What Is The Best Recording Software? Opinions/comparisons

[starise]

...The result of another discussion over on another thread, I thought it might be interesting to look at the current offerings in recording software and see if there are any clear winners. Things have changed a bit over the last several years in regards to the software available. 

 

Not all of us have the means to simply buy multiple programs to try. Thankfully there are several companies that offer free demos to try. Some have decided to try cracked software which I highly advise against for not only the most obvious reasons, but also because you essentially forfeit future supports and upgrades...not to mention that sometimes a company will offer a sweet deal on an upgrade if you possess a registered copy of a lower version of the software, in fact, this has been the way I have upgraded several programs...I waited for a sale which always happens, especially around the holidays.

 

If you happen to be shopping for a DAW or recording software you might have started to notice a trend. When one company adds a feature, the competition usually follows up with something similar, so we end up with many similar feature sets on different programs.

 

What you discover to be best for you might not be best for someone else. How can you know what is best? This all depends on what type of music you plan to make since these programs all have strengths and weaknesses. 

 

For the longest time all you would hear was pro toosl, pro tools, pro tools....all of the big players had it and used it. Then Avid almost went bankrupt and are still trying to catch up. People who don't understand the technology  might think that when Avid/M-audio announced 64 bit software it was some kind of milestone. Many of the big players had already adopted it years ago...64 bit was simply a sales pitch. Pro Tools has mainly one thing going for it right now. Name recognition, and this is slowly going away as users start to see the offerings of other companies.Many smaller studios have abandoned Pro Tools altogether.

 

Logic is another popular player with the Apple and pro recording crowd. Unlike Pro Tools Apple has a very relevant and capable program. Nothing head and shoulders above the other big players though. The main draw in Logic is that it is designed to run on Apple Computers from the ground up.Another big advantage is that it is inexpensive in the DAW world..something like 199.00...absurdly inexpensive for what you get. If you own an Apple computer you would be hard pressed to do better, and it is cross compatible with the lighter Garage Band. The disadvantage being that it only works with apple computers and you can't load a Pro Tools session into a Logic program..Apple- good system but closed system. 

 

Under Logic and Pro Tools come all of the other companies who make software for recording...

 

Here are some questions to ask yourself- Do you want to produce or simply record? Do you plan to use a pro studio to complete a project, or do you intend to bring your music to master yourself? 

 

Software is simply a tool to accomplish an end...so why make so much of it? Mainly because decent software and the accompanying DAW can be quite an investment, so it pays to investigate the best for you. If you simply need to get a vocal and a guitar recorded, an iPad might even do just fine with a low cost software app in it or Garage band. It's when you start to look at the music as a production that things get a bit more complicated. A certain level of production is now expected or people seldom even listen to it. Within the first few seconds of a recording most listeners have already decided if they want to continue based on the quality of the recording.

 

Comments welcome!!

 

 

[starise]

Well the 2014 Synthopia votes are all in. I'm not convinced that this is a good cross section as it depends on who votes. Not all users vote on this of course. I would have expected Logic to be popular...with the price point, reliability and popularity of Apple computers....with Fruity loops...meh....I think they launched a huge pre election campaign And Bitwig?? Really?? 

 

How fair do you think the results are?

 

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2014/10/16/whats-the-best-desktop-daw-2014-poll/

[Glenn Allen]

As a student at Berklee and Berkleeonline, and my expereience working in recording studios, having my own home studio, and teaching/selling music production through a national retailer at one point, I've owned and used Sonar, Reason, various versions of Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic (even back when it was still available for use on PC), FL Studio, and even the freebies like Garage Band and Audacity.

 

I will say that I use Pro Tools, and Garage Band more than anything.  For quick slap together MIDI controller work, I fire up garage band.  That said, I think Logic is great and if I didn't have so much money, gear, and education invested in PT, I'd still be using Logic.

 

It took me a while to see beyond my PT bias, but after taking some training on Cubase, the world's industry standard (but not the industry standard in the US) it appears hands down the best out of the box bang for your buck.  Too bad most studios don't use Cubase.  That's why I still don't use the free copy I was given by a Steinberg/Yamaha rep.

[starise]

Hi Glenn,

 

I hear you on the Pro Tools....even in the states PT is the standard that many learn on and I think Logic comes in a close second in most well known studios....so I'm not at all surprised by your preferences

 

If I had been weaned on PT I would probably be in exactly the same place, although I have heard several very good engineers tell me that they really prefer to use brand X but port it into PT......and it appears that you have warmed up to Cubase so you have tried a few other things. I don't know how long ago you tried the copies you recieved while employed selling music production, but some of the programs you mentioned have gone through big changes in the last few years...of course...if you are happy with your current setup why change now? 

 

I use Studio One ..the pro version and several others in addition to Sonar X3 Producer because the right tool for the job is more important to me than brand. Studio One has excellent mastering plug ins ....Craig Anderton summed up my feelings  in this recent comment. The comment was made in response to someone taking offense to comments on the Cakewalk site about other music software.

 

" I'm a host, I'm reading this, and can read that the description of this thread is "Discussion focused on non-Cakewalk music software." I think it's important to differentiate between people who use Cakewalk and other software, and those who don't use Cakewalk software. If someone has nothing to do with Cakewalk software and comes into Cakewalk forums to discuss other software, at best that seems peculiar, and at worst, downright rude.

 
However, there are plenty of people who believe in "the right tool for the right job." Just because SONAR is the right tool for me most of the time doesn't preclude using other software. I just finished mastering an album in a combination of Wavelab, Sound Forge, and yes, SONAR because it could do things the others didn't do very efficiently. Then I assembled it in Studio One Pro, which has replaced CD Architect in my toolbox. All of those programs are of interest to me. For live performance, it's Ableton Live for the DJ-type stuff and SONAR when hosting hex processing for live guitar. For pureplay DJ applications, it's Traktor but I use Ableton Live and SONAR to prep songs for compatibility with Traktor. All the loops I assemble for use in Live are created in SONAR. Reason loves to be rewired into SONAR, and I can't create REX files without ReCycle. And sometimes I have to track in Pro Tools but that doesn't prevent me from transferring the WAV files to SONAR so I can mix in an environment I prefer. And Mixcraft is a fine needledrop music generator because they include so much content...
 
What I absolutely refuse to get into is adopting some attitude that because I use some particular program, I'm better or know more than people who don't. Yes, SONAR is by far the program that gets the most use in my studio, but the other ones have valid purposes...I don't play just one guitar, either.
 
And think of it from Cakewalk's perspective: I have just about every DAW in the universe installed on either my Windows or Mac computers, yet SONAR is my first choice. The fact that I am conversant with all these programs, and could run a session on any of them, means that I use SONAR not because I don't know anything else but because I know exactly what it offers compared to everything else out there.
 
All I can say with certainty is that SONAR meets my needs best. Period. Other programs fit other peoples' needs...if you want to do 4-point broadcast edits, then you'd better pony up the money for Sequoia because nothing else really does the job. But I don't have to do 4-point broadcast edits. 
 
It's also good to know what's in other programs because often, there are some good ideas in them that, with a little thought, can be implemented in SONAR (like varispeed). And I thought Dave's opening comment was a lot more about the fad du jour than any kind of plug for Samplitude or slam on SONAR. 
 
It's all good. The bottom line is that SONAR is doing very well and picking up a lot of new users, so people are voting with their wallets...and those votes are much more meaningful than the votes in the "vote for your favorite DAW!!" polls. In my experience, the folks at Cakewalk are more challenged by competition than afraid of it - and I can say that for several other software companies as well. Most of these companies have genuine respect for each other, because they know how difficult it is to pull off making products like this."

Edited December 17, 2014 by starise

[EJB]

Well the 2014 Synthopia votes are all in. I'm not convinced that this is a good cross section as it depends on who votes. Not all users vote on this of course. I would have expected Logic to be popular...with the price point, reliability and popularity of Apple computers....with Fruity loops...meh....I think they launched a huge pre election campaign And Bitwig?? Really?? 

 

How fair do you think the results are?

 

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2014/10/16/whats-the-best-desktop-daw-2014-poll/

Looks like a Popularity contest?

 

Is it mainly U.S. users?

 

What are the criteria?

[Glenn Allen]

All I can say with certainty is that SONAR meets my needs best. Period. Other programs fit other peoples' needs..

 

I have to say, I STILL fall back on the same Sonar 7 software I've had for years when I'm having issues with PT or I'm between purchased licenses.  It's easy yet powerful.  

Edited December 19, 2014 by Glenn Allen

[starise]

Glenn, Sonar 7.....yeah that goes back before the redesign of Sonar, yet still a great program. I remember when X1 came out people who were using version 8.5 had a tough time getting used to the new aero look, but for the most part it was a success. Those who didn't like the change either kept 8.5 or went shopping for something else. I happen to like it.

 

I'm not extremely familiar with Synthopia. They release a poll every year, and every year I'm surprised at the results. What surprises me about Bitwig is that it is still relatively new on the scene. Bitwig was started by a few guys that left Ableton. Reminds me of Studio One which was started by a few guys from Cubase.

 

Bitwig shares some common DNA with Ableton and I'm guessing is big with those who like to primarily use loops in making their music. Bitwig has some cool features. I like the way they combine midi and audio in tracks....honestly though I would never have guessed they hold the number one slot and that's the thing about these polls, they only reference a certain group of people who knew about the poll and voted. I didn't know the votes had been cast or I would have contributed a vote.

 

Probably a more accurate measure of success and popularity would be to look at a companies sales and product growth and talk to engineers to see what they like. The guys who do it for a living. The people who have tried a lot of different things...what do these people say? And most importantly. Test drive a few demos for yourself. Ask yourself what kind of music you want to make and I think this will help to guide anyone who is unsure or might be looking at other options.

 

What I have found is that most producers and engineers use more than one program and that carries across to plug-ins and VSTi's . They might have three or four different software drum packages on their machine. Many different plug-in and instruments.

 

Trends are what they are...and one trend I see is that Cubase is probably most popular in Germany where it was made and Reason might have more of a following in Scandinavia because it came from there. Any location where EDM and Trance is big will sell many copies of Ableton......it can be many things. It could be as simple as someone seeing a bargain on one kind over another and buying based on price....all of these criteria seem to be the wrong criteria though....the main reason should be what works the best for what I do.And to make an educated choice one needs to know the differences in the software. All of it is similar but all of it is different.

[Gazebo]

Synthtopia seems to be aimed at the guys using midi and synths a lot.  For me, this is not a big issue.  If you posed the same question to readers of an acoustic guitar magazine the results might be markedly different.

 

Bitwig is completely new to me - in fact I hadn't heard of it before reading this.

 

I came from a background of cassette 4 track recording initially, moving to a hard disk recorder. My first DAW was Cakewalk Guitar Tracks.  I moved onto Home Studio, then dropped out of recording for a while.  

 

When I started again I found Kristal, which was revolutionary for me. So simple, yet powerful, and demanding some creative thinking.  (No midi, limited tracks and VST ports).  I bought a new interface and tried the Sonar Lite and Cubase Lite versions that came bundled with it, and it whetted my appetite for more features. I tried Reaper around this time, and a friend also introduced me to Studio One.

 

Just because of the way I like working, Reaper has been the DAW I have stayed with.  It's not about features, price or that it sounds different - I just "get" Reaper in a workflow way that I didn't any of the others, and the more I use it, the more things I find in it.

 

Of course, I am a prone to GAS as anyone, and often look around wondering if the grass is greener somewhere else, but for the moment Reaper does everything I need and more.

[starise]

Thanks for chiming in Gazebo....I'm glad you found something that works well for you!

[TapperMike]

After having several Daw's None of which met my expectations I went looking for a new one...The winner was Mixcraft.

 

http://forums.songstuff.com/topic/34576-the-daw-saga/

[zzeb]

I've used  Cubase because it was most common in Sweden when I started home recording. Since then there is a lot more DAWs to chose from.

Two years ago I tested Ableton live and I have not used Cubase since then.

Ableton have the "session view" that I think is a intuitive interface for song writing. I can quick and easily test ideas and arrangements.

And it have all the functionallity for my home recordings.

[starise]

Tapper Mike....mixcraft. Yes I have heard it makes a great way to get ideas into the computer and it isn't very expensive either.

 

zzeb- Cubase is a great program in my experience. Has a rather steep learning curve but once you get into it the sky is the limit in terms of capability.

 

I just learned that Cakewalk is going to a membership business model much like some of the graphic software has done. For me the initial price of entry isn't too much...149.00 dollars for a full year.

 

Membership lets you own everything you buy. If you buy a year and discontinue membership after 12 months you still own everything you had. Discontinuing membership only excludes you from updates and additions to the software....so for me, I might buy in every two years. Most of what the new version offers I wouldn't necessarily use much, but it would be great to have.

 

The good thing about the new purchase/membership model is that you can own a fully blown DAW for a small monthly payment since Cakewalk allows you to break the price of membership into payments.

 

I can see why Cakewalk made this move and I think the end result will be better software for everyone. If you stop paying after 12 months you still can use what you have. The price of entry for the noob is higher...but not necessarily prohibitive depending on your situation.

 

I am not entirely a Cakewalk Fanboy. I like Sonar but I am using Studio One on a currect project and once you learn it...It is really nice to work with and is very capable. A big plus for Presonus and studio one is that they make wonderful hardware and Studio One is made to play well with it.

 

On the Cakewalk end of things. Gibson guitars has bought Cakewalk  and Gibson owns Tascam and KRK, so I can see some really cool innovation and new interfaces made with Sonar in mind. But as of now there isn't any  news on the hardware end of things. ...in the future I can see myself comparing the two. If Studio One is just as developed and in the long run it costs me less money, then Studio One might be my new go to software....the new additions to Sonar are really really nice though. I guess it comes down to what parts of the software you like and use.

 

I think you can get into Studio One for around 399.00 american dollars...less in euros...that's still a pretty sweet deal for such a great software program, and they offer free updates. No membership involved. In the future that could change as some other DAW software makers might follow the Cakewalk model.

Edited January 20, 2015 by starise

[Danidog]

Meant to stop in here yesterday, but got busy. I bought MixCraft Pro 6 over a year ago. Seemed somewhat self intuitive to an old curmudgeon like me, but it seemed to mess with my computer. If I went online i had issues. Anyone else experience this, or was it just me or my then-new laptop?

 thanks, gotta go to the salt mines now.

[starise]

Tunesmith, man you don't know what you're missing concerning DAWS. But those hardware recorders do a nice job too, so you've probably never seen the need.

 

Yes it seems the world is getting smaller by the day in terms of who owns what. Avid owns M-Audio and has for awhile. They had filed for bankrupcy a few years ago and everyone thought it might be the end of Pro Tools, but they managed to somehow climb out of it and even spruce up their image and make it look like an old feature on other software was a new feature...maybe a few here remember the 64 bit pitch...some of the others had it for 5 years befor that.

 

On Cakewalks new model- I agree. I think it will result in better software. I am a little old school though and making the adjustment still feels odd to me.

 

I just got a deal email for Majix ...50 dollars for their most recent program, Music Maker 2015. Comes with 6000 loops and looks like all the goodies the bigger guys have. Even has software synthesizers. I admit it is tempting to me because it also comes with a nice celtic harp instrument in addition to others. To me it's worth the 50.00 just for those loops and instruments. The downside is that I'm not sure about cross compatibility in using some of it with other software and what Danidog just mentioned...now stable is it? There must be a trade off for software this inexpensive. You usually get what you pay for.

 

Can anyone comment on the loops and instruments. What kind of loops are these and are the instruments vsti or a propietary format that I can only use with Music Maker?

 

Update- I did some investigation into  Majix  Music Maker 2015 premium program and now I lean away from it. There are a few catches.They advertise 6000 loops and sounds. The wording is a bit misleading. In actuality it's only a little over 1100 actual loops. There are 6000 sounds. Big difference. A few other things they don't tell you....you must pay for tech support and if you use any of their sound paks there is an additional license fee of 40.00 if you intend to sell music made with those loops.

 

There have been more than a few reports of computer bugs in the software on some systems. The software has been marketed as a great noob product. I have to ask myself how great this is for noobs if it crashes on their system?

 

I think a beginner would be better off buying the lesser version of the larger software makers like Cubase,Sonar and Studio One...these programs are stable and they offer incentives to upgrade.

Edited January 21, 2015 by starise

[The S]

Logic and Mac user since year 17 B.C. 

 

Tried PT for awhile but went back shortly to familiar ground.

 

So, Logic it is. Good stuff!

[TapperMike]

Re mixcraft.

 

If it's already too complicated you'll have issues with every other daw on the market.  I'd advise that you watch some youtube videos.

 

The big thing that most have to adjust for is audio signal latency. With daws it's important to have an external sound card/module. I prefer my yamaha thr10 as a sound card as it has so many options including re-amp.

 

When one is listening to the recorded signal the signal has to be recorded first before it can be played back. because it has to be recorded then sent back to your ears there is latency. Some computers handle this latency better then others and there are ways to minimize the latency but you never lose playback latency and simply playing back from what you are recording (as opposed to have recorded) can stuff up the works.  This is why using an external sound card and using the speaker mute function on the recorded track is important.

 

External sound cards use either a balance control to mix the sound coming from the input to your speaker out and the input from the computer to your speaker out or have separate levels for each. I prefer the later (separate levels) to the former (balance control) if you mute the speaker icon on the lane for the track you are recording on. It will still record the track. The muted track won't be heard by you and you won't get latency issues.

 

If you have an older computer with less processing power mixcraft has tips for optimizing your computer.

Edited January 22, 2015 by TapperMike

[Danidog]

TapperMike, thanks for posting this link. I was up WAY past my bedtime last night reloading my mixcraft pro 6software on the same computer I'd tried it on before. I got 'lucky' and found much of what your link mentions and was able to improve the performance of the mixcraft greatly. I have windows 7, so set it to waveRT and man, I had a blast! Man you shoulda heard the 12 bar blue riff I laid down. My lady was like, 'Holy Crap!, you wanna have sex or something? (I  kept playing with the mixcraft instead....).

 

Looking forward to playing with this in the near future. Hell, I'd pay good money to a mixcraft specialist to learn more about this (about a $1.50) . JK, good stuff and thanks again.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Danidog

[starise]

Great info from Mixcraft Tappermike. I had assumed falsely that most people who were recording with computers knew this already( not to have other programs running while recording) but not everyone knows this..

 

 I use a Presonus Firetube studio interface...I usually refer to it as an audio interface, but it seems most here refer to anything external or internal that deals with audio I/O  as a "soundcard"....It has a lot of inputs on it and the control software that came with it has the option to check or uncheck inputs. If you have a "soundcard" that allows this option you can reduce some latency by only checking a few inputs in your recording software. This takes some of the load off or the computer as well. I would only do this if you use a few of the inputs on a regular basis.

 

10ms latency is pretty good. If you hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and select the task manager in Win 7 you can also see programs running that might not be showing up on the desktop and stop them. There is the possibility of stopping an important program integral to proper OS operation though...so if you don't know what it is I wouldn't stop it. 

 

One very common computer killer is virus software. I realize that many need it, but if it starts to scan while you're trying to record it can easily cripple a slow computer...anything that comes up automatically on your computer to make changes or updates is best disabled while trying to record or work in audio software...I have automatic updates disabled on my computer and I only scan for viruses when I'm not doing anything else on the computer....the whole virus software business is an interesting thing Virus software companies hire hackers who write viruses to work on virus software..go figure. Another discussion for another time I suppose.

 

I notice latency most often when recording guitar and using the effects while recording, especially if it's a heavier program like Amplitube 3 or Guitar Rig pro 5. This is why sound cards with direct monitoring are very helpful because the signal you hear isn't making the trip through your cpu before you hear it. Some people get around this by using a sound card that has onboard effects. I sometimes use a Line 6 POD with usb as my soundcard and I have found this to be very effective, or I record dry and add the software emulation after the track was recorded. I'm not sure if Mixcraft has plug-in delay compensation built in or not, but this is another thing that makes it so much better when trying to deal with latency and delay issues.

[TapperMike]

TapperMike, thanks for posting this link. I was up WAY past my bedtime last night reloading my mixcraft pro 6software on the same computer I'd tried it on before. I got 'lucky' and found much of what your link mentions and was able to improve the performance of the mixcraft greatly. I have windows 7, so set it to waveRT and man, I had a blast! Man you shoulda heard the 12 bar blue riff I laid down. My lady was like, 'Holy Crap!, you wanna have sex or something? (I  kept playing with the mixcraft instead....).

 

Looking forward to playing with this in the near future. Hell, I'd pay good money to a mixcraft specialist to learn more about this (about a $1.50) . JK, good stuff and thanks again.

 

 

Thanks, Glad it worked out for you.

 

You should consider joining the mixcraft forums and checking out the collaborations sub forum

http://forums.acoustica.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=23

 

It took me awhile to figure out sharing practices over there. but I've got a few collab works that are free to download and work on.  Two of the regulars Mark Bliss and Tom (outteh) love jamming over collab projects.  I pulled out of there mostly because I have too many projects going on and not enough time.  I wanted to get into chord-melody (fingerstyle) jazz playing and I've been writing my own arrangements for standards.

 

 

-Mike

[TapperMike]

...the whole virus software business is an interesting thing Virus software companies hire hackers who write viruses to work on virus software..go figure. Another discussion for another time I suppose.

 

 

 

 

Very true and doesn't even scratch the surface of what bad things anti-virus software companies do.