What is the reason many people dislike the software? It’s very expensive, as is the external hardware sold by Avid, the brand that owns Pro Tools. Many studios hold off on updating computers for a very long time for this reason, and this is why Pro Tools doesn’t have many advanced features that I’ve seen in other DAWs, such as the drag-and-drop functionality for plug-ins offered by Logic and Studio One.
Still, this software is excellent, and if you can get past its old-school interface, it’s capable of any musical task you can dream up. There’s a reason it’s stood the test of time; (usually) works well and is never annoying enough to be worth switching for power users.
Best for DJs and live performers: Ableton Live
Photo: Terence O’Brien
Ableton Live was originally designed for live performance. It was a way to bring the electronic music that people were creating on their computers to the stage. This is still the best DAW if you plan to perform live with a computer. But for more than 20 years, he has become a studio powerhouse.
Its unique cycle-based workflow of scenes and clips originates from the scene, but also makes it easy to iterate ideas, experiment with different combinations of song components, and sketch out an arrangement. For deeper dives and fine-tuning, there’s the arrangement view, which offers the kind of timeline-based recording and editing you’d expect.
All of Live’s native synths and plugins are excellent and easily handle expensive VSTs. Additionally, Ableton has a purpose-built MIDI controller in the Push 3 ($999), which is one of the best ways to access the full power of your DAW without having to spend all your time messing around with a mouse and keyboard.
The biggest problem is that Ableton Live is expensive. The Intro version costs $99, but is quite limited and often comes bundled for free with even the cheapest MIDI controllers. The Live Suite, which includes all 20 instruments, 58 effects and over 70GB of sounds, will set you back $749. And if you jump for Push, that’s another thousand. — Terence O’Brien
Best for Apple users: Logic Pro
Photo: Ryan Waniata
Logic Pro is an extension of Apple’s GarageBand, making it a natural choice for Apple fans looking to level up. You can think of Logic as a graduate program to GarageBand that elevates your efforts from amateur demos to professional recordings. You’ll find countless ways to explore and hone your skills, from powerful plugins and effects to notation and editing tools that let you customize your workflow.
I’ve been using a version of Logic in my home studio for over 15 years because it’s my go-to program for creating music. Logic’s Takes are a key part of my process, making it amazingly easy to take multiple takes on instrumental performances or vocal lines on the fly, combine the best of each and manipulate them to perfection. With a balanced mix of advanced features and intuitive creation tools, Logic is the right program for any home studio running Apple hardware. —Ryan Wania
Best All-In-One for iPad: Logic Pro for iPad
Courtesy of the Apple App Store
Since dropping about a year ago, Logic Pro for iPad has been quietly gaining popularity as the easiest DAW for beginners to get to grips with. The hands-on tutorial system and stunning range of built-in synths, drum machines, loops and effects make this a great place to start if you’re new to iPad music production or digital music production in general. Whether you’re a seasoned Logic desktop user or a beginner ready to graduate from GarageBand, the portable iteration of Apple’s powerful music production suite is easy, affordable (just $6 per month or $50 per year, and packed to the brim) with advanced features that can push a collection of loops to a polished end product in less than an hour.
I recently downloaded Logic Pro and some YouTube tutorials on my iPad Pro before a 4-hour flight, and within an hour I had created a vibey chillwave track full of bouncy arpeggios, offbeat ping-pong delays, and warm analog pads engulfed in heavy compression of the sidechain – all with built-in instruments and effects. Logic Pro handles third-party AUV3 plug-ins like a boss, but the handy indexing of built-in kits makes it extremely easy to type in a few keywords like “chillwave” and “analog synth,” an unbeatable workflow improvement that strengthens the case for Logic Pro’s best-in-class offering. Whether you’re completely green or just hungover and lacking inspiration, Tim Cook’s walled garden in-house DAW is the near-perfect option for producers on the go. —Pete Kotel
The easiest DAW to create a beat: FL Studio
Photo: Terence O’Brien
FL Studio (née Fruity Loops) is the OG that countless bedroom producers took to in the late 90s and early 2000s. Its easy-to-understand Roland TR-style step sequencer and powerful sample manipulation tools make it a favorite of countless hip-hop and dance producers such as 9th Wonder, WundaGurl, Deadmau5 and Avicii. Despite its surface simplicity, FL Studio is also extremely powerful once you get to grips with its sometimes complex workflow. It’s designed for making electronic and sample-based music rather than tracking a band, but you can record live instruments if you want.
Perhaps the best feature of FL Studio is its value. The $99 Fruity Edition is even more limited than Live Intro, but the version with all the top-level add-ons is only $499. This includes 113 instruments and effects and, regardless of the edition you choose, comes with lifetime free updates. — Terence O’Brien
The best of all worlds: Studio One
Photo: Amazon
Fender-owned Presonus has been making waves with its Studio One software for the past few years, and I’m a big fan. Studio One offers the same great drag-and-drop functionality of Logic, the same ease of tracking, editing and mixing as Pro Tools, and the same live performance features as Ableton, all in one. I especially like how you can integrate the software directly with Presonus interfaces, controllers and other outboard hardware; when using Studio One, everything seems to talk well and play well together, which is unusual in the recording world.
Now that Fender owns the brand, we’re getting better and better instrument and amp plug-ins in software, as well as some great new hardware/software collaborations between the brands, like the Fender logo instrument input on new Presonus interfaces. Now I’ve recorded numerous albums for loads of artists using Studio One and the only downside is that most professional mixing engineers don’t use it, so you have to export your stems rather than a whole save file. Honestly, it’s good practice to be able to properly bounce out and it doesn’t take long in this software. If your friends also happen to record using Studio One, it’s really easy to share entire projects over the internet, and the company makes it very easy to master and export tracks straight to Soundcloud if you want to always share your latest work without much hassle. extra effort.
I was impressed, especially with its lower price compared to other premium recording software. Each update comes with more and more user-requested features, which is not something I can say for any other software above (*cough, Pro Tools, cough*). I highly recommend giving Studio One a try if you want something easy to use on Windows, Mac and iPad (although the iPad app is just a remote control for the software).
The good news
You can make insanely great music using virtually any modern recording equipment or digital audio workstation, cheap or otherwise. I kid you not: there are award-winning albums recorded on an iPhone, mixed on GarageBand or other free software, or even recorded on a four-track cassette (here’s looking at you, future Elliott Smiths and Bruce Springsteens). This list is meant to highlight the reasons why you might want to choose one software over another, rather than arguing that you can’t make excellent music with either.
