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A Guide To Music Production Software

June 10, 2024

What is the best music production software for you?

This is probably one of the most common questions I hear when it comes to music production.

Which one sounds the best? What has the best usability and so on,

The quick answer is, they are all practically the same!

Become an expert with your chosen DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and you will find that any music production software will practically allow you to achieve the same results.

When choosing, a lot of producers starting out will be influenced by their favourite songwriters or music producers in regards to what DAW they use to create their music. In many cases, music producers will often be across more than one DAW as some functions work better than others depending on what you’re needing to achieve.

Currently, I use Logic X, Maschine by Native Instruments, Luna & occasionally Ableton

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons to choosing the best DAW or music production software for you.

Spike Leo_Recording Studio Melbourne_SpikeLeoMusic

LOGIC X

Logic X Pro.jpg
  • Logic X is currently one of the most exciting DAW’s on the market and let me tell you why. With their recent upgrade it has now navigated the platform over into a more user friendly workstation for electronic based music producers. This is one of the most significant updates for this DAW in the last 10 years. As I have slowly introduced myself to the new sampler functions, drum capabilities, sequencer and looping options, it is certainly pushing me away from using other DAW’s and focusing on putting all my creative energy into this one platform.
  • PROS
  • A simple transition for those who have utilised Apple’s Garageband
  • Integrates easily with Apple products
  • Friendly user interface
  • Mixing - The mixing window of logic is very user friendly and easy to navigate. Mouse clicking functions make it easy to select and deselect plugins. You can create a simultaneous mixing window so that you can see arrangement window and mixer separately
  • Midi sequencing/Soft Synth very straight-forward and easy to use
  • Flexi-Pitch function for tuning vocals or instruments works brilliantly and will save you lots of money on purchasing a separate program like Melodyne.
  • Automation is super functional and the automated “touch” function allows you to record automation with ease without clicking in information.
  • Lots of synths, downloadable loops and stock plugins which have really improved
  • Sampling/sequencing capabilities are now amazing
  • Price is reasonable and life long updates for existing users
  •    

      CONS

  • Logic X is only MAC compatible which leaves PC users out of the equation.
  • Updates don’t happen regularly

     ABLETON

Ableton.jpg
  • Ableton is a DAW I love to use when I want to get lost and experiment creativley. The ability to throw a sample into this DAW and have it chopped up while keeping it at high quality has been for a long time next to none. As well as the ability to get lost in the plugins and creative workflow which can result in quick and easy creative a unique sounds.

      PROS

  • Interface is easy to navigate, everything in Ableton Live is readily available in expandable and collapsible tabs
  • Great for live shows and very reliable as it won’t crash mid performance
  • Grouping and routing effects/buses is very easy to use
  • Designed well for looping and experimentation with beat making
  • Shortcuts create a very quick workflow ability
  • Integrates fantastically with their hardware unit PUSH so you can play the DAW like an instrument
  • Plugins and instruments are very high quality and allow you to achieve results very quickly
  • Sampling and BPM matching when dropping audio into DAW allows for quick workflow and creation abilities

      CONS

  • Workflow is keyboard shortcut based and less mouse clicking which can be hard to navigate at first until you become familiar with shortcut hot keys
  • Less suitable for large arrangements and non-electronic genres requiring heavy mixes
  • Pricing is one of the most expensive in the DAW market
  • Will need a computer with strong specifications to have Ableton run smoothly

     MASCHINE - NATIVE INSTRUMENTS

Maschine Native Instruments.png
  • Maschine by Native Instruments has been a DAW I’ve been using for over 8 years. With any lessons I’ve ever held I ultimately start beginners-advance on this piece of hardware which is connected to the software called, Maschine. The hardware that comes with the DAW is called, Maschine Studio with varying different sizes and different price options available.
    The reason I love this software/hardware capability is like Ableton, it allows you to use the DAW as an instrument and instead of dragging in sounds, you can play them on a pad like an instrument. This is where I enjoy starting all my songs and beats.

      PROS

  • Great functioning between midi hardware and software
  • Excellent for beat making, looping and sampling capabilities
  • Easy to set up, use and make music quickly
  • MPC like feel for drum/beatmakers
  • Very stable program with minimal crashes or latency
  • Very reasonable price point
  • Edit, cutting, recording functionality is very easy and quick
  • All in all, the best workflow I have found from any DAW when you’re in creative mode.
  • Easy to separate and group sounds
  • Native stock plugins are great

      CONS

  • Doesn’t come with many instrumental sounds unless you purchase them through their store and can be quite pricey if buying a package
  • I find the arrangement window not very intuitive at all and the competition with other DAW’s far outweighs the arrangement capabilities within Maschine
  • Not stable when mixing tracks and will often forget plugin settings when re-opening projects
  • Automation is not very functional and frustrating to use
  • No ability to split screens with mixing window
  • The updates have not been very frequent and it feels that it is slowly falling behind its DAW competitors

PRO TOOLS

Pro Tools.jpg
  • Pro tools is one of the oldest DAWS first being released in 1991. Which is why many of the super-producers and old school producers are still using it! Many say that Pro-Tools feels like home for small and big studios across the globe. Stated as one of the best audio editing apps for large studios with lots of outboard gear.

      PROS

  • One of the cleanest audio editing workflow in the world of all the DAWS
  • Fast 64 bit recording & mixing engines
  • Useful and reliable track free & commit options
  • High-end hardware and support policies at the top of their game
  • Fantastic new factory & plugsound packs
  • Very similar to analog mixers
  • Most functions are easily accessible
  • Interface friendly for experienced sound engineers

      CONS

  • Lacks built in pitch correction
  • No VST or AU plugin support
  • Monthly fee required for new software patches past 12 months
  • Not great for electronic music or sampling based production
  • Doesn’t have the same exciting creative capabilities of many other current DAWS

LUNA - UNIVERSAL AUDIO

LUNA - Universal Audio.jpg
  • Luna is one of the newest DAWS on the market made from my favourite hardware interface/plugin companies called UAD. Their plugins are next to none and accurately emulate beautiful vintage and new analogue hardware but at a fraction of the price. I haven’t found anything to date that really compares with the quality of UAD and will be a long life customer. Having said that, they have just released their first official DAW which integrates their UAD plugins flawlessly. Needless to say, it’s in the very early stages as I write this article but I am 100% sure that this will be one of the main competitors on the DAW market in years to come with it’s inevitable development.

      PROS

  • Professional and easy to use interface
  • Mixing window can be used simultaneously
  • Plugins and software synth sound quality is the best in the business
  • Amazing integration of tape emulated plugins into workflow
  • Neve Mixing Summing integration shows incredible potential. Predicting in the not too distant future to have SSL & API versions available
  • The DAW is free for any existing user of their hardware interfaces
  • Usage and workflow have been taken and adapted from DAW’s like Logic X, Ableton and Pro-Tools
  • Constant updates and improvements

      CONS

  • Plugins/synths can be very expensive and are best purchased to get full usability of the DAW’s full ability
  • Early days so there are still a few bugs to be smoothed out
  • Midi capabilities are currently limited
  • Not great for beat making, looping
  • Must have an interface to get the free DAW perk

FL STUDIO

FL STUDIO.jpg
  • FL studio is actually one of the first DAWS I ever tried. However, that was many many years ago. Since then, there have been many vast improvements and it is a favourite amongst beginner producers. It packs a lot of punch with some great stock plugins and stock software synths that come with the DAW.

      PROS

  • Excellent for visual learners, stock plugins make it easy for first time producers/mixers to follow what is going on
  • Free lifetime updates
  • Easy & intuitive to learn DAW
  • Great beat making workflow & step-sequencer
  • Adaptive creative abilities, letting the DAW automate and play with ideas like “Riff Machine,” “Randomizer” and plugins such, “Gross Beat, Slicex & Directwave” give endless creative possibilities.
  • The only DAW where you can make your own turntable scratch like sounds
  • Buy one license and use it on as many computers as you like
  • Updates and improvements are always major additions to the DAWS capabilities

      CONS

  • Audio recording quality not as great as other DAWS
  • A lot of the controls in FL are hidden
  • The browser search ability is not easy to navigate and feels old
  • Not a great DAW for mixing capabilities
  • Tends to crash occasionally

STUDIO ONE 4

Studio One 4.jpg

      PROS

  • Easy to use DAW interface with all components laid out in a user friendly way and it’s easy navigation with drag and drop
  • Efficient workflow, not a lot of window pop ups and easy navigation
  • Melodyne is built into the DAW. No other DAW has integration with Melodyne directly like Studio One.
  • Scratch pad can be used on multiple versions for your song without the need to exit the main window, this can be really effective for songwriting and arrangement workflow.
  • Studio One has the ability to automatically delay any plugin compensation that may occur. When a plugin takes it’s time to process a sound, the gap is detected and compensated accordingly.
  • Amazing smart tools that are activated when hovering over different parts of the event in the arrange window.
  • Very stable DAW
  • Vocalign is built into DAW allowing you to keep your vocals in time. Full version can be upgraded
  • Full version of DAW can be purchased through SPLICE on Rent-To-Own and paid off weekly.

      CONS

  • There is not much support for synth hardware
  • It’s on the expensive side of DAWS
  • No built in score sheet for midi tracks
  • Bad customer service
  • It does not stand as one of the strongest interfaces in terms of how the signal path is selected.
  • Not the most intuitive DAW

CUBASE

Cubase.jpg

      PROS

  • There is a powerful range of audio editing tools
  • All recordings are displayed in a single track side by side. You can cut and select the parts which you need making it easy to comp vocals
  • It has a strong summing engine which is responsible for processing tracks and gathering them into the right output
  • Amazing MIDI editing options
  • Great new features in the latest updates
  • Very strong integrated EQ function
  • Industry standard for MIDI arranging and sequencing
  • A very professional functioning sampler track
  • Sample editing allows you to edit samples on the go while applying effects and the ability to use offline processing.

      CONS

  • Very expensive DAW
  • Needs dongle to plug into computer in order to use DAW
  • Cubase DAW display pages are confusing for a lot of users
  • Not the best DAW for tech savvy users
  • Doesn’t run as smoothly as other DAWS

So there are my gathered thoughts and opinions on the main DAWS that you can choose between.

All in all, whichever DAW you end up using, it simply comes down to how well you learn to use your tools. They will all essentially give you the same end result based on your skills and ability.

The best way to choose in my opinion is to figure out what type of music you are wanting to make, check if the DAW has the capabilities to create that type of music and if you’re inexperienced, check the producers or artists you love and see what DAWS they are curently using.

That is a sure way to at least, get on the right path.

May the DAWS be with you!

Spike Leo

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