Audio Production

More Than Just Luck of the DAW

February 9, 2009 February 9, 2009 CDIABU Audio students are lucky to be exposed to several DAWs (industry jargon for Digital Audio Workstations). Too often individuals, and even institutions, put all their eggs in one basket, choosing to focus on one particular tool to the exclusion of all others. For some people, the debate about the relative merits of different DAWs becomes passionate to the point of zealotry. Think Mac vs. PC or analog vs. digital for a sense of the strength of the feelings in play here. As an instructor who teaches (and uses) several different DAWs, it strikes me as a pretty pointless argument. Here’s the analogy I often use when new students ask me which DAW is best: it’s kind of like someone asking what motor vehicle is best. Maybe you have a large family and need a mini-van.  Maybe you’re interested in street racing instead, and a mini-van just isn’t going to soup up as well as an Asian import. Maybe you do carpentry on the weekend and need a pickup truck to haul lumber, or maybe you have a long commute and need a very fuel-efficient vehicle. The point is: all of these vehicles get you from Point A to Point B. The only real difference is in the ride. Likewise, all DAWs record and edit audio and midi, mix, master, etc. One might be better at a specific task you need to do, or one might feel more comfortable to you, but that simply makes them different — not better or worse. They are all tools. When you need a hammer, you need a hammer, and when you need a screwdriver, you need a screwdriver. But analogies about eggs baskets, mini-vans and hammers only get us so far, and they don’t explain much about the DAWs. To clarify, here are a few specifics:

• Digidesign Pro Tools is used in many professional studios, which gives it an advantage in terms of inter-compatibility. The user can easily move files from a $300 home system to a $30,000 pro system. On the other hand, the LE (limited edition) versions within the reach of many users are, well, limited. Not in any deal-breaking ways, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind.  Another catch is that you must use Digidesign hardware in order to use Pro Tools, which limits your hardware options.
• Apple Logic is extremely affordable (especially for students) and has a huge feature set, including lots of loops and virtual instruments. This is great for composition (or “beat making,” as the kids call it nowadays).  However, the learning curve for Logic may be a bit steeper than Pro Tools, which is elegant in its simplicity.
• Digital Performer (DP) has a very good blend of ease of use, features, price, etc. DP integrates well with hardware and software made by its (local) parent company MOTU, although it doesn’t force you to use that hardware like Digidesign. It may not be the flashiest DAW, but it sure gets the job done.

To make matters more complex, each company borrows features and ideas from each other like competitive siblings, sometimes leapfrogging the others in one area, only to be leapfrogged themselves six months later. So stay tuned, DAW fans!