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Add to SafariWhen comparing GarageBand vs Pro Tools, the Slant community recommends Pro Tools for most people. In the question“What are the best DAWs? ” Pro Tools is ranked 10th while GarageBand is ranked 27th.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Great sounding instruments
Pro Free if you have a Mac
Pro Extremely easy
GarageBand is one of the most basic and user friendly DAWs, making it very easy to learn.
Pro Good MIDI editing with quantization, piano roll and notation
Pro Amp Sims/ Pedal Effects/ Mics
There are several amp sims for guitar and bass or other direct input instruments. Different style speaker cabinets, microphones and mic placements. It also comes with a good selection of pedal effects.
Pro Allows 3rd party plug-ins
Plug-ins for effects or sample instruments can be installed and work great. Must get the AU plug-in for Mac if available.
Pro Easy automated drummer
Pro Great stock plugins
Pro Seamless integration with UAD
Pro Industry standard
Pro Cross platform
Available both on Windows and MacOS.
Pro Frequent updates
Pro Great support
Pro Excellent UI
Especially for DAW veterans and Og's.
Pro Dark Mode
Finally Pro Tools Can be in dark mode.
Pro Wide audio format compatibility
Ease of integrating audio of different formats, sample rates; equal ease of exporting.
Pro Video editing tools and capabilities
Pro Exceptionally deep shortcuts and workflow
Pro Track freezing abilities
Pro Advanced metering options with Peak, VU (Volume Unit), and Spectrograph views
Pro Option for external DSP from Avid to help free up CPU
Pro Customizable interface
Create and save youe own workspace layouts. and change the tone of the skin dark and classic
Pro Excellent and pro mixing and recording tools
As the name tell
Pro Fast 64-bit recording and mixing engine
Pro Native integration with Avid’s control panels
Pro Optimized for multiple screens
Pro Broadest hardware compatibility
Pro Great Import / export features
Pro Excellent cloud collaboration integration
Pro Interfaces easily with HDX and Pro Tools | Carbon
Pro All languages supported
Pro Unlimited tracks, buses, inserts, sends, returns, virtual instruments
Pro Tools effects, all customizable.
Pro Automatic delay compensation
Used to fix timing issues between different tracks during mix down.
Cons
Con No send/buss tracks
Tracks can't be sent into a buss channel for grouping tracks together.
Con 44.1K sample rate
The maximum sample rate is 44.1K. No 48K or higher.
Con Mixer console panel not available
Mixing must be done on the channel strip or by smart control panel only. There is no mixer with fader, vu meter and effects chain listing.
Con No sidechain effects
Can't manipulate other tracks with a sidechain trigger such as ducking with a compressor.
Con Platform dependant
Only for Mac.
Con Subscription based
Con Random crashes
Con Quite expensive
Compared to other DAW subscription models.
Con Ilok license manager
Con CPU hungry
System usage can be excessive.
Con Very steep learning curve
Con Could benefit from more robust composition tools
Con Lack of instrument bundle, despite two new additions
Con Pro Tools isn't compatible with VST or AU plugins
Only AAX.
Con Not amateur|Beginner friendly
Con Hard and complicated shorcuts
Not easy to memorise them.
Con There is no free version
