Your DAW is the most fundamentally important piece of software you will own as a composer and producer, because without it, all of your other software tools are rendered useless. In this review, I break down recent versions of the top four players in the DAW industry: Logic Pro X, Pro Tools 11, Cubase 7, and Ableton Live 9.
I’ll be evaluating these software products based on the following criteria: MIDI Input, Audio Recording, Audio Processing, General Interface, and Value for Money. I’ll be ignoring third-party software and assessing these “out the box.”
Let me just say before we start that these are all quality products, and my opinions about what makes a DAW great are likely to be different from yours. All the same, if you’re purchasing your first DAW or considering an upgrade or switch from your old one, it never hurts to inform your decision by learning from the experiences of others. So here we go.
Logic Pro X (OS X Only)
Logic Pro is one of Apple’s flagship prosumer software products alongside Final Cut Pro.
This software stays faithful to Apple’s ethos of usability. The interface in this latest version has a very clean and modern look.
The product comes with a very impressive and comprehensive selection of MIDI instruments. Some of these are more convincing than others, but the diverse selection is definitely a great kick-starter to your library.
The same can be said of the FX plugins: You won’t need to buy any extra software in this department for a very long time indeed. Flex Pitch and Flex Time are also staple features that you’ll very quickly not be able to live without.
It would have been cool if the developers had given the stock plugins the same interface revamp that the EQ benefitted from in the upgrade from 9 to 10. It would also be helpful if users could search through their third-party MIDI libraries via the Libraries tab. But these are minor niggles in a fantastically diverse and competent DAW that comes at an incredible price.
MIDI Input: 8
Audio Recording: 6
Audio Processing: 9
General Interface: 9
Value for Money: 10
Pro Tools 11 (Windows & OS X)
Pro Tools is arguably what could most easily be called the “industry-standard” DAW, and (while it’s not entirely without its flaws) it’s easy to see why.
Audio recording in Pro Tools is an absolute breeze, and while the post-processing aspect isn’t as intuitive as it could be, audio is certainly where this DAW shines. The plugins are reasonably competent, and it’s a very stable and bug-free DAW on the whole.
Regarding MIDI, Pro Tools is far from a complete package out the box. Apart from a few basic synths, you don’t have much to play with straight away.
The interface is one that grows on you with practice, but it isn’t immediately appealing or intuitive. (On my first use of Pro Tools, it took me half an hour to work out how to access the automation section. I also found it a ridiculously complicated process to configure the metronome, whereas in other DAWs you can just click a button.)
Overall, Pro Tools is an industry staple and worth mastering even just for working with certain clients, but be prepared for a steep learning curve. If you work heavily with MIDI, you’ll also want to invest in a program with more advanced sequencing capabilities.
MIDI Input: 5
Audio Recording: 9
Audio Processing: 7
General Interface: 7
Value for Money: 7
Cubase 7 (Windows & OS X)
One of the key advantages of Cubase is that it offers three different versions of the software to suit your needs. If you just need a basic DAW with basic functionality (maybe you have your own MIDI library and you won’t be doing much audio recording), then you can get the Elements package for $100, which is an amazing value.
Out the box, MIDI is fairly decent, but by no means complete, and the FX processing is respectable depending on which version you buy.
The interface could be described as a merge between Logic and Pro Tools — it’s clear that Steinberg cherry-picked the best bits from each DAW, which is nice. The final result is a reliable all-rounder that is neither especially innovative nor lacking in any area.
MIDI Input: 7
Audio Recording: 7
Audio Processing: 7
General Interface: 7
Value for Money: 8
Ableton Live 9 (Windows & OS X)
Ableton is the most niche product on this list. Its speciality, as the name suggests, is live processing and performance. In this area, it completely blows the competition out of the water. Triggering live samples and processing them in predetermined or live ways is a joy in this software due to its completely different interface. You can pick between session view and arrangement view depending on what your current needs are.
MIDI input is not where this DAW excels, but it is possible. The price is also reasonable and, like Cubase, there are different versions on offer. You can also get your hands on a free trial of Ableton, which is invaluable in determining whether it’s right for you.
MIDI Input: 4
Audio Recording: 8
Audio Processing: 10
General Interface: 8
Value for Money: 8
The Bottom Line
If possible, get your hands on all the different DAWs and have a go before buying. This is easy enough for products that offer a free trial, such as Ableton. If you’re a student, I recommend going to your school or university and trying the different options in their facilities. Alternatively, ask around with your friends to see if they have a version you can experiment with.
I have used all of these DAWs in my time, and while I have tried to be unbiased in this article, I do have a favorite that I use in my day-to-day work: Logic Pro X. However, this is an extremely personal choice, and what is right for me may not be right for you. The important thing is to just pick one and master it.
All the best with your decision!
Featured image by David Podosek (CC BY 2.0)
Let us know your favorite DAW and why you like it in the comments!
Thanks for the great article. I think one of the best DAW’s out there has to be Reaper. While some DAWs are huge in size and code, their functionality is not that much more able than Reaper.
Reaper takes seconds to load, is designed with maximum functionality with reduced complex coding which in and of itself makes it very powerful. Even if it was the same price as Pro Tools or Digital Performer it would still be my choice of DAW, I’ve used many DAWs since Steinberg Pro 24 on the Atari STFM which was released back in the day and IMHO I’d say Repaer is the most groundbreaking. Logic Pro X and Ableton are also great platforms.
Agreed. REAPER is a sophisticated DAW at a really affordable price. Helpful community, thorough documentation. Great choice for people getting their feet wet, but seasoned users love it too.
My first PC for music making was an Atari ST (TOS no DOS, very icon oriented like a MAC), back in 1987. It has midi ports built in. My composition teacher had an APPLE II or something like that with Finale or Digital Performer that cost like $ 5K, PC cost $ 3K my ST cost me $ 999. Cubase, only midi at that time, I use since then. By 1995 I switch to Win98 PC. A real MAC was out of the question for me in terms of price until now with Hackintoshes. Well, music software is pretty much evolved all those years, so it has my knowledge of Cubase, capabilities and its workflow, wich is the same or better than other music sequencing and scoring programs for MAC. I can say that most profesional software today follows the same rules and capabilities, but Cubase (5 to 9, not the ELEMENTS version) has very good scoring editing besides audio and midi. Cubase last incarnation runs on today PC or MAC. so machine hardware or OS is not an issue anymore. Same thing can apply to other software today for different applications including, video editing, gaming (maybe better on PC) or scientific purposes (maybe Linux too). The debate between music programs is not over, there´s always room for improvement, especially on sound manipulation, effects, soundbanks, but it reached a wall for most musicians needs, specially when you play traditional instruments. classical, rock or jazz. For dance, electronic or experimental music still Cubase is very very capable and used in many pro studios around the world, even more now that Yamaha partners with Steinberg. In any case, everyone can see good videos comparing Cubase vs Logic vs Protools vs etc, but this is my own opinion in this matter. It may take me months to master another music software allthough I tried them once in a while, and read about improvements, not to mention I have lot of files in Atari ST and Windows PC cubase format. Some works are in my youtube channel and soundcloud (free) https://soundcloud.com/abnerchamate . Thank you.
Nice article. I’ve tried most DAW’s – started with Logic 8 Express circa 2006 which was a nightmare but it really has changed since then. It had amazing sound quality.
Ableton is a favourite for most DJ Producers. Its so unique and unusual, doesn’t quite match Logic in sound quality but it does the job and has cool arrangement/mixer views and session views – just tab to switch!
Pro Tools, is way to heavy on the CPU and unless you’re recording an orchestra and willing to pay a ton in subscription, I wouldn’t worry about it,
Cubase really is a juicy mix of the 3 – but one dangerously seriously cool DAW is…..
REAPER : I know a lot of Pro Tools Engineers who are switching to Reaper en masse – its being used by Gamer developers in big name studios and its very cheap under $60 – Its very stable too yet immense and a genius design and it loads in just a few seconds unlike Pro Tools which I see often crash half-way through startup after 4 mins!. It also works flawlessly with NI Maschine which can be used as a plugin.
The cheapest DAW out there is Ardour (Its FREE) which runs on Linux and has an identical interface to Cubase, its pretty advanced, it works with Native Instruments Kontakt when in Wine mode and its amazing for classical. Ardour’s abilities are expandable with the help of hundreds of plugins in LV2, native VST and LADSPA
BTW @Abner Chamate – Steinberg Pro 24 came free with Atari STFM back in the day.