# How many DAW do you use?



## 3DC

Christian Henson from Spitfire Audio uses Logic and ProTools. I also noticed that many of you pros here have more then one DAW in your workflow. Interestingly its not always a combination with ProTools.

What do you use and most importantly what's the benefit if I may ask?


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## LinearZero

I use Cubase 10.5 and FL studio 20. Maybe it's just the way the UI is designed for Cubase but I find it seems to be easier to use for orchestral music. By that I mean it is easier to create dynamics for sampled instruments in the CC editing section whereas with FL studio I often have to manually set what it is I want to edit (e.g expression or sustain). In cubase it's already there. For mixing however I prefer FL studio so I often bounce arrangements from CB to FL. The UI for mixing and creating busses just seems easier and more user friendly.

When recording with CB I press record, play a section, stop then edit what needs to be edited. With FL studio it's kind of weird. When you record, play a section then stop, the section is recorded and a "record" of it is put to the side so you can essentially drag and drop that recording multiple times (great for repetitive EDM music, crap for orchestral music IMO). The frustrating thing however is if you press record and play the next section on your controller it overwrites the original. In order to create a new "blank" section you need to click on the original section, then click "set as unique" and it will create a new section for you to record. Being a noob perhaps there is a setting to stop this however I have not found one yet.

With the exception of FL fruity edition there is a much higher track limit unlike Cubase where you need to purchase or upgrade to access more track inserts/features. For example I have Cubase artist and I'm already finding when doing orchestral work I hit my track limit fairly quickly. I also find CB to be more buggy than FL. For example EW Hollywood choirs always causes CB to crash and occasionally Berlin inspire on Kontakt does the same (this is the main reason I prefer to have multiple DAWS). Even back when I had Cubase 5 it was buggy as hell. So far I haven't had a crash with FL studio. Loading times are also reduced with FL studio. This however may be different for other users. I've heard others swear by the stability of Cubase and have constant issues with FL studio.

Community/technical support with FL studio tends to be far more responsive than with Steinberg.

Hope that helps


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## KEM

Cubase, and apparently I’m going to have to learn Pro Tools to be a “professional” composer, but that’s not going to be for awhile


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## LinearZero

KEM said:


> Cubase, and apparently I’m going to have to learn Pro Tools to be a “professional” composer, but that’s not going to be for awhile


Is it part of a course? Or do you mean that's what people generally say you should use if you want to be professional?


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## KEM

LinearZero said:


> Is it part of a course? Or do you mean that's what people generally say you should use if you want to be professional?


In Hollywood all the big composers use Pro Tools as their video slave, none of them load the video directly into Cubase, which is why I do currently


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## janila

I’m using Nuendo and I’m currently in the happy place where I have no idea why I would ever want to use another DAW for anything. Knocking on wood.


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## AudioBrewers

I used Pro Tools for several years wshen working traditionally.

Since Audio Brewers was born, I use Reaper, Pro Tools (Ultimate) and Nuendo equally.

Pro Tools (Ultimate) is - to me - still king when it comes to recording and editing. it's like having a console in front of you. Still the Spatial Aspect of it is far from ideal.

Reaper is crazy fast when loading and processing thousands of Samples in a go. The Spatial mixing is done really fast but you need a lot of third party utilities. The routing processes are PERFECT.

Nuendo is great for creating and exporting multiple mixes of thousands of Samples at the same time. The Spatial mixing is crazy good as it handles and decodes Ambisonics natively, although some things could be improved.

It's all about workflows.


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## el-bo

My main DAW is Logic. However, I have a desire to be somewhat proficient in Bitwig (or Live), Renoise and HollyHock (Brainmodular Usine), each of which I view as having such different workflows as to be able to drive and derive distinct results.


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## musicalweather

I've been a user of DP for nearly twenty years (why wasn't DP on your list?). This year I find myself suddenly in possession of _four_ DAWs: DP, Logic, Cubase, and Studio One. I got Logic a few years ago in order to teach a student who had it. I don't like it. I went for Cubase a few months ago because it was significantly discounted and it offers articulation management, which DP doesn't have. But then I found Studio One at a greatly discounted price and couldn't resist. I think the way this will ultimately shake out is that I'll use DP and Studio One equally -- DP for film scoring and S1 for heavy orchestral tracks, where I'm using VIs with lots of articulations. Cubase is deeper than S1, but I just find S1 so much easier to use. Oh, and I also use Pro Tools for my work at sample library developer.


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## wahey73

99% I use Logic now. Still use Studio One on my PC once in a while, but since I'm back on Logic (nearly one year now) it gets less and less


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## TomislavEP

I was a PT user until 2016. when I've completely switched to REAPER and never looked back. I've kept my last version of PT11 for backward compatibility with the older projects, though. But as I wrote on many occasions here, I find REAPER much more superior on all accounts.


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## GtrString

1. Only use Studio One. There is so much to learn just with one daw, and I never rest learning the ins and outs of it. The stream of updates keeps me more than busy, after all the main thing for me is to do music, not spend time on maintaining tools.


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## iMovieShout

Nuendo 11 (primary), ProTools (for stems and dub staging), Video Slave4 for running Video to external screen synced to Nuendo (or ProTools depending on the project).
Sometimes Avid Media Bench if the project needs it (ie. client is using it).


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## darcvision

Reaper for composing orchestra music, FL Studio for mixing and composing synth music


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## bill5

I use Mixcraft, because it's by far the most intuitive and easiest to learn to me and I've just about tried them all.



KEM said:


> Cubase, and apparently I’m going to have to learn Pro Tools to be a “professional” composer


100% untrue. One of the most overrated and overpriced pieces of software ever IMO. If you're not running a professional studio, don't waste your time/money or buy into the hype.



3DC said:


> On the other hand ProTools is "industry standard" you must know to be a true "pro"


Again, "myth" is the kindest word I can think of  It is an "industry standard" more or less but that is because it was basically the first to come along and got entrenched and got this rep...but finally studios are seeing the light that there are far better DAWs which also cost far (far) less, and more and more are moving away from it. But using it or not does not make you any more or less of a professional musician.


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## KEM

bill5 said:


> 100% untrue. One of the most overrated and overpriced pieces of software ever IMO. If you're not running a professional studio, don't waste your time/money or buy into the hype.


Trust me, I absolutely hate Pro Tools and don't even want to look at it let alone use it, but it is what the professional composers are using.


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## puremusic

I tried a couple different DAWs and settled on Studio One due to the workflow and GUI. Then before it was updated I got Cubase for fancy MIDI stuff like MPE. It was still just used on the side though. Then Studio One got updated to cover what I was missing, so Cubase is the rarely used spare now mostly just used to test out plugins if there's a problem in Studio One to see if it's a DAW compatibility issue or more general one.

I had a feeling Studio One would be very popular once it got enough updates. :D


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## SchnookyPants

I've been doing this awhile, so I only need one(1) DAW to screw things up.

YMMV.


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## bill5

KEM said:


> Trust me, I absolutely hate Pro Tools and don't even want to look at it let alone use it, but it is what the professional composers are using.


They aren't professional composers because they use Pro Tools, that's all I'm saying. The only reason I can think that you as a composer might want to use it is if you're going to work with others who use it and so can share project files.


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## Trash Panda

Gradually moving to Studio One 5 from Reaper now that the S1 crashing issues I was facing seem to be subsiding. Originally started on Pro Tools and could not get away from that hot garbage DAW fast enough after subscribing for 2 years.


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## LordOfTheStrings

I began with FL Studio and still use it. I have tried trials of other DAWs, but can't get used the different (normal) workflows after being used to FL.
But I do like it, I dislike all the window management though.


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## Alchemedia

Studio One, Bitwig & Reaper. I still have Cubase for Windows 3 on floppy disk if anyone is interested.


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## jcrosby

How many do I own? 5. How many do I use? 2 

Daily Drivers: Logic/Live.
Dusty-Shelf Decor: S1, Cubase and Bitwig.

I want to like Bitwig but it's UI's too cramped and it drive me kind of nuts. I'm also not crazy about the annual upgrade thing either. But the main icing on the cake is that I get WAY better CPU performance out of Live, the difference isn't even subtle... (Yes I've gone through the various sandboxing settings)....
So Live it is, was, and shall be...

S1/Cubase... Both are supremely awesome for sure. Apparently I'm just too old of a dog to learn new tricks.  (Although S1's pretty sweet for standalone mastering...)


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## kgdrum

I’ve been a long time DP user that’s never really been completely comfortable with DP. The small fonts,and a few other things have generally left me feeling although DP is a very capable DAW the complexity and the font issues have generally dampened my creativity and enthusiasm to be totally DP aligned.
The last few months I upgraded my computer and decided to get Logic so I’m starting to dip my musical toes in Logic water.
It’s interesting to explore different DAW’s,somethings are incredibly easy to figure out,immediately. Other things are wtf head scratching moments……………. of bewilderment!
Ironically since I started exploring Logic I’m getting more comfortable with DP & I’m getting more done in the last month or two than I did in several years! lol
So for me seeing the different perspective and scratching the surface of a different DAW platform like Logic has somehow helped me figure out and get more comfortable with DP.


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## muziksculp

I use one DAW : *Studio One Pro 5*. 

Although I have Reason, but I never use it, although, I use some of its instruments, and plugins like the double arp. in S1Pro 5.


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## Denkii

S1 Pro for getting stuff done.
Live for a playground and having fun.

Owned but Abandoned right now:
Cubase (it's a love/hate relationship)
FL Studio (it's a pure hate relationship)

Fortunately I'm not a professional so I don't have to get into ProTools.


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## manw

Cubase (mainly) + Studio One 5 on the side.

I also have a 1year Reason+ subscription i got cheap when they launched it (because i had Suite already), but i never use it...i install it from time to time to check whether i like it or not...i realize i still hate it and then uninstall .

Aaaaand whenever a client requires it (sends me Avid stuff), i fire up the old Pro Tools - but that is never my go-to.


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## easyrider

manw said:


> Cubase (mainly) + Studio One 5 on the side.
> 
> I also have a 1year Reason+ subscription i got cheap when they launched it (because i had Suite already), but i never use it...i install it from time to time to check whether i like it or not...i realize i still hate it and then uninstall .
> 
> Aaaaand whenever a client requires it (sends me Avid stuff), i fire up the old Pro Tools - but that is never my go-to.


I use the Reson Rack in Studio one….but not the Reason DAW.


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## Jimmy Hellfire

Cubase for audio, Studio One with samples.


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## manw

easyrider said:


> I use the Reson Rack in Studio one….but not the Reason DAW.


My main gripe is with the fact that you can't use Reason+ offline. The rack is nice, but i already have equivalent VSTs for everything i need from there. Anyway, if they ever decide to add offline authorization for R+, i might get back and give it one more shot.


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## jaketanner

I use Pro Tools only..been for decades so makes sense for me, However, I do have Cubase Pro and slowly trying to learn it for mockups and notation export only. But Pro Tools is still the industry delivery standard, so you will need it at some point.


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## JJP

I use Logic for actual sequencing. I also use Pro Tools, but that is primarily for playback (I am often sent PT or audio files to transcribe for orchestration or dubbing) or for preparing audio to share with others or send to a recording session.

I use Finale for notation. DAWs create notation that is "good enough" for many people, but nowhere near what is expected for professional notation.


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## sostenuto

Reaper since Day 1. Will try another when I feel very capable ( especially with all Kenny Gioia's video content ! ) 🙏🏻


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## ennbr

Primary DAW is Studio One although I have Cubase Pro 11, Ableton Live 11, Logic Pro, and stopped using Pro Tools 2 years ago after 10+ years


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## Rasoul Morteza

I keep juggling between Nuendo PT and Reaper, with some touch of FL here and there.


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## el-bo

jcrosby said:


> How many do I own? 5. How many do I use? 2
> 
> Daily Drivers: Logic/Live.
> Dusty-Shelf Decor: S1, Cubase and Bitwig.
> 
> I want to like Bitwig but it's UI's too cramped and it drive me kind of nuts. I'm also not crazy about the annual upgrade thing either. But the main icing on the cake is that I get WAY better CPU performance out of Live, the difference isn't even subtle... (Yes I've gone through the various sandboxing settings)....
> So Live it is, was, and shall be...


Interesting! I've messed around in 'Live', over the years, but with nothing serious in mind. But I've always liked the completely different perspective from Logic. Once Bitwig appeared, the decision of which to focus on became more difficult.

Bitwig seemed like the better option, not only for the inbuilt modulation, but also because at the time it was the only one of the two that offered integrated MPE. but I've just never clicked with Bitwig. You're right about it feeling too cramped and as much as the modulation system is cool, I'm just not someone who uses that kind of modulation so much (Would much rather use automation or manually twisting assigned knobs). I also prefer the GUI & native effects in Live, and the M4L stuff looks great!

All that to say, it's interesting to see someone with much more experience preferring Ableton's DAW.


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## CoffeeLover

years on ProTools
and reaper

switched to
Cubase for everything 
except i might need to deliver from ProTools.

i also own Logic,Studio One and FLStudio 
when i was trying the daws,i spent 2 years finding a DAW and wanted to test them all.
but i have not opened them since i switched Cubase and PC.

cubase workes best for me 
it is probably the uglyest and clutered UI of them all in my opinion but i get things done quite quick.
i dont care of how it looks,cababilities are first and foremost the main attraction in my case


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## LinearZero

3DC said:


> It sure does.
> Thanks for great workflow overview with FL Studio and Cubase. I am also thinking to complement FL Studio with some more "traditional" DAW. I am leaning more toward ProTools over Cubase. I like Cubase chord pads and assistant among other things, but I hate dongles and Steinberg customer support. BTW You can crossgrade to Nuendo from Reaper or old Sonar but you can't from FL Studio. Why? Fortunately you can crossgrade to Cubase from FL Studio.
> On the other hand ProTools is "industry standard" you must know to be a true "pro" but boy its boring. You can see its made for sound engineers.
> 
> Anyway I am not sure yet. Thanks again for great feedback.


Correct me if I'm wrong but I think one major disadvantage with ProTools is that the VST plugins for the vast majority of DAWS (cubase, FL, ST1, Reaper, Logic e.t.c) are not compatible with protools? As for the dongle yeh I initially hated the idea, but now it's no big deal, it just sits in the back of my PC and I don't even think about it anymore. 

What do you mean by "boring"? Is it not as visually appealing as other DAWS, or is the UI not well designed?


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## Selfinflicted

For audio - Protools is industry standard. Every dub stage will expect a PT session. if you have a music editor on the project, knock yourself out and let them assemble stuff, but everyone will be in Protools. The vast majority of studios are also in Protools(at least in the US and UK), so if you are recording or mixing outside your place, Protools will also be your friend. Having someone mix your music? Some engineers might be able to get around Logic fairly well, but again - Protools is standard.

if you’re not at the point where you‘re doing these types of project, don’t worry about it. You can now rent Protools for a pretty reasonable rate and learn it pretty quickly. It’s a pretty intuitive program.

As a composer, it’s better to just become good at one of the programs - take your pick. The big 3 for midi among most working composers are Logic, Cubase, and Digital Performer. If your aim is to work for a bigger composer, learn Protools and one, two or three of those. Find out which one the composer you‘re hoping to work for uses.

a DAW is a tool. they alol have their strengths and weaknesses. See which one meshes with your compositional process.

I personally work in DP for writing and programming and monitor/record/mix in Protools. Makes it quick to get things out the door and to the dub stage. DP has a great feature (chunks) that makes dealing with picture change and versions more manageable. I find DP pretty customizeable. Notation window just sort of works-not amazing, but very useable And quick. It’s very good for building click tracks from a live performance, which is great if you want to sketch something free to picture and then want to go back and orchestrate or program, etc.


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## dcoscina

musicalweather said:


> I've been a user of DP for nearly twenty years (why wasn't DP on your list?). This year I find myself suddenly in possession of _four_ DAWs: DP, Logic, Cubase, and Studio One. I got Logic a few years ago in order to teach a student who had it. I don't like it. I went for Cubase a few months ago because it was significantly discounted and it offers articulation management, which DP doesn't have. But then I found Studio One at a greatly discounted price and couldn't resist. I think the way this will ultimately shake out is that I'll use DP and Studio One equally -- DP for film scoring and S1 for heavy orchestral tracks, where I'm using VIs with lots of articulations. Cubase is deeper than S1, but I just find S1 so much easier to use. Oh, and I also use Pro Tools for my work at sample library developer.


I used DP for a good amount of time too but it required VEP because it wasn’t optimized to handle VIs internally- at least in my experience. Video handling was amazing. Using S1 these days because of how easy it is to customize stuff- and saving presets for each VI- brilliant!


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## Markrs

Own 5 DAWs: Reaper, Studio 1 Artist, Mixcraft 9, Cubase 10.5, Cakewalk

Use 1: Reaper.

The reason for this is, due to advice early in my music journey: get to know one DAW really well, it then makes it easier to know what is important to you and what feature you wish it could do. You can then better co large against others.

So whilst I have other DAWs I have focused on Reaper.

Reaper is great and with 3rd scripts it feels like it can do anything you want it to do. However the onboarding to using it is quite steep. You also then have to find and use the 3rd party scripts to have certain features, which is time consuming and can be frustrating.

The plus side is many of those scripts can do things you can't do in other DAWs, such as the ability to interact with hardware midi controllers using either ReaLearn, DrivenByMoss4Reaper or Control Surface Integration. You can also customise and automate pretty much everything. I feel that with Reaper, you are less using a DAW rather than building your own custom DAW.


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## d4vec4rter

I've used Cubase for so long now it wouldn't make sense to switch to any other completely but I do use Studio One for quick sketching work. I have a copy of FL Studio also but I've not used it much as it works in a different way to a conventional DAW so I've never got my head completely around the concept. I like the GUI though.


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## easyrider

d4vec4rter said:


> I've used Cubase for so long now it wouldn't make sense to switch to any other completely but I do use Studio One for quick sketching work


Why?


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## d4vec4rter

easyrider said:


> Why?


Because after 10+ years of using and learning Cubase to the level I have, it just seems pointless to start at the bottom of the learning curve with another DAW. Case in point is my similar experience with Adobe Photoshop. I've used Photoshop for as long as I have Cubase but last year I cancelled my subscription because I just thought it was too expensive and tried Affinity Photo. After about two months I'd had enough of scrambling in the dark, having to re-learn every little thing which was second nature to me in Photoshop so I renewed my subscription. I'm 60 years old - spending another 10 years relearning another DAW to the level I know Cubase just seems a waste of time and effort.


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## easyrider

d4vec4rter said:


> Because after 10+ years of using and learning Cubase to the level I have, it just seems pointless to start at the bottom of the learning curve with another DAW. Case in point is my similar experience with Adobe Photoshop. I've used Photoshop for as long as I have Cubase but last year I cancelled my subscription because I just thought it was too expensive and tried Affinity Photo. After about two months I'd had enough of scrambling in the dark, having to re-learn every little thing which was second nature to me in Photoshop so I renewed my subscription. I'm 60 years old - spending another 10 years relearning another DAW to the level I know Cubase just seems a waste of time and effort.


Eh?

My question was why sketch in S1? Why not Cubase?

🙈


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## d4vec4rter

easyrider said:


> Eh?
> 
> My question was why sketch in S1? Why not Cubase?
> 
> 🙈


Your original question was just "Why?". I'm not telepathic unfortunately so I assumed you meant "Why wouldn't it make sense to switch to another DAW?".

Although I know my way around Cubase, there are just some operations that are quicker and easier in Studio One. Drag n Drop is more comprehensive, it has an excellent Chord Detection feature, their new Sound Variations feature is soooo much better than working with Cubase's expression maps... I could go on.


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## audio1

Its kinda like "which guitar and guitar amp, and which mics, and which mic pres, or which console" but then it really all comes down to the player.


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## Tim_Wells

Cubase only. But I do have a soft spot in my heart for Reaper.


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## easyrider

d4vec4rter said:


> Your original question was just "Why?". I'm not telepathic unfortunately so I assumed you meant "Why wouldn't it make sense to switch to another DAW?".
> 
> Although I know my way around Cubase, there are just some operations that are quicker and easier in Studio One. Drag n Drop is more comprehensive, it has an excellent Chord Detection feature, their new Sound Variations feature is soooo much better than working with Cubase's expression maps... I could go on.


👍


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## Jacob Cadmus

Studio One, Reaper, and Logic. I’m mainly on Logic for music, and Reaper for audio editing. That’ll change when I go back to PC obviously.


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## from_theashes

I‘m on Logic for 10 years now. Tried Reaper and S1 out of curiosity… but I‘m so used to Logic, I don’t see any benefits to use another DAW. If I‘ll ever have to switch back to PC, I think I would try Cubase.


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## Orgon89

I was using Reaper exclusively, but I got Cubase 11 Pro, when they had the free upgrade from Artist. For now I find it extremely confusing, but I guess it's just a question of time until I get used to it. I also downloaded Pro Tools First with the code I got with my SSL2+ interface, but I only opened it once lol.


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## Gerbil

Studio One and Reaper. The latter for big orchestral templates, just because I find it faster and more CPU friendly. It also opens and closes faster so I can nip between projects more easily. I also find it better for recording and editing wavs for my homegrown sample libraries.

S1 is, on the whole, more enjoyable to work with and I mainly use it for recording acoustic tracks, solo piano and electronic music.


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## LinearZero

Gerbil said:


> Studio One and Reaper. The latter for big orchestral templates, just because I find it faster and more CPU friendly. It also opens and closes faster so I can nip between projects more easily. I also find it better for recording and editing wavs for my homegrown sample libraries.
> 
> S1 is, on the whole, more enjoyable to work with and I mainly use it for recording acoustic tracks, solo piano and electronic music.


What's Reaper like?


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## hoxclab

Ableton Live and FL Studio. I started using FL Studio back when it was called FruityLoops. I've recently been dabbling in Ableton Live within the past year. I've used Acid, Cubase, DP, Pro Tools, Reaper and Renoise in the past and can compose with those programs but I don't feel as comfortable.


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## Gerbil

LinearZero said:


> What's Reaper like?


Well, Reaper's like this:





And Studio One's like this:





Honestly, it's great when you get to know it. I'm just not convinced that I've got to know half of it though!


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## easyrider

LinearZero said:


> What's Reaper like?


Download the demo.


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## Orgon89

Gerbil said:


> Well, Reaper's like this:


Haha, I feel like that in Cubase after learning Reaper as my first DAW 😅


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## RogiervG

I use cubase as my main DAW, however i sometimes use reason too (to experiment with sounds etc.) I Also have mixbus, but barely use that one.


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## hoxclab

3DC said:


> I have to change my initial vote.
> I now have Cubase Pro and FL Studio All Plugins Edition that I will use as VSTi.


I find none of the function keys work in the VSTi. It's truly a shame. Do they work for you? It makes it unmanageable for me personally. What's your experience been like with it? I just build whatever in FL throw it in a folder and transfer it to Live in my case.


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## LinearZero

easyrider said:


> Download the demo.


No I'm good.


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