The Score Magazine - Archive February 2009 issue! | Page 36

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The Score Magazine
Digital Audio
Workstations
Rishabh Rajan
Creating music has now become a very accessible task especially with the introduction of Digital
Audio Workstations. Anyone can now start making music with the help of a laptop and some software.
The only difficulty lies in choosing the right software for your needs. I was lucky enough to start out
in this field early enough to sample different Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) and figure out which
would be best for me.
Apple’s Logic Pro Studio
This is definitely the most popular
DAW for music production cur-
rently in the market. It comes in a
bundle which includes Soundtrack
Pro, an excellent audio editing and
recording tool which is very well
integrated with Apple’s video edit-
ing tool, Final Cut Pro. Pros:
·Huge sound library and vast array of AU
plug-ins available right out of the box.
Comes in two versions, Pro for the com-
plete package and Express for a limited
functionality version for people with a
lower budget.
·Includes Mainstage, a program specifi-
cally designed for live performance. Cons:
·Can only be used on an Apple
MAC machine.
·Does not support the VST proto-
col for plug-ins or software instru-
ments.
·The editing is not completely
‘Non-Destructive’
MOTU’s Digital Performer
Not a very popular DAW but has
some really incredible features. I
use Digital Performer a lot when
I’m writing music to picture. It has
some excellent scoring features
that have yet to be implemented in
other DAWs. Pros:
·Very stable and powerful. Has been
tested to run over 1000 plug-ins in one
session.
·Supports XML file interchange with Final
Cut Pro making the workflow in a video
post production very fast and smooth.
·Supports Digidesign’s RTAS plug-in
format. Cons:
·Only works on Apple MAC plat-
form.
·Does not support the VST proto-
col just like Logic Pro.
·Includes very few plug-ins out of
the box and no loop libraries.
Digidesign’s Pro Tools
I have always used Pro-Tools only
while mixing a track or working on
audio post production for a film
but now with so many excellent
features included, I can use it for
electronic music production as
well. Pros:
·Includes 20 new plug-ins and 9 GB
worth of loops right out of the box.
·New MIDI editing features and also a
brand new score editor.
·With Elastic time and the new Elastic
pitch you can easily change tempo and
pitch of any audio material. Cons:
·Only works with Digidesign and
select M-Audio hardware.
·Only supports Digidesign’s pro-
priety plug-in formats, RTAS and
TDM.