The Best DAW Software Recommended by WIRED’s Resident Musicians (2024)

The crushed galore folks dislike the software? It's precise expensive, arsenic is the outer hardware sold by Avid, the marque that owns Pro Tools. Many studios forgo updating computers for a precise agelong clip for this reason, and this is wherefore Pro Tools doesn't person galore modern features that I've seen successful different DAWs, similar the drag-and-drop functionality for plug-ins offered by Logic and Studio One.

Still, this bundle is excellent, and if you tin get implicit its old-school interface, it is susceptible of doing immoderate philharmonic task you tin imagination of. There is simply a crushed it has stood the trial of time; it (usually) runs well, and it's ne'er annoying capable that it's worthy switching for powerfulness users.

Best for DJs and Live Performers: Ableton Live

Ableton Live was primitively created for unrecorded performance. It was a mode to bring onstage the physics euphony radical were creating connected their computers. It’s inactive the champion DAW if you program to execute unrecorded with a computer. But implicit 20-plus years it has grown into a workplace powerhouse.

Its unsocial loop-based workflow of Scenes and Clips has its origins connected the stage, but it besides makes it casual to iterate connected ideas, experimentation with antithetic combinations of opus components, and sketch retired an arrangement. For deeper dives and fine-tuning, determination is the Arrangement view, which offers the benignant of timeline-based signaling and editing you’d expect.

All of the autochthonal synths and plug-ins for Live are fantabulous and easy clasp their ain against pricey VSTs. Plus, Ableton has a purpose-built MIDI controller successful the Push 3 ($999), which is 1 of the champion ways to entree the afloat powerfulness of your DAW without having to walk your full clip messing with a rodent and keyboard.

The biggest occupation is that Ableton Live is expensive. The Intro mentation costs $99, but it’s beauteous limited, and it often comes bundled for escaped with adjacent the cheapest MIDI controllers. Live Suite, which includes each 20 instruments, 58 effects, and implicit 70 GB of sounds, volition acceptable you backmost $749. And, if you outpouring for Push, that’s different grand. —Terrence O'Brien

Best for Apple Users: Logic Pro

Logic Pro is an hold of Apple’s GarageBand, making it a earthy prime for Apple fans looking to level up. You tin deliberation of Logic arsenic a GarageBand postgraduate program, elevating your efforts from amateur demos to professional-grade recordings. You’ll find myriad ways to research and beforehand your skills, from almighty plug-ins and effects to notation and editing tools that fto you personalize your workflow.

I’ve been utilizing a mentation of Logic successful my location workplace for implicit 15 years due to the fact that it’s my perfect programme for euphony creation. Logic’s Takes are a cardinal portion of my process, making it astonishingly casual to bash aggregate reps of instrumentality runs oregon vocal lines connected the fly, comp the champion of each, and manipulate them to perfection. With a balanced blend of precocious features and intuitive instauration tools, Logic is simply a go-to programme for immoderate location workplace that runs connected Apple hardware. —Ryan Waniata

Best All-In-One for iPad: Logic Pro for iPad

Since dropping astir a twelvemonth ago, Logic Pro for iPad has been softly gaining traction arsenic the easiest DAW for newbies to chopped their teeth on. A hands-on tutorial strategy and a staggering array of built-in synth engines, drum machines, loops, and effects marque this a large spot to commencement if you’re caller to iPad-based euphony production, oregon integer euphony accumulation successful general. Whether you’re a powerfulness idiosyncratic for Logic connected a desktop oregon a novice who’s acceptable to postgraduate from GarageBand, the portable iteration of Apple’s stalwart euphony accumulation suite is easy, affordable (just $6 per period oregon $50 per year, and packed to the gills with precocious features that tin nudge a postulation of loops towards a polished last merchandise successful nether an hour. Desktop users volition emotion that their projects are round-trippable betwixt the 2 devices arsenic well.

Recently I downloaded Logic Pro and immoderate YouTube tutorials connected my iPad Pro earlier a 4-hour flight, and wrong an hr I built a vibey chillwave way implicit with bouncy arpeggios, off-kilter ping-pong delays, and lukewarm analog pads ducked by dense sidechain compression—all with built-in instruments and effects. Logic Pro handles third-party AUV3 plug-ins similar a boss, but the useful indexing of the onboard kits makes it ace casual to punch successful a fewer keywords, similar “chillwave” and “analog synth,” which is an unbeatable workflow enhancement that strengthens the lawsuit for Logic Pro’s bid astatine champion successful class. Whether you’re wholly greenish oregon simply hungover and uninspired, the in-house DAW of Tim Cook’s walled plot is simply a near-perfect enactment for producers connected the move. —Pete Cottell

Easiest Beatmaking DAW: FL Studio

FL Studio (née Fruity Loops) is the OG countless chamber producers chopped their teeth connected successful the precocious ’90s and aboriginal ’00s. Its easy-to-grasp Roland TR-style measurement sequencer and almighty illustration manipulation tools marque it a favourite of countless hip-hop and creation producers similar 9th Wonder, WundaGurl, Deadmau5, and Avicii. Despite its aboveground simplicity, FL Studio is besides highly almighty erstwhile you travel to grips with its sometimes convoluted workflow. It’s designed for creating physics and sample-based euphony alternatively of tracking a band, but you tin grounds unrecorded instruments if you want.

Perhaps FL Studio’s champion diagnostic is its value. The $99 Fruity Edition is adjacent much constricted than Live Intro, but the top-tier All Plugins mentation is lone $499. That includes 113 instruments and effects and, careless of which variation you pick, it comes with a beingness of escaped updates. —Terrence O'Brien

Best of All Worlds: Studio One

Fender-owned Presonus has been making waves with its Studio One bundle for the past respective years, and I americium a immense fan. Studio One offers the aforesaid awesome drag-and-drop functionality of Logic, the aforesaid easiness of tracking, editing, and mixing arsenic Pro Tools, and the aforesaid unrecorded show features arsenic Ableton, each successful one. I peculiarly similar however you tin integrate the bundle straight with Presonus' interfaces, controllers, and different outboard hardware; erstwhile you usage Studio One, everything seems to speech bully and play good together, which feels uncommon successful the satellite of recording.

Now that Fender owns the brand, we've been getting amended and amended instrumentality and amp plug-ins natively successful the software, arsenic good arsenic immoderate nifty caller hardware/software collaborations betwixt the brands, specified arsenic a Fender-logoed instrumentality input connected new Presonus interfaces. I person present recorded galore albums for loads of artists utilizing Studio One, and the lone downside is that astir nonrecreational mixing engineers don't usage it, truthful you person to export your stems alternatively than an full prevention file. Frankly, it's bully signifier to beryllium capable to decently bounce retired stems, and it doesn't instrumentality agelong successful this software. If your friends bash hap to besides grounds utilizing Studio One, though, it's truly casual to stock full projects implicit the internet, and the institution makes it precise casual to maestro and export tracks consecutive to Soundcloud, should you privation to ever beryllium sharing your latest enactment without overmuch other effort.

I've been impressed, particularly astatine its little terms than different premium signaling software. Each update comes with much and much user-requested features, which isn't thing I tin accidental astir different bundle supra (*cough, Pro Tools, cough*). I highly urge giving Studio One a changeable if you privation thing casual to usage connected Windows, Mac, and iPad (though the iPad app is conscionable a distant controller for the software).

The Good News

You tin marque insanely awesome euphony utilizing virtually immoderate modern signaling instrumentality oregon integer audio workstation, inexpensive oregon otherwise. I'm not kidding: There person been award-winning albums recorded connected iPhones, mixed connected GarageBand oregon different escaped software, oregon adjacent recorded to four-track cassette (here's looking astatine you, aboriginal Elliott Smiths and Bruce Springsteens). This database is meant to item the reasons you mightiness privation to take 1 portion of bundle implicit different alternatively than to assertion that you can't marque fantabulous euphony with immoderate of them.