Best DAW for ARA integration and comping

[Danilo Villanova]

Cakewalk is indeed pretty full featured, but I don't think it's AS full featured as Cubase and Logic, specially in the MIDI and video departments.

Perhaps, I don't know* (as I barely use MIDI myself) - what features do you have in mind specifically?

I can name two big features that Sonar has but Cubase does not, right from the top of my head:

multitouch support

matrix for loop/pattern triggering a la Ableton Live




*somehow I doubt it though - they both started decades ago as pure MIDI sequencers

As I said, the matrix is a half baked feature so I wouldn’t use it as evidence that CbB is more advanced. I could name 25 features that Cubase or Logic have that CbB doesn’t. The same goes with Reaper and Samplitude. Does CbB have functions that the others don’t? Yes, but so does MAGIX Music Maker.

[jens]

Then name them please. Five should do for a start.

And *half-baked" is also not what I would call "fact-based". It's an unqualified opinion that could mean all or nothing. It contains zero information.

Fact: Sonar/Cakewalk has had a pattern/loop triggering matrix for years.

Cubase does not.

[Danilo Villanova]

Then name them please. Five should do for a start.

And *half-baked" is also not what I would call "fact-based". It's an unqualified opinion that could mean all or nothing. It contains zero information.

Fact: Sonar/Cakewalk has had a pattern/loop triggering matrix for years.

Cubase does not.

The matrix is an attempt to copy Live’s session view but you can’t even record to the cells, so it’s a half baked attempt to implement something and is hasn’t gotten any attention in years.

I’m not going to name things that Cubase and Logic have because you would name things that CbB has, and they don’t.

You’ve apparently made up your mind that CbB is THE.MOST.COMPLETE.DAW.EVER. and nothing’s going to change your mistaken mind.

I don’t care at all, I’m still using Cakewalk because it’s still my favorite. But it’s a tool I use to make music, not I team that I must defend at all cost from heretics who dared criticize it. I mean Reaper has thousands of things that CbB can’t even dream of doing...

[dellboy]

The matrix is an attempt to copy Live’s session view but you can’t even record to the cells, so it’s a half baked attempt to implement something and is hasn’t gotten any attention in years.

If they implemented the ability to loop record into the cells it would become a seriously good DAW.

In some ways it would be more like BItwig because you could drag clips straight onto the linear timeline.

A good linear based DAW with clip looping - and free - yes please !

[Danilo Villanova]

The matrix is an attempt to copy Live’s session view but you can’t even record to the cells, so it’s a half baked attempt to implement something and is hasn’t gotten any attention in years.

If they implemented the ability to loop record into the cells it would become a seriously good DAW.

In some ways it would be more like BItwig because you could drag clips straight onto the linear timeline.

A good linear based DAW with clip looping - and free - yes please !

That’d be nice...

[SparkySpark]

Thanks! I downloaded Cakewalk today and it is really highly impressive. ...and free. As I said, it's insane really.

Look and feel, workflow and such are certainly very much a matter of taste, but feature-wise Sonar/Cakewalk is the most complete DAW of all I think.
There's very few DAW features I can think of that it does not have.
(Reaper's PIP, Cubase's Audio Alignment, Studio One's Mix FX and a couple of other things.)
These aside, if you would ask me for the one DAW that has everything, it would have to be Sonar. And it also has a few things the others don't have (ProChannel, Lenses and such).
And on top of it the included plugins aren't half bad either.

And all that for free now - the mind boggles.

Thanks! Also great to see in this thread that the workflow is good, also when comparing with other DAWs. For me, the workflow is just as important as features, as a good workflow is the difference between supporting and hindering creativity, and making music (as opposed to work in Excel or so) is a highly creative process.

[Kalamata Kid]

Wondering which DAW currently has the best ARA implementation?
This is for use for Melodyne 5 Studio
https://www.celemony.com/en/melodyne/what-is-melodyne
and RipX DeepAudio
https://hitnmix.com/audio-manipulation/

[billcarroll]

Cubase and Studio One.

I prefer Cubase 12

[jjpscott01]

Works very well in Cubase 12, Studio One, Samplitude Pro X, and Mixcraft. I'd probably say the smoothest to me is Cubase.

[Kalamata Kid]

Hmmm, Cubase!
I do wonder which DAW has the most complete implementation of the ARA capabilities.
Smooth is important but what other criteria to use to compare?

[billcarroll]

Hmmm, Cubase!
I do wonder which DAW has the most complete implementation of the ARA capabilities.
Smooth is important but what other criteria to use to compare?

You might be able to compare on Celemony’s website

https://helpcenter.celemony.com/M5/doc/ ... env=cubase

[Kalamata Kid]

^^^
Thanks, Very helpful.

[jjpscott01]

Cubase in general is extremely powerful for pitch editing because on top of having direct ARA 2 implementation it also has Variaudio built in which gives you an inline pitch and scale editor even if you didn't have Melodyne. The latest version of Variaudio sounds great for straight pitch edits but I still think the stretch algorithms in Melodyne sound the smoothest.

[RikkShow]

Cubase in general is extremely powerful for pitch editing because on top of having direct ARA 2 implementation it also has Variaudio built in which gives you an inline pitch and scale editor even if you didn't have Melodyne. The latest version of Variaudio sounds great for straight pitch edits but I still think the stretch algorithms in Melodyne sound the smoothest.

You should try stretch in Serato. Not the easiest workflow, but the sound...