Fl Studio vs Logic vs Reason vs Ableton

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JakeWilson

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What do you guys think I should use to produce my own music?

What do you think is better? I've heard good things about all of them.

Thanks! :)
 
You should use what you feel most comfortable with using. I've heard amazing music produced in all of these programs so there's no such thing as one being better than the other really. The program is as good as the person using it.
 
I want to add to this that it is not entirely true that the program is only as good as the beholder. The audio rendering engines ('under the hood') are quite different from eachother they each have their own distinct sound, however the differences are pretty subtle.

Many people like to shit on FL studio but I won't judge until I am fully confident about each aspects of each engine.

One part of the engine which can be objectively measured is the resampler: when you go from 96 khz to 44.1 e.g.

here is a full list of software comparing the quality of their samplerateconversions

http://src.infinitewave.ca/
 
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I use Ableton. Simply for the workflow - once you know a few general interface paradigms you can fly around the program doing mad shizzle.

The first track I put onto vinyl was made in Cubase, but I always felt like I was battling rather than using the program. Logic annoyed me - you could do so much, but there were always over-complex interfaces in the way (if you could find them).

This was all years ago mind. I'm sure a lot of my grievances don't apply any more, I'm just used to Ableton.

I will say this though. Cubase seems to be written to make the most of recording live bands. (As you can see by the ability to warp the clock to the timing of a recorded track.) Logic has been a dance producer's system of choice for years now and I'm sure the developers respond to that. I remember the MIDI editing reflecting that a little...

FL has its roots in a glorified drum machine, so I know that at one time it had a problem with editing MIDI data in a flowing way (rather turning notes on and off on a drum roll). Again, I'm sure this has been fixed.

Ableton is a live tool at heart. That means it gives you tools to very quickly get a job done. Who knows, that may be at the expense of the audio engine. ;) It is very loop based though and MIDI, like with FL, was a later addition. The loop manipulation tools are really awesome but I do miss some MIDI editing facilities, like smooth automation curves. The audio stretching is beautiful though.

Certainly I've never had any music app give the same sense of openness and clarity that Logic did when I used it. The audio engine is just awesome... I just couldn't afford a Mac back when it dropped half its user base. (That and I fell in love with Ableton's ease of use.)

I dunno. Maybe look at the history to see where the loyalties of the companies lie and pick based on that? Ableton if you're interested in live production and you want a seamless progression from studio to stage. FL if you're a rhythms guy and tunes are those things you tap into boxes on a screen. Cubase if you're thinking of doing lots of recording. (The clip manipulation for recordings is lovely.) Logic if you're a real techie and you want to get your hands dirty. (I remember spending ages setting up layouts for different production tasks...)

Also, I hear great things about REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits - a much cheaper option with, as I understand, VST routing that makes even Ableton look like a slouch. (And Ableton's routing is quite delicious.)

Good luck! :)
 
Using Ableton too, it has a nice workflow eventhough I'm still getting used to it. I saw an ad about a DAW with 64 bit audio engine, which one was that?
 
I use Ableton - it's just instantly accessible, can get great results very quick and you can mess around to your heart's content. Certainly most of Sonic Academy's tutorials seem to be predominantly Ableton based as well as, occassionally, Cubase.
 
For my self I use FL Studio for its ease of use and accessibility for the kind of music I make which is uplifting trance. It has a shed load of cool instruments and sounds and some nice effects and you can always import more vsts. The interface is quite uncomplicated unlike some DAW's. And I can easily make a song in a day, no problem. Its perfect for me and comes highly recommended by my self:good2::smile:
 
I gave up on Logic, the interface is way too dated and cumbersome, I've switched to Ableton now, what used to take 15-20 minutes in Logic takes about 2-5 in Ableton, it's just way more intuitive. I LOVE Ableton.

The advice Marlo gave me about 4 years ago turned about to be really true: I was using Reason at the time, and he basically said, with FL or Reason, start using it, play around with it, learn everything backwards... And then move onto Ableton or Logic.

It's also worth pointing out that at least one of the DAWs you've listed will be unavailable to you (unless you virtualise which I don't recommend for DAWs) Fruity Loops is Windows only and Logic is Mac only, depending on your OS of choice one of them's out of the picture already.

It's also worth mentioning that Logic X has been rumoured for a while now, Logic's currently the only program that Apple make that's not available in the App store, it's also their only pro app that hasn't had a major interface rewrite recently.
 
i use Ableton, and ReWire Reason into it . The two together are amazing and i could ask for more.

Generally you wanna demo the DAWs out before you go to buy them . Dont base your purchase off what other people say because in the end its all about personal preference . Can't say it any better then that .
 
deejayDANG said:
i use Ableton, and ReWire Reason into it . The two together are amazing and i could ask for more.

Generally you wanna demo the DAWs out before you go to buy them . Dont base your purchase off what other people say because in the end its all about personal preference . Can't say it any better then that .
Click to expand...

Spot On...
 
Started out with Reason, then moved onto Logic and I love it!
Still haven't really mastered the interface yet though.
 
It's all personally choice. But in my opinion, FL studio is garbage. I use it as a VST on Ableton very very very rarely. (drumloop is about it) And still it's lame to me...

I call it faggy loops.
 
I tried all of those apart from Logic and I found Ableton to be the easiest to understand by far. As suggested above, the Sonic Academy tutorials are a great starting point for whatever type of music you are trying to make. The videos are really easy to follow and help to understand how the tracks are broken down.
 
XDR said:
You should use what you feel most comfortable with using. I've heard amazing music produced in all of these programs so there's no such thing as one being better than the other really. The program is as good as the person using it.
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What he said in my opinion
 
Ableton Live is a magic DAW, I have worked with Ableton many years, its response is pretty amazing, I think Logic or Cubase would go after, FL Studio is considered an amateur DAW, however many recognized producers like ARTY, Mat Zo and others have used and are still using FL to produce tracks nowadays, personally I don't like the buffering and cache of the software, also its design is not my fav. I love clear style DAW (Color of buttons, background, interface). The sound quality and rendering is amazing in Ableton Live.
 
What everybody else said basically. Try out the demos for each and every single DAW just to get a basic feel for how the software works, and then make your choice from there. Don't let other people try and convince you that one is "better" than the others. I've used FL Studio for years and it's the easiest for me because it just fits my workflow really well. I have also tried Logic and managed to create in 10 minutes a decent-sounding Uplifting Trance loop with the basic stuff it comes with. Coming from a background in reading (and sometimes writing) sheet music, Logic's ability to show how everything would look in an actual written score was pretty cool for me. Ableton was incredibly confusing to get to work just because I was unused to how everything was laid out. Doesn't mean it's a worse software, though. Cubase was the same way, even though many people say it's "the PC version of Logic", and I assumed it would be easy to understand how it worked because I had tried Logic beforehand. Again, doesn't mean it's worse than FL.

Just to re-iterate: Choose what you like best. Don't let others influence your decision. It will just just cause yet another row over which DAW people think is better, and the purpose of the conversation is lost.
 
FL Studio is now used by KhoMha, Ummet Ozcan and many others, you just have to give a try to every software, and then decide which one is the best, based on sound quality, rendering, etc...
 
I don't think that the DAW matters at all and I see a lot of people discussing which is better, etc. It's all in the user. Junkie Kid couldn't go into Ableton and make a hit Hard House track, just the same as 3LAU couldn't go into FL Studio and make a hit record.


If people want to get into this they just need to get a DAW and dive in. Ableton and FL are great because they have a ton of tutorials and resources online, which can be harder to find for Reason or Cubase.


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http://abletonvsflstudio.com
 
Launchpad S gives you direct control over Ableton Live with an intuitive grid of 64 three-colour Launch pads. Included with the Launchpad S is a copy of Ableton Live Lite 9 - used by some of the world’s top and producers. Use the pads to create and launch rhythms, melodies, loops, samples or entire songs and mix them together. Whether you are recording your own songs, performing your own compositions or mixing together your favorite beats, Launchpad S gives you everything you need to launch clips, trigger loops, control effects, mix your tracks and much more. It is totally portable, fully USB bus powered – no need for power sockets – lightweight and easy to pack and carry to any gig or rehearsal anywhere in the world.
 
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