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Does It Matter Which DAW You Use?

A few years ago, when I was fresh out of college and looking for jobs, I remember reading an article that explained why Pro Tools is the industry standard and why every audio professional needs to make it their DAW of choice, whether they work in music, film/TV, game audio or podcast production.

In addition to this, I found that a lot of radio and podcast job adverts were very specific about the software they required people to know how to use (usually Pro Tools, Logic, or Reaper, but mainly Pro Tools).

It got me thinking about how many of us use a particular DAW simply because we’ve been told it’s the best one, rather than choosing one that suits our individual needs. Obviously, it makes sense to have an understanding of different ones (if nothing else, you’ll learn what you like/don’t like working with), but is it fair to reject a job candidate on the basis that they have a preference for one DAW over another? I don’t think it is.

I’m a big fan of Adobe Audition. It’s what I use in my day-to-day freelance work, what I used in my last full-time job, and what I used during my studies. Before that, I learned how to use Pro Tools and have also experimented with other DAWs in the past. But I don’t mind admitting that Audition is the one I feel most comfortable with. It wouldn’t be the best choice for music production, for example, but for radio and podcasting, it’s perfect. It’s widely used for this purpose, yet most production companies still require those they hire to have Pro Tools expertise.

This is not in any way a criticism of Pro Tools. It’s a fantastic and versatile DAW that undoubtedly works for a lot of people. I also understand that companies will have a particular setup and employees obviously need to know how everything works. But if someone is experienced in their field — enough to actually be hired — should it really matter if they’ve used a different DAW up to now? I’m not saying it’s easy to just jump into a piece of software that you’ve never used before, but it is entirely possible to learn (quickly) on the job. I’ve had colleagues in the past who had only used Pro Tools and had to learn Adobe Audition on the fly. But they still got hired in the first place because they were good at their jobs, not because of the DAW they used. I feel the same thing should happen with those who may not have much (or any) experience with Pro Tools.

If you’re a freelancer who chooses their own clients and projects, the DAW you use should be even less relevant to the people you’re working with. I haven’t yet had a client question my setup (unless there’s a situation that requires us to collaborate on an edit or share sessions, but those have been few and far between) but if they did, I would want to know if there was a good reason for needing to use a different DAW. I’ve never been in a situation where Audition didn’t meet my needs or allow me to deliver a project successfully.

To sum up, I think we can easily get bogged down by the term ‘industry standard’. What matters most is a person’s own skills and qualities and what they can bring to the table. The software they use is secondary.

 

Seeing DAWs Introspectively

A common question amongst engineers, producers, and music makers alike is, “which digital audio workstation (DAW) do you use?” The first time someone asked me this question, I was a new student at Berklee aspiring to join the music production and engineering major. The question felt more like an investigation into my qualification for the program rather than innocent curiosity. For a while, I felt ashamed to share with anyone that I started producing music on GarageBand for fear that it reflected my lacking skill set. I even curated my own impressions of people based on the DAW they chose, assuming others were doing the same about my colleagues and me. I put Pro Tools on a pedestal and believed it was the only “correct” DAW to fulfill recording, editing, and mixing needs. Truthfully, I was stuck in this bubble for a while.

During the pandemic, I had the space to change my perspective on a lot of the opinions and ideas I picked up while at music school, and DAW choice was one such opinion. When I think of the same question now, it seems more equivalent to asking someone about their zodiac sign. I believe that DAWs have their own personalities that reflect the kind of creator that uses them. I experienced this through the development of my own production as I migrated from using Pro Tools to using Ableton Live.

I learned Pro Tools as a means for servicing the musicians that I was working with when I began focusing on engineering recording sessions and mixing. I knew that it was the main DAW used in professional recording studios for tracking live instrumentation, and I was intrigued by the technicality of it all. In a way, this took my mind off of the competitive environment of a hyper-talented musical community and gave me the chance to shine somewhere else. I saw Pro Tools as a very manually controlled software that encouraged me to take control of the intricate details of every recording session. Setting up the session parameters, I/O template, and playback engine and ensuring a smoothly run session was the ultimate expression of my technical competence.

While I still love to use Pro Tools for recording vocals, vocal tuning, and time-based editing and mixing, I recently recognized that Pro Tools wasn’t serving my needs as a creator. During the pandemic, I shifted gears to focus on my own music again, but I felt stuck in a pattern of using Pro Tools like it wasn’t meant for me. In order to form a healthier relationship with the DAW, I needed to step away from it and dive deeper into my own artistic desires.

While I tried using Logic Pro in the past for my music production, I struggled to break away from software instrument presets (I am a strong advocate for creating with presets, but I felt that I often trapped myself into a different sonic message than I intended for the song). I still felt like Logic Pro was making a lot of choices for me like EQing, routing, and time-based effects, and I even felt less in control with the playlist comping. This isn’t to say that Logic Pro is a bad DAW, although I might’ve assumed that a few years ago. There are loads of excellent songwriters and producers that work seamlessly in Logic Pro and make incredible music. I never needed to label Logic Pro a “bad DAW” just because it was bad for me. I only needed to recognize why Logic Pro wasn’t working for me, which stemmed from developing unhelpful habits that stifled any progress in producing a song.

I used Ableton Live lightly for some of my electronic production classes, but I never took the time to learn how I could curate the program to suit my songs. This was mostly because during my education I was purposefully distracting myself from discovering how a DAW like Ableton Live could serve me, so I didn’t have to discover the vulnerable desire within myself to use my production skills for me. With the space of the pandemic, I saw the chance to teach myself how a DAW that was untarnished by any of my own bias or insecurity could function as a vessel for my artistic evolution. Ableton Live had just the right balance of suggested presets and easy-access controls and still technical options to exercise the engineering part of my brain. I had ideas for how I wanted the electronic elements in my recorded music and performances to sound, and I had a much easier time bringing them to life and enhancing them in Ableton Live. I continue to learn more in Ableton now by practicing patience with the techniques I’m finding in it and by piecing my original music together in a calm and kind manner.

DAWs are less like a uniform you have to wear and more like an eclectic wardrobe that fits you perfectly. I used to mindlessly pass judgment on the tools that others in my field worked with, and with my own experiences, I’ve changed my mindset to accept that there is room in this world for everyone and everything. There is in fact space for all kinds of creators and musicians with unique ideas and messages and various software to support that reality. This is a dramatic way of saying use the DAW you love and not the one someone told you to use.

Choosing the Right DAW

 

Your Digital Audio Workstation – or DAW for short – is the noble companion to every producer’s life. Having the correct DAW can have a major impact on your workflow so it’s essential to choose the right one for you.

There are many great DAW’s to choose from like Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Garageband, Cubase, and many more. In my opinion, it’s vital to do some research and narrow down which system meets your needs.

To aid this, I’ve broken down my experience with some of the major players Pro Tools, Logic Pro X Ableton, and Garageband to try and compare my experience using each one.

Garageband – Beginner Level / just starting out 

Garageband was the first DAW I used and it really helped me fall in love with producing music. I believe Garageband to be very user-friendly and the basic layout and features make it easier to understand if you’re just starting out. If you don’t have an Apple computer, I believe audacity is a great start for windows users.

Logic Pro X – Bedroom Producers / Ideal for singer-songwriter-producers

In my opinion Logic Pro X is the best bang for your buck. If you’ve come from using Garageband the layout is very familiar and you have the option to show or hide some of the advanced features. It comes with a wide range of software instruments and plug-ins that make it ideal for bedroom producers that don’t have access to live musicians.

Pro Tools – Great for recording / Industry Standard

To quote my sound production lecturers ‘it’s the industry standard’. If you want to make producing your profession and you dream of working in different studios, Pro Tools is the DAW to learn. In my experience, the learning curve is quite steep and sometimes can be a bit fiddly in places. However, once you find your way around, it’s great.

Ableton Live – You want to play live what you produce

Ableton is great if you want to make music and then perform it live. Its capabilities are incredible and I love that you can just create a beat on the spot and then add in melodies on the fly.

To conclude, all of these DAW’s are great for making music and I really recommend trying a few out to see what feels right. Most of the DAW’s mentioned come with free trials so take advantage of that and see what feels right.

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