A Brief Introduction to Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs)

Which DAW is the BEST out there has always been a hotly contested debate that has never arrived at a consensus. Before getting into a discussion about DAWs, you should know about the evolution of electronic music production over the last few decades. Many youngsters are expecting to jump-start their careers in music production by mastering the most modern DAWs out there. The sad part however is that many of them have no clue about the revolutionary changes over the years that made all this possible.

The late 20^th century witnessed more than one quantum leap in the way music was made and produced. Modular analog synthesizers like the ARP and Moog enabled music producers to imitate instruments, produce new sounds, ambient atmospheric effects and perform and produce them entirely from their rooms. Long sections of music could now be performed without assembling an expensive large orchestra. The synthesized prelude of the Elton John classic Funeral For a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding) performed on an ARP 2500 synthesizer by John’s engineer David Hentschel was avant-garde for its time and served as an eye-opener to mainstream music producers around the world.

John Chowning’s groundbreaking efforts in the development of digital FM Synthesis was another massive leap. Yamaha would license his technology and base the R & D for their first digital synthesizers on it. Digital synthesizers would become mainstream in the early 80s replacing modular analog synths that were expensive, cumbersome and difficult to maintain. The Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer would become a global game-changer in music production. A host of digital synthesizers followed influencing the iconic synthpop era, making the ‘80s a landmark decade in the history of music. Occasionally film scores too were being completely performed and produced on synthesizers, with the most famous ones being the Academy Award winning score of Chariots of Fire, and the ambient electronic score of Ridley Scott’s cult sci-fi classic Blade Runner, both composed, arranged, performed and produced by Greek maestro Vangelis.

Concurrently another development was happening in the far-east that would be the precursor of the DAW revolution. Peter Vogel, the co-founder of Fairlight, the Australian company that manufactured the Fairlight CMI workstations would almost accidentally discover the modern “sampling” process. This would prove to be another quantum leap in music production. The built-in sequencer and interface that facilitated sampling became the USP of the Fairlight CMI.

Modern day film scoring stalwart Hans Zimmer was one of the earliest to use the CMI for a film score. Zimmer’s acclaimed score for Barry Levinson’s Academy Award winning picture Rainman was almost entirely performed and produced on the Fairlight CMI workstation. Similar workstations like the CX5M would follow. Software Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) were in their infancy in the early 1990s, with most of them being Macintosh-based or specially designed for its dedicated hardware. Most of these DAWs were able to record not more than 4 tracks. However, The real paradigm shift happened in 1996 when Steinberg introduced an upgraded Cubase that could handle up to 32 tracks. Initial versions were able to run only the Mac platform though later versions would come with Windows compatibility. Steinberg set yet another industry standard by introducing the VSTi interface towards the end of the 90s. This interface allowed third-party vendors to produce and sell virtual instruments for Cubase. Other DAW makers would follow suit.

Today you can integrate a good DAW to a reasonably well configured laptop or desktop computer and start producing your own music. The idea of “The Best DAW” is something that is very relative. It is completely preference-based. You may get acquainted to the interface of one DAW and may not find your friend’s choice equally comfortable and vice-versa. Let us check Loopazon’s favorite Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs):

1. Steinberg Cubase

We did discuss already how the Cubase was Steinberg’s pioneering vehicle in many aspects of music production including the VSTi interface. The software application remains an industry standard even today, with patronage from stalwarts like Hans Zimmer, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard, Brian Tyler, Harry Gregson-Williams and Junkie XL . Each update is eagerly awaited since Cubase seldom fails to come with major additions.

Features like the Sample Editor, Parts and Lanes and the Control Room facilitate an incredibly fast workflow. Though Cubase takes more time to master when compared to other prominent DAWs like Logic Pro X and Pro Tools, many professionals opine that one would never consider switching to another DAW once the Cubase bug bites him. This is true with all the Hollywood scoring stalwarts listed above. Cubase serves both as a great production tool as well as a mixing and editing tool, which means you don’t need to rely on a third-party application like Pro Tools for post-production (unlike many other DAWs that don’t offer Pro Tools-like quality for post-production). Cubase has generally been the go-to DAW for film composers, though there have been exceptions like A. R. Rahman who continue to be loyal Logic Pro users even after many years. Cubase is compatible with both Mac and Windows based computers, though Mac users tend to gravitate more towards Logic Pro X or its much lighter cousin, GarageBand.

2. Apple Logic Pro X

The Logic Pro has remained one of the most popular and most extensively used DAWs in the world for more than 15 years.

Formerly Notator Logic, the Logic Pro was originally developed and sold by the now-defunct German software company Emagic. In the early 2000s, Apple Inc. was contemplating the inclusion of exclusive software applications as add-ons to the MacOS, to justify the high price-tag of Mac computers. One such thought was to include a basic music production tool for its users. However Apple had no previous expertise in the technology. In 2002, they acquired Emagic, also bringing some of its top brains on board. The Logic Pro found its home in Apple and grew quickly to become the top competitor for Steinberg’s Cubase. Despite Cubase being the most popular DAW among contemporary film composers, Logic Pro has some diehard fans which includes two-time Academy Award winning Indian maestro A. R. Rahman, who has remained a Logic Pro loyalist for close to 20 years. Rahman had started his journey with Logic much before Apple’s acquisition.

The tenth edition of Logic Pro was a total reinvention, adding a host of new features making it capable enough to hold a candle to Steinberg’s monster. The interface is much more user-friendly compared to that of Cubase and your expertise level doesn’t count. The Logic Pro X comes with an overwhelmingly vast built-in loop library and hundreds of virtual instruments that you can go on and keep exploring for weeks or even months. These loops and instruments that span across several genres are as good or even better than some of the paid music libraries out there. Once you start exploring the loop library alone, you will realize that some billboard chartbusters from the last few years have used built-in Logic Pro X drum loops.

Apple has gone for an audaciously competitive pricing of $200 making the feature-rich Logic Pro X available at a third of Cubase’s price. If you are a beginner, you have an option to gestate on the GarageBand that has a very similar interface, before migrating to Logic Pro X.

Well, those are Loopazon’s top DAW recommendations for professionals. Even without any recommendation, most mainstream music producers find their home in either of these two DAWs.

Now let us move on to Loopazon’s favorites for beginners: 

3. Apple GarageBand

If you are already an Apple user, then the GarageBand is an incredible music production tool that you can download from free from the Mac App Store.

The GarageBand is a lighter consumer version of the Logic Pro X, which was initially developed under the direct supervision of Dr. Gerhard Lengeling, one of the chief brains behind Emagic’s Notator Logic. The DAW comes with a very user-friendly interface and hundreds of built-in loops and virtual instruments that span across many genres including Jazz, Electronic, House, R&B, Hip Hop etc. If you are a beginner or a hobbyist, the GarageBand is the best tool for an Apple user to get started with music production. It is also the best platform to gestate before migrating to Apple’s fully professional and comprehensive DAW, the Logic Pro X.

Read: Getting Started with GarageBand 

4. ImageLine FL Studio

The FL Studio (formerly Fruityloops) has been among the best companions for beginners in music production for almost 20 years.

The extremely user-friendly interface for which it was originally known for, hasn’t changed despite several revisions and dozens of feature additions over the years. The application that runs on a 32 bit internal processing engine continues to be hot favorite even among professionals like Martin Garrix, Deadmau5, Poter Robinson, Soulja Boy and Madeon.

Read: The Complete Guide to FL Studio for Beginners