I promised to be as nerdy as possible. Watch me drop the acronym DAW all over this post.
Goodness, where to begin? Well, first off, I own a Mac computer. I think all computers are legitimate. I’m not here to start a fight about Mac over Dells over Windows over Sony Vaio (which I did own in college and I’ll just say, “bleh,” and move on). If it can get you on the internet, then good in my book.
In high school, we had a rent a Mac program. We had to have a Mac to do our school work. So I was on GarageBand from the get-go. I don’t consider myself a computer-savvy person, but I am a focused determined little dork. When I first started podcasting, I had nothing to do with the computer. That changed over time, and I reacquainted myself with GarageBand. I am a fiddler, and figured out how to use its basic features.
Because of my experience in music with different producers, I knew there were several programs on which you could edit audio tracks. When I got more serious with my podcasting and music goals (three weeks ago, hey-o!), I decided I wanted to graduate from GarageBand to big girl audio editing software. This had been a long time coming.
Then commenced my research. First thing I found out, GarageBand and whatever other program I would use to edit audio is called a DAW. It literally means Digital Audio Workstation, and I feel like a douchebag every time I say it. But it’s the term, so here it goes.
I researched top DAWs: Pro Tools, Image Line FL studio, Abelton, and duh-duh-DUH-duuuuuuh Logic Pro X. There are other DAWs too, but these were my top choices.
The very first thing to consider is whether or not the DAW is compatible with your computer. I have a Mac Notebook from 2011, and it runs great still, but I can only upgrade the OS to High Sierra 10.13.6. This means it can’t run some newer programs (obsolete loser that I am). This narrowed my DAW options down.
You know another thing that narrowed my options down? Money. These things are expensive, and some are subscription based (Pro Tools). I was attracted to Image Line because it’s a one-time purchase with lifetime upgrades (which is not true of Logic). What turned me off is that it’s mostly used by EDM music producers, and I personally don’t know anyone who uses it.
I was interested in purchasing a DAW with a large sound library and some built in plug-ins. Logic was looking really good at this point, but what pushed me over the edge was how similar it is to GarageBand. There would be less of a learning curve for me (Abelton’s interface looks so different that I was frightened away). I’m already familiar with so many GarageBand shortcuts. Also, Logic basically teaches you how to use it with its handy help button feature. I have two friends who use Logic regularly, and I knew I could beg them to teach me some of the Logic ways.
At the end of the day, it was a no-brainer upgrade for me. However, it is well worth looking into since it is such a big purchase. Each DAW has its own specialties, so going in knowing what you’ll be using it for should help you choose. Other things you can do to help you narrow down the choices are trials or previews. That way you can see if you like the interface or not, because you’ll be staring at it anytime you’re using your DAW, which should be a lot.
I have no camps. I like Logic for me, but you may find another DAW that suits your needs better.
I wish you well on your DAW journey.
Oh, yeah—DAW.
See you next time, kids!
-Alli
PS shout out to my producer friend Joel Darling for coming in clutch. He taught me DAW is singular, DAWs is plural, and DAWS is wrong. Workstation is one word, folks.