Introduction
A music production software or a DAW (digital audio workstation) is software used for editing, mixing, recording, and producing audio tracks. There is a wide variety of DAWs’ configurations that are available in the market these days. Some configurations are via an individual laptop or a full unit, and others are very complex configurations of various components controlled by a single computer system. Irrespective of these configurations, modern-day DAWs comprise of a central interface that enables us to mix and modify multiple tracks to produce a final song.
Digital Audio Workstations are used at all the platforms where complicated recording is required, such as music, television, songs, radio, podcasts, speech, soundtracks, sound effects etc. A music production software or a DAW consists of hardware and software elements. It features filters, file management, timelines, virtual mixers and organization tools. With the help of music-making software, we can create, organize, place and experiment with any song we like.
Every artist in the beginning of his music production journey must have imagined working on one of the best music making software of all time. The world of music production seems to be magical and mysterious, but at the same time, it is very challenging to comprehend the creation of something that cannot be seen but only heard. However, initially, recording and producing music were highly complex and costly for an average artist to experiment with. But thanks to the modern music production tools, anyone can go head-on into the world of music frequencies and create whatever they want.
As most DAWs have their pros and cons, it’s more about which software the users get comfortable with over time. So, we have curated a list of the top 5 music productions software to create music:
1. Ableton Live
This is by far one of the most used software for music production worldwide because of its performance. It can produce music in the studio as well as can give live performances on stage with the use of one single app. We can easily consider it one of the best music production software for mac as well as windows. It segregates the arrangement and session view very easily and conveniently to give better efficiency. This software enables the user to create music in the old traditional way and provides trigger clips from session views to practice along and jam.
It also comes with plug-ins and CPU intensive stock unit equipment and the software that makes the whole music production experience a lot more indulging and easier. These qualities are what make this DAW one of the best software for recording out there. Its jumbled interface is its only cons when it is compared to its rival software, but you can deal with it easily by using more than one monitor screens. Ableton Push 2 is also a very productive option that comes with a hardware MIDI controller that is fully fused with Ableton. It passes a huge amount of functions to the controller from software, making the workflow very smoother the whole process very efficient.
2. Pro Tools
Pro Tools has been in the games for more than 30 years and has been enhancing and influencing the creation and recording of audio files making it one of the best music production and recording software. It has become a favourite among professional sound and studio engineers. It is not really used for the MIDI creation or production. Nonetheless, third party equipment is being used but is considered for the kind of optionality it provides us with while mixing and mastering phases. Even then, it has managed to be one the most widely used software for music recording because of its clean and transparent looking user interface.
Often called a ‘Big Studio DAW’, Pro Tools can be used on both Windows and Mac. It comes with different subscription and buying options.
3. Cubase Pro
Cubase has gained a worldwide following due to its very versatile and multi-dimensional process of music-making. It constitutes a user base consisting of names like infected mushroom, psychedelic icons, and the classic Hans Zimmer. This software has been a platform that gave us many spectacular experiences of making music. Having sample libraries and stock instruments that cater to big variety of music also there aren’t any restrictions on what genre or kind of music can be produced via this channel.
It comes with a very user-friendly UI, it improves the whole software and makes the entire process of music making much easier, experiential, and interactive. Apart from this, Cubase consists of one of the best piano rolls when compared with its rival software which overall enhances and improves the workflow of the DAW.
4. FL Studio
Also known as Fruity Loops, this recording software is particularly amongst the favorites for newbies and is known to be one the best music production and recording software out there. Majorly, this software is used to produce electronic music primarily because it has the step sequencer displayed out front, and the sounds associated with EDM designs the synth engines. It comes with many stock instruments along with considerable sound design flexibility and an easy-to-use and understands user interface. That is why most artists steer clear of using any third-party tolls or plugins while using FL Studio.
It is considerably less cluttered and more spread apart that all other DAWs, hence it can get tough for new artists to find different functions at the beginning of their music production. But almost all the solutions regarding the FL studio problems are availed on various online forums thanks to the large base of its users. Alan Walker, Martin Garrix and many other industry leaders use FL studio as it is one of the best software to record and make beats.
5. Apple Logic Pro X
Apple Logic Pro X is exclusively available on the Mac operating system, and we can safely say that is one of the most widely used DAW globally. It is also known as one of the best software for music production for Mac, also its application has reached the extent that has made buying a Mac device mandatory if one wants to learn any aspect of audio from prestigious institutions.
Moreover, the routing procedure of the instrument has been made very explicit and transparent via the user interface. Ease of access has also been provided withing one single screen, that is why Logic Pro is the ‘go to’ Digital audio workstation for most renowned individuals and professionals in the music industry.
These were one 5 best music production and recording software that are available online. For a full-fledged list of 21 DAWs for music production, visit GrooveNexus website and find a complete list of music-making software. All the music producers and artists can get their hands on one of the best DAWs as per their musical requirements. It fulfills the same purpose but with the different user interface.
