Upgrading Your DAW: Options for Music Producers


Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) are software used to create and produce music. There are a lot of options out there for producers. I wanted to narrow them down a bit to the ones that are solid.

I am not going to say one is better then another. They are just different. You'll have to decide which one works best for you and your situation. Just know all of them can and do create bad ass music.

I wanted start with the one I am most familiar with: FL Studio.


FL Studio is the DAW I use to produce. There are a lot of things I like about it. First, I like the workflow. You can lay everything out, run it on a loop, and get real creative.

Next, I like the built in virtual studio technology, some of it at least. I love the Parametric EQ2 and how it visually displays the sound. The Reverb2 is nice because it sounds good and you can easily customize the space. I like Sytrus, GMS, Harmor and Harmless for all types of synth sounds. Leads, pads, rhythms, ect.  Maximus works great for compression and is comparable to Ozone for mastering.

What's nice about FL Studio is that you can download and start using it for free. Your options are limited with the free version but you can work around that a bit. You can do about everything in the free version except save project files. You can still export stems, export finished music, dip into the demo synths, ect.

FL Studio comes with a variety of synths and effects built in. Some are good, some are trash. What's nice though, is you can easily add 3rd party plugins. I've never had a VST not be compatible with FL Studio.

Here are some good free plugins: Best Free VST Plugins: A List Every Producer Can Use

Below are links to FL Studio and a detailed review by Music Radar.


The next DAW's on the list are in no particular order.


Pro Tools




Cubase




Ableton Live



Reason



Logic Pro (mac)



Reaper




Some other popular Digital Audio Workstations include:
There are a lot of different Digital Audio Workstations but they are just tools. DAW's don't create, musicians and producers do.

Thanks for reading, please feel free to share, like, and comment your favorite DAW below!

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