Many people starting out in music production often ask one question:
Which one is the best DAW?
Maybe be the right question is, which one is the best DAW for me?
Because we don’t all have the same goals.
Virtually every DAW on the market will perform the same basic functions as well as any you will try.
Yet, beyond the basics, they all have specific areas of strength and weakness.
Let’s look at a few, and their strengths:
- Avid Pro Tools is trusted by pro sound engineers for mixing
- Some swear by Harrison Mixbus
- Ableton Live is a firm favorite for EDM producers
- Logic Pro X has a large selection of integrated sounds
- Cubase excels at score creation and MIDI manipulation
- Cockos Reaper is said to be very good for recording live tracks
While there is the odd all-rounder, decide whether you will be doing more of composition, recording, mixing, or all of these.
That will guide your choice because the best DAW is the one that works best for you.
Start with your own priorities, goals, and aspirations, as well as your budget, and pick a DAW-based on those.
As all DAWs come with a learning curve, you can’t flip and change between them and still expect to get the most out of each one.
You will need to pick one and take the time to really master it.