Mac DAW - Logic Pro X or REAPER

I need help choosing an Audulus AU compatible DAW for Mac. I have tested a couple different trial versions, and I am looking to make all kinds of music, however, my main interests lie in variations of I guess what would be considered SynthWave and DubStep inspired creations. I started out with Bitwig Studio, which is super capable, but it is not compatible with AU at all, so that makes it a no go for me if I cannot use it with Audulus. Next, I tried REAPER, which is capable, it seems and has no lack of docs to tell you how to use it. Last, I was able to get ahold of a trial/limited version of Ableton, but since this full version is much more than I can possibly afford atm, I will not even be considering it as a prospect.

I am now torn between REAPER and Logic Pro X for my Mac as a DAW to integrate the AU functionality of Audulus into. I just wanted to get the opinions of some of the more experienced users here, and find out between the two which I have narrowed down my options I should go with as I have read a lot of great, and also some mixed reviews on Logic and I like what I see, but there is no trial version of it, so if I buy and hate it (even though the features I have read about seem very appealing), I am stuck with it and out $200. Can anyone provide some more information perhaps that will make my decision easier? I searched online a lot today, but couldn’t really find a direct comparison. Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks! :smiley:

I’m a Reaper guy, and the lack of stock synths, samples etc appeals to me. I also never consider software that I can’t try-before-buy.

Can’t say anything AU-specific, tho, because I’m on Windows.

I’d say if Reaper works for you, and its not bothering you in any way, then that’s good enough to make music and not chase something newer or better.

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I used Ableton 9.5 live lite for almost a year. It was perfect because it had limited tracks, so it forced me to produce more minimally, instead of trying to make something sound good just by layering way too many VSTs. Then I spent the $100 and upgraded to Live Intro.

At the time I also had an Ableton Push 2. I found that the Push 2 was fun I but ended up not using it that much and the vibe going into Ableton 10 turned me off. I did get some production work done with Ableton Intro but had more fun with iPad stuff (I don’t know why). Basically I stopped using Ableton all together and just made stuff with BM3 and Cubasis 2. But my life was such that having a little studio I could take anywhere in a small backpack was what I needed.

When I got into Audulus I stopped worrying about iPad soft synths and effects and just got into the deeper elements of synthesis. I already had some experience with Reaktor Blocks, so the idea that I could do that kind of design work on the ipad kept me going for almost a year.

This lead to a proper hardware eurorack modular synth. But then because I chose a small portable case, I have to start over with how I compose, because I don’t want to be back inside a computer all the time making music. So I am looking at elektron stuff to have a way to arrange and compliment the rack.

I am glad I spent all that time in Ableton. I have a lot of tools for mastering/mixing as well as other things I have collected over the last few years. At some point I am sure I will want to multitrack back into Ableton. Without having a handle on DAWs and software modulars, I don’t think I would enjoy what I am doing as much as I do having taken this route.

I would also say that being excited about whatever I am working on is more my bag than being very functional, organized, productive, etc. So I will make tracks and never share them, I will spend days building a kick drum and not use it. Constantly abandoning ideas.

But I also like seeing a track through to the end, because it informs how I work on things from then on. You learn to make better mixes to get ready for mastering. I should have mastered my first album, it doesn’t hit hard enough next to other mastered tracks. But I also don’t care. I am happy to keep moving forward without trying to expose all of my strengths. It is nice to have most of the iceberg under the surface.

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I started with logic pro x and can say it gives you soooooo much. Like you really don’t need to buy any other plugins. It’s got a beastly sampler, virtual instruments, and pro level FX like convolution reverb and vocoder. It also has generative stuff and bitwig-esqe modulation routing (although it’s more arcane it implement). But I have a laptop that I use for recording most of the time and it’s a windows machine, so I switched to ableton live standard.

I intentionally switched to standard over suite because I found that after a while using all the built-in vocoders and modeled electric pianos wasn’t as gratifying as making something from scratch and restricting the DAW to a recording medium that could edit, EQ, and compress. I chose Ableton over reaper because, at the time, I thought I would pick up max/MSP, but then I discovered Audulus.

Reaper is a great all around DAW and if I had it to do over again, I would probably take that route.

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I started today feeling sure that I was going to stick with what the general consensus seemed to be, but I had a slight hangup with Audulus as my instrument and being unable to copy/paste because the copy buffer in the Audulus AU form for REAPER kept copying, and then it would tell me it was empty, and I had to create this giant synth I was working on with a lot of duplicate components, one piece at a time, instead of being able to do it in a couple clicks. This may seem trivial to some, but I really was 50/50 split on Logic vs. REAPER, and that was just enough for me. So now I officially own Logic Pro! Thanks @Fedor @futureaztec for your replies, and thanks @robertsyrett for the review of your actual experience with Logic, I think I will be happy with it. :slight_smile:

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I should add that I still open up logic every now and again, looking back at my post I think it came off a bit like I abandoned it. I should have said if I were to do it over again, I would use Reaper as opposed to Ableton as my cross-platform DAW. Logic Pro X will serve you well!

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Oh great, that is nice to hear! I am currently reading through the manual to familiarize myself with it now. I am pretty excited for the features this application holds. I was nervous when I clicked the ‘buy’ button, but I don’t feel that any longer. This looks to be a pretty solid app, and I certainly read a lot of good about it. It has all of the features I was looking for, and for once, Apple wasn’t charging more than competitors I had also been examining lol

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If you need a good DAW for Mac go for Logic Pro,Qbase or if you want to spend a lot protools.
I personally use Logic Pro and Qbase(stein berg)The also have a very powerful app for the IPad.For live stuff there is only one good choice and that is Ableton.
If you have an IPad also get Beatmaker3 another very powerful Mobil DAW.
For what it’s worth
AJ

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