Hey guys!
There are quite a few different DAW softwares out there and all of them have their pros and their cons. Many engineers will use different DAWs for different jobs, which is exactly what I do. Now this is just my opinion and my personal workflow for certain
projects. Just because I use these DAWs doesn’t mean they are the only ones worth checking out. There are a ton of DAWs out there that are worth looking into. These are the three DAWs I use because they have some amazing features!
Ardour
Ardour is one of the most revolutionary DAWs to date. And here’s the best part. It cost $12 a year to own. It is the cheapest full fledged DAW. However there are a few things to keep in mind. It comes with no plugins, however there is a crazy amount of free plugins on the market that I referred into a blog post I wrote earlier. Find out more about those here: (http://www.bearcastmedia.com/tips-tricks-with-jake-mixing-with-free-plugins-links-provided/) This is an amazing DAW because this is the DAW I started working with before I invested in Pro Tools and before buying Logic Pro. This Daw ends the debate that you need to spend a lot of money to work as a professional. I’ve worked with
published artist while I was still using Ardour with free plugins and it is a powerful tool for how little it cost. Check out Ardour. Making music does not have to be expensive!
Pro Tools!
Pro Tools. The industry standard. Just about every major studio in the world has a Pro Tools or Pro Tools HD Rig. Pro Tools is pretty much a universal language for engineers. I personally use Pro Tools for Recording, Mixing, and Mastering music. This is simply because I’ve worked in Pro Tools for a long time and have developed a second nature workflow to knock out mixes very quickly. Now that Pro Tools 2018 has channel strips workflows of engineers has gotten even faster. Pro Tools has a phenomenal workflow for routing busses and making studio-specific I/O Settings. Now the biggest drawback with Pro Tools is there is large learning curve. The other frustration with Pro Tools is that it has a track limit within the non-HD version. However, Pro Tools has so many pros that these cons are worth fighting with. It’s such a time saver to be able to open a Pro Tools file that a client uploaded to Google Drive. I can download the session and simply open the session and start working without having to deal with a whole process of having the client export audio files and having to import files from another DAW. Pro Tools simply lets me work and have a professional career.
Logic Pro X
Logic Pro X is simply amazing. It comes with so many features. I think Logic is a great resource for those who are on a Mac based computer and are just starting out, because it comes stock with a ton of tools and it is a third of the price of a Pro Tools license. I personally use Logic to compose and write music. Pro Tools only comes with a not so great piano virtual instrument and some basic plugins. Logic comes with so many tools for writing music, such as an artificially intelligent software drummer, as well as all kinds of virtual instruments ranging from strings, to woodwinds, to brass, to bass, to guitar, to pianos, to drums, and even harps. The downside with logic is that it can be a headache for engineers just looking to mix a song. The primary reason this is frustrating is because Logic makes “assumptions” and has some odd workflow anomalies. That sounds odd but it does mess with the average Pro Tools user. For example if you create a bus on a channel, Logic will automatically create an aux track for you, even if you were intending to use the bus as a side-chain. Or if you’re in the Mixer window and you have an aux track and you want to move it to organize your session, you have to first make a “track” so the aux will appear in the Edit window and then click and drag the track from the Edit window, in order to move it in the mixer window. Also Logic has a hard time with DSP and can often take up too much processing and hurt your computer and make your sessions crash more often than pro tools will. However as I mentioned earlier Logic is amazing for artist writing music. Logic even has the ability to show the sheet music for any midi music you write. Logic is an amazing tool for writers. It is possible to use it for mixing and mastering, but I feel much more comfortable mixing and mastering in Pro Tools.
Hope this helps you choose a DAW! Thank you guys for reading. Definitely check out these DAWs. They all have their strengths and all their cons.
-Jake
www.jakekricket.com