A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is any audio software that allows you to compose, edit, mix, and master music. Some individuals may argue that one DAW is better to another for various reasons. However, ultimately, a DAW is merely another tool designed to help your creativity and music creation. The main factor when selecting a DAW is how well it suits your workflow. While there are noteable differences among DAWs, they all have the capability to produce great music; it all depends on how you use them.
This chapter will explore a few of the most popular DAWs, offering basic insights into their pros and cons to help you determine which one is best suited for your needs. Choosing a DAW may feel like choosing your starter Pokémon, but try not to overthink it. The DAWs are listed in alphabetical order.
Ableton Live (shortened to just Ableton) is my personal favourite DAW so I will be a bit biased. It's a very robust DAW with many features and a large amount of extendability with the addtion of Max4Live (Only available to Ableton Live Suite owners). Ableton has everything you need to create professional music with multitrack record, a decent midi toolset, useful audio manipulation with its Warping functionality & a huge list of other fun features. I would personally say that Ableton is the funnest DAW to experiment in with its vibrant colours, live looping functions and easy modulation of many parameters.
As the name suggests, Ableton Live is/was mainly focused on live performance where you can easily add, create, change & edit many parameters live while also having pre-programmed and arranged sections. Along with sync capabilities to sync with other computers or software, it can be a great way to jam along with others and create full musical experiences live.
On top of this, Ableton has one of the better set of stock plugins to use, so you can start making good sounding tracks straight away. With mutiple syntheziers, an easy to use sampler engine, simple saturation/ distortion plugins, ready-to-use sample packs and the iconic OTT (Over The Top) compression effect, it's worth a lot more to buy Ableton because it has everything you need without additional plugins.
While I praise Ableton for its great features, there are some downsides. Firstly, the UI can become a bit cluttered and as a first-time user it can be very overwhelming, especially with the audio effects row at the bottom and the lack of any useful multi-window support makes it hard to use on small screens or when dealing with complex productions. Another downside (At least in my experience) is that it can be common for Ableton to crash, be a bit buggy or have issues with plugins. Luckily the software can usually recover what you were working on, and Ableton can save version history of the song you're working on. But there is nothing worse than when you're in the flow working on a song and then everything stops working.
Routing can also be a pain to do within Ableton with send/ return tracks being difficult to deal with, especially when you have a large amount. Routing tracks into other tracks or creating complex groups/ routing configurations is sometimes just not possible.
Audacity may not be the first choice for creating professional music, but it can be invaluable for those who prioritize straightforward recording with minimal editing. One notable aspect of Audacity is its appeal as free and open-source software, allowing users to experiment with basic DAW tools without any financial commitment. Audacity is particularly useful when working destructively with audio to create unique sound effects or one-shots without the need for a full-scale DAW. Limitations can occasionally serve as a catalyst for creativity.
An outstanding feature of Audacity is "Paulstretch." Since Audacity does not apply effects in real-time, users can layer effects and employ those that would typically introduce latency. Paulstretch, for instance, enables users to stretch any audio segment, playing it multiple times slower than the original sound. This capability proves advantageous for crafting distinctive pad or ethereal sounds.
Bitwig Studio is a music-making software that's known for being flexible and easy to customize. It lets you arrange your workspace the way you want, making it adaptable for different styles of music creation. A cool feature is the "Modulator System" that allows you to change how your music sounds in creative ways.
The software has a unified system that makes it easy to add dynamic changes to your music. It also works well with Native Instruments gear, which is great if you use their instruments and controllers. Bitwig Studio supports extra sounds and effects through VST plugins, letting you expand your music toolkit.
If you like using touch screens, Bitwig Studio is designed for that too. It's also friendly to various MIDI controllers, and you can group different music tools together to keep everything organized.
In a nutshell, Bitwig Studio is praised for its flexibility, creative modulation options, and compatibility with different music gear, making it a good choice for musicians who want a versatile and user-friendly music-making experience.
Unfortunately, Garageband only works on Apple devices, but it's free to use and a great starting point for anyone into making music. It's available on iPad and Mac, featuring an easy-to-use interface that sticks to Apple's design principles of being visually pleasing and simple.
Garageband is like the younger sibling to Apple's Logic Pro, a widely used professional tool. It might not be considered a super pro Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), but you can definitely create good songs with it. It comes with ready-to-use instruments, some basic audio effects, automation, and more.
If you're unsure about diving into the music world but want to try out a decent software, Garageband is a good first DAW. Plus, if you decide to step up, transitioning to Logic Pro is easy without having to completely relearn everything.