How To Decide On The Best Music Production Software

How To Decide On The Best Music Production Software

Digital audio workstation or DAW is what the software is called for music production. It comes in many different flavors and names like Pro Tools , Logic Studio, Reaper, Steinberg Cubase, and many more. I will include a bigger list for you to look at below as well as a way to save money if you are a college student looking for music production software.

The “Gold Standard” or “Industry Standard” for music production software is AVID Pro Tools.It is what over 90% of commercial studios use currently.

If you want to work in commercial studios or do music production professionally this would be the software I would go with for no other reason that you will need to be able to use it in these settings.

If this is not the case the rest of the article will be dedicated to you and helping you decide which software is best for you. I am not going to spend time reviewing each DAW as it will depend on what you want. Just like microphone selection there are never ending debates and selections. Get what works best for you and let everyone else waste time debating.

How to Choose the Best Music Production Software for You

A few questions to ask yourself would include the following.

• “How much do you have to spend?”
• “Where do you plan to do your music production?”
• “Will you be working with anyone else? What do they use?”
• “is this a hobby or do you want to do this professionally?”
• “What operating system do you use?”
• “What are your current computer specs?”

Once you have narrowed down what you plan to use your music production software to it is time to start doing some research. Make sure to look at what the software has to offer and that it will work for your computers operating system and specs. If you are thinking about a new computer for music production check out the previous link here.

Useful Links to help With Your Research

• Logic Studio: http://www.apple.com/logicpro/
• Reapar: http://www.reaper.fm/
• Cubase: http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/cubase/start.html
• Nuendo: http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/nuendo.html
• Fruity Loops: http://www.image-line.com/documents/flstudio.html
• Garagband: http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
• Samplitude: http://www.samplitude.com/en/
• Cake Walk Sonar: http://www.cakewalk.com/
• Reason: http://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/
• Ableton Live: https://www.ableton.com/en/live/new-in-9/
• Presonus Studio One: http://studioone.presonus.com/

Demo Time!

Now that you have some ideas most DAW’s will have a demo that you can try out. This part could very well be a little overwhelming so take it slow and really make sure the software will work for you before you spend any money if possible.

Try it out, take time and really get to know your software. Does it work for what you want to do? How easy is it to get around? How does it fit into your work flow of what you want to do? All of these questions and more will need to be answered before you make a final choice.

It is most important that the software works well with your work flow and allows you to be creative. If you find yourself stuck trying to figure something out read the manual, Google it and don’t forget to check out Youtube for tutorials on how to use your software along with reviews.

Free Music Production Software

If you are just starting out or do not have mone there are a few options available. While they may not have all the bells and whistles that paid software would have you can download these and start now!

Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Power Sound Editor http://www.free-sound-editor.com/

Lmms http://lmms.sourceforge.net/screenshots.php

If you are looking for more free audio recording software check this out. I recently wrote a post on 4 great options.

Bonus Tip for College Students

For many college students there are discounts for pretty much everything. This is the case with Pro Tools as well. You can check out websites like Studica which give the students discounts for software including Pro Tools.

Typically you will be able to get Pro Tools for half the price and get free upgrades for 4 years. I did this with Pro Tools 9 and got a free upgrade to Pro Tools 10, and I will still have a free upgrade to Pro Tools 11. You will simply have to prove you are a student which can be done by faxing or emailing over your student id and class schedule.

For even more information about digital audio work stations check out this wiki .

Till Next Time

Jamie