Best software?

[misterCRUSH]

making the switch to DAW. Pro tools seems pricey, leaning towards Ableton. Here are my hopes, in order:
1. ease of use/workflow
2. affordable
3. nice array of good sounding effects
4. easy to export to drive or CD

I will be using a focusrite 2i2 interface, into a Dell PC
Thanks in advance!

 

[Frank Tuesday]

There is no best. They all sound the same, so the only thing that matters is finding one whose workflow works for you. A DAW should get out of the way and let you get to straight to being creative. Use trial versions of a few and see what works for you.

Except Pro Tools First. Don't even get started down that path. It is crippleware that has its functionality severely limited to push you to buy the full version subscription.

 

[Geri O]

I like Studio One well enough.

There’s the Prime version that’s free. It’s quite basic, but has enough features to get a good idea of how S1 works.

Studio One Artist has a few more features and is a little more advanced for a little more money.

And Studio One Professional is the full-blown version with all the trimmings. I use it at home and at the studio where I work. I own Logic, but I don’t even have it on my personal machine. Don’t need it.

Here’s a comparison listing between the three…
Studio One | Compare Versions | PreSonus

I may as well mention Reaper. It’s free to demo forever. It’s a lot of DAW. I personally don’t care for its workflow, but there’s a boatload of folks using it and happy with it.

I’m also a member of Presonus Sphere which is their “rental” service, if you will. For $15 a month, you can have access to and use Studio One Pro and a ton of their software, plug-ins, and sound sets (theirs and some 3rd-party vendors). If you are considering trying recording as a profession, it’s a great way to get started without investing a ton of money in software. And there’s no long commitment.

Good stuff.

 

[silky smoove]

1. ease of use/workflow
2. affordable
3. nice array of good sounding effects
4. easy to export to drive or CD

All modern DAWs do all of these things effectively. The only deciding factor should be the workflow of each DAW and figuring out which one you like the best. Download demos of each, play around with them and whichever one makes the most sense to you in terms of workflow is the right answer.

 

[JMX]

Keep in mind that Ableton is geared towards Electronic Music/Live Performance, as is its highly recommendable (and slightly more affordable) rival Bitwig.
Reaper is the most affordable and flexible Option for regular DAW purposes.

 

[Basslice]

Pick one. Stick with it. Learn the crap out of it. I use PT, but if price was a thing I would probably hit Reaper.

 

[johnh89]

I use Audacity . Fine software and entirely free . It does everything I need it to . Its free so theres no excuse not to download it and waste a weekend playing with it to see if it works for you . I was drawn to it as I am running Linux and options are a bit more limited . I use a Focusrite solo .

 

[Fernando Costa]

Do you do a lot of traking with multiple channels and need low latency? Do you use a lot of heavy plugins when tracking? Do you use a lot of virtual instruments and plugins in the mix? Some DAWs work better in different situations. An example: Pro Tools works better for tracking, Logic Pro X works better on mixes with lots of plugins, virtual instruments, virtual drum channels and samples. If you record 1 or 2 tracks at a time, use few virtual instruments - 4 or 5 -, drums - 8 tracks -, few plugins - 10 > 20 -, any DAW will run fine on an average machine.

 

[Corigan]

Reaper has done me well for my very basic recording needs.

 

[Lowbrow]

I use Studio One Producer and believe me when I say it's easy to use if you are a beginner and very intuitive if you have any recording experience at all. Good included set of effects like compressor, distortion, eq, limiter, etc. etc. that will really help you produce quality results. Eventually you may choose to branch out to more sophisticated plug-ins, but these are a great starting points, and in the case of utility items, probably just as good as anything you'd buy third-party.

 

[grimjim]

I really only have experience with reaper. Free to try and pretty cheap to purchase so you can get all the updates. The effects are good, but I have been upgrading them as I go, amp sims and preamps mostly. Most of the effects have presets to get you started, a compressor for example will have different presets for vocals or drums or whatever, then as you learn you can set your own.
It can get as complicated or simple as you want. Pretty easy to use right out of the box and then very functional the more you get into it.

 

[kevindahl]

I have used Cubase since the late 90's. However, I won't say this is the best option for you but it is for me.

Others have given some good suggestions. Do you have any friends that use a specific program? I find this useful because these programs are so bloated with stuff and friends can share info easily. The guitar player I play with has more time than I do and is always passing on tips and tricks.

Most programs have demo's. Download them and try them for yourself.

 

[Shlabotnik]

I've been using Studio One Pro for years now and it's very intuitive with a huge array of features. For Windows I'd go with that. For Mac I'd go with Logic.

 

[DirtDog]

Since I’m on Mac, I use Logic. If I was using PC, I’d likely use StudioOne.

I’ve tried most of them, including the lite versions of PT.

I’ve got Ubuntu Studio loaded up on my Linux machine and use Ardour there.

 

[The Owl]

Reaper
Cubase
Cakewalk (which is now a freebie by Bandlab)

 

[Geri O]

I've been using Studio One Pro for years now and it's very intuitive with a huge array of features. For Windows I'd go with that. For Mac I'd go with Logic.

That would make the most sense. I was a Logic kinda guy for a while, but late spring of 2020 (of all times, right?), I started working at a friend’s studio set up with Studio One Pro. I literally sat down with a waiting rhythm section (the engineer had bailed with no warning) and started figuring out Studio One. At first I didn’t like it much, but then I realized how badly things were set up and set about getting the studio in order (no idea how they had gotten down the road so far). I started liking it, even having to work on a PC (which needed some tweaking as well) and we got the session done and mixed. I put Studio One on my personal MacBook Pro and found myself using it more and more. And when I bought a new MacBook Pro, so far I haven’t even installed my copy of Logic on it. S1 works great. And a couple of months ago, the owner of the studio had me order and set up a Mac Mini in place of the PC. All great. All good.