BEST software for recording? (Logic vs Pro Tools vs Ableton)

I bought logic X 4 years ago for 199€ and until now i never had to payed for any updates + new instruments + functions etc. A few months ago logic 11 was released and i got it also for free. So i am convinced it deserves a 3 ;-) I don`t know exactly how much money an ableton user has to pay in the same time!

Excellent review Tim Im a mac pro user so Logic is my number one But I've KNOWN pro tools Longer so this is number 2 never used abelton so I can 't rate it but you did your thing with this comparison and I like the others viewing are appreciative of your position good stuff Tim👌👍🦾

I’ve had a completely opposite experience to you. I started with Ableton and found it to make sense for me very quickly. Trying out other DAWs was initially really confusing and frustrating. I’ve never tried pro tools and have no interest in it, personally. But REAPER has proven to be an insanely powerful tool to make up for Ableton’s limitations. And at a $60 price tag for the full product, it truly is a fantastic deal.

I got proprietary probtools for $499 with an mbox interface

LPX was my first DAW because ProTools work flow was a lot to me and the fact that you could only do it one way!!! They just now getting to use more than one way to do the same move!!! I just recently got into AL for backing tracks and to up my value as a stage musician but in recent years I’ve had the desire to learn all DAWS because I don’t want to be working with an artist and the engineer has to step out for a minute and we have to stop because idk his DAW of choice!!! New sub btw!!!

Ableton is great but probably not for your use case. I’d think Studio One or even Reaper and Luna would be better for straight ahead multitrack audio recording and editing. Ableton is amazing for looping, warping, sample playing, etc. dark horse might be Cubase?

Reaper.

I feel like this guy never figured out Ableton and the type of workflow it is designed for. Ableton is an absolute powerhouse for creativity and sound design in ways Pro Tools can never even imagine. Automation, for example, is an absolute chore in Pro Tools, yet in Ableton you can easily automate any parameter in any plugin with a click or two. You can even automate automations with other automations. Would you like to automate a parameter with an LFO and then have the LFO rate increase when the sound hits a certain volume, and simultaneously fade in a gated delay effect as the LFO rate increases? Easy, this takes less than 10 clicks in Ableton. I'm not sure this is even possible in Pro Tools.

Every plugin, parameter, and control in Ableton can be automated and mapped to any other control. Its basically like the entire DAW is a modular system where anything can be patched to any other thing. For someone who wants a DAW to only record, edit, and mix, I can see where this guy is coming from. But DAWs are so much more than an editable multi track recorder these days. I feel like he completely missed that entire side of what makes DAWs so amazing. I want a DAW that encourages me to experiment, to push my creativity, to have limitless manipulation over audio, and to bend the rules. I find Pro Tools to be very lacking and inflexible in these areas of production, especially when it comes to sound design and creativity.

very informative - thanks

From my experience as someone who did work in audio in early 2000's I started in Logic, then got a job in a ProTools shop so I switch both at work and home to Protools. I left audio and now retired and doing audio again because I've been in and around music all my life. From my viewpoint Logic (and Cubase) were mainly used by composer types doing TV/Film/Media work. ProTool is mainly used by engineer who came from more traditional studio work, ones like me who go back to analog days. Now Ableton Live is new to me I started learning it as my DAW to return to audio with and from what I experienced so far it is focused on performance use be that EDM, or even playback engineers for concerts. Now I have started to look again at Logic and probably will try ProTools again. I find Ableton has a steep learning curve it's interfaces can be hard learn. Some people I find liking it for more traditonal work don't use the Session view unless absolutely necessary. I like Ableton MIDI capabilities, not a fan of it for mixing, I like the routing and how I can create effects and drum racks. Getting back to Logic has been easy in general, but I don't like Logic version of Ableton Session view for create music cells and triggering for live use. ProTools I haven't loaded it up yet, but doing my research it has changed some but not a lot, so it shouldn't be too hard for getting back up to speed. Now for the type of music I want to work on Logic or Ableton would probably better suited, but ProTools can do it, but doesn't have as many built in tools. Price Logic is best bang for the buck they tools, instruments, and loops it comes with are very good. Ableton similar to Logic close to same as far as tools, instruments, and loops but I think Logic's are a little bit better in general. Ableton has a lot of pricing tiers not as cheap as Logic but not too much more either. ProTool is expensive (and its Avid) it has some good tools, but form what I see ProTools users are using a lot 3rd party plugins, instruments, and etc compared to Logic or Ableton. I'll add a category and that is education. Ableton and ProTools both have a lot of online classes available. Logic I don't see as much. So that's my view coming back to audio as an old head.

Thank you very much for this video !!! It was so helpful for me to decide which program to buy . Really thanks

Woah. Way off the mark imo. Also, you do realize every one of these work on Mac and pc?

If you got a lot of money use pro tools!!!

Just tried logic its insane to me that you cannot edit sections from recorded guitar for example that has multiple takes. You can't put crossfades or anything on it you first have to flatten the take folder which deletes all your other takes.... well. back to pro tools.

Ableton is the BEST production software. Hands down

Fl studio for me, maybe it's because I started with it

reaper

Logic has all you need , and now also mastering . You don't need to spend a lot on plugins . Even the amp modeling is not bad . I do use Amplitude 5 in addition . But I stopped buying plugins , I feel that Logic has most of it to do the job well !

Lately I've been hearing good things about Studio One, ever mess around on that at all?

Logic Pro $199.99
Ableton Live 12 Suite $749.00
Pro Tools Ultimate $1,499.00

Ableton is Not Cheap Bro And its Design For Live Performance.
and it is Widely Use by Skrillex, The Chainsmokers,David Guetta etc
"Personal Opinion"

For me it Depends what DAW we are used to be trained and versatile to it.
if your fast to work on a certain daw then that would be the best for you.
it only depends on what we use. but hey! Spread Love and Make Music to All so we could Enjoy! Peace

I had Pro Tools subscription for a year. I still don't know how to use it very well. I just got Logic, and I was immediately able to get started. I'm no expert, but this has been my experience so far.

Basically you´re leaving Ableton in the last place in almost all the points cause it´s the DAW where you feel less experienced, which is fair cause this video it´s about you but it´s not fair for a guy who just starts and is looking for objective points :( . I´m a Protools, Reaper and Ableton Live user and I totally chose Ableton Live over Protools but not over Reaper.

For Production, I prefer Logic. I'm hands on with Logic. For Recording, and Post Production, I prefer Pro Tools. Also I jse boty for editing, but my editing workflow is better in Logic as compared to Pro Tools.

Mixcraft is the best for me because of it's ease of use, price, and it simply does what I need it to do. However, I have found out that it's best to use the DAW that you can EASILY Manipulate. A DAW to me is just like a PIANO KEYBOARD. Each keyboard has special features. In this case, Mixcraft is the BEST for Beginners, Intermediates, and Advanced.

Ableton has more virtual instruments. Tons of them in the live suite. And logic to me is like a child’s program. I found it confusing and I’ve been using DAWs since Cakewalk in the 90’s. You have instrument tracks. Sample track. Drum tracks. Midi tracks…. That’s confusing because there is only two types of tracks. audio and midi. And logic you have to have an overpriced apple computer. The reason I’m watching this is because I was thinking about trying pro tools as an Ableton user. Mainly for audio and mixing. But 29 bucks a month that’s basically $350 a year every year. Seems crazy to have to keep paying that much for a DAW.

You're so spot on about the workflow thing and how dependent it is on what you're using it for. I usually compose / sound design / arrange everything in Ableton Live, just because it's built for a ridiculously fast sample / midi / automation based workflow. But when it comes to recording a band or mixing an album from stems I get, Pro Tools is the go-to. I often find myself exporting stems of my own productions into a Pro Tools session instead of recording in Ableton, just because I know I'll need to edit those vocals and will miss the editing features of Pro Tools, even though it would be much more convenient to handle everything in one project.

I have logic, been using it since 2012. 200$ I think is VERY FAIR for what you get. BUT I am tired of buying macs, I buy used macbook pros, looking at a mini......but I also have a AMD 7900x3d and it's CPU is SUPER powerful and can handle anything from vid edits, to music production....but now I was lo oking at ableton, and I was like 500$? HMMMMMPH! Kind of looking at Reaper, but not sure yet. Trying Ableton I am like WHAT THE HECK IS THIS I CAN'T DO NOTHING lol.

Here are my thoughts, now - I used some stock library, but getting alot of plugins on the side really changed it for me. Reason synths, drumming patches, reverb, SSL comps, I am more and more NOT using default logic so I can now just migrate those plugs to new DAW. HOWEVER, and it's a doozie, is CONVERTING ALL THEM DAMN SONGS to master sessions so to speak. Thats a challenge for anyone who's been doing 1000's of sessions, or anything like that. I have 100's, 392 to be exact. Yikes!

Loved this breakdown! Also ik this may not have been at the time of the filming of this video but- correct me if im wrong, doesn't Avid provide a perpetual license now? Its significantly more expensive but i'd assume its better in the long run- also jit sure if the perpetual license has the same benefits so if anyone knowsbthat pls let me know, I don't have much experience in this industry yet💀

Me watching this with zero knowledge of DAWS.
“Logic,logic, logic”

Nowadays it’s a studio one vs Pro Tools because of editing amongst other things

ableton is more expensive than logic, logic is 200 ableton 400

Gran video. Ableton lo utilizó solo para cortar y pegar audio, para hacer música o grabar el Logic y como me dedico más a grabar como músico no pago por pro tools con Logic me funciona muy bien.

This hairy hippie be trippin' on some brown acid!

Cubase/Nuendo….! That’s the best software out.

Thank you for this detailed breakdown! As a software engineer I can appreciate your ratings approach and it makes sense, especially with the color that you added to this video to explain each one. I’m a hobbyist though, definitely not a pro and never plan to be, so Avid looks like the winner for me, simply for recording and mixing. Thank you!

Well that would be non of them

When editing audio, you cannot overlook take comping. Logic is on another planet compared to pro tools.

You know whats crazy? 1 minute in I forgot that i was looking for comparisons of DAWs and i sitting here waiting for this fool to just start drumming.... lol

Andrew sent us...

I went with Propellerhead Reason 12. The learning curve is 5/5. I didn't want to spend hours figuring out how to make music. I just want to make music. Reason 12 is the best daw with ready to go functions that makes making music fun and exciting! Pro Tools was my first daw, (hated it) Then FL studio's. (wasn't user friendly) and then Abelton (Everything was backwards for me) Then i landed on Reason when it was reason 4, and stayed ever since. Never Liked Mac products just because of the compatibility with other computers. Thanks for the Info, Love the video! Keep it up!

Let's have a new debate: Hammers vs Wrenches vs Screwdrivers!

Pro Tools 💯

Protools is great to mix and track on but I still prefer doing it in Ableton because editing and the workflow is a lot faster and if time is money I'll go with the more efficient option.

Amazing review man! Appreciate it!

Review Ableton 12 !

But logic is knock off protools

great video 👌 what is te difference between Pro Tools vs Pro Tools First? (which is free with purchase Focusrite interface) or shoud i go for Logic Pro X?
i’m a bass player who makes only drum & bass grooves with a midi-usb keyboard for strings underneath.. i use a iMac or MacBook

thanks for your advice sorry for my English..

Reaper? bandlab cakewalk sonar?

So…. With years of use I’ve spent a lot of time with all 3. Pro Tools is professional. If might not have the best plugins but some of them like lofi are slick and classic. I recently came back from Logic and I think now perpetual licenses are back Pro Tools is back.

It’s early days but I have a professional love for Pro Tools. I want to get away from Mac as well.


I can tell you have professional experience and after being in a studio I was never as fast as I was in Pro Tools. 🎉Pro tools is back!

and Digital Performer?