Mac DAW's?
Home > Home Recording Forum > Computers & Software > Mac DAW's?
Posted on Mar 11, 2013 09:55 pm
wheeler
Almost August West
Member Since: Mar 12, 2007
Hello!
This site was extraordinarily helpful a few years ago when I set up my first home recording rig, so I'm hoping I can go to the well one more time. Let me preface by saying I'm NOT asking "what's the 'best' Mac DAW". The situation is - I will most likely be switching to a Mac soon, and I have ZERO familiarity with the available DAW's. I am very attached to my Sonar Home Studio, but it's rather old and I'll be getting a new DAW to go with the computer. I am primarily a guitarist but I also LOVE composing string sections. I guess I want something that can accommodate everything from black metal to Beethoven. So, my actual question is, can anyone name a few Mac DAW options that might appeal to a Sonar fan? I am by no means an advanced user, so pro-grade studio software is unnecessary, unless things have become much more intuitive since the last time I was shopping several years ago. I'll check them out myself so feel free to provide as little or as much detail as you like if you are kind enough to respond - I just need a little direction. Thanks!!
[ Back to Top ]
wheelerAlmost August WestMember
Since: Mar 12, 2007
Mar 11, 2013 10:04 pm Addendum - I am reading my way through DB's "The Best Home Recording Software" thread and there's a LOT of good info in there, but I'm not sure which...softwares?....are available for Mac....I suppose if I see one that's interesting, I could look it up. : )
Mar 11, 2013 11:07 pm Cubase, Logic, Reaper -- There are others.
wheelerAlmost August WestMember
Since: Mar 12, 2007
Mar 12, 2013 06:50 am Thanks MM! I've heard a lot of good things about those and I know that several long-standing members of this site are huge Reaper fans, I'll check those out.
J-botByte-MixerMember
Since: Dec 04, 2007
Mar 12, 2013 02:47 pm Yeah, I use Reaper myself for pretty much everything now. Cubase is also good, but I think has a bit of a learning curve. (of course any new DAW will have a bit of a learning curve as the workflows are all different)
A lot of OSX users swear by Logic, others prefer Ableton Live, which is geared more towards, well, live stuff.
Try demos of several, and whichever workflow you feel the most comfortable with, go with that DAW.
wheelerAlmost August WestMember
Since: Mar 12, 2007
Mar 12, 2013 03:37 pm Good stuff, thanks J-Bot! I've heard similar things about Cubase. Taking the demos for a test drive is the way to go, thanks for the suggestion - I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think of that myself. Thanks again!
Mar 12, 2013 04:55 pm I can throw in another vote for Reaper. I have been using it for a year or more now, audio, midi, mixing, effects, virtual instruments, it worked very well. Very solid performance, low overhead...I should note, though, that I use it on Windows. I would hope it is similar on Mac, but can not state so specifically.
www.reaper.fm
wheelerAlmost August WestMember
Since: Mar 12, 2007
Mar 13, 2013 06:13 pm Thanks dB! I know that you've been a proponent of Reaper for a while now. I've been spending an embarrassing amount of time reading up on different DAW's and watching demos, and I've got to say that right now, Reaper is my front-runner. It appears to be extremely functional and user-friendly in the way that I always felt Sonar was (is, I suppose, but I haven't upgraded since Home Studio 6) - - and it's price is tough to beat unless you're looking at something completely open-source like Ardour. I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on the rig...I'll let y'all know where I land, if I don't show up with more questions first. Thanks again!!
PS - Slightly off-topic, but I just had a major buzzkill when I realized that the soon-to-be-released US-366 interface has no midi. I always liked my US-144, but the preamps were weak, and it seems that they've addressed that issue with this new one...so on to my new research project. Perhaps a new thread - huzzah!
