Best software/daw for music production?

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Deimantas Reimant

New member
Hallo. I new here, but i have been working with music production for less than 2 month with fl studio. I now i met some people who says i should drop fl studio bacause i will not go any further, and rather sart with another software like Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic. What do you think about that? What software you would recommend?
 
Fl Studio. You should see for yourself if it's good enough or not. Don't believe what people say. Also, there's a little search function here, at the top right of the site, where you can search the exact title of your thread and find at least 500+ similar threads.
 
I like Notepad as my music editor of choice. It gives me more freedom to directly input the bits and bytes that express the music I want to create without all those fancy knobs and sliders getting in the way.

Seriously, though: this question is asked a million times on a million audio forums, and the answer is always "Whatever works best for you".

The only way you will find what is the "Best" DAW for you is to try a few and pick the one you like the most. Pretty much all of these programs will have demos you can try for a month or more to see if they do what you need.

There is no "one best DAW" software for everyone, so you have to be the judge.

Cheers,

Rob
 
Going by what other people say is good will get you nowhere in making a decision. I havent met one other person on this forum who uses Pro Tools (I'm assuming they've never even tried it either) yet everyone swears by FL studio and ableton. I have used FL studio but not enough to make a full judgement. But I have used ableton a lot and ill tell you one thing, Pro Tools murders ableton in my opinion. Yet you won't hear that from most people.

Demo then and go with what you like.
 
there are several pro-tools users who frequent fp including some using pro-tools hd in dedicated facilities - they are the exception rather than the rule

as for the rest of the debate

it is what works best for you

I use reason 6.5 and 8, cubase 5.5.3, reaper, fl 10 (for collabs only), supercollider and puredata for experimental stuff, finale 2k5 notepad+ and many different libraries
 
DAW's are boring... Talking about DAW's is boring too... You need one though... If you have one already it's the best one... If you have two you have choices...

if you're really after a second DAW then go for one that has major differences to the one you have already... I've never used FL so can't compare... Many of my friends use Ableton and love it, I struggle to get it to do anything! Ableton does have very good control-surface/controller support which is something to consider...
I think ProTools is cool but I have and use Studio One. ProTools offers better control-surface compatibility so I'm considering a switch in the near future...

all that said... I only really use my DAW to track the odd vocal and mix... All my creation is done in Maschine...
 
I would say FL is as good a place as any to start learning how to produce. Get the hang of it first, learn the universal language of music production and then you can start to wonder if there's anything you'd like that you're missing out on.

No need to set yourself in a spiral of wanting this and that and doubting whether it's right this early in the game.
 
Yumid said:
I havent met one other person on this forum who uses Pro Tools (I'm assuming they've never even tried it either) yet everyone swears by FL studio and ableton.
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Pro Tools murders ableton in my opinion.
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As someone who does tech support for audio gear all day long, where many of my customers are using PT and I have to use it on a daily basis, I hate it. It is ancient and unstable. It doesn't have any easy access to quantization or 'warping' like Ableton, it crashes rather frequently and often loses work, it requires a USB port for iLok that does absolutely nothing, it doesn't like standard MIDI remote control surface protocols instead opting for HUI(which is awful), it doesn't play nice with many audio interfaces or drivers, depending on the version you use it might not support any non-Avid IO to begin with...the list goes on.

I'm not saying it's not popular, and that a buttload of people don't use it, just that it's outdated and unreliable and should be overhauled or phased out as quickly as possible. The only thing I would ever consider it for is monstrous professional studios that need the weird old interfaces PT still supports - where the system will rarely add or remove components, or to multi-track non-quantized audio such as recording for audio books or live performance recording.

FL Studio as a whole is a better sequencer application than I've ever seen inside PT, plugin or otherwise. The closest thing I have seen give it a run for the money is Reason with proper rack mod sequencers. It comes with a buttload of decent synthesizers, effects, samples, packs, tools, and it works well synchronized with external software or hardware.

Ableton is a mythical beast that combines many awesome ways of manipulating audio into a single package. The warping features are nearly unmatched, the session view(clip boxes) is great for live performance, the OS and plugin support is rock solid, MIDI mapping is simple and MIDI I/O is a breeze. Audio recording, bus routing, everything is present as you might need it. If you get Suite, you get a ton of really cool samples, loops, synths, effects, etc as well.

Everything I say is just my opinion. Maybe you'll love Pro Tools - but you have to try it yourself to find out.

Cheers,

Rob
 
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IconDigitalUSA said:
As someone who does tech support for audio gear all day long, where many of my customers are using PT and I have to use it on a daily basis, I hate it. It is ancient and unstable. It doesn't have any easy access to quantization or 'warping' like Ableton, it crashes rather frequently and often loses work, it requires a USB port for iLok that does absolutely nothing, it doesn't like standard MIDI remote control surface protocols instead opting for HUI(which is awful), it doesn't play nice with many audio interfaces or drivers, depending on the version you use it might not support any non-Avid IO to begin with...the list goes on.

I'm not saying it's not popular, and that a buttload of people don't use it, just that it's outdated and unreliable and should be overhauled or phased out as quickly as possible. The only thing I would ever consider it for is monstrous professional studios that need the weird old interfaces PT still supports - where the system will rarely add or remove components, or to multi-track non-quantized audio such as recording for audio books or live performance recording.

FL Studio as a whole is a better sequencer application than I've ever seen inside PT, plugin or otherwise. The closest thing I have seen give it a run for the money is Reason with proper rack mod sequencers. It comes with a buttload of decent synthesizers, effects, samples, packs, tools, and it works well synchronized with external software or hardware.

Ableton is a mythical beast that combines many awesome ways of manipulating audio into a single package. The warping features are nearly unmatched, the session view(clip boxes) is great for live performance, the OS and plugin support is rock solid, MIDI mapping is simple and MIDI I/O is a breeze. Audio recording, bus routing, everything is present as you might need it. If you get Suite, you get a ton of really cool samples, loops, synths, effects, etc as well.

Everything I say is just my opinion. Maybe you'll love Pro Tools - but you have to try it yourself to find out.

Cheers,

Rob
Click to expand...

Never had one of the problems you had.

-Alt-0 to quantize, not to mention the option to auto quantize. Think anything in pro tool doest have a shortcut? It actually has about 3 for everything.
-Elastic Audio is just as good as warping, I prefer it actually. Way more versatile if you know how to use it.
-Ive only had it crash once total. What do you expect out if a billion lines of code? Ive expected more crashes actually.
-Setting up Midi and Interfaces is no different or harder than any other DAW If you know what youre doing..

I watch production sessions in FL studio, logic, ableton, etc all day and i purposely look for things to try and see that I cant do in pro tools. Still yet to see anything big.

Midi CC mapping in pro tools is just as easy too

Again..just because there isn't a one click easy for noobs to use access to everything doesnt mean you cant do it just as fast. It just actually involves learning a real program. Which no one wants to do. Pro Tools isn't tailored to noobs and never will be. Im happy about that.

Not arguing, giving valid responses to everything you said. You had me suspicious about your know how as soon as you said there is no easy access to quantize..
 
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Yumid said:
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-Alt-0 to quantize, not to mention the option to auto quantize. Think anything in pro tool doest have a shortcut? It actually has about 3 for everything.
Click to expand...
That is incredibly slow, inaccurate, or both, and adding the warp markers that it uses to 'quantize' takes forever to get right compared to Ableton. The "3 hotkeys for everything" paradigm is probably a good bit of why this program is so unstable.

-Elastic Audio is just as good as warping, I prefer it actually. Way more versatile if you know how to use it.
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It's fine for syncing shorter loops but doesn't work well with live recordings or longer audio files. It's a lot faster and easier to use the built-in warp feature in Ableton.

-Ive only had it crash once total. What do you expect out if a billion lines of code? Ive expected more crashes actually.
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You're magic, then. I've never worked on a single studio/console/friend's laptop at a coffee shop running PT that didn't crash at least once. Never. That includes multi-million-dollar SSL studios less than a year old, setup specifically by an AVID tech.

What I expect them to do is delete those billion lines of code, and start over to create the same program in the ~2-5 million lines of code it would actually take to do what the software does instead of relying on a wrapper of a wrapper of a port of a hack from 23 years ago. My background is in programming and multimedia software, should you want to know more about how awful and dirty it can get behind the scenes of long-lived software.

-Setting up Midi and Interfaces is no different or harder than any other DAW If you know what youre doing..
Click to expand...
Cool, can you tell me how I get a controller that only has Mackie Control Protocol to map itself to the mixer and transport sections of Pro Tools 10/11 automatically? That would make so many of our customers very happy. Or you know, how to map general MIDI notes, CCs, and PC messages to controls that aren't part of a VI.

I watch production sessions in FL studio, logic, ableton, etc all day and i purposely look for things to try and see that I cant do in pro tools. Still yet to see anything big.
Click to expand...

So you don't actually use these programs but watch videos about them, and come at me ad hominem saying they're inferior?

Things you can't do in Pro Tools? Here's two:

View attachment 43128View attachment 43129

Midi CC mapping in pro tools is just as easy too
Click to expand...
Really? So you can press 'CTRL+M' then click the soft control of almost anything, then move the hardware control and be done?

Pro Tools isn't tailored to noobs and never will be. Im happy about that.
Click to expand...
Pro Tools isn't tailored to ANYONE. It's a pile of mishmash code from the last couple decades stuffed into a tentatively working state as it is sold today. EVERY other program is more user friendly than PT when it comes to loading, arranging, setting up interfaces or controls, recording, editing, warping, stretching...it's just not user-friendly in anything it does.

You had me suspicious about your know how as soon as you said there is no easy access to quantize.
Click to expand...
My know-how is not in question here. This is my job. I get paid to use this pile of bits that I hate so much, and I've been doing it for way too long. It wasn't that I didn't know the shortcut to some feature you like, it's that the feature doesn't work like it should by the standard of most other DAWs out there.

When I said "Try using it to see if you like it" I was thinking someone would try multiple programs so you actually know what else there is to compare it to. Using one program exclusively, watching a few videos, and discounting the other options as 'inferior' is the opposite of what I was suggesting.

You call them "noobs" and look down on them, I call them more efficient than you.

Peace,

Rob
 
The people who diss on FL in 2014 must have read about how ver. 2.7 compared to the mpc2000xl back in 2000.......In other words it's come a long way since 2000.
That was 14 years ago, and now it's one of the premiere apps for production.
 
Cubase has key commands, meaning you can set up your own keyboard shortcuts or load up presets for specific tasks or even the keyboard shortcuts of some other DAW, I got all kinds of shit mapped to my keyboard, for example my Logitech keyboard has a rotary encoder for volume control which I reassigned as a jog wheel for scrubbing audio.
 
IconDigitalUSA said:
That is incredibly slow, inaccurate, or both, and adding the warp markers that it uses to 'quantize' takes forever to get right compared to Ableton. The "3 hotkeys for everything" paradigm is probably a good bit of why this program is so unstable.


It's fine for syncing shorter loops but doesn't work well with live recordings or longer audio files. It's a lot faster and easier to use the built-in warp feature in Ableton.
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You're magic, then. I've never worked on a single studio/console/friend's laptop at a coffee shop running PT that didn't crash at least once. Never. That includes multi-million-dollar SSL studios less than a year old, setup specifically by an AVID tech.

What I expect them to do is delete those billion lines of code, and start over to create the same program in the ~2-5 million lines of code it would actually take to do what the software does instead of relying on a wrapper of a wrapper of a port of a hack from 23 years ago. My background is in programming and multimedia software, should you want to know more about how awful and dirty it can get behind the scenes of long-lived software.
--------------------------------------------------------

Cool, can you tell me how I get a controller that only has Mackie Control Protocol to map itself to the mixer and transport sections of Pro Tools 10/11 automatically? That would make so many of our customers very happy. Or you know, how to map general MIDI notes, CCs, and PC messages to controls that aren't part of a VI.

--------------------------------------------------------

So you don't actually use these programs but watch videos about them, and come at me ad hominem saying they're inferior?

Things you can't do in Pro Tools? Here's two:

View attachment 43128View attachment 43129


Really? So you can press 'CTRL+M' then click the soft control of almost anything, then move the hardware control and be done?


Pro Tools isn't tailored to ANYONE. It's a pile of mishmash code from the last couple decades stuffed into a tentatively working state as it is sold today. EVERY other program is more user friendly than PT when it comes to loading, arranging, setting up interfaces or controls, recording, editing, warping, stretching...it's just not user-friendly in anything it does.


My know-how is not in question here. This is my job. I get paid to use this pile of bits that I hate so much, and I've been doing it for way too long. It wasn't that I didn't know the shortcut to some feature you like, it's that the feature doesn't work like it should by the standard of most other DAWs out there.

When I said "Try using it to see if you like it" I was thinking someone would try multiple programs so you actually know what else there is to compare it to. Using one program exclusively, watching a few videos, and discounting the other options as 'inferior' is the opposite of what I was suggesting.

You call them "noobs" and look down on them, I call them more efficient than you.

Peace,

Rob
Click to expand...

You're a customer service rep..You sit there and deal with peoples problems with the software all day. Im surprised you dont have more of a list of stuff that isn't really a real problem. Serious question not an attack- Do you even use Pro Tools for what its used for or do you just trouble shoot all day? Its the little things like zooming easily and EVERYTHING added up that make Pro Tools what it is. Editing in anything other than Pro Tools is just counter productive assuming you know every DAW equally.

You say its fine for warping and quantizing smaller areas but not the whole song? GOOD. Only fools go and quantize the whole song at once. You're supposed to do it in sections, which you already said Elastic audio is great for. And I'm still not understanding the logic behind you saying ALT + 0 takes too long to quantize. At first I thought you were just talking about MIDI notes. But then it became clear you were talking about quantizing audio as in editing. If that were the case I would use Beat detective. BUT if you needed elastic audio for it, the ability to add and take away triggers just adds that much more control. I know it takes a long time, editing GOOD should take a longer time. If this is an argument about which DAW is faster than I never wanted to be in it to begin with. I go with Pro tools because of what you can do if you want to, not because you can do something super quick. Let your sensitivity get you 90 percent of the way there then tailor it to how you want. The fact that ableton DOESNT pick up all those false triggers is more of a downfall than a perk. Just means the transient detection isn't nearly as good. Even though Pro Tools may be too sensitive, thats the whole point of adding and deleting triggers. To give the user control, not to give the user ease of access. Because all Pro Tools is is a workspace, and its a damn good one. Its not SUPPOSED to do the work for you. Because then the would be shit. I dont think we need to argue about editing in Pro Tools VS ableton. The industry makes that one clear.



Im not gonna sit here and pretend I'm a techy software guy cuz I'm not. All I am is a consumer. So maybe there is too much unused software in Pro Tools. Or maybe all that extra software is what makes it Pro Tools. Again, if you dont use Pro Tools for what its designed to do, you are missing out on all the small things that make it Pro Tools. And maybe those small things are hidden in the 'useless lines of code'. Again thats all assumption, I'm not a software guy.


I can tell you how to set up MY keyboard and MY interface without a problem. Because again, I'm a consumer, not a service rep. Not a tech guy. Im a consumer who RESEARCHED how to do what I needed to do and then did it..Without a problem. Its not my job to be trying to figure out how to get someone else's hardware working. Just be thankful you aren't doing customer service rep for FL studio and answering questions about how to change the tempo all day. All I can tell you is Im a consumer who has zero problems connecting my hardware to Pro Tools. I could understand why some would have problems with it. But again, its about learning your hardware and how to set it up. Thats it. I got all mine down.

I dont even know where Im at with answering right now this referencing back and forth between posts and so stupid because we are arguing from 2 different viewpoints. You sit there and listen to peoples problems all day. Of course there are going to be people with problems, its Pro Tools ffs. Its huge and no one knows how to use it apparently. Except the people that do, and they aren't calling you.

How long has the Pro Tools community been 'jumping ship"? 10 years? Yet no one goes anywhere. Because despite the big problems it has, and it does. Its the little things packed into it that the users appreciate. All these people calling with stupid problems about not knowing how to quantize or set up their hardware are irrelevant in my eyes. They cant possibly know what they're using if they cant figure out the basics, or have the drive to figure it out before calling a customer service rep.

I dont want a DAW thats easier to use when Im starting out, because in a few years that won't matter. I want a DAW that gives me the ability and freedom to do WHATEVER I want when ONCE I know how to use it. You dont create a DAW to be user friendly. You get the user to know the DAW.

Thats just my opinion, everyone is all about 'easier' these days. Im not. So if youre arguing the 'easier' viewpoint than save it because I really dont care about that. Its ALL easy once you learn how to do it.

And before this post I never really said anything was inferior. I made it clear that I PREFER Pro Tools. And I have used Ableton, A lot. Probably put 500 hours into it in the last 3 months. I keep finding myself constricted compared to Pro Tools. Ive TRIED liking ableton over pro tools. Its not working for me and nothing can change that because I know both and I know what I like.

Pro Tools isn't something you sit down and learn by using. Its too deep for that. You need to study it just like you would any piece of real software. Which obviously you have..the people calling in, havent.

It truly is all the little things that make it better in my eyes. Except finding the little things can be hard, and if you dont find them I can totally understand why it would be a DAW with nothing but problems. It all comes back to learning whatever DAW you decide to go with. You cant appreciate pro tools until you use it DAILY for what its meant to be used for. Speed of editing, Mixing versatility, midi REAL TIME, AudioSuite, etc.. As far as composing I do all that in Pro Tools to. Not because its better than any other daw. But because I'm interested in learning more about Pro Tools in every aspect because thats what you need to do in order to not be calling you for help. Im faster at composing now in Pro Tools than I am in ableton, AND more productive.

Not to mention that hardware Slate just released bandcoach mentioned. But thats something you'd get once your comfortable with pro tools anyway. Im not gonna use that as leverage.
 
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I started off with Logic 9. Then my Mac broke (unrelated issue, had nothing to do with logic) and I didnt have enough $$ for a new mac so I bought a pc instead. Now I use FL Studio and Ableton. See myself just sticking with FL for the time being. However, if I ever do save enough cash I'll get a mac because I dont really like Windows.

If I was gonna rank them personally it would be

1.FL
2.Ableton
3.Logic

Logic kinda sucked for drums, but thats easily fixed if you use Battery. I just prefer FL the most because the user interface is dark and not too bland like Ableton and Logic. Logic X looks nice though...
 
Never used Logic or Pro-tools, I often use maschine 2.1 with the mark2 controller. I tend to create midi sequences and beats in the Maschine DAW, then open maschine as a vst and record the audio to seperate channels directly into Ableton. It works great for me. I do love ableton, clever functions that you don't always see in other DAWS, like launching clips slightly staggered can record some interesting arrangements on the master, audio to midi capabilities are pretty interesting too, not forgetting MAX for live, I don't know of any other DAW that encourages users to create their own plugins, effects processors...etc..

I'd like a crack at Pro-tools simply because of it's legacy within the industry, most DAWS can comprehensibly handle electronic music, but a great deal of rock, indie and jazz nuance gets produced in Pro-tools.

I've tried Reason, Cubase, Presonus, and have enjoyed using FL Studio, Bitwig looks pretty comprehensive.

If your new to producing, no matter what you use, it's gonna take a while before things begin to fall in place, time, persistance and persiverance.
 
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hollandturbine said:
Cubase has key commands, meaning you can set up your own keyboard shortcuts or load up presets for specific tasks or even the keyboard shortcuts of some other DAW, I got all kinds of shit mapped to my keyboard, for example my Logitech keyboard has a rotary encoder for volume control which I reassigned as a jog wheel for scrubbing audio.
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don't do the jogwheel thing(can't no knob on my keyboard) but agree about adding, creating shortcuts for cubase or any other program - the limitation is never the daw but the user
 
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