What DAW do you use?

Support & discussion regarding DAWs and MIDI sequencers.

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What DAW do you use?

Ableton
1
1%
Ardour
32
29%
Bitwig
12
11%
Cubase
0
No votes
LMMS
4
4%
Mixbus
18
17%
QTractor
4
4%
Reaper
23
21%
Tracktion
4
4%
Other
11
10%
 
Total votes: 109

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Linuxmusician01
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What DAW do you use?

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

This has been discussed lots of times, I know. But I couldn't help myself. Maybe this is a duplicate Poll, if so my apologies.

What DAW do you use and why? I use QTractor. I like the fact that you can de-activate a lot of the interface elements so it looks less intimidating. You can also choose to have elements in a separate window or integrated. It has it's own Jack window, so no QJackctl needed. It's stable because it's Linux native. For me the following things are important in a DAW:
  • VST2 32 bit support because there are so many fun ones made with SynthEdit.
  • VST3 support because they work better than VST2.
  • Support for LV2 and LADSPA.
  • Support for (direct) live audio recording: LMMS is not for me because of this.
I might try out Reaper. It's Linux native and it is super easy to install and run (just extract the 11 MB tar ball and double clik the executable).

In the Poll I've put the DAW's that I think are used the most and run in Linux nativly or via Wine. If your favorite isn't in there I apologize on beforehand: one may only include 10 items in a poll.

[edit] Swapped Ableton for Reason because the former seems mere popular.
Last edited by Linuxmusician01 on Sun Aug 22, 2021 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Kott »

Cubase? Reason? And no Muse? No Zrythm?
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Gps »

I use and love LMMS, but as you said it can't record audio. (you can record audio with audacity and then import this into LMMS.

If recording live music, lmms is probably not for you though.

What I like is the fruity loops like layout. Maybe this is because the first daw I ever tried was fruityloops, on Windows.

Things I miss are lv2 support, but that is coming.

Other stuff I miss, swing and groove quantisation. That has to do with a demonstration I once saw, with a Yamaha DX 7 an Atari ST and Cubase.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

Kott wrote: Sun Aug 22, 2021 11:41 am Cubase? Reason? And no Muse? No Zrythm?
I added Ableton instead of Reason in the poll. Unfortunately one may only choose 10 items in a poll. I tried to run Muse from the appimage (on Ubuntu 20.04 Focal) and it hung on the bridged VST via Yabridge. I can't install it via my package manager so one has to compile it from source otherwise. I'm afraid more Linuxers will choose Ableton than Muse but it's open for debate of course.

Zrythm isn't in the standard repo's either. I ran the appimage on Ubuntu 20.04 Focal. Got stuck on this error:

Code: Select all

/tmp/.mount_zrythm4qFMHp//usr/bin/zrythm: error while loading shared libraries: libcarla_host-plugin.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
However, the .so in question is in the directories /usr/lib/carla/, /usr/lib/lv2/carla.lv2/ as well as in /usr/lib/vst/carla.vst/.

I have to make a choice between Linux native DAW's and the ones that I think get used the most on Linux. I'm afraid we'll have to have a separate poll on the most popular Linux native DAW's. I might be wrong, but I think some Linuxers are a bit "opportunistic" and will choose a more popular DAW that's been ported to Linux over one that is "really" made for Linux. Like I said: that's open for debate of course.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Kott »

I think it's better to put Windows-only DAWs in "Other" and place Linux native mature DAWs in poll, like: Renoise, Muse, Radium (choice is up to you). Zrythm is in alpha stage, so it can be skipped at present.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by folderol »

Some of us don't use a DAW (as such) at all - instead, the composer's equivalent of audio separates, and all linked together with our own bespoke equivalents of a modular patchbay :lol:
The Yoshimi guy {apparently now an 'elderly'}
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Loki Harfagr »

And please note that since I had to check "Other" (for significant others obviously) and the poll limits the number of choice to 2 you'll have to understand that my check for Mixbus *also* includes Ardour, sigh, the interpretation of such a data poll will certainly be as widely and wildly misunderstandable and misunterpreted as stats on some vaccines seem to be but at least the reason is clear from the start as the data in is in the manner of irish stew recipe :D
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

Hmmm. I never realized that the Google's top 10 DAW's aren't so popular among us Linuxers. I thought a lot of us used the Abletons and the Cubases of this world. Well, if a lot of us vote "Other" maybe another, Linux-only, poll might be useful. Again, realize that I had to keep it to max 10 entries (a restriction of this forum). There's just so many DAWs to choose from, contrary to Word processors or i'net browsers.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by tavasti »

That limitation of total 10 options makes this poll pretty irrelevant. And for me, limitation that can select only 2 is also bad. I am currently using Mixbus, Mixcraft, Waveform, Ableton and LMMS. Most likely some of them will be dropped once I get clear understanding pros ans cons of each of them.

Voted Mixbus + other.
Last edited by tavasti on Mon Aug 23, 2021 9:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

Linux veteran & Novice musician

Latest track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycVrgGtrBmM

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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

tavasti wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 7:48 am That limitation of total 10 options makes this poll pretty irrelevant. And for me, limitation that can select only 2 is also bad. I am currently using Mixbus, Mixcraft, Waveform, Ableton and LMMS. Most likely some of them will be dropped once I get clear understanding pros ans cons of each of them.

Voted Mixbus + other.
You might just be right. I was getting dizzy by the amount of DAWs to choose from and I thought "What do most other people use?". A DAW - contrary a text editor for example - is so complicated that I thought people never learn how to use more than one.

However, after 29 votes there's no one who voted Ableton which, according to Google, is the most popular DAW. I'm not saying that that makes the poll relevant but I most certainly have learned something from that. Don't take me wrong tho: I'm not saying the poll is relevant in general. :wink:

Thanks to everyone who voted and left a comment up until now. And thanks to anyone who will.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by VennStone »

I started with Ardour way back when but switched over to Mixbus32C this year.

Works good for broadcast / live stream.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by folderol »

I wouldn't trust any poll or recommendation from google. They are up to every sneaky trick in the book (and added a few more of their own)
The Yoshimi guy {apparently now an 'elderly'}
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

folderol wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:21 am I wouldn't trust any poll or recommendation from google. They are up to every sneaky trick in the book (and added a few more of their own)
You're right. However, I do think Ableton is very popular. When I watch a Youtube video and they use a DAW they use it very often. Interim score: 42 votes, zero for Ableton (!), Ardour and Mixbus seem to be the most popular.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by merlyn »

I don't think it's surprising Ableton has zero votes, even if it is the most popular eh ... DAW? Ableton is more than a 'DAW' because it comes with a ton of content -- samples, drum machines, plugins, virtual instruments ...

Some of the musicians I know use Ableton and they do so because they can get a track going quickly. Anyone who wants this workflow on Linux is likely to choose Bitwig, because it's Linux native.

Ableton can simultaneously be the most popular DAW and have zero Linux users. In statistics Bayes' Theorem models these kind of situations. The probability of a musician using Ableton is very low given that they use Linux.
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Re: What DAW do you use?

Post by lilith »

Bitwig, Renoise, SunVox, Reaper basically
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