That’s the last time I used it. But, a lot of pros still use it - and there is probably a reason for that (or two).
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I’m currently considering getting a DAW. Everyone I know nowdays has Ableton, but back in the day I felt like Fruit Loops (now FL) was in use. I’m interested in making Lofi tracks, and at least for my (niche?) interest FruitLoops seems more aligned with what I need. Thoughts?
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FL just released a new version 
Really any of them will work well though.
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ok, so here’s a question. im going to try to figure out a big boy daw and have put some effort into figuring out which one to get. i realize that any will do a good job and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. i kind of have gravitated toward bitwig. but lately ive started to realize that there are a ton of plugins, virtual instruments, actual electronic instruments, etc that are specifically designed to integrate with ableton. should this sway my decision? im not crazy about abletons price or the reportedly fiddly work flow, but i could live with it if it was warranted. for instance, i am following a YouTube tutorial for learning my new launchkey midi controller and the tutorial has me using the free copy of ableton lite that came with it. so i would eventually have to take what i learned and figure out how to do it with bitwig, which would be do-able but a pain. is it better to avoid these scenarios?
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Is this on a Mac? Unless you are planning on doing electronic music production, I would suggest Logic Pro instead, or Reaper.
I love Bitwig a lot, but while it’s highly capable for recording analog instruments, it’s not the best choice for it, and Ableton even less suited than Bitwig for it (while also still being capable - it’s just not the main focus).
Reaper’s downside is that while it has a bunch of bundled plugins, none are really up to the level of what you get with Logic, Ableton, or Bitwig.
Logic is a much more balanced and traditional DAW than Ableton or Bitwig and would be an easy transition from GarageBand.
I switch between Bitwig, Reaper and Logic myself, but my background is synths.
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Which reminds me - so far Cubase seems pretty great, though I am still in the “OMG this is clunky!” phase of playing with a new DAW 
Really pricey though.
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i would kind of eventually like to see what a bass and drums thing i could pull off, only with the drum part being more electronic/edm sort of vibe. so a blended thing. and yes on a mac, just got a new mini. it just seems the whole world is based around ableton whether you like it or not. i know youre a reaper guy. i was kind of thinking bitwig was a good middle ground between a traditional pro tools daw and a groove making edm ableton live daw. and it seems to have a nice intuitive workflow. which is the knock on reaper a lot of times.
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There’s a lot of people into and products tailored for Ableton but Bitwig is similar in many ways and the Bitwig founders came from Ableton. Often the Ableton integration in something will also just work with Bitwig.
I would 100% choose Bitwig over Ableton (I mean, I did) but others obviously have different opinions.
To get all the goodies for either, it’s a pretty chunky spend, too. Something to keep in mind.
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excellent insight. im going to kick it around some while i prepare to unleash my 21st century killing joke project 
im tempted to try free trials but i dont know what that might get me with limited knowledge of daws. ive only just toyed around in garage band.
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Definitely trial them! It’s a serious purchase.
I am going to be a little “do as I say and not as I do” here but I would really recommend picking one and getting really good at using it. These things are all pro-capable audio tools and none will be wrong choices.
Except Audacity, it’s absolutely usually the wrong choice, but it’s not really a DAW.
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this is literally my plan. any of them will work, pick one and use it.
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Good plan
Just grab the free trials then. Logic, Reaper, Bitwig and Ableton all have free trials.
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Your choice might/should depend highly on what you plan to do with it. I mean, is it mainly for quick-and-dirty recordings for you to monitor your progress, or even for (simple) covers for BassBuzz/YT etc.?
Or do you plan to go more into composing and/or producing and mixing/mastering??
What type of music will this mainly be for? Classic rock? Mainstream pop? EDM?
Some of the DAWs are better than others depending on your (main) intended uses.
That said, it seems all of these modern “big boy” DAWs are extremely powerful, and I have only scratched the surface of what Logic can do for me.
In the end (and I am sure Howard said this many times before), it comes down to what software allows you to do what you actually want to do (and not stand in your way because of too complex workflows etc.) - whatever suits your way of working the best!
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Do all DAWs work if one would use a Katana Go as DAI? I hope it isn’t a silly question. I’m a beginner, I only have one bass, my Katana Go and headphones. No one except me can hear me playing, and I recently realised I will need to eventually record myself playing.
Yesterday I found John’s and Pam’s “How to Record Yourself” video lessons, and I started watching. I quickly realised how simplistic my situation is. I am going to need at least a DAW software. I hope something will work with my Katana Go, otherwise I’ll be in need of more equipment.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I use PC and Android.
Meanwhile, I’ll continue watching John’s and Pam’s “How to Record Yourself” video lessons.
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I don’t know anything about that amp or how good its drivers are for its audio interface, but generally these things are abstracted from the DAW. The audio interface will appear as a Windows sound device for you and should work with any DAW.
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You know, the more I think about it, I probably would put Bitwig up there with and slightly behind Logic for recording guitars and vocals.
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I did this with reaper and I feel no need to go through a learning curve again.
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Thanks, @howard !
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I tried it - it s#cks!
Quality is not very good, it has too much latency … and no ASIO drivers, if I remember correctly. Also you need a workaround to play dry (without effects).
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If by chance you also have an iPad (a lot of PC & Android users tend to have one laying around), it has Garageband which is a fully functional DAW on it and no need to worry about ASIO drivers.
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