Opinion: The Top 5 Best DAWs to Use for Recording and Production

DAWs are the heart beat of audio production and general recording. I have been producing music for awhile to know which DAWs you should use and the ones you should stay away from. There are thousands out there and way more to what we normally see. There are DAWs on Mobile Phones, Tablets and even in our music production gear now. By reading this article, hopefully as an artist or producer you can grasp an idea of what DAW would suit you.

1) Logic

Logic is more than just made for logical productions, it is made for clear and concise recording. Logic is only available for Apple users but I am sure hackers have found a way to run this application on PCs. This program has everything, you can make beats, edit films and even record your own music with it. It is very expensive, so that is why if you are just starting out, you should highly consider buying the express version so that way you can get a feel for what the application can offer. The most recent Logic X is available via the App Store on apple's website. It is around 200 dollars last time I checked. Logic is used primarily in most recording studios around the nation. 

2) Pro Tools

Pro Tools is more lenient than logic. Pro Tools is the grandfather of audio production. Right after things went from tape deck recording to digital sequencing, Pro Tools was the first one up to bat. It is a seasoned DAW, but when I used it a while a go it didn't have any MIDI instruments in it. Pro Tools is generally used for mixing and mastering songs and film editing. Pro Tools has some pretty cool plugins though. But in my opinion Logic is better out of the two. The plus side about Pro Tools is that you can use it on a Mac as well as a PC.

3) BeatMaker 2

BeatMaker 2 is something very cool that all producers and music artists should try out. BM2 is available to mobile phones and tablet PCs. You can actually record audio via your cell phone and actually mix it to a qualified song. Of course, with having the proper mic set up and audio interface to your tablet or mobile device you can record. Other than that, you can make beats and chop samples with this app. I personally like to use BeatMaker 2 to chop my samples when I make sampled beats.

4) Reason

Reason gives international love and flair with its DAW production. This DAW performs very well in producing beats and now you can actually record onto Reason and turn your vocals into MIDI or even vocode sounds. Reason originally started out as a techno/remixer DAW but due to its immense popularity, it grew into "The Teenager of Logic". I would use reason to make beats and combine it with other DAWs like Logic or Cubase to have more sounds and combo-sounds to work with.

5) FL Studio

Yes...I had to include it on this list. This DAW may be more popular cracked than in stores but it is still a credible DAW. This DAW is mainly used for Hip Hop Beats and simple MIDI mapping. Because of that, it became very popular which was smiled upon for the up and coming producer/hobby musician and greatly frowned upon by the veterans that had to run from one sound room to the other to record synth, pianos etc. to mix. This is the scapegoat of DAWs but we still gotta show it love. It made people famous and rich but it also made those people realize too that they can't stick to just making the same style of beats to generate revenue.

This post is simply opinion and as a reader you are encouraged to take it any way you want. We hope that we have benefited you in your next mixing and mastering endeavor.

- CSum

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