Which DAW do you use and why?

[LLL]

I use Reaper, because it's cheap, uses little resources and is effective. I've had Pro Tools, Cubase.

I also use a PC that I built.

 

[guitarslinger21]

I use reaper. It was recommended. It’s cheap. It works. I’ve made a lot of music with mine.

 

[rockandroller]

As the thread just got bumped.

My Mac is getting to a point where it needs replacing. What to do – embrace Apple Silicon etc or back to a custom PC with Cubase or something else. The DAW is a small part of what I might consider in making the choice.

Is the Mac just going under because the (expired) MacOS is Toast? Install Ubuntu on it and get another decade of good use!

 

[stratamania]

Is the Mac just going under because the (expired) MacOS is Toast? Install Ubuntu on it and get another decade of good use!

Not really. I have already had a lot of use from it, and at some point I will replace it for more up-to-date hardware. I have extended its use OS wise and have the latest version of macOS Sonoma running on it as a clean installation with the help of Open Core Legacy Patcher.

Buying new hardware is not as easy as a widower as it once was.

But this thread is about DAWs. Do you use Ubuntu, and if so, which DAW do you use on it?

 

[alexreinhold]

I can only confirm that using an Apple M chip has been a total game-changer for me. I have not run into a single problem so far - even with dozens of stems, tracks and plugins on. Running a Macbook Air M1 16 GB Ram.

Re Ubuntu I agree about the efficiency of the OS but you will 100% run into compatibility issues with certain plugins/hardware.

 

[BroccoliRob]

if I am not at Shock City studios, then i use Reaper, baby. can't be beat for the price

 

[rockandroller]

...

But this thread is about DAWs. Do you use Ubuntu, and if so, which DAW do you use on it?

I currently use Ubuntu (Kubuntu, actually) only as a general-purpose desktop. (I have installed a copy of mixbus on it, but just to check it out...)

I have a songwriter friend on the other side of the continent that I gifted a surplus Linux workstation to - we set him up with Ubuntu Studio and he runs Ardour. I trade stems back and forth with him weekly via an FTP server in Kansas City [shoutout to JoesDatacenter!] and have perfect compatibility with my MixBus systems. Despite being absolutely 'non-computer-literate', he's been using the same Ubuntu system for about six years now with only minor tech hiccoughs.

My two DAW workstations 'proper' are both running Win10. Sadly some essential things like my Line6 patch-editing software (and Toontracks EZdrummer!) don't support Linux, so I really cannot use a non-windows DAW system for production work. I have a fourth general-purpose home computer running Win11 - also reluctantly running Windows, due to the need for 'win-only" Corel Draw.

DISCLAIMER: I've been using Windows since version 1.0 (and DOS before that!) and have used Apple OS's professionally since the mid-80s. I hate Apple with a passion perhaps only matched by my disdain for Adobe And the gang at Microsoft have seriously been slipping the past couple decades - up to the early-2000s they were still a pretty solid and ethical bunch, but IMO not so much anymore, so I am 100% philosophically disposed towards Linux

Sadly, I am recommending my west-coast friend to retire the Ubuntu and buy a Windows machine soon - just so that he can run EZDrummer himself. (He's actually a drummer but can't physically play his kit anymore due to some serious medical issues).

 

[bonesofwrath]

Supposedly you can run EZD in Wine but I don't have it and have never tried.

 

[stratamania]

I currently use Ubuntu (Kubuntu, actually) only as a general-purpose desktop. (I have installed a copy of mixbus on it, but just to check it out...)

I have a songwriter friend on the other side of the continent that I gifted a surplus Linux workstation to - we set him up with Ubuntu Studio and he runs Ardour. I trade stems back and forth with him weekly via an FTP server in Kansas City [shoutout to JoesDatacenter!] and have perfect compatibility with my MixBus systems. Despite being absolutely 'non-computer-literate', he's been using the same Ubuntu system for about six years now with only minor tech hiccoughs.

My two DAW workstations 'proper' are both running Win10. Sadly some essential things like my Line6 patch-editing software (and Toontracks EZdrummer!) don't support Linux, so I really cannot use a non-windows DAW system for production work. I have a fourth general-purpose home computer running Win11 - also reluctantly running Windows, due to the need for 'win-only" Corel Draw.

DISCLAIMER: I've been using Windows since version 1.0 (and DOS before that!) and have used Apple OS's professionally since the mid-80s. I hate Apple with a passion perhaps only matched by my disdain for Adobe And the gang at Microsoft have seriously been slipping the past couple decades - up to the early-2000s they were still a pretty solid and ethical bunch, but IMO not so much anymore, so I am 100% philosophically disposed towards Linux

Sadly, I am recommending my west-coast friend to retire the Ubuntu and buy a Windows machine soon - just so that he can run EZDrummer himself. (He's actually a drummer but can't physically play his kit anymore due to some serious medical issues).

Like you, I have used all sorts of systems, including Unix and Linux based. Unix or Linux works great for everyday use or making file servers and the like, although at the end of the day, the practical use case for certain applications as you mention means, using Windows or Mac.

 

[rockandroller]

Supposedly you can run EZD in Wine but I don't have it and have never tried.

I've also heard that, but with all the USB midi going on (and the various digital interfaces) I am skeptical about how well the WINE subsystem might work. I know that with some of my hypervisors there are some issues with USB working well through virtual machines... (But I suppose it could be worth a try, now that you mention it...)