A DAW (digital audio workstation) is a computer program or mobile software (i.e., an iOS or Android application) used by your favorite recording artists, music producers, film composers, sound designers, and audio engineers as a virtual environment to create intellectual property so that you as a listener can enjoy some of that good stuff on your earbuds, headphones or your smartphone's speaker as you do your household chores or in the gym, etc.
Umm, so the standard functions used in a music sequencer (i.e., a DAW) include but are not limited to:
TLDR: The one that makes you money!
Anyway, here is the thing: If you are a bedroom beatmaker, mastering engineer, or whatever, I believe you can pretty much use any music software you are comfortable with since, at this novice stage, it doesn't matter which DAW you decide to use.
And what you are currently doing is probably still a hobby; it's not like you are running a business with strict deadlines to meet. You might even quit music production altogether. Hence, a word to the wise is don't rush spending your hard-earned money on audio software plugin bundles and professional studio recording equipment that promises to turn you into a pro!
However, suppose your ultimate goal is to work in the music industry with established people who know what they are doing (or pretend to). In that case, you may want to seriously learn how to use Avid Pro Tools, especially if you have to start your career as an intern or an assistant mixing engineer.
But for instrumentals (i.e., making beats), you can stick to whatever music production software you are familiar with because after you've rendered all the audio tracks in your project, that stuff is most likely going to end up in a well-known mixer's Pro Tools session assuming you now at a stage where you find yourself working with household names. In other words, your main focus in this situation is beat-making, not mixing or audio mastering. Therefore, learning Avid's Pro Tools is optional, so you don't need to.
Umm, so the standard functions used in a music sequencer (i.e., a DAW) include but are not limited to:
- To record audio (e.g., vocals, instruments, and sound effects)
- To compose music (e.g., film scores, soundtracks, instrumentals, or beats)
- To mix music (i.e., to enhance sound recordings or fix audio recordings that sound bad)
- To master music (i.e., to add mojo (secret sauce) or do nothing but slam the mix into a limiter)
Audio software developer | Desktop version | Workflow | Supported OS | Mobile version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image-Line Software | FL Studio | Non-linear | macOS and Windows | FL Studio Mobile |
| Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. | Cubase Pro, Nuendo | Linear | macOS and Windows | Cubasis |
| PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. | Studio One Professional | Linear | macOS and Windows | |
| Apple Inc. | Logic Pro, GarageBand | Linear | macOS only | |
| Cockos, Inc. | REAPER | Linear | Linux, macOS, and Windows | |
| Avid Technology, Inc. | Pro Tools | Linear | macOS and Windows | |
| Ableton | Ableton Live | Non-linear | macOS and Windows | |
| Reason Studios | Reason | Non-linear | macOS and Windows | |
| Bitwig GmbH. | Bitwig Studio | Non-linear | Linux, macOS, and Windows | |
| Harrison Consoles | Harrison Mixbus | Linear | Linux, macOS, and Windows |
Q: What is the best music studio software?
I know nobody likes this answer, but it depends.TLDR: The one that makes you money!
Anyway, here is the thing: If you are a bedroom beatmaker, mastering engineer, or whatever, I believe you can pretty much use any music software you are comfortable with since, at this novice stage, it doesn't matter which DAW you decide to use.
And what you are currently doing is probably still a hobby; it's not like you are running a business with strict deadlines to meet. You might even quit music production altogether. Hence, a word to the wise is don't rush spending your hard-earned money on audio software plugin bundles and professional studio recording equipment that promises to turn you into a pro!
However, suppose your ultimate goal is to work in the music industry with established people who know what they are doing (or pretend to). In that case, you may want to seriously learn how to use Avid Pro Tools, especially if you have to start your career as an intern or an assistant mixing engineer.
But for instrumentals (i.e., making beats), you can stick to whatever music production software you are familiar with because after you've rendered all the audio tracks in your project, that stuff is most likely going to end up in a well-known mixer's Pro Tools session assuming you now at a stage where you find yourself working with household names. In other words, your main focus in this situation is beat-making, not mixing or audio mastering. Therefore, learning Avid's Pro Tools is optional, so you don't need to.
