Which DAW Is The Best? (Surprising Answer from Pro Audio Engineer)

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There are a TON of digital audio workstations available on the market, but which one is best?

I discuss with a pro studio owner who started working in recording studios before DAWs even existed, which DAW is the best.

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[sonorous]

I've tried almost every DAW - since the early days of Acid Pro.
Ended up settling with Studio One.
Rock-solid stability, drag-n-drop almost everywhere, easy and fun to use.

[PsychedelicGoo]

I abandoned Cubase for Reaper a long time ago. Reaper is not only an excellent DAW, but it also comes with the security that it's not going to cost you an arm and a leg to keep up with the updates.

[frankchotai]

Tried many DAWs, and have worked mostly with Cubase in the past. But went to Studio One and will never go back. Lacks a little in the MIDI editing, but workflow is unbeatable.

[tkelong]

I use Reaper because of its sensibilities regarding CPU power. I can do 150 tracks easily with high plugin usage on all of them with Reaper. The others fall miserably short.
Ableton gives me about 24, Studio One probably another 10 tracks.
I record at 96/24 on 2 high end AMD/Win 11 systems synced via RTP-Midi.
Studio One has an incredible work flow but I paid for this power and I want every drop I can get.
Reaper very intelligently ‘sees’ each thread as a ‘cpu. This allows for much more spread out and clean data disbursal.
Also it’s a great DAW with just about limitless possibilities with the genius level Action List.

[BirdYoumans]

Cakewalk for me. Been using it almost from the beginning starting as my MIDI editor via smpte and then when the computers got fast enough to make latency negligible I've been using it for midi and audio. Paid for it when it wasn't free but now it's free! Unbelievable program. It just works. Never a problem with plugs at all. But then, I do have a good computer and that helps. 48 channels in and out via lightwire thru Hammerfall interfaces into a Yamaha DM2000 board. A dream set up! But then, I go back to my first studio job in the 60's when we used two 2 track Ampex machines to record with lol! A punch in was taking the best of 3 or 4 takes and splicing them together with a razor blade, splicing block and tape. An overdub was sending your band track from one machine thru the board, adding the vocal or whatever and into the second machine. Glad I lived long enough to get to use what we have now!

[mr_invictus]

I rarely hear Digital Performer in some of these "the best" conversations. The gentleman gave a pretty encouraging take on it.

[michaelteems]

Used numerous DAW's but started out on tape, so been at this for a while. Found that Cubase Pro works the best for me and the support mechanisms for Cubase are unparalleled in the business. It has always been rock stable on the PC's and the MIDI functions are the easiest to work with. Very smooth work flow.

[hackapump]

The point he’s making is absolutely true. It’s all about workflows, how you want to work and what DAW is better at accommodating that workflow. It might take a bit of effort to arrive at a good choice, but it’s so worth it. Myself I was a Cubase Pro user for like 20 years, when I happened upon Studio One. I reluctantly learnt to use it, and now I can’t see myself ever going back. But is S1 a better DAW than Cubase Pro? Not necessarily. For my workflow though, it’s leaps ahead of the competition. The only caveat I might add is ProTools seems to survive mainly on its history as a de facto standard. I don’t see why anyone would choose it in 2023, unless they need to be exchanging projects with other ProTools users with maximum ease.

[WarrenPostma]

Love the painter prep analogy. GIRATS. A little considered part of DAW selection is hardware support. Some very large and complex aggregate audio interface and digital mixing systems are easier to manage in one DAW than another. Some very pro-level control surfaces work properly with only one or two DAWs. If you own some giant control surface that makes your DAW look like a big studio console, with 32 flying faders, or if you use some digital-mixing/routing workflow that uses some very high end hardware with software integration only for one or two DAWs, that's your decision made for you. Some of us have a 2 channel audio interface, a pair of cans, and an attitude. Some of us have a few million dollars in gear. It's not the same thing for the people with a lot of gear. Pro Studios tend to stick with what they've been using for 30 years, because there's too much resistance to the risk of ever changing what works. "Standard" is another way of saying "Risk Averse". And when your whole business rides on opening the doors and having ANY mix engineer show up on any day and do anything they need to do, and another mix engineer show up another day, and do what they need to do, it's not about the software, it's about not rocking the boat. DAW Software is a jigsaw piece, in a complex puzzle, made up of partly of hardware, partly of software, and MOSTLY made up of people.

[ChrisCadenhead]

started on Nuendo in '00, Reason/Recycle in '02, pro tools, cubase, logic, ableton, and to been on Studio One since version 2 (wasn't amazing then), now Studio One 6 is beast mode finally and Ive never been able to program midi faster and manipulate audio than I have with Studio One. Highly Recommend for anyone living in the piano roll! Happy producing!

[Hardcrafter]

I like this take. Use what you think works best for you. Try a few DAWs out and if you feel that one just clicks for you, roll with it.

[Younghead]

It was an honour meeting you Craig Kelly and getting to know you a little bit, and it sure was something special seeing you ride and pick your lines on the mountain in Stubai Austria 🇦🇹. You were and still are by far the best Snowboarder that I’ve ever seen flow down mountain with unlimited style. R.I.P. Craig Kelly……. 💫✨🤙

[mrratskins]

I started with Cakewalk and stayed through the end with Sonar. Switched to Cubase and I must say that it is on a completely different plane in terms of quality. The best feature for me is the remote MIDI controller. You can take any controller you happen to have, design a graphic layout with their simple tools, and assign just about any function you want to any knob, button, slider, or pad. I don't know it any other DAWs have that, but I don't think so. If someone else designs one for your controller you can import the script and use it as-is or tweak it. There is a fantastic one for the Arturia Keylab 88 mk2. Just super. I hope Steinberg sticks with this feature.

[gravityfreaksmusic]

Yeah, good points. Ich work in PT, Logiv, Ableton and Cubase. Cubase being my first DAW I learned deeply. As with every computer application, there are frustrating aspects to it, but I can navigate a session with a band breathing down my neck quickly, without dropping the ball. That, to me, is the fundamental aspect of using anything. There are features in every DAW that all the others can't do. I go to Cubase for linear mixing work. It's very deep. I can see why many people would chose the way more uncluttered Logic, as their DAW of choice, and I find my self using it more and more, as it runs stable on a mac like no other application. Ableton Live has so many features for sounddesign and just pure jamming. I use it a lot for writing and coming up with ideas. For editing and mixing I would no touch it. If you are starting out, give them all a spin and pick the one that speaks to you. Then, learn that thing inside and out and get off the DAW Wars. :) Cheers!

P.S. Pro Tools is for old people! <3

[Jekaniah-jmgq]

I own studio 1 and I love it. There’s so much under the hood with them waiting to explore. It’s a learning curve but I love that I can mix and master and create in the same space. And yes, it’s so all about “painting.” Very hard work but once some magic happens it’s so exciting for me

[revp]

I use Reaper on MacBook Pro. It’s light on the cpu, not to mention the ability to open multiple project tabs. It is my all-audio workflow workhorse in studio & live performance. Cockos Reaper for the win.

[williambaker]

Randomly came across this video while researching today's DAWS and pleasantly surprised to see you filmed this at my old school yard (Unity Gain) with Master Sensei Anthony Ianucci, .. Legend. Great instructor and offers such a great program. I fondly recall those days, can't believe its been 20 years. Oof. Time Flies... He'll still be rocking Digital Performer in 20 more years, I haven't touched it since then personally, but its a solid daw. as is logic... (I never got the work flow with Ableton...)

I've been with logic all this time, but I'm wanting to get adventurous.. it'll be interesting to see what AI will offer the world of recording In the coming years... (sure its cheating, kinda)

[Quant-Beat]

Cubase is kind of an enhanced form of Logic. I tried Studio One a few days ago just to see if the free warp was better but I realised that I could not do internal recording as easily as in Cubase. I worked with Pro Tools also extensively and many bigger projects would have been a nightmare to route and organise in Pro Tools so Cubase appeared to be a better choice than I ever knew about from the start.

[ontimewreckchords]

I was using Cubase 12 and it’s brilliant but I love Logic Pro, I still want to use Reason as well

[_mickmccarthy]

For me, it's all about what you do with it. Some have different workflow tendancies (Ableton vs FL for example), but as long as the basics are covered it should all really be personal preference IMO. The DAWs used by my preferred artists varies quite a bit (Logic by The Midnight, Ableton by Com Truise, a stupidly old version of FL by Timecop1983), but they can all make great music with them.