Cubase..I used Logic from version 2. Almost exclusively except for a year period where I used cubase during Apple's transition to a mac only Logic.
I would honestly consider myself one of the most hard core defenders of Logic since day one, and there are things that drive me batty that I keep thinking will be fixed and never are..
Logic used to be the performance king on mac but as long as you are happy to work at 64 or even better, 128 buffer, Cubase has now matched it's performance and often exceeds it by plugin count to the value of around 10%.
So the Logic performance advantage is now moot, unless of course you want to work at 32 buffer, where Logic still trounces all other mac DAW's (and before someone jumps in and says Reaper.. no..not on mac.. Logic beats it in all dsp tests of all kinds unless I set reaper to a massive amount of look ahead which makes it effectively sluggish to respond to even a playhead position adjustment, therefore useless IMO. Basically, to match Logic's dsp results I had to set reaper to over 2 seconds anticipative processing).
Anyway, the one i dearly love is Pro tool, for ME, the workflow and gui is just like my brain is wired. But unfortunately, it is still plagued with issues IMO and is lacking a lot of must have features.. I will say though, if you don't do any midi, i still recommend PT. Of course the OP is doing a lot of midi, therefore in this context, Cubase and Logic are "better" choices.
Anyway.. Basically, i used PT on and off for 2 years as an alternative to Logic, and i WILL keep my sub up for 99 bucks a year to have studio compatibility, but I have ditched Logic as my main DAW after more than *20 years* in favour of Cubase.
Since all DAWs have their pros and cons.. I can list some of why I prefer Cubase, and others can decide whether those features matter to them as much as me.
Firstly, I will get out of the way, Logic beats Cubase in five areas.. Better collection of midi plugins, 32 buffer with large number of input tracks armed,(or to even play a single heavy cpu VI like diva/codex etc)..it's plugin and synth collection (tape delay, camel audio stuff, chroma verb, retro synth, Alchemy, others), and finally, the superb tempo features in 10.4.. the audio auto quantise is absolutely stunning on acoustic instruments even, where PT fails miserably (for example), and Cubase is "not bad".
Now, for absolutely everything else, literally everything, I feel Cubase is a far superior piece of software..
Just some features that make it outstanding:
-A proper midi drum editor.. Simple as that.. Take any VI or External drum synth, name each note whatever you want, and program away with the brush..Or see drum midi you played in or imported on a proper drum grid and edit with extreme ease with the brush. There is also a midi plugin step sequencer for a more hardware like approach. I don't even know of a step sequencer for drums that just integrates with logic, other than ultrabeat, but that works only on ultrabeat, and isn't retina. It's SO hard to see and so blurry on HiRes screens.
-Vst Note Expression, the way it's meant to be.
-The info line for any clip or note selected.. it's all there in one line.. Logic you have to click and hold or open event lists
-Automation precise editing with numerical values, Logic can only numerically edit 127 steps.
-Instant audio engine response.. Logic takes 2 to 3 seconds for responding to most audio editing commands during playback
-No ghost effects/Phantom notes - Logic still has the effects buffer issue and I still start songs on bar 5, which I started to do back at version 3 as it even had the same issues with it's own effects then.
-control over GUi colour without any hacking or purchasing of external skins. You can also make your own COLOUR *palette* for clips/tracks..Logic's is fixed and they even removed a standard red of any kind in Logic X!
-Automation is in time regardless of latency in signal path. Cubase's delay compensation is still superior to Logic and audibly reacts instantly to any latency changes in plugin.
-Truly unlimited tracks depending solely on computer power.. Logic for example has 255 instr tracks.. That really isn't enough for some film composers.
-256 hardware inputs and output vs 64 in Logic. This in itself is a massive, massive feature.
-Proper selectable midi device input for every single track.. whatever you like.. assign for example one controller to play certain tracks, another to play others, and so on. With one click on the main page. No environment needed.
-Chord track - It's actually incredibly intelligent but the real strength is that after you compose, you can have vocals and other samples follow the key of the chords.. No manual editing bit by bit or usually just some minor manual changes needed after. I don't sing, so work with vocal samples, and this is absolutely huge for me.. I just tick one box and they are in key with my song. Done. And not to forget the chord track is powerful at creating progressions as well.
-clip gain is done right there on the clip.. not in an inspector box.. Another huge difference.. Although, Pro tools is the king here.. for audio levelling.. just.. wow.. amazing. Again, clip volume changes are heard instantly.
-performance now at least equals or surpasses Logic at 128 buffers and up, usually equals it at 64, but lags at 32. Since I use a DSP solution to monitor, 128 is fine for playing Vi's and i really do get better performance than Logic
-Another huge workflow thing for me.. when you click on a Vi track, just like Logic, the track goes into "live" buffer mode.. i.e the buffer set in preferences..BUT, to take a track out of that mode in Logic, you have to literally select a different track... there is no other way.. So if you need to open a plugin GUI but are low on resources, and are in one page arrange/inspector view with Logic, you need to select the track, open the plugin GUI then select an audio or inactive track to take the VI track out of live mode. In Cubase you just press a button and can keep the correct track highlighted. Just this little thing is such a huge time saver for me.
-proper, smooth audio editor
- Selectable pre and post fader inserts PER track! You can literally drag the slider for any track to which effects you want to be pre or post fader. There is absolutely no way to do this in Logic without using an external gain staging plugin.
- Audio file to tempo preview happens 5x as fast as Logic.. as soon as you move to the next file, it's instantly audible and synced. Logic needs to buffer, buffer, buffer.. 3 seconds delay again when browsing during playback
- For me this matters, to many others it won't, but Cubase supports offline audio file transfer to and from Revoice pro.. Logic has to all be recorded in real time.. it's SO slow.. Other lovers of Revoice Pro will know what I am talking about.
- I will say, Cubase's time stretch on drums is awful and phasey, even with just 5% change. Logic has an auto slicer and is far superior and I have never had it fail, even with extreme tempo stretches. Cubase you need to literally open each individual file in the audio editor, create slice points and slice the file, then crossfade each slice. it's the only way to get decent sounding tempo change on drum loops.. So if you happen to work with rhythmic loops, Logic is superior for this, truly.
- Nothing beats Halion Sonic for an included all round rompler, however for synthesised stuff Logic has a massive edge.. Cubase in built synths don't even come close. Also, Logic's modulation and delay effects kill Cubase. If i was still using Logic, i'd sell a lot of my third party plugins, in Cubase I need them.
- If you are using a lot of UAD effects, Cubase any day.. cause you can add and remove them on the fly and the PDC updates instantly, unlike Logic which has that.. yep.. 3 second delay. And again, Cubase can play back it's automation where you actually draw it.. Logic's shifts depending on what plugin delays are in the automation signal path.. i.e it's out of time.
- Automation in Cubase is way better..just the little things like the info line when a dot is selected, for example, and in logic, there is STILL an issue where you can't stack two dots completely vertically at the same timeline point without workarounds. Cubase, you just drag the dot and it hard stops. Curves are also much easier to adjust without key commands or separate tools.
- The Control Room with it's integrated loudness metering.. it's very powerful and often overlooked.
- Cubase logical editor is more powerful than Logic's.. You can create presets to do anything, but it's a deep learning curve. There are some excellent preset macros to get you started with a lot of clever midi functions with one click.
- as good as Logic is at midi, Cubase is simply better. it's a composer's complete toolbox IMO. There is also in place editing which logic does not have in any capacity
Honestly, Cubase is simply better software. They keep on thinking of the little things to speed up workflow.. whereas Logic's basic workflow is the same as it's always been, with the same downfalls that never get attended to. it's still based on midi resolution for a lot of things, as in, 127 steps, has the same audio engine delays it's had for 20 years, the same phantom effects tails it's had for 20 years, the same environment under the hood it's had for 20 years..It's like Apple just keep adding more and more on top of something that needs fixing at it's core, and it just became too much for me and I switched. Couldn't be happier now..truly.
Just all these little things add up..BTW, I do maintain use of Alchemy very easily with the purchase of the cheap Apple mainstage app, and control it from normal midi tracks in Cubase..
Cubase ROCKS! Truly!