Digital Audio Workstations are certainly not new by today’s standards, but looking at the entire musical instrument and recording industry, it is still a fairly young industry. When it comes to setting up your computer based recording studio, your first concern will be to find a dedicated recording computer (which I will cover in more detail in part two). Your second and equally important purchase will be the software with which you will use to record. This is not a decision to be taken lightly, because the workflow layout of the software you choose will make the difference between an enjoyable experience or a frustrating project.

DigiDesign was the first company to bring computer based recording into the mainstream of professional recording studios with their awesome line of Pro Tools products. Even today among the fierce competition in this field, they remain the company that is the standard of professional level DAW software, and now hardware also. There have been several companies that have made inroads by providing software that is much more affordable for home studio use, and built on their early programs while closing the gap between pro level and home studio level software. Today you can get a program that will do just about anything you would ever dream of doing to record and edit your music. A few big hitters in this arena are Steinberg (Cubase), Cakewalk (Sonar), MOTO (Digital Performer), Apple (Logic Studio), and Ableton (Live).

With the incredible processing power and functionality of these programs, they are becoming powerhouse professional level contenders, and a few are actually making their way into professional studio environments. Add to this the vast variety of plug-in software programs that can be integrated into these programs, and you have recording, mixing, and mastering capabilities in the home that were reserved only for high end professional studios as few as just ten years ago.

I can not and will not discount DigiDesign as a valid option. They have a great reputation, and they have earned it over the years with hard work, and a spectacular product base. But when it comes to affordability, the other options are much more feasible and practical for most home users. This in part is because their software is able to integrate with a variety of control surfaces, giving you much less expensive options for building up your entire Digital Audio Workstation. DigiDesign has opted to build their software around their own line of hardware, and for the most part it does not integrate with other control surfaces on the market. To put it in simple terms, everyone would love to have a Pro Tools based studio, but building a comparable studio is a very expensive task to say the least. They do offer more affordable options, but from what I can see, the affordability factor creates a much less versatile setup, especially when it comes to the number of inputs available during recording, and the much more expensive versions of the same plug-ins you can buy for the other programs.

You will want to remember that no matter which DAW software you opt to use, it will be a much more complex learning curve than the small portable recording devices that were extremely popular before computer recording applications. To simplify this, most of the above mentioned companies offer scaled down and simpler versions. These can be a great jump off point for the world of digital recording, and you can always graduate to the flagship version as you feel you are ready to tackle more multifarious operations. 

I do recommend that you look at DigiDesign, Steinberg, Sonar, MOTO, Apple, and Ableton in your quest for the right software. These companies have been around for a long time, and have built their reputations on years of experience. Do your research, and try to get a little hands on time with each program if possible. This will ensure that you are making an informed decision on the software that has the most logical workflow for your particular needs.

Also keep in mind that a huge part of this decision will be based on whether you have opted to use a Mac or PC as your recording computer of choice. Most software today is available in a cross platform versions, but you will want to make sure you are getting something that will work with your computer.

Gary Allen