

Cubase guy here. It was just the first one I tried over the years that made sense to me with overall workflow and hot keys.

But I tried Ableton last fall and was digging it. If I wasn't already eyeball deep into cubase, I'd give it a go.

Reaper seemed fine when I tried it as well. Maybe a little bit clunky at first but I could do what I wanted to do once I figured out the workflow. It doesn't come with vst's if you need/want those though.

Logic - didn't really mesh with it a decade ago, but it was much improved when I gave it a spin as well.

Pro tools- still kinda hate it. It was my first daw 20 years ago and I still didn't like it when I gave it another go last fall lol

 

[chipchappy]

I'm a massive Cubase shill. I mainly went for it because both Hans Zimmer and Fredrik Thordendal used it and I figured if it could accommodate those 2 totally different artists that I loved, it could probably do whatever weird shit I threw at it. It's super composer friendly, with a ton of handy tools and shortcuts like @thebeesknees22 mentioned. Writing, mixing and mastering are all done with ease. I also messed with Logic a lot back in the day and I'm a fan, though it has some weird workflow options and, in a way, feels like a DAW for beginners. Like others have mentioned the benefit of buying Logic is once you get it, you have it forever and on all computers with your Apple ID, so that's neat.

Pro Tools was the standard back in the day but it is SUCH a clunky, cumbersome, overpriced option.

Ableton... sigh, what do I say about Ableton? I feel like it does really, really well with electronic music, and has the whole "live" version of it (Which Logic recently copied, kinda), but i really dont know how intuitive it is for metal, especially as your first DAW. I feel like, most of the time, if you tell me you use Ableton, I automatically know what kind of music you make - it's either lo-fi, electronic, dub anything, or "indie" in some way/shape/form.

But at the end of the day, Reaper is free, and if you're looking to bit the bullet, you cant go wrong with free. @Moongrum makes a good point though, pretty much every DAW has a trial version. Poke around on each one and see what you connect with!

 

[HanSwolo]

I don't know if I'm in the minority. But I'm throwing FL Studio here. I do alot of midi work and I haven't found a piano roll that can hold a candle to FL. While its mostly known for EDM and Hip-Hop and the abysmal handling of audio clips and automation is lightyears behind its competitors, the thing just works. The piano roll just works, most of the stock plugins and effects are just amazing (IL Harmor and Fruity Reverb 2) and especially with the newest version, FL 21, it rarely crashes as it used to be back then.

Still, while other DAWs can do other things a tad bit better or the same, in my DAW searching journey, I've never saw a DAW that can touch FL's Piano roll. Left click draws a note, right click erases the note and click and drag the edge of the note to shorten and lengthen the note. No shortcuts, no nothing.

 

[nightflameauto]

Hahahah using an obscure DAW as your main, way to make your life harder
I have both Mixbus v5 and v5 32C. And the idea is really cool, but it's light years behind in workflow and comfort. So much that I didn't bother to upgrade to the next versions. I just have it around waiting until it becomes usable.

All I'll say is moving from the Mac environment where Logic was king, and worked really well for me, Mixbus is easier to understand and use than Reaper by a million light-years no matter how many tutorials may exist.

Granted, I'm a weirdo and tend to like things most don't.