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What DAW (or similar core/central music app) are you using in late 2021?
Hi,
As the title says, I'm curious as to what your favorite (or the general consensus of "best") iOS DAW is these days for fairly general purpose? I'm not sure of all the options available. I've searched but haven't found much of use. I see Auria Pro reviews are terrible, Cubasis 3 has been out for 2 years but still seems to have some complaints, BM3 sorts seems regarded as a good, though perhaps unconventional DAW, and I've seen little of the Korg apps. Are there any others, even ones that might be considered unconventional or "different"?
What app(s) are your favorites to sort of pull everything together? Since it's BF/Cyber Mon, I was hoping to learn about current options so I might catch a sale.
I'd love to hear any thoughts/advice. This forum has always been the most knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful when it comes to music apps and digital music. Thanks so much in advance!
Comments
Nanostudio 2 is my composing core, even without audio tracks. I export to Cubasis 2 to add vocals.
NS2. It’s still the least crashy (as in never), makes Cubasis and Auria feel like a half arsed desktop port with no thought given to touch control, and makes BM3 feel like a weird jumble of hidden features. Modstep and Zenbeats could both be interesting if the could run for more than a few minutes. Audio Evolution is subscription so is automatically out on that basis for me, but it also has an interface from 1998.
MultiTrackStudio, though I do not think it goes on sale. Quietly gets on and does many of the things people find are missing in the other DAWs plus loads of things that the other DAWs cannot and has the bonus of being able to move projects both ways between iOS and desktop. Not the prettiest to look at though which puts many people off. I personally favour function over form but I know that many feel the opposite.
Cubasis 3 for finishing, Endlesss when jamming with friends, AUM for experimenting, Nintendo Korg Gadget multiplayer for quick inspiration.
Will probably try completing tracks in aum. Can route any other hosts to aum. Bm3 and drambo with link. Have a drambo mapping for host drambo drums and an aum mapping for aum hosting drambo drums. Will use aum till drambo gets record tracks I guess. Although drums are bussed. Still cool to airdrop stems.
Think its because Id need to make sends of tracks to not record effects. Which wouldnt be many as I dont use many tracks. So have the option of making sends ( I think for reverbs mainly ) or use mtr and neon. So the effects arnt recorded. Its just 16 bit but might be better than not bothering to make sends and having effects recorded without editing.
Just theory though.
Record in Cubasis, mix and master (and work with midi of course) in NS2. This is my workflow
I having been using Cubasis mainly. I am taking a longer approach and recording some jams/riffs in AUM then dumping the audio to Cubasis.
Korg Gadget still.
Gets my ideas down quick (I loose inspiration when stuff requires long set up time). Have all the add-ons, so huge sound library to explore.
Aum on iPad.
Ableton on Desktop.
Win-Win
Cubasis 3
It’s the closest thing iOS has to a desktop DAW nowadays.
AUM
and koala sampler.
Essentially this ^ plus I think Neon brings audio to NS2 in a more straightforward way that other “audio” apps don’t. For me, no other DAW touches NS2 for MIDI and automation editing/arrangement. Workflow is the butteriest of them all from my perspective.
Of course I edit video on FCPX/Motion and wouldn’t use anything else. (Premiere/After Effects…ugh!!!). Someone will understand… 🤪
For me everything still ends up in Auria Pro, although it usually starts elsewhere.
For working with audio tracks, flexible routing, and overall mixing it's still the best option for now. I don't understand why people would say it's not designed for touch control, the UI is built around touch. Auria Pro has some weaknesses, mainly with stability and some missing features, but I wouldn't say touch control is one of them.
I had high hopes for NS2, I really love the UI and the existing feature set, but without audio tracks I can't complete my songs in it.
Cubasis has improved massively in the last two years and if they can just improve the routing a bit, and the audio editing a lot, it should probably take the crown, but it's not quite there yet.
Everyone has different needs. I record a lot of vocal-based songs and I need solid audio editing, so that I can manually edit plosives and sibilant sounds, and only Auria is capable enough as an audio editor for this task. Cubasis still can't do a simple crossfade, after all these years.
Tbh I‘m not only on a 1998 interface, but even use shitty old software from that time
Any IOS DAW solution is miles away from the oldies’ productivity advantage... and IOS developers would better have had a (very close) look on such stuff before starting to design their projects.
I tried all DAW candidates and (for my purpose) they all failed.
Test projects (same tasks on IOS an desktop) gave desatrous figures of 5-10x more time and effort in IOS.
Even more important: none at all offered alternative solutions to improve workflow via touch interface.
Let alone any kind of data management, which seems to be plain unknown to developers.
Yes, one can indeed sketch a few tracks on train or in the park, but that‘s about it.
I‘ve reduced IOS use to where it excels: some synths, fx, amp sims and the fine routing/recording capabilities of AUM.
I did expect much, much more after using the iPad One for about half a year, but that‘s the way it goes.
(no complaints, though - the stuff was well worth the price and still delivers outstanding sound quality)
Logic Pro X
I’ve grown to quite like NS2 over the past few months. Just grabbed a couple IAP packs because I think I’ll be using it often in the next few years.
They are all pretty terrible, but GB is the least terrible for me
I primarily use combinations of Drambo, BM3 and AUM.
If I want to get into in depth mixing then I'll bounce down
the stems and use Auria Pro for detailed automation and mixing.
I'm now getting into Mastering and Creative Mastering using Cubasis 3.
Don’t need extensive audio support, so I use NS2. The mixer routing has me spoiled rotten. It would be a pain to switch to something else for audio tracks only to be faced with typical daw routing which sucks. I mean nothing beats being able to highlight multiple tracks, then group them under one fader/group track for bulk processing with the press of a button. With other software it seems that simple process is a total pain in the ass or can’t even be done at all. IF it ever gets audio tracks, it will surely be the favorite. Literally the only thing holding it back, shame really
I always marvel at the level of professionalism many here have. You have to be pretty damn good, I think, to outrun the resources of the top iOS DAWs available today. Unfortunately, every iOS DAW seems to have something(s) that rule it out for professional level tracks makers.
Cubasis3 did have a lot of bugs, most of which have been worked out. And @LFS and the Steinberg team are committed to making it better and better (the addition of sidechaining, for ex).
I have produced 513 tracks over three yrs using Cubasis. Today’s iteration is hands down the best they’ve offered. But my needs are not on a professional level.
DAW? Pretty much none. I have all of them, but find all the current iOS DAWs clumsy and missing features. Wish it wasn’t so. Still use Ableton.
Now, for strictly “production” I bounce back n fourth between DRAMBO & AUM. Love both for different reasons.
513 tracks speaks for itself.
You and your piano are an artistic unit, and your creativity extends the boundaries of the instrument into new realms. Plus melodic phantasies, unique and rarely heard before.
You could use a 4-track cassette tape and output would be just great
I lack all that sophistication, but once detected that cut/edit in DAW is a convenient way to compensate my personal flaws.
For me it‘s about juggling parts around, discover content that I didn‘t notice while performing and rearrange things.
I use to call it „play the DAW“ and that‘s what I‘m doing best in SAW Studio, second is Pro Tools 5 TDM. For plain tracking I frequently use either Mutitrack DAW or AUM, though.
I don‘t give much about visuals, as long as they don‘t get disturbing... low track count and few (but excellent) fx anyway.
Agreed.
Using Auria Pro. Most advanced features I think, although sometime unstable.
Thank you, I appreciate the support, but bear in mind I rarely use more than 8 tracks, very little FX, not much sophisticated drums and minimal mastering. Whilst a 4 track cassette would not offer me the selection of plug in instruments, midi editing and sound quality, I imagine I could do something with it, but it would be a shadow of what iOS capability affords.
I'm belligerently using Cubasis 3 simply for the fact that it delivers on its multicore promise. Beatmaker 3 is closer to the non-linear workflow I ideally prefer in a DAW.
However, I've returned to mainly using iOS devices as sound modules for my desktop setup seeing as Studiomux is stable once again.
AUM is used every day, as I use it not only for noodling around but I set up instrument/fx channel strip templates for use in Studiomux. IAA may be deprecated but the 8 ports AUM makes available is very, very useful. Sometimes I'll use ApeMatrix for certain templates as this can be a richer playground, but AUM's ability to cut through complexity makes it a first choice. The great thing about making use of AUM/ApeMatrix for channel strip templates is that they're just as useful in iOS DAWs as they are with Studiomux. And Studiomux is now improving its state saving abilities, which will help glue the different elements together.
I've probably become hooked on creating channel strips of instrument/fx chains through my years with Ableton where instrument and fx racks are a massive time saver.
That's what makes your output so prodigious.
One doesn't need to have 100 tracks of audio to make music.
The most important thing is making music with the tools one has
and everything else after that is merely showcasing effects processors
not to belittle effects processors in anyway because they are musical tools
in themselves but the emphasis in your material is on the music itself
and it shows.
I'm slowly converting to StaffPad which will accept Audio stems in the release that is currently in beta. There are implied improvements with MIDI/Music XML importing so finding a good tool to generate my MIDI improves will open new doors in Staffpad for a hybrid-DAW workflow.
There has been a video demo of realtime MIDU keyboard to notation in Staffpad but it appears that feature is still under development and may require one of the newer M1-based devices to work reasonably. That's like the early days of speech to text... the first version will require a ton of editing, IMHO.
Many will be frustrated with the resulting notations because the software might not quantize but maybe it will... we shall see.
Anyway, StaffPad generates music that in many cases is indecipherable from most film scores to the average listener. Making such music using MIDI DAW's in just not there yet as it is on Desktop products that provide controls for switching rapidly between a menu of articulations. Staffpad can quickly navigate accents, pizzicato, marcato, indelicato and a dozen other italian cooking terms. I bought a small fortune in iSymphonic IAP packs (more than the $40 (on sale until Dec 3rd) staffpad costs and it covers the entire orchestra).
_**But staffpad requires the purchase of an Apple Pencil to write the notes.
**_
I'd like to see a small contingent of Staffpad composers here but I'm not holding my breath.
I have to use the FaceBook group and another forum to find other users and (frankly) they don't approach community the same way users do here... share a project with them and you'll get crickets... it's mostly requests for application issues and "drive-by" posting from someone with something to sell. It's a marketplace for "wanna be's" and very few generous
colleagues that like to share their thoughts, music and experience without an agenda.
$40! You can import Piano Motifs MIDI and make some amazing audio loops to import into your DAW of choice. It also spits out MIDI and audio "Stems" so it can feed your workflow with audio that makes all the Rom-pler product look like toys (PSP, iSymphonic, Noise, Module Pro, ThumbJam). BUT, it's not IAA, AUv3 or AudioBus and probably won't be so I can see why it's not a first class "DAW" in the ABF paradigm.
But... try this test in your DAW.
TL:DR. Someone should make a Hip-hop loop Staffpad Collection and maybe people will get it. You don't have to tell them you made it on an iPad. It would sound like you went crate diving in the classical aisle for some hip groove materials.
UPDATE: I'm trying to convince myself to buy the Orchestral Tools Libraries for Strings and Woodwinds for more convincing results.