We are doing some myth-busting on Production Expert around some commonly held misconceptions around gear and recording practice. We thought it should be both educational and fun, but seriously there's some silly stuff said and social media so often just amplifies it.

The Best DAW Myth

Ask any parent worth their salt who the best kids in the world are and they are more than likely to tell you it's their own. I certainly would, I would go even further than that, my kids are the best looking and smartest kids on the planet and I'll argue until I'm blue in the face about that.

I'll even find plenty of evidence to support my theory, it's called Confirmation Bias, defined as "the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories."

So there is also a high probability that when asked what the best DAW is you say the one you use depending on which community you belong to, Pro Tools, Studio One, or Logic Pro and there's a high chance it will be that one. However, that has no objectivity to it and furthermore doesn't fully address the question.

Which DAW Sounds The Best?

All of them. If anyone tells you their DAW sounds better or even different from one of the leading DAWs on the market then suggest they take a blind listening test. Many won’t and of the ones that think there’s merit in such a dumb waste of time 50/50 is chance and anything below around a consistent 95% has no validity.

If you’ve found yourself caught up on forums arguing the toss about which DAW sounds best then start watching videos of kittens or paint drying, it’s a better waste of time.

The Wrong Question?

If someone asks you what the best DAW is then, in essence, the question has no context, it would be like asking what's the best medication to take? Put like that then you can see that the question needs to have a condition to give it some context. If I had a headache then you wouldn't tell me to use something for acne. It's the same with the best DAW question if one were to ask the question 'What is the best DAW for editing dialogue in film post-production?' then the field can be narrowed down to any DAW that has audio editing, video playback and other essential post-production tools.

However, that still doesn't really deal with the question fully because there are other things that need to be considered.

The One That Works For You

Even when you ask a more specific question about the qualities of certain DAWs then the real answer is that there is no 'best DAW' because some will swear blind that it's Pro Tools and others that it is Nuendo for the task outlined above. When it comes down to it, a lot of the choice centres on personal preference based around workflow, but more often than not it simply comes down to familiarity.

The question assumes there is an objective answer and there isn't one.

There are too many discussions on social media and in forums about what the best DAW is which are pointless. With the almost limitless permutations of features and choice, as well as personal workflow preferences and the simple factor of 'what you like' at play then the only answer to the question is 'the best DAW is the one that works for you.'