Originally Posted By: Mike sings
I use Steinbergs Cubase pro 8.5 and have been using the DAW since Cubase 5. It ticks all the boxes you mentioned.

What I like about Cubase is the workflow, the fact that it is very, very complete and it's easy to assign inputs and outputs.

It handles MIDI very well and has a lot of MIDI functionality. You can, for example, route MIDI tracks to onboard synths (be it native or external softsynths) or you can route them to outboard synths.

It is ideal for recording songs and song ideas. If it's just you singing with a guitar or you record a band on 48 (or more) tracks. Cubase will give you the power of controll.

The mixer view is absolutely brilliant: it feels like using a digital (or analog) mixing desk. So when all is recorded and all the parts are lined up, you can concentrate on making the best mix as if you would do as a FOH tech during a live event.

Steinberg.net hosts a forum where users are pretty active.

Disclaimer: a DAW is a kind of a personal thing. Most DAWs need some getting used to, as they are usually quite large and versatile programs. What works great for one person can be a pain to work with for another. Use YouTube and look foor tutorials on DAWs you consider. That may give you an idea of the workflow and the feel of the program.

Good luck and let us know what you decided on.


Interesting post Mike as I was about to write the same thing about Sonar. It sounds like they are a lot alike.

I agree about the DAW being a personal thing and that regardless of which one is chosen there will be a learning curve.

My advice is to DL the demos of each DAW and see which one fits your needs. Your workflow may be different than someone else so asking what DAW should I get depends only on your workflow. Thus you have to find a DAW that best fits that criteria.

PA - I think most professional DAWs are solid contenders and are relatively crash free. In fact I rarely have crashed Sonar but when it did the crash is always from a plug-in, mostly old 32 bit ones. I delete them if they cause problems. YMMV.

{edit} - an after thought. Make sure that you have the computing power to run these DAWs. This usually means having more computer then the minimum requirements.

Last edited by MarioD; 11/25/16 11:15 AM.
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