Digital Audio Workstation Applications

Home : Music : by Trevis Rothwell, updated March 2012

I had heard that my digital audio workstation software of many years, Mackie Tracktion, did not work under Mac OS X 10.7, so I had refrained from upgrading to 10.7 until I figured out a replacement solution. I cheerfully accepted the upgrade from OS X 10.6.7 to 10.6.8, and discovered that Tracktion was rendered partially broken... so it seemed like a good time to survey the current world of DAW applications.

Pro Tools

Avid Pro Tools is the most professional option, if for no other reason then because most professional recording engineers use Pro Tools. It's usually reasonably straightforward to work with other people across DAW applications (you can export and import raw audio files), but it's easiest if you can seamlessly share all of the project data. If you expect to work with other studios and want maximum compatibility, you probably want Pro Tools.

Even if compatibility isn't a concern, Pro Tools is a heavy-duty piece of software, with lots of high-end features and included effects.

There was a time when Pro Tools could only run with special audio hardware, but the latest version of Pro Tools supports any modern digital audio interface, with a somewhat limited feature set. You can also still buy the Pro Tools-specific audio hardware and gain access to every feature Pro Tools offers.

Ableton Live

Ableton Live is pretty unique. The interface is geared toward sequencing and tracking music section by section before working on the song as a whole, and includes features useful for incorporating recorded music into live music performance. My first introduction to multitrack recording came on the old Ensoniq sequencers, and I've not seen anything in the modern recording world that is closer to how the Ensoniq machines functioned than Ableton Live.

Presonus Studio One

Presonus Studio One is available in several varieties. It looks like you would need at least the mid-price package to be able to use all of your third-party instrument and effects plugins.

The interface to Studio One feels somewhat less than polished, though very intuitive. More importantly, I was very impressed with how well it renders virtual instruments tracks. Even the memory-intensive Native Instruments Abbey Road drums render perfectly in Studio One, a feat which I had not previously seen done.

Reason

Propellerhead Reason just recently added audio recording to their software, bringing it to full DAW status. It's distinguishing factor is the user interface, which mimics a physical rack of studio equipment.

As a software engineer, I notice that often it's better not to try to recreate physical interface experiences on computers. But if that's what you're used to, Reason may help make an easier transition from electronic studio gear to software recording.

Comes with a variety of virtual instruments and effects, biased toward synth/techno stylings.

Reaper

Reaper is inexpensive. Sometimes that suggests poor quality, but in this case it seems to suggest a good deal. Reaper isn't as reknowned as some of the other packages, but it works well. The interface is a little puzzling at first, but after an hour or two of tinkering around it becomes sufficiently easy to use.

A good variety of effects is included.

Tracktion

It appears to me that development of Mackie Tracktion is basically dead, and has been for years. If you happen to come across a good deal on a copy of it, and if it works on your computer system, it may well be a fine thing to have. It served me well for a long time. But it has bugs that will probably never be fixed, and it will increasingly lack modern features available elsewhere.

How to Make a Choice?

As far as basic DAW functionality, most of the options do more or less the same thing, with Ableton Live offering some additional sectional sequencing. If you have no specific needs, you might as well pick the least expensive option, or go with whatever DAW software may come with your digital audio interface.

If cost is no concern, you will be less likely to have problems with Pro Tools than anything else. Since most professional recording engineers use it, it will be easily compatible with lots of studios, and there should be no shortage of people who can help and third-party software, hardware, and documentation that is known to support Pro Tools.

What About Me?

Since losing fully-functional Tracktion, I'm trying out demo versions of the packages that most interest me to find what works best. Pro Tools is the obvious choice, but after being happy with Tracktion for so long, I suspect I can be perfectly happy spending a fraction of the money on something else. We'll see. My current favorite is Presonus Studio One, but I'm not done running through demos and tests...

See also my guide to building a home music studio.

tjr@acm.org