# Home studios: what's your primary DAW?



## bill5 (Apr 7, 2019)

I specify and emphasize_ home studio _as Pro Tools would probably win in a landslide for those running a business  If it's just for you and impressing clients by using the so-called "industry standard" isn't a concern, what do you prefer?

Also hopefully you have tried at least several others to comparison shop


----------



## holywilly (Apr 7, 2019)

Cubase for composition and ProTools for mixing. My dream DAW will be the combination of Cubase & DP


----------



## Geoff Grace (Apr 8, 2019)

Pro Tools. I have Digital Performer, Logic Pro X, Live, Studio One, and Reason too; but I mostly use Pro Tools.

Best,

Geoff


----------



## garyhiebner (Apr 8, 2019)

Logic, but I also use Cubase, and Studio One for different tasks. I've recently been exploring Digital Performer, and man it has some great features. I'm surprised its not a more commonly used DAW. I know its big it the film and TV composition world. But would have thought it would be right up there with Logic and Cubase. Interested to see what their new version does. Seems like they trying to pull more EDM users with the new clips feature.


----------



## NekujaK (Apr 8, 2019)

Reason. Occasionally Reaper. Long ago used Cubase.


----------



## ridgero (Apr 8, 2019)

Did you forget about Studio One? It has more users than Bitwig / Sonar eg


----------



## chibear (Apr 8, 2019)

Studio One here. Was on Mixcraft from V5 to 8, but the devs never addressed problems in MIDI and automation. Tried DP 9 for a year but could never get comfortable in it. Spent way too much time in the 1000 page manual. For S1 I rarely have had to refer to the manual. Very intuitive yet lots of features I like plus they are only on version 4 so growing fast.


----------



## wst3 (Apr 8, 2019)

I don't currently have a primary platform - well, if there is time pressure I use Sonar, I've been using it since CWPA, and I can work more quickly with it.

When there is no gun pointed at my head I am using Studio One and Digital Performer - trying to figure out if one is better, or perhaps I'll start using two? Or three???


----------



## benmrx (Apr 8, 2019)

Pro Tools at work for compatibility...., and well... because I still think PT is king when it comes to audio editing/working to picture, working fast/under the gun with clients. Nuendo at home. Though I do have my own copy of PTHD at home, I rarely use it. REALLY loving Nuendo as I just made the crossgrade from Cubase. Sometimes a little Ableton in rewire mode for quick sound design as well.


----------



## TrondB (Apr 8, 2019)

DP


----------



## Rap-sody (Apr 8, 2019)

A survey about DAW’s without Studio One is pretty meaningless...


----------



## gpax (Apr 8, 2019)

Rap-sody said:


> A survey about DAW’s without Studio One is pretty meaningless...


The omission should be corrected, I think : )


----------



## bill5 (Apr 8, 2019)

You can't change poll choices. Pardon to all the Studio One people.


----------



## jbuhler (Apr 8, 2019)

These days I mostly use Logic and Studio One, Logic for bigger projects, Studio One for smaller ones and for sketching.


----------



## WaveRider (Apr 8, 2019)

Digital Performer. It just works.

Also, the survey should say Digital Performer... not MOTU. Otherwise, it should say Apple instead of Logic, Avid instead of Pro Tools, etc.


----------



## MatFluor (Apr 8, 2019)

Reaper here.
Was long time on Ableton, then StudioOne, Sonar, DP. DP didn't like my old interface for some reason (made it hang and DPDP couldn start back up). It that wouldn't have happened I would still be on DP - despite the horrible don't rendering on PC.

Now I'm on Reaper and miss almost nothing I had with DP. Most customizable DAW out there, tons of scripts to enhance functionality (streamers and punches, Ableton-style session interface) plus the routing is very cool. The ability to create custom actions and scripts makes some workflows just extremely fast. Love it.


----------



## StillLife (Apr 8, 2019)

For band work, Cubase. For solo and experiments, maschine


----------



## DS_Joost (Apr 9, 2019)

Cubase for heavy midi work. Reason for the inspiration and sheer fun.


----------



## Garry (Apr 9, 2019)

I'm on Logic, and mainly happy with it. For me, the only killer feature that would make me switch would be something like 'disable tracks' as you have in Cubase, enabling you to set up large templates without impacting RAM. The On/Off button in Logic doesn't work this way, and I would love it if it did - it's a highly requested feature for Logic. Based on the votes here so far, I just downloaded Reaper to check it out (there's a 60 day evaluation period), as it gets a lot of support outside the 2 leaders, Cubase/Logic. If I was just starting out and didn't already have Logic, I think I may have been tempted by Reaper, but now, is there a killer feature that differentiates it from Logic that should persuade me to switch over? Can it disable tracks as in Cubase for example, or are there other key features that Logic doesn't have? What am I missing? If it's just 'it's a better workflow', then while I don't disagree since I'm not familiar with it, I'm so embedded in Logic's workflow now, that that itself, at least for me, wouldn't be a reason for me to make the switch.


----------



## KallumS (Apr 9, 2019)

Studio One.


----------



## TomislavEP (Apr 9, 2019)

I'm on Windows 10 and REAPER is my main DAW beginning from 2016. Prior to that, I was a Pro Tools user since version 7 was available and was trying to stick with it until Pro Tools 12 came out. Although version 11 had brought many improvements with its 64-bit support, the Annual Subscription Plan that AVID had introduced afterward drove me off due to the cost, as I've missed an opportunity to upgrade my Pro Tools 11 to 12 at the reduced price and to do so I had to purchase quite expensive Reinstatement Plan first. Since Pro Tools updates within the major version were free before that, this had motivated me to look for an alternative. REAPER was my first choice due to its cost and more than generous update / upgrade policy, but after using it for quite some time I must say I find it superior to Pro Tools in many ways, especially in the MIDI department I primarily work with. Also, REAPER has very active development life and its much more likely you'll eventually get some feature you've dreaming about for years in Pro Tools. I'm excited to see what will the next major version of REAPER bring.


----------



## rudi (Apr 9, 2019)

A long time Cubase user here. I have recently given Reaper a try and I have to say I am very impressed. Very customisable, heaps of commands, and I was amazed at how small a footprint it has, and how quickly it loads compared to Cubase... I also like the included plugins, not the most glamorous GUIs but effective. 
I am exploring it some more but I am pretty sure I'll buy it when the generous trial period expires.


----------



## Rasmus Hartvig (Apr 9, 2019)

Reaper here as well. I do run a business, but I've never had to use Pro Tools on any job. I have previously used Ableton Live and Cubase, but these days I only ever open Reaper. It's such an impressively designed piece of software and - a few gripes aside - it just get's better and better all the time, instead of more and more bloated.


----------



## EgM (Apr 9, 2019)

Studio One when I wanna enjoy making music, Cubase Pro when something's too complicated...


----------



## Morning Coffee (Apr 9, 2019)

I like and have used Pro Tools since version 7 and I'm currently on version 12, but I am a jaded customer now and feel a bit ripped off by Avid due to my experiences with them ever since they switched to a subscription model, so I won't be investing in that company anymore.

I also like Harrison Mixbus, mainly because it is setup like a real mixing console with it's own EQ's, compressors, channel sends etc all built into the user interface. Presonus Studio one and Propellerhead Reason also look interesting to me.


----------



## Rasmus Hartvig (Apr 9, 2019)

Morning Coffee said:


> I am a jaded customer now and feel a bit ripped off by Avid due to my experiences with them ever since they switched to a subscription model, so I won't be investing in that company anymore.



This. I recently had the worst customer service experience ever with Avid (being a Sibelius subscriber for a year), so that's another reason I hope I'll never have to use Pro Tools. Their DAW might be nice, but Avid as a company is about as bad as it gets.


----------



## DS_Joost (Apr 10, 2019)

Rasmus Hartvig said:


> This. I recently had the worst customer service experience ever with Avid (being a Sibelius subscriber for a year), so that's another reason I hope I'll never have to use Pro Tools. Their DAW might be nice, but Avid as a company is about as bad as it gets.





Morning Coffee said:


> I like and have used Pro Tools since version 7 and I'm currently on version 12, but I am a jaded customer now and feel a bit ripped off by Avid due to my experiences with them ever since they switched to a subscription model, so I won't be investing in that company anymore.
> 
> I also like Harrison Mixbus, mainly because it is setup like a real mixing console with it's own EQ's, compressors, channel sends etc all built into the user interface. Presonus Studio one and Propellerhead Reason also look interesting to me.



Just wait until you two hear about their plan for paid track packs. You can pay for packs to upgrade your track count. You heard that right. Paid DLC for DAWs.

Why am I not surprised Avid being the ones to come up with this...


----------



## PaulieDC (Apr 10, 2019)

EgM said:


> Studio One when I wanna enjoy making music, Cubase Pro when something's too complicated...


Bingo.

Amazing how Studio One isn't even a choice on the list, don't understand why it's always the red-headed stepchild. One of the best/easiest UI's out there, and awesome Mastering section. #Whatevah


----------



## pderbidge (Apr 10, 2019)

EgM said:


> Studio One when I wanna enjoy making music, Cubase Pro when something's too complicated...



My studio guy used to use Studio One, before he switched fully to ProTools, and I must say it was more fun to watch him work in Studio One than ProTools.
I'm a Reaper guy myself and can't imagine working in anything else. Since I write a lot of songs from scratch I can't imagine living without Ripple Edit. I'm constantly rearranging verse and Chorus and it would be so painstaking to do without this feature. I was shocked to find out that Cubase didn't have this feature and it was painful to watch another studio guy delete a verse(on my request) in the middle of a song and try and line up everything after the deleted verse. After 15 minutes I kept thinking to myself "I would have been done 10 minutes ago in Reaper"


----------



## robgb (Apr 10, 2019)

Over a couple decades: Cakewalk > Sonar > Nuendo > Logic > Studio One > Reaper. Reaper was and still is the "a ha!" DAW.


----------



## Rasmus Hartvig (Apr 11, 2019)

DS_Joost said:


> Just wait until you two hear about their plan for paid track packs. You can pay for packs to upgrade your track count. You heard that right. Paid DLC for DAWs.
> 
> Why am I not surprised Avid being the ones to come up with this...



That sounds like it would be a perfect April fools prank - yet it's true. Also seems like a amazingly incompetent business decision. I'll stick with my resolution to never deal with Avid again, and to actively dissuade others from doing so. We all deserve better.


----------

