Which recording software is your preferred choice for Windows 7

Asked 217 day 20 h | Viewed 422 times | Updated 216 day 6 h |

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I am on the brink of buying brand new hardware, with Windows 7 being the operating system of choice. I have a couple of years experience on an intermediate level with Cubase SX and have worked on a beginners level with Pro Tools 8 in my cousin's studio. I have discovered that both software suites have their strengths and weaknesses. This makes it currently hard to choose for me which software I would like to use in the future for recording my music.

I have a question for the recording experts that visit this site. If you had to choose an audio recording/sequencer software suite that has to run on Windows 7, what would you currently choose to install and use?

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6 Answers

Answered: 217 day 17 h (1) | Permalink

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Beto 7

I really recommend you SONAR 8.5

It's tailor made for Windows 7, and is the more complete software out there.
- I did meet a rep from Cakewalk a few months ago, and they were really from the get-go with Windows 7 support -- faster than just about any other vendor out there. Pretty impressive for sure.
  
  Justin Vencel | Feb 02 at 01:02
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Answered: 217 day 16 h (2) | Permalink

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Justin Vencel

As of right now neither of those programs are officially designated to run on Windows 7 with their current code base. (Both companies are dragging quite a bit on the development on new drivers).

One recommendation would be to give Studio One by Presonus a try. It's a brand new DAW that's designed to improve work flow while recording. You can download a free trial and give it a ride on Windows 7.

I've played around with it a little bit and it really looks nice. I don't know if it has all the features of most other DAW's or not.

I've been a Cubase guy for years now I must admit. I choose the Cubase platform over Pro Tools because it gives me the choice to use almost any audio interface in an combinations I want. I just can't get over the fact that Pro Tools is tied to their own interfaces that frankly are not worth the exorbitant price you have to pay for them.

That being said, if I did a bunch of commercial studio work or large-scale outsource mixing projects I would probably bite the bullet and get a Digidesign HD system just because most of the other large studios also have them and it makes transferring between them much easier.
- Thanks for the heads-up on Studio One. I will definitely check them out. On the Windows 7 support for Cubase and Pro Tools 8: both software suites have been updated for Windows 7 according to their respective website. I have included the links below: Cubase 5 - System Requirements: http://bit.ly/9FhXE3 Pro Tools 8.0.3 - Update announcement: http://bit.ly/aCCxJb
  
  Theo | Feb 03 at 12:02
- Thanks for the links! Looks like Pro Tools 8.0.3 is still in beta so I would be careful about using that on any critical projects just yet.
  
  Justin Vencel | Feb 03 at 12:02
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Answered: 216 day 11 h (0) | Permalink

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gtrdash

After years of looking for the answer to your question I stumbled apon Reaper software . It's free to download and try out for as long as you like and it's a wonderful full featured software ! I use it on my windows setup and find it more flexable and intuitive then Sonar or Ableton . Usually I shy away from unknown software but a little reserch (Electronic Musician for one) and I decided to give it a try ,I never looked back again. I use it with RMX ,Omnisphere and a bunch of free ware synths as well as audio recording and it sounds great on all. It is wide open and once you get going easy to use . I bought the license after a few months of working with Reaper and love it. Updates come often and the download is small so it's quick and easy . Like most music software it is best to have a computer dedicated to music only and I also use 2 hard drives and a remote drive (USB) for samples making it really flow and with very little down time. Hope this helps !

http://www.reaper.fm/
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Answered: 216 day 3 h (0) | Permalink

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Jay Moore

Here's my 2 cents on the subject. I played extensively with the Win7 betas and RC's and just last week got a new laptop that came with Win7 64-bit....also of note was the beta and RC's were also 64-bit. I'm pretty pleased to report that my DAW of choice, Adobe Audition, pretty much worked from the get-go with Win7 with absolutely no major issues, it used to throw you out of Aero mode, but it doesn't do that any more and runs just fine. I'm currently on version 3.0 and it runs the same as any Win7 native app. For general recording I use Goldwave since it's what I started with and is a lot less resource-intensive for basic recording. It too functions just fine on Win7.
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Answered: 217 day 10 h (0) | Permalink

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guest

Another vote for Sonar 8.5

I've been using Sonar since version 2 and using 8.5 on Windows 7 for about 2 months. Works great

There's just so much to do and versatility with Sonar.

Charlie

www.intuneaudio.ca
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Answered: 213 day 8 h (0) | Permalink

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guest

Magix music maker 16 is coming out Feb 12 2010. It will work for windows 7. This software is amazing.
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