# The Top 12 Most Popular DAWs, as per Ask Audio Survey



## Reid Rosefelt (Apr 25, 2018)

https://ask.audio/articles/top-12-most-popular-daws-you-voted-for

I wonder what the results would be from this forum. Somebody's already done it, no doubt, but I bet it's always evolving. And many people use more than one.


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## chillbot (Apr 25, 2018)

What happened, DP... you used to be beautiful.

Yay Sonar representing! Narrowly beating GarbageBand...


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## Vik (Apr 25, 2018)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Somebody's already done it, no doubt, but I bet it's always evolving.


It's done, here:
https://vi-control.net/community/th...ram-for-work-with-orchestral-libraries.43016/
And opinions do of course change, but in this poll, the voters can change their votes. So ideally, they will reflect the VI-C users' current preferences (for active users/voters).

Current results:

Cubase 37,9 %

Logic 22,8 %

Reaper 11,7 %

Digital Performer 7,0 %

Studio One 5,6 %

Sonar 4,3 %

FL Studio 3,3 %

Pro Tools 3,1 %

Live 2,9 %

Sibelius 0,8 %

Bitwig 0,6 %

Notion (added Nov-16) 0,6 %

Samplitude 0,4 %

Other 0,4 %

Dorico (added Oct-16) 0,4 %

Mixcraft (added June-17) 0,2 %

Notion iOs (added June-17) 0,2 %

Nuendo (added Oct-17) 0,2 %


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## Øivind (Apr 25, 2018)

I was part of a different survey a month or so ago, the results there was that Cubase was the clear leader, 2nd and third belonged to Logic and Pro Tools. A long way down you had Studio One, DP and Reaper and underneath that was Abelton Live. Sure depends on who you ask.


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## Puzzlefactory (Apr 25, 2018)

TigerTheFrog said:


> https://ask.audio/articles/top-12-most-popular-daws-you-voted-for
> 
> I wonder what the results would be from this forum. Somebody's already done it, no doubt, but I bet it's always evolving. And many people use more than one.



Refreshing that they didn’t poll a bunch of kids all using cracked copies of FL studio...


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## JohnG (Apr 25, 2018)

oivind_rosvold said:


> Sure depends on who you ask.



It sure does. If you ask the top 10 film composers out there you would get a different distribution.


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## robgb (Apr 25, 2018)

Nice to see Reaper get a strong showing in the VI poll.


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## fretti (Apr 25, 2018)

Really interesting to see how Cubase is only fourth there and first here. Just switched from Logic Pro X to Cubase 9.5 Pro and I am just so much quicker with it.
But when I watch YouTube videos many/most(?) composers seem to use Logic. But I think it not only depends on the person you ask but also on the music style they want to do.
Also always interesting that Alex Moukala uses FL (with wich I never got warm tbh; FL obviously, Alex is great, so it isn‘t misunderstood...)


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## joebaggan (Apr 25, 2018)

Some of this depends on the audience that is responding. Ableton obviously is used heavily for loop based music but is probably way down the list for composers not making loop based music. And Pro Tools is probably not near the top for people making Midi based music.


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## KV626 (Apr 26, 2018)

chillbot said:


> What happened, DP... you used to be beautiful.



Well, as you say, _used to _be...


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## Zak Rahman (Apr 26, 2018)

robgb said:


> Nice to see Reaper get a strong showing in the VI poll.



Considering the lack of celebrity faces and advertising, the other companies would be wise not to ignore something that's gaining popularity purely by being a bloody good product.


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## kitekrazy (Apr 26, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> Refreshing that they didn’t poll a bunch of kids all using cracked copies of FL studio...



True. If it went by most downloaded demos, none of them touch FL Studio. That's also why they are heavy hitters when it comes to piracy of their product. They prefer to use a legal team instead of developing ways to lock down their product. Licensing is still one of my top choices when buying software.


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## kitekrazy (Apr 26, 2018)

Zak Rahman said:


> *Considering the lack of celebrity faces and advertising*, the other companies would be wise not to ignore something that's gaining popularity purely by being a bloody good product.



That's only for amateur DAW users who suffer insecurity issues. A the professional level it's not about what is best but familiarity. Time is money. I'm sure there are arguments that Pro Tools is inferior to some DAWs but I'd bet most commercial releases are ran through an engineer using it.


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## robgb (Apr 26, 2018)

kitekrazy said:


> That's only for amateur DAW users who suffer insecurity issues. A the professional level it's not about what is best but familiarity. Time is money. I'm sure there are arguments that Pro Tools is inferior to some DAWs but I'd bet most commercial releases are ran through an engineer using it.


LOL. Things change, amigo. There was a time when Avid had the corner on the pro film editing market. Not so much anymore. Professionals gravitate toward software that makes their workflow easier. Reaper is so great at customization, it's no surprise that more and more pros are turning to it. Just ask producer Kenny Gioia, a former Pro Tools user and now Reaper advocate. I imagine in the future we'll see many more converts.

This guy sums it up nicely:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/cockos-reaper/1131358-why-reaper-has-owned-world.html


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## fretti (Apr 26, 2018)

robgb said:


> LOL. Things change, amigo. There was a time when Avid had the corner on the pro film editing market. Not so much anymore. Professionals gravitate toward software that makes their workflow easier. Reaper is so great at customization, it's no surprise that more and more pros are turning to it. Just ask producer Kenny Gioia, a former Pro Tools user and now Reaper advocate. I imagine in the future we'll see many more converts.
> 
> This guy sums it up nicely:
> 
> https://www.gearslutz.com/board/cockos-reaper/1131358-why-reaper-has-owned-world.html


Maybe we'll see Junkie XL turning to Reaper someday, as he seems (at least what I take from his Studio Time) to love having all the freedom in customizing many things he uses. Could be the "turning point" in many opinions...


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## Vik (Apr 26, 2018)

Reaper may have improved since last time I tried it (I found it very cluttered then), so maybe it's as good as - or better than - the old big DAWs now. I wouldn't know. But with all due respect, I think the $60 price tag is a main reason why Reaper has increased it's user base so much over the years.


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## robgb (Apr 26, 2018)

Vik said:


> But with all due respect, I think the $60 price tag is a main reason why Reaper has increased it's user base so much over the years.


That's definitely part of it. For $60 you get pretty much anything any DAW costing five times that will give you and then some.


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## Puzzlefactory (Apr 26, 2018)

Can’t see protools being replaced in the pro studios...


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## fretti (Apr 26, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> Can’t see protools being replaced in the pro studios...


Yes, at least not in the Audio section. But also because of their change to subscriptions I think. 7€ per mont for EDU isn't to hefty if you need it...


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## kitekrazy (Apr 26, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> Can’t see protools being replaced in the pro studios...



That was my point. With the big labels on the mastering side I don't see it replaced.


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## kitekrazy (Apr 26, 2018)

fretti said:


> Yes, at least not in the Audio section. But also because of their change to subscriptions I think. 7€ per mont for EDU isn't to hefty if you need it...



Avid has always been generous with EDU discounts.


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## robgb (Apr 26, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> Can’t see protools being replaced in the pro studios...


A. How relevant are pro studios these days; and B. If you're dealing with them, deliver stems...


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## KEM (Apr 26, 2018)

fretti said:


> Maybe we'll see Junkie XL turning to Reaper someday, as he seems (at least what I take from his Studio Time) to love having all the freedom in customizing many things he uses. Could be the "turning point" in many opinions...



I highly doubt Junkie will ever switch, and I hope he doesn't either.


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## Henu (Apr 26, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> Refreshing that they didn’t poll a bunch of kids all using cracked copies of FL studio...



Nah, it's Ableton nowadays.


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## Puzzlefactory (Apr 26, 2018)

robgb said:


> A. How relevant are pro studios these days; and B. If you're dealing with them, deliver stems...



A. Very

B. If some asks for tea and you give them coffee, is that ok?


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## Vik (Apr 26, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> A. Very


Absolutely true. But it's also true that they are relevant for a lower number of people than used to be - and this will affect how many votes Pro Tools will get in polls.


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## Zak Rahman (Apr 27, 2018)

kitekrazy said:


> That's only for amateur DAW users who suffer insecurity issues. A the professional level it's not about what is best but familiarity. Time is money. I'm sure there are arguments that Pro Tools is inferior to some DAWs but I'd bet most commercial releases are ran through an engineer using it.



Yup. At the studio, pro tools crashing constantly. The engineer is getting flustered. I ask him 'Dude, why? Logic. Reaper...anything else.'

His reply was that 'clients expect to see it'. I mean, there are engineers who will buy old and empty consoles just to give divas the 'celebrity feel'.

It's a pretty petty thing to imply that others have security issues by the way. I would avoid that if I were you


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## robgb (Apr 27, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> A. Very
> 
> B. If some asks for tea and you give them coffee, is that ok?


We'll have to disagree, but only because we probably have different needs. The big studios have been in decline for some time now, with major facilities either closing or turning into schools. In fact, it seems a large part of the industry in general has turned to training because the work is getting scarce.

But again you probably have different needs.


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## robgb (Apr 27, 2018)

Zak Rahman said:


> His reply was that 'clients expect to see it'. I mean, there are engineers who will buy old and empty consoles just to give divas the 'celebrity feel'


Just tell the client, "No, no, check this out, man, Logic sounds SOOOO much better than Pro Tools. You won't believe your ears..."


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## Puzzlefactory (Apr 27, 2018)

robgb said:


> We'll have to disagree, but only because we probably have different needs. The big studios have been in decline for some time now, with major facilities either closing or turning into schools. In fact, it seems a large part of the industry in general has turned to training because the work is getting scarce.
> 
> But again you probably have different needs.



I don’t have any needs I’m very much an amateur enthusiast.

But, everything I’ve heard says that clients expect protools sessions when a composer presents the work. 

I’ve also yet to hear of a Hollywood film soundtrack being recorded and mixdown on anything but a protools rig. 

It’s like Christian said in one of his vlogs. Protools is the only common factor in the industry.


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## robgb (Apr 27, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> But, everything I’ve heard says that clients expect protools sessions when a composer presents the work.


Obviously, it depends on the nature of the work. In most cases it is perfectly acceptable to present stems rather than a session. There is nothing about pro tools that makes it special. A session might be given if they want to maintain certain plugin settings, but that becomes a problem if the studio doesn't have the same plugins that you do. Stems are probably the most common form of delivery to a studio mixing engineer.


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## fretti (Apr 27, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> I don’t have any needs I’m very much an amateur enthusiast.
> 
> But, everything I’ve heard says that clients expect protools sessions when a composer presents the work.
> 
> ...


Well I know musicians and "professional" studios here that only use Cubase for audio recordings and production. It should be a matter of choice and taste, what every engineer etc. wants and likes to use. But it also seems that many people have the perception that Rock sounds better when the musician plays a Gibson and uses a Marshall amp...(these people often don't really care for Rock though...). A friend of mine only bought a Gibson because he (still) thinks that they build the best guitars. That's arguable. But so it's arguable weither or not Pro Tools is the best DAW for audio...
As it seems though that many people think ProTools is superior in that field and they expect studios to use it I'd say chapeau to the marketing guys from Avid.


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## Puzzlefactory (Apr 27, 2018)

I’m not arguing that it’s any better or worse, I’m arguing that it’s a “standard”. A common ground that everyone can converge on, in an industry that has such a wide selection of equipment and software. 

And that standard is very much prevalent in the film and media industries. 

When was the last Hollywood film you’ve heard of that was mixed down on Reaper (or even Cubase for that matter)?


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## KV626 (Apr 27, 2018)

After nearly 20 years of using Pro Tools (and DP, and Logic) it looks like one thing will never change: people who don't use Pro Tools, at some point, always feel the need to claim and prove to the world that Pro Tools is flawed, not the best DAW, overrated, overpriced, not stable, not good at MIDI, blah blah blah. The most ardent PT detractors are always those who use a different DAW. Go figure. It's like an inferiority complex or something.


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## Jimmy Hellfire (Apr 27, 2018)

KV626 said:


> After nearly 20 years of using Pro Tools (and DP, and Logic) it looks like one thing will never change: people who don't use Pro Tools, at some point, always feel the need to claim and prove to the world that Pro Tools is flawed, not the best DAW, overrated, overpriced, not stable, not good at MIDI, blah blah blah. The most ardent PT detractors are always those who use a different DAW. Go figure. It's like an inferiority complex or something.



Or maybe it's logic (the real deal, not the DAW). Why would they use PT if they thought that it's flawed, not the best DAW, overrated, overpriced, not stable, not good at MIDI, blah blah blah? It doesn't seem all to surprising that these notions come from people who use other DAWs, haha ...


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## KV626 (Apr 27, 2018)

fretti said:


> That's arguable. But so it's arguable weither or not Pro Tools is the best DAW for audio...



Not really. Clip gain, offline bounce, freeze/commit, no-frills and extremely clear GUI, the way everything is so streamlined. Even if it takes time sometimes for Avid to implement features others have had already for a good while, when they do, Pro Tools often ends up doing it better than anyone else. Doesn't mean it's perfect either.


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## KV626 (Apr 27, 2018)

Jimmy Hellfire said:


> Or maybe it's logic (the real deal, not the DAW). Why would they use PT if they thought that it's flawed, not the best DAW, overrated, overpriced, not stable, not good at MIDI, blah blah blah? It doesn't seem all to surprising that these notions come from people who use other DAWs, haha ...



I don't use Reaper or Live, I'm just not going to criticize them just so I can feel better about what I'm using. All I know is that I've tried others every now and then, and when it comes to audio editing, nothing come close to PT. Not a fact, just my experience.


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## JohnG (Apr 27, 2018)

Pro Tools has three main advantages, and a fourth sort-of:

1. Every engineer who comes over here knows how to use it very speedily (by far the most important to me);

2. Zero latency when recording; and

3. If you deliver in Pro Tools there is considerably less likelihood of the dub stage messing things up.

The sort-of is:

4. As with one's car / agent / looks / iPhone model(?) / perceived level of success, owning and delivering in PT conveys -- to a group that appears to be dwindling in size -- a patina of "professional." @Puzzlefactory has a bit of a point on the positive associations with PT as a perception issue but my (narrow) perspective is that the days when owning or not owning PT defined one as a pro / not pro are over. Maybe it's because you can own a decent PT rig now for less than a quarter of what it once cost? IDK

Other advantages?

a. Projects load soooo fast.

b. Very easy and reliable to edit audio.

c. Predictable high performance.

All that said, if I were starting out I would just get one of the main DAWs and forget the rest, because *PT on its own is not going to give your career a boost*. Any major DAW can do plenty.

Christian Henson's Youtube videos are spot on. If you write cool stuff and you work like a dog and you're fun to hang out with, AND if you're wise in sifting through your opportunities AND you stay in touch with people with whom you've worked and whom you like (and vice versa), you have a chance. Also you need to have some complement of skills: really play well, have good ears, know how to orchestrate, copy parts, conduct, produce, record, make synth patches do what you want, mix, use plugins and effects -- everything you know helps.

Yes, there sometimes seems more sizzle than steak in entertainment but -- not really. Most people who are making a living are substantive in some way, even if it's confined to a great sales knack and -- knowing how to hire people to do all the work (don't laugh).

Just to be clear, I'm not going to let PT go, I just don't think it makes a decisive difference.


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 27, 2018)

Cubase 8.5 I never saw a reason to change. Love the blocks. Great stuff imo.


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## fretti (Apr 27, 2018)

KV626 said:


> Not really. Clip gain, offline bounce, freeze/commit, no-frills and extremely clear GUI, the way everything is so streamlined. Even if it takes time sometimes for Avid to implement features others have had already for a good while, when they do, Pro Tools often ends up doing it better than anyone else. Doesn't mean it's perfect either.


Yeah, should have said "not the best DAW in the eyes of every musician/engineer/composer etc." because that's what I meant. Haven't really meant if its technically the best there is (the basic needs are delivered by all DAW's I think), but yes there had to be some technical advantages at one point so that Pro Tools actually made it first when it comes to Audio editing etc...

I just think that as long as the end result is great, it doesn't matter what was used. And even more important: if someone doesn't want to work with a specific tool (in every aspect of life/work) then he shouldn't be forced (or feel forced) to use the specific tool because a customer etc. wants him to use it/wants him to see using it (hope that sentence is kind of comprehensible)...


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## dcoscina (Apr 27, 2018)

JohnG said:


> It sure does. If you ask the top 10 film composers out there you would get a different distribution.


Yes that would be Logic and DP


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## fretti (Apr 27, 2018)

dcoscina said:


> Yes that would be Logic and DP


+Cubase (Zimmer, Junkie etc.). Just the two off of my head, but there was a list/thread somewhere here where many composers and their favorite DAWs were listed (if someone has a link, can‘t find it right now).


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## dcoscina (Apr 27, 2018)

fretti said:


> +Cubase (Zimmer, Junkie etc.). Just the two off of my head, but there was a list/thread somewhere here where many composers and their favorite DAWs were listed (if someone has a link, can‘t find it right now).


Yes true. JN Howard, Harry and Rupert Gregson Williams as well. I love Cubase 9 Pro and use it more than DP because of its GUI but whenever I have media scoring to do, I’m right back with DP because it works the best for me when it comes to film scoring


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## kitekrazy (Apr 27, 2018)

Zak Rahman said:


> Yup. At the studio, pro tools crashing constantly. The engineer is getting flustered. I ask him 'Dude, why? Logic. Reaper...anything else.'
> 
> His reply was that 'clients expect to see it'. I mean, there are engineers who will buy old and empty consoles just to give divas the 'celebrity feel'.
> 
> *It's a pretty petty thing to imply that others have security issues by the way. I would avoid that if I were you *



I've been on enough DAW forums where I stand by that statement and is most often the case. It's not petty the perfect examples are reactions to these best DAW polls which are merely popularity polls.


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## kitekrazy (Apr 27, 2018)

Puzzlefactory said:


> I’m not arguing that it’s any better or worse, I’m arguing that it’s a “standard”. A common ground that everyone can converge on, in an industry that has such a wide selection of equipment and software.
> 
> And that standard is very much prevalent in the film and media industries.
> 
> When was the last Hollywood film you’ve heard of that was mixed down on Reaper (or even Cubase for that matter)?



Yep. The major artist work doesn't go from their choice of DAW to commercial release. Someone else masters it. A few may have been allowed to skip that final step and it's really obvious. I think Rush did this once.


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## lsabina (May 1, 2018)

Am I the only one who uses Metro?


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## Robert Jason (May 1, 2018)

Most popular does not necessarily signify BEST. Too lazy to check how many others have commented similarly.


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## JalalAli (May 2, 2018)

I think your DAW is no more than a toolbox. You make music with the tools you throw inside, not with the box itself.


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## greentuga (May 2, 2018)

Does anybody use studio one??


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## SaintDufus (May 4, 2018)

I'm happy to see that Logic Pro won the silver medal. That's the DAW I use, and I like it a lot. (I've also used Studio One and Reaper, though neither one very exhaustively.)

One thing I like about Logic is that it "intuitively" predicts things: for instance, if I compose a track in another program and then save it into a folder that Logic recognizes from a previous save, Logic will automatically import that track into the project, without my having to import it.

Another thing I like about Logic is that it allows me to make changes to a project during playback--though maybe this is a feature other DAWs provide as well, I don't know.


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## JJP (May 4, 2018)

There are more than 12 DAWs in use out there? I didn't know that.


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## Jdiggity1 (May 4, 2018)

fretti said:


> ...there was a list/thread somewhere here where many composers and their favorite DAWs were listed (if someone has a link, can‘t find it right now).


https://vi-control.net/community/threads/daw-users-poll-and-the-who-uses-what-list.35147/
Might be that one? The topic has come up a couple of times.


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## Vik (May 7, 2018)

Jdiggity1 said:


> https://vi-control.net/community/threads/daw-users-poll-and-the-who-uses-what-list.35147/
> Might be that one? The topic has come up a couple of times.


This is newer:

https://vi-control.net/community/th...-work-with-orchestral-libraries.43016/page-13


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## InLight-Tone (May 7, 2018)

dcoscina said:


> Yes true. JN Howard, Harry and Rupert Gregson Williams as well. I love Cubase 9 Pro and use it more than DP because of its GUI but whenever I have media scoring to do, I’m right back with DP because it works the best for me when it comes to film scoring


DP is a mind fuck to me. You need 2 tracks instead of one like instrument track like in Cubase, completely old school. The Velocity tails are so small noone even with superhuman vision can see them let alone edit them to perfection. DP reminds me of old christian monks who flog themselves to make music to please "god"...


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## Jdiggity1 (May 7, 2018)

Vik said:


> This is newer:
> 
> https://vi-control.net/community/th...-work-with-orchestral-libraries.43016/page-13


So it's a war you want...


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## KV626 (May 8, 2018)

InLight-Tone said:


> DP is a mind fuck to me. You need 2 tracks instead of one like instrument track like in Cubase, completely old school. The Velocity tails are so small noone even with superhuman vision can see them let alone edit them to perfection. *DP reminds me of old christian monks who flog themselves to make music to please "god"...*



LOL! 

While I do like the "modern" way of doing instrument tracks, sometimes I aslo need multitimbral instruments. In Logic for example (can't comment on Cubase), these can be a royal PITA to set up, whereas Pro Tools can do both ways in the blink of an eye. Agreed regarding DP, I think its GUI is currently its biggest weakness - I simply can't stand it.


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## fretti (May 8, 2018)

KV626 said:


> In Logic for example (can't comment on Cubase), these can be a royal PITA to set up


That was actually the biggest reason for me to change from Logic to Cubase...


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## FrontierSoundFX (Feb 9, 2019)

I have always been a Pro Tools user, and have been surrounded by plenty of people who use the same. I didn't realize Ableton was so popular. Thanks for posting, I'd love to see a post with a progression of results over time.


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## greentuga (Feb 10, 2019)

Just because jxl or Hans use Cubase...?
I have logic and studio one (always click/open logic without thinking) and I think all daw’s are awesome. The thought for me is: best workflow for me. 
I hate logic UI and love S1... can’t uninstall or use s1 for my proposes... the 12 best DAW’s? Sorry, best???? All of them. For me: The one that I can work...


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## NYC Composer (Feb 11, 2019)

The absolute best DAW is the one I use, which is...

Wait. Who cares. :::cue effect of one hand clapping:::

If a DAW fell in the forest and there was no musician to hear it, would it still make operate efficiently at a 64k buffer?

These are the sort of philosophical, “adds no relevant content to a thread” enquiries that take up space in my eroding cortex.


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## KallumS (Feb 11, 2019)

It's funny to me that Reason is more popular than Reaper on that poll. From how vocal the minority is you'd think that everyone on the planet is using Reaper


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## LFO (Feb 11, 2019)

Actually, @KallumS , I see this as a bad sign for Reason. I've been a Reason user since 1.0 and love the product, just to give context. Ask Audio is a site that is oriented toward EDM and related music. This is the exact audience Reason targets given what it is. Seeing that it only received 4.98% of votes is disheartening, especially given the DAW oriented features it has added in recent years. While this is just one poll, I would have thought on Ask Audio it would have a better showing.

Comparing to Reaper is pointless. Apples and oranges. On another site with a different target audience Reaper would probably have a better showing and Digital Performer would be represented. For instance this site. Cubase would be much higher, DP would be on the chart and Reason probably would be a no-show. It's just about the audience you are polling. No big deal.


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## 5Lives (Feb 11, 2019)

These results shouldn’t surprise anybody. Ableton has taken over the EDM scene and large swaths of the pop and hip hop scene as well. The big three standard ones are well represented- in the order I would expect. Logic is the best deal in the space right now, Pro tools is still a necessity when working with studios / post / live. Cubase has always been the smallest of the big 3 but is obviously over represented for composers. I don’t see this distribution changing much except for maybe Studio One taking a more sizeable piece away from the big three.


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## MrCambiata (Feb 12, 2019)

I recently installed reaper. And I must say, I like it very much. For my needs, it's quite intuitive to find all the important functions. Even editing notes in the score editor is logical to me. My only concern is that there is a very small team behind it. So using Cubase makes it feel more future-proof...


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