Introduction

Selecting your DAW software can be frustrating as there are so many selections and not many sources of data to help guide your decision. This article will not cover everything but will help you to get started.

Identify your needs, budget and priorities.

This will help you to identify what your immediate needs are and how your budget can help you fulfill these needs.  

-What DAW software do you have experience with? If you are familiar with a tool already, this could save you time from learning a new one. People tend to be bias based on what they know, so tools that do the same thing but in a different way will seem foreign to you. You either love or hate ProTools!

-What DAW software do your friends and colleagues use? If you plan to collaborate and share project data using the same DAW will simplify sharing project data. If you are new to a DAW environment this could serve as source of help as well.

-What is your budget for DAW software? $50 can go a long way with DAW software although you could spend $3000 for less functionality if you are not carefull.

-Plug-in Support: Make certain your DAW supports industry standard pluggins. VST, AU, DI.: These will provide you with software based effects and virtual instruments.

-Project size: How many audio tracks need to be supported?

-Hardware support: If you already have an audio interface, make certain the DAW software will support your hardware. ASIO is the most common.

Get to know what is available out there.