Cakewalk By bandlab vs Studio One

The Sonar DAW comes with a new and improved UI with extra focus on being customizable.

A Pro Channel ensures that you have all the necessary plugins in a really good mixing rack with console emulation for all busses and channels. This feels and sounds like a real mixing console.

The last few years they have given updates with new features and fixes nearly every month. Great support, constant innovation.

In addition to an effects rack and ProChannel effects that you can insert into each track, it also allows you to insert effects plugins on individual audio or MIDI clips.

Using the non-destructive editing, you can easily cut one of those clips into smaller pieces if you'd like to apply an effect non-destructively to an individual note or musical phrase.

New projects can have the entire session defined from a template. Tracks, IO, folders routing, etc.

Group tracks into folders to expand/collapse Solo Mute or Archive.

Includes inbuilt bridge allowing a 64-bit software to use a 32-bit plugin and vice versa without having to painstakingly use an external bridge to bridge the plugins. This will save one from bridging every new plugin that isn't compatible.

You can create an unlimited number of audio tracks, patch points, aux tracks and busses. Each track can send its output or an unlimited number of aux sends to any patch point or bus. A patch point can route to any number of aux tracks. Each aux track or bus can send its output or an unlimited number of sends to any other patch point or bus. (* A patch point is a destination where audio can be sent from any output or aux send, while an aux track is a track that receives its input from a patch point. This allows the track to be used similarly to a bus, with the additional flexibility of allowing multiple aux tracks to get their input from the same source point, and the organizational convenience of having the track alongside other tracks, instead of in the separate bus area).

If your computer has a touch screen, use gestures to optimize your workflow.

It has some of the best pitch correction available, and it comes with the DAW.

When you're done with a project, upload it straight to SoundCloud or YouTube from the Sonar DAW.

You can play video alongside your audio tracks during playback to make it easier for post-production or audio-to-video sync.

Professional, complete and very efficient DAW. It is unbelievable how BandLab does not charge a penny for it!

Everything is very straightforward and intuitive, making its workflow quite streamline and easy to customize.

It comes with a lot of Hardware Instrument definition templates and you can easily build your own.

The interface is very intuitive once you learn the program. It's like working in the studio with physical components.

Also good for small screen laptops.

Free for all.

The Studio One DAW doesn't expect users to deal with a lot of windows, answer questions, or use the mouse excessively. This DAW is known for lettings users be creative without getting in the way.

All components are laid out in an understandable fashion and almost everything is drag and drop.

The Real Melodyne is integrated in the actual DAW. No other DAW is set up to streamline Melodyne.

Hovering over different parts of the events in the arrange window activates different tools.

Use the 'scratch pad' work on multiple versions for your song without leaving the main window.

Works great with interfaces, and doesn't fight with ASIO drivers.

When a plugin takes time to process a sound, the Studio One DAW detects the gap and compensates.

Performance is rock solid and very efficient, even on lower spec computers.

Possible to use key commands from Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, etc.

Chord track can be used by inserting chords or getting them from an inserted track.

Studio one has a page dedicated specifically to mastering which can be very useful when trying to finish your song.

When bouncing from MIDI to audio, a new track won't be created, the clip will stay in the same place. When bouncing a specific part of a MIDI clip, it will be placed in a new track.

Vocalign Project is can be integrated with the option to upgrade to Vocalign Pro.

For those that can't afford to pay for a full professional DAW in one swoop, this is an amazing opportunity to get Studio One 4 Professional in monthly payments.
Pause and resume payments when you want or cancel at any time.

This view is very powerful because it not only “shows” the MIDI notes as a score, but it also lets you add, edit and remove notes in standard music notation. It includes all the formatting rules, articulations, note values, clefs and general symbols from Presonus’ Notion software.

Allows you to go from the studio to the stage or stream with other musicians through the interface. You can create a Setlist using your Songs created in Studio One, and combine them with a mix of live instruments, pre-recorded tracks, and virtual instruments.

Each song in the Setlist can have its own unique instrumentation. Songs in your set can be rearranged on the fly using drag-and-drop, and any element from your Song files can be added to your Show via simple copy-and-paste or direct export.

Switching to Performance view with a meter and customisable control over each parameter, means you can adjust in real-time while on Stage.

Can't complain about Studio One so much. It is almost perfect.

Have you ever wanted a delay on just a word or so. No need to automate or move to a separate track. No need to print it to the clip and run out of room on the audio file. Simply amazing feature.

Clip Gain Envelopes represent a new layer of gain introduced in Studio One 5, which is independent from the audio event as well as the volume automation. This feature is ideal for applying gain correction before the signal hits the inserts, specially useful when dealing with extremely dynamic vocal tracks and sections in general that are too soft or too loud.

The user can create breakpoints within the clip by clicking on the curve, and then dragging either up or down in order to increment or reduce the clip’s gain. These gain modifications will be shown on the waveform.

The process is simple, fast, and extremely effective.

Retrospective Recording captures everything you play on your keyboard or controller—even without hitting record! It works invisibly in the background on a track-by-track basis.

Managing large projects with a huge track and channel count is now faster and easier than ever with the addition of powerful search and filter options.

View minutes:seconds with bars and beats at the same time! A must for film composers.

Software of Studio One plus cloud storage and packs, and a lot of other stuff included just for a tiny fee each month or year.

They now support surround . in version 6.5.

Area to arrange all your tracks without touching the main arrangement.

Studio One doesnt wait putting big features until a major updates comes.

It's the lightest DAW there is, Studio One is less than 400mb.