A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is a system designed to record, edit, mix, and playback audio. The main functionality of a DAW is its ability to provide the necessary components to openly manipulate recorded sounds. The main components included in DAWs are pre-amps, audio converter units, and audio multi-track software (if needed).
There are two types of DAW’s in the audio engineering industry:
- Stand-Alone (Integrated) DAWs
- Computer-Based DAWs
In 1989, Digidesign introduced “Sound Tools” the first digital audio workstation for the Apple Macintosh, dubbing it “the first tapeless recording studio”.
The picture above is Digidesign’s most recent mid-end computer-based DAW called the “Digidesign 003 Rack Pro Tools LE System”. In this audio interface Digidesign has intentionally used the least amount of physical space while retaining maximum userability through its proprietary software Pro Tools LE. I say proprietary software because in order to use the Pro Tools LE software you need to have Digidesign’s hardware talking to your computer to authorize the use of Pro Tools LE… I know, your probably thinking the same thing I am, “Why did Digidesign make their products proprietary?” I could go on a long rant about this issue but instead I will say one word, “Capitalism”.
The Digidesign 003 is a perfect example of a computer-based DAW. It has all the necessary hardware capabilities as a integrated stand-alone DAW such as: 4 balanced XLR mic inputs, 4 balanced 1/4″ jacks, line inputs, monitor outputs (both main and alt)… The complete hardware specifications can be found here.
Once your passed all the hardware the power of the DAW really starts to shine. Computer-Based DAWs give you the ability to look at the sound waves in full detail, going so far as to cut and slice sound files, duplicate, layer, compress, apply effects, and the list could go on forever. Simply put computer-based DAWs are the most versatile audio interfaces out there and will continue to be in the future.
The Digidesign 003 Rack is a good example of a well equipped DAW that will get the job done in most home recording scenarios. Although there are many other DAWs that cater to beat-making music production, and specific post production venues…
The idea that any one application is better than another for creating certain types of music is somewhat of a myth. The majority of music-production applications available don’t discriminate by genre. Rather than listening to hype and taking everybody’s advice into account, a more sensible approach is to try as many different demos as possible. That way, you can spend some time trying different creative processes within each environment. It will become apparent which product you feel most confident with and which one contains the best tools for producing your music. Jun 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mo Volans. Read more…
If your looking to start your own home recording studio and want a reliable, industry-standard digital audio workstation, the Digidesign Digi 003 Rack Pro Tools LE System is simply the most cost effective and overall performing DAW in its class.
Stand-Alone (Integrated) DAWs are audio interfaces that are self-sustaining… They typically consist of a mixing console, a control surface, audio converters, data storage, and everything else that I specified in Digidesign’s 003 hardware.
The major difference is that when you get into high-end stand-alone DAWs you will see equilization, compression, reverb, and many of the features you see in computer-based DAW software. The upside is you physically get to turn the knobs and faders on the mixing console and control surface. The downside is the versitility and the overall functionality cannot be matched due to the depth and scope of functionalities which lie in computer-based DAWs.
However, systems such as the Orban Audicy once flourished in the radio and television markets. Today, some systems still offer computerless arranging and recording features with a full graphical user interface, such as the Roland MV-8000, Roland MV-8800 and recent Mackie HDR-series hard disk recorders. Read more…
To sum Pt. 1 of “Getting to know (DAW) Digital Audio Workstations” up I can safely say that computer-based DAWs are beating integrated/stand-alone DAWs. Though there are new stand-alone DAWs that have integrated computer operations into their infastructure allowing functionality that compares closely to a computer-based DAW. In otherwords, although computer-based DAWs are beating stand-alone DAWs, with so many different venues of audio production we’ll be seeing both for along time to come.
Getting to know (DAW) Digital Audio Workstation Pt. 1 Terminology:
Audio Interfaces: An audio interface converts analog signals into digital information so that you can record, edit, and mix the information and then re-converts the information into analog so that you can hear it through your monitors.
Digidesign’s Proprietary Software: Pro-Tools software cannot be used with any third party hardware.
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