In this blog post, will help guide you through the decision making process when choosing the best DAW.
Once you’ve decided to start making music as a hobby or a career, researching and picking the right DAW music software can be overwhelming. With so many choices out there, you want to make sure you make the right decision.
What is a DAW?
A DAW (short for Digital Audio Workstation) is a computer program designed for editing, recording, mixing and mastering audio files. Most DAWs also incorporate MIDI functionality, allowing notes to be programmed or played via MIDI controller to control virtual instruments like synthesizers.
Plugins are also a major feature of DAWs, doing everything from simple EQ and compression to vintage amp modeling. Plugins are self-contained pieces of code that can be “plugged in” to DAWs to enhance their functionality.
7 Things to Consider when Choosing the DAW
Here are seven factors to consider:
- Budget and price
- Learning curve
- The User Interface
- Software updates
- Minimum system requirements
- Advanced editing tools and features
- Large online community
1. Budget and Price
A good place to start when choosing your DAW is to decide how much you are willing to pay.
There are free music-making software options, but they tend to have limited capabilities. Some lack major editing features while others limit the number of input and output audio tracks. Their factory VST Plugins usually don’t have plenty of presets or sounds to choose from.
If you choose to go with the pro version with all the features included, you can test out its trial version. This way, you have plenty of time to consider other factors before deciding on making a purchase. But with any trial software, you only get to use it for a certain period of time, most likely 30 days. Some trial versions also make you unable to save and export audio files.
On the other hand, higher end music making software for audio professionals can end up costing thousands of dollars, and have many features you will probably never use. The best DAWs like Apple Logic Pro, FL Studio and Presonus Studio One average between $200 and $500 dollars.
Initially, a newbie should learn from a free or a trial version. After the learning phase, you can easily switch to the standard or the much professional software version as per your need or requirements.
2. Learning curve
Irrespective of an individual experience, i.e., whether a newbie or a professional in the DAW world, it is relatively easy for anyone to get confused when learning an audio editing software.
An important thing to consider when buying a DAW is how easy it is to learn and become proficient with it. As a music creator, a DAW should serve all your needs for editing, recording, mixing and mastering.
However, this may come with a steep learning curve depending on which DAW you choose. The last thing you want is to purchase software, and then spend months learning how to make your first song.
Look for software that provides audio editing templates that help you get you started much faster.
You also want a DAW that includes plenty of support material, manuals and lots of tutorials so you can learn each feature. Tutorials are even more helpful when they can be easily accessed right in the program like Ableton Live. This way you can learn how to use a feature as you edit, maximizing your learning and editing time.
3. The User Interface
Most DAWs pack a whole bunch features and capabilities these days and it is quite a task for the makers of the software to keep the interfaces simple and intuitive while at the same time allowing access to advanced settings and controls.
An efficient DAW is one that helps in placing all the tools at your fingertips and, therefore, easy to use. But don’t be put off or surprised if you open some audio editing software and the interface looks totally overwhelming!
Regardless of your choice don’t place too much importance on the interface because they will all look unfamiliar. As you continue to use and familiarize yourself with the software not only will you become more comfortable with the interface but you may even begin to see the logic that lead to the design in the first place. This is true especially for Ableton Live users who not only have to consider the arrangement view but also the session view.
4. Software updates
When you choose a DAW you need to be sure that you are connected to a manufacturer that has been around for a while and will continue to be around for a long time in the future.
Updates are important because they can add new features to your DAW and remove outdated ones. Software updates may give your DAW a new shot of stability with no more crashing. Or an update might boost the speed and performance of your DAW.
It’s also important to consider if software updates are free for life or if they have a monthly or yearly subscription model. For FL Studio users updates are usually free for life. Once you buy the latest FL Studio Edition you want, then all future updates are FREE and you don’t pay for anything ever again! It’s typical in the music software industry to be charged between $150-250 for an update.
5. Minimum system requirements
All DAWs have list of minimum system requirements in order to function properly. The first thing you obviously need is a powerful computer.
No matter how good the DAW looks, no matter how perfectly the it fits in with what you want from it, do not move until you have tested it on the computer where it will be used.
Make sure your computer can handle all the tasks involved in processing your audio input and output. Be sure that you have a capable computer, along with an audio interface as the processing of high quality audio can require significant computing resources and time.
System requirements to look at include:
- Operating system: Windows vs macOS (Latest version is recommended)
- Processor: 32-bit vs 64-bit (64-bit is is recommended)
- CPU: Intel® Core™ i5 processor or faster is recommended
- RAM: 8 GB or more is recommended
6. Advanced editing tools and features
Take your audio to the next level with advanced editing tools and features. If you want your audio or music to impress, you want your software to have powerful tools and features that will dazzle your listeners.
Some features your DAW should have include:
- Ability to add or support 3rd Party VST Plugins
- Have Nondestructive editing with unlimited undo
- Have a large library size of various sounds and samples
- Have powerful MIDI sequencing of software and hardware instruments
- Have unlimited instruments, audio effects and MIDI effects per project
- Be able to combine the best of many takes through comping when recording vocals or instruments
- Have the ability to group tracks so as to mix with greater flexibility and manage detailed arrangements more easily.
7. Large online community
Community support is one of the most important aspects when considering buying a DAW.
A great online community occurs when people enjoy their experience using a particular DAW. This can be through sharing tips, asking and giving information, discovering new features. Well-informed users can share their tips and tricks, and new users can learn how to use more advanced features.
Online forums or communities provide a self-service alternative to regular customer service channels like email or phone. And whenever people using a particular DAW are unable to find the answers they need, they can ask on the forum. Someone who faced and solved a similar problem can step in and clarify it right there.
Conclusion
The competition among DAWs is pretty fierce and there are many choices available to you. Most of these audio editing software have been locked in a game of “catch up” with each other for some time now so there is very little to actually distinguish one product from another.
If you carefully examine the top choices you will discover that they are almost identical in terms of features and that separating them out and rating them accordingly only comes down to a few points.
The key to making the right choice for you is being able to know exactly what the DAW maker is offering with each feature and realistically how important that feature is to you.
Polish your sound, the professional way
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