The Top Digital Audio Workstations in 2019
A Digital audio workstation (DAW) plays a major role in a musician's world, which is why we’ve listed some of the best DAWs on the market today.
DAWs are commonly used for the production of songs, radio, television, soundtracks, podcasts and sound effects, allowing musicians to record, mix and produce a blend of audio tracks.
Since these workstations can come in a variety of forms and specializations, such as MIDI sequencing, digital manipulation and single-track audio editing, it is important to find which DAW is best for your musical needs.
Image-Line FL Studio
Commonly known as FruityLoops, the Image-Line FL Studio has gone from a simple drum sequencer to one of the most powerful and popular DAWs today.
Image-Line has limitless features, allowing it to create any kind of audio project, but it is specifically known for first-rate electronic music production.
“Image-Line’s DAW holds near-iconic status for a certain generation of producers, particularly in the hip-hop and EDM realms” stated musicradar.com, the No. 1 website for musicians.
This DAW supports 4k multimonitor and multitouch configurations, has free lifetime updates, and has an animated vector-based interface.
Steinberg Cubase Pro
Steinberg Cubase Pro is a versatile DAW originally built on MIDI sequencing. This legendary software, which was one of the first-ever audio workstations, has evolved over the years to a complete suite of products, guaranteed to help any pro or home studio succeed.
Steinberg not only has a wide range of products and features, it also offers full updates every two years and a .5 update in-between those years for those eager to upgrade their software.
According to Sound Bytes Magazine, Steinberg's latest 9.5 update offers extensive resources, including unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, up to 192kHz and 5.1 surround audio, automatic delay compensation and more.
Ableton Live
If you’re looking for something that's geared toward digital manipulation, then look no further than Ableton Live.
Ableton Live is a little out of the norm, with a unique layout specifically adjusted to make music creation and improvisation as easy as possible.
One of Live’s most unique features, is its interface. According to pcworld.com, the interface is rendered using drawing commands or simple stretchable bitmaps that allow it to be resizable.
In the DAW world, Ableton Live products are a little more on the pricey side but it’s quality and simplicity is worth the price.
Apple Logic Pro X
Apple Logic Pro is a recording studio software perfect for any Apple product owners. Apple’s flagship DAW offers a vast sound library, a good mix of plug-ins and a high level of product support.
What sets Logic Pro apart from other audio software is its extensive sound library, and its connection with GarageBand. Logic Pro provides its users with a vast collection of sounds for a cheap price, which is quite uncommon among DAWs.
Logic Pro users are also given the option to upload their projects to GarageBand, which then allows them to edit their projects anywhere using an iPad or iPhone.
If you want advice on which DAW is best for your needs, or professional assistance on your next project, click here to browse through our music instructors, including grammy nominated producers.