Samplitude
Mac: No
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: Yes
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST
Driver: ASIO/WDM
Price: Samplitude:$129 – $599 Sequoia:$546.34/year or $2529.38
Magix Samplitude is considered by many professionals to be the best sounding DAW available with mastering grade stock plug-ins, a pristine audio engine and a full-featured MIDI suite coming standard. It has all the bells and whistles of its competitors and does everything in a very intuitive manner. It doesn’t have the userbase of some of the other DAWs for a couple of reasons. First, Magix doesn’t really do a lot of marketing of Samplitude, and second, it is Windows only in a professional community filled with Mac users (there were rumors of a Mac version, but it no longer looks very likely). Magix has really done a great job with the software, but missed the boat on who to market it to and how to get it into their hands.
Samplitude does have an older sibling named Sequoia, which is basically Samplitude with a bunch of specific high-end large audio facility features added. It is more focused towards post-production, mastering and broadcast and it costs quite a bit more.
Sequoia
Mac: No
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: Yes
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST
Driver: ASIO/WDM
Price: Samplitude:$129 – $599 Sequoia:$546.34/year or $2529.38
Magix Samplitude is considered by many professionals to be the best sounding DAW available with mastering grade stock plug-ins, a pristine audio engine and a full-featured MIDI suite coming standard. It has all the bells and whistles of its competitors and does everything in a very intuitive manner. It doesn’t have the userbase of some of the other DAWs for a couple of reasons. First, Magix doesn’t really do a lot of marketing of Samplitude, and second, it is Windows only in a professional community filled with Mac users (there were rumors of a Mac version, but it no longer looks very likely). Magix has really done a great job with the software, but missed the boat on who to market it to and how to get it into their hands.
Samplitude does have an older sibling named Sequoia, which is basically Samplitude with a bunch of specific high-end large audio facility features added. It is more focused towards post-production, mastering and broadcast and it costs quite a bit more.
Sonar
Mac: No
PC: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: Yes
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST/DX
Driver: ASIO/WDM
Price: $49/mo. or $499
Cakewalk Sonar is a longtime player in the DAW game going all the way back to the 80s with MIDI sequencing. It still somewhat follows its history focusing more towards music production and MIDI sequencing, but is capable of doing everything a DAW can be imagined to do. This statement will probably get some of the hardcore audio engineers who have been Cakewalk users since they first started using a computer who swear by its sonic ability in a huff, but take a look at their marketing. The truth is that most of the DAWs mentioned produce hit records and professional products. Cakewalk is simply marketed and designed more towards the music producer and electronic musician. It is more than capable to run orchestral recording sessions but is rarely used for such things. Cakewalk is very commonly seen in personal and project studio because it is PC only and reasonably priced. Unlike Digital Performer, Sonar is not commonly used for film and media composition because its notation functionality is not well developed and it is marketed to a younger and more hip crowd. It is also not too popular with post-production or dedicated audio-editing (except for the lifers) because of its focus towards MIDI and music production.
Sound Forge
Mac: No
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: No
Virtual: No
Notation: No
Rewire: No
Plug-In: VST/DX
Driver: ASIO
Price: $349-$499
Magix Sound Forge (originally owned by Sonic Foundry, then Sony, and now Magix) is a DAW dedicated to high fidelity audio production. It is focused specifically towards professional audio recording and mastering, sound design, audio restoration, and Red Book CD creation. Similar to the relationship between Steinberg’s Cubase and Nuendo, Acid Pro and Sound Forge Pro split the duties of music production and audio production. Sound Forge Pro is also commonly used for creating Acid Loops.
soundfonts
A soundfont is a collection of sound files all put into a neat package. A soundfont packages together hundreds of audio files and lets you control them all using MIDI
Just remember not all soundfonts are not created equally, some are just not good, while others are fantastic. once you start to use different one’s you’ll hear the difference
Studio One
Mac: Yes
Win: Yes
Linux: No
Audio: Yes
MIDI: Yes
Virtual: Yes
Notation: Yes
Rewire: Yes
Plug-In: VST/AU
Driver: ASIO/Core Audio
Price: $399
Presonus Studio One is a DAW based around the concept of a one-window streamlined workflow with as much drag-and-drop functionality as imaginable, features that are only found in DAWs that are twice the price, and an unconquerable drive for the highest fidelity possible. Presonus has been a successful audio hardware manufacturer for many years, providing audio interfaces, monitor controllers, and preamps at all price points.
After years of bundling other people’s software with their products, they wrangled some former Cubase, Nuendo, and VST developers to help them build a new DAW that they provide for their hardware customers. The result has been a great success. Hardware users receive a free trimmed-down version that works great and happily upgrade to the full version. Studio One has been constantly gaining users and admirers, positioning itself to give the ‘Big Five’ DAWs a run for their money in the coming years.
SYNC
MIDI Sync, short for MIDI Synchronization, is used when MIDI machines need to synchronize their timing. For example a sequencer and a drum machine, or two sequencers.
SYNTH
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI.
USB MIDI
Members of the USB-IF in 1999 developed a standard for MIDI over USB, the “Universal Serial Bus Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices”. MIDI over USB has become increasingly common as other interfaces that had been used for MIDI connections (ISA card, game port, etc.) disappeared from personal computers. Linux, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh OS X, and Apple iOS operating systems include standard class drivers to support devices that use the “Universal Serial Bus Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices”.