Best Sounding Software

[getreel]

What DAW software do you guys think sounds best? I know it's probably been discussed before but couldn't find it. Not talking about hardware(except PT maybe amd that's not an option for me right now), but software...Logic, Sonar, Nuendo, Tracktion, etc? I've been testing many different ones lately but mostly from a "how to use" standpoint. I like Tracktion best so far, but I also find Reaper is totally awesome just maybe not as good looking...I'll eventually be using Echo Audiofire12's on both PC and Mac(mobile rig) BTW. I am using old Aardvark and my Tone Port USB thingee for now just testing and making demos. Opinions?

[ned]

they all sound exactly the same - use the DAW that you like the best. i'm a fan of tracktion as well, it gets out of the way and lets me focus on music instead of making me fight with an interface that tries to emulate a console.

[versuviusx]

whoa
they do not all sound the same.
that is for sure.
for example i think nuendo sounds way better than ableton.
ableton has gotten a lot better. but i think steinberg just sounds better.

[percussion boy]

whoa
they do not all sound the same.
that is for sure.
for example i think nuendo sounds way better than ableton.
ableton has gotten a lot better. but i think steinberg just sounds better.

+1

Supposedly, Ableton 7 has been upgraded, soundwise. We shall see. If the midi timing and the audio quality were at a pro level, this software would be AMAZING.

To my ear, Cubase's stuff sounds real nice for recording from mics -- this is at a lo budget, Firepod level of converter.

Sonar, even the cheap Sonar, does a very nice job of making audio from soft-sources like the Halion sampler and the Arturia Moog. Its recording quality seems serviceable too, although I personally like Cubase's better, even if it's just Cubase LE.

fwiw

[rwc]

whoa
they do not all sound the same.
that is for sure.
for example i think nuendo sounds way better than ableton.
ableton has gotten a lot better. but i think steinberg just sounds better.

Total nonsense.

Plugins may sound better, but unless there's an error going on in the summing or something, they'll sound the same if it's not clipping and if the plugins are not being used.

The synths may sound better in one than the other too. But as far as actual audio tracks, unprocessed, sounding worse in one than the other..


There's this thing called placebo that rears its head in when people can't setup blind tests. Happens with mic preamps, converters, even DAWs. Don't get mucked into it.

Not to say all mic preamps and converters sound the same, but there is a huge amount of placebo "I can hear a difference" going on when in fact there is none.

[percussion boy]

Maybe the key phrase is "an error going on in the summing".

I can see how different daws might all record one track of audio in an uncolored way, so that the result would sound the same in each daw (given the same D-to-A for playback on every system).

But who uses a daw for one-track recording?

I betcha if you import the same entire mix's worth of files (say, 16 tracks--drums, bass, etc.) into several different daw programs, and output the mix through the same D-to-As for each app, you will hear differences. It would be an interesting experiment, in any case.

For the original poster's purposes, this is an important distinction, because whole mixes MIGHT NOT sound the same in every daw. If Cubase sums tracks better than Ableton, Cubase will sound better in the real world, all other factors being equal -- right?

[edited for coherence]

[getreel]

I have the ability to mix OTB on a nice console with nice outboard gear. One thing I need to be sure about is that the app I chose is as easy to route 24 outputs very easily as well as up to 24 simultaneous inputs...and still sound great at 96/24.

[inverseroom]

If ITB summing is out of the equation, I bet the perceived difference disappears. The other sonic variable, I'd imagine, is timestretching--if you don't do much of that, you're fine.

For the way I record, I have never been able to notice any difference at all in how individual tracks are encoded. I've tried four DAWs pretty seriously. I settled on Tracktion because it's easy. Routing individual tracks to an analog mixer is a piece of cake. It feels more like a tape machine than any other DAW I've used...in fact, Tracktion + Tranzport took me maybe 15 minutes to master. I'm not kidding!

[getreel]

That's great information! I've been leaning toward Tracktion anyway and I also have a Tranzport coming soon. I have used SF Acid in the past and would still use version 6 Pro if it were easier to assign outputs. I think you have to create a bunch of busses and then assign busses to outputs with Acid though. I've been playing around with many of my old Acid loops in Tracktion and it handles that kind of thing easily. Not to mention I got Tracktion free included with my new interfaces. I also have Logic Express on my Mac Book but it seems harder to learn.

[inverseroom]

Acid 6 was one of the ones I gave up on. A lot of my VST's never worked with it, their tech support was snide and unhelpful, updates were few and far between, and Audio recording is less than optimal. It sounded perfectly good though, and the bussing was really handy.

In Tracktion, you just select a track, and an output menu appears at the bottom. It's usually set to the default analog outputs, but you can select any available analog output. You can also select another track--which is how bussing works in Tracktion, which is the one thing that annoys me about it.

Tranzport is amazing. You open tracktion, and then get out your tranzport and hit a key...and there it is, ready to go. It configures itself automatically, like it knows tracktion is running. I believe it works natively with a bunch of apps in this manner. Just be sure to select it as a control surface if you get tracktion! I think I had mistakenly selected it as a midi device and briefly thought it didn't work.

[roygbiv]

Hey getreel

You should really check out Reaper. Written by the guy who did Winamp for windows years ago:
http://www.cockos.com/reaper/

Sounds great, and I know for a fact it works with your Aark24 (I have the same one like you recently sold).

64 bit summing/internal calculations. Lots of great software effects included. Seems to be modeled on a type of open source model (somewhat like the Firefox web browser). Can even run off of a USB stick.

Analogue/audio style interface, with lots of routing options.

Best part - $40! ($200 for commercial license). You can even download and use it without paying until you feel guilty about not paying a pittance for a great program.

Sounds great to me.

[roygbiv]

Doh! My bad - I see upon re-reading your post you have already used and seem to like Reaper.



Never mind

[theBaldfather]

That reaper looks sweet! Anyone have feedback on it?

[syrupcore]

it's out of date but "awesome dawsum" addressed the OP's question. http://www.3daudioinc.com/catalog/produ ... ucts_id/32

[inverseroom]

it's out of date but "awesome dawsum" addressed the OP's question. http://www.3daudioinc.com/catalog/produ ... ucts_id/32

I love it! Thirty bucks for a CD of identical audio files....