Reaper and Live here. I use Live more for syncing and tracking synths and drum machines, but I like Reaper much better for things like multitrack acoustic drum tracking/wave editing or recording traditional “band” instruments.
Still on the fence about where to do final mixes. Kinda been wishy-washy on sticking to one or the other, and will probably continue to use both depending on the material.
I tried a lot of different DAWs way back and settled on Live for over 10 years now. Spent a fair amount of time on Logic but back then in the mid/late 2000s it was a massive faff trying to use multiple midi controllers on different tracks at the same time (environment window 
) and was so easy on Live. These were the days when me and some mates would try and live jam with midi drum pads and controllers all plugged in to one struggling crap laptop… although it was more of an excuse to get high 
Tried Logic again more recently but just couldn’t gel with it. So used to how Live does things now. Definitely a believer in new gear (or DAW) can spark new ideas but I’d much rather a new bit of hardware with a focus than a whole new DAW.
Edit. Brief brain blip made me forget I’ve been using Serato Studio recently but it’s not a proper DAW, but I do like that’s it’s focused and quick to get ideas down. Still dumping it into Live after a while though!
Whatever you do, repeat, repeat, repeat. And if you want to release anything, do not repeat switching DAWs too often.
I stick to one main DAW, but I engage in extramarital affairs with Renoise.
I’ve always just used Reaper. I started when the thought of spending a few hundred on what seemed (to me) like a tool to record and manipulate multiple wav files didn’t make sense.
For the most part it still doesn’t. I’ve tried a few limited bundled versions of things over the years, Cubase, Studio One, Ableton, and from a basic usage point of view nothing enticed me away from Reaper. I imagine you would have to be a power user of several to really know which made life easier for different tasks to the point it made migrating projects between them worthwhile.
I’m really curios how Logic on iOS is going to play out (from a non-Logic user point of view). In my experience the challenge with a DAW on iOS is all in the interaction and GUI. You just always want to see more than a small screen allows and want finer control than touch screen allows. Constantly zooming in and out so you can grab the corner of a take to drag it or fade it in or whatever just gets tiresome. And mouse implementation on iOS is still a bit clunky vs desktop.
I tend to use three. Ableton Lite, Maschine 2, and my current favorite, Bitwig. I’ve actually enjoyed Bitwig with controllers so much that I began selling off most of my hardware.
I use Maschine because I love the controller, but the DAW needs serious work. I never finish projects there.
Ableton is great, but I’m waiting for an announcement of Push 3 to decide whether or not to get the Suite version.
Ableton since 2007. Tried a couple others. Added BitWig recently just to entertain myself.
I’ve used Cubase since the 90s. Sometimes I try one of the alternatives for a while to see what the competition is doing, but it has been a while since I last did that. So I’m happily ignorant of what I might be missing out on.
Now that the USB dongle is (finally!) gone, my only complaint as an owner of many Steinberg products is that I feel paid upgrades are too frequent.
The majority of the feedback and comments here are confirming what I already thought… reintroducing another DAW will just cause a distraction and probably have a negative impact on my relationship with Ableton Live.
I was on Logic Pro for just over 10 years and never felt as gelled to it as I do now with Ableton after 2 years of using it. Before Logic I spent about 12 years working hybrid with Digital Performer and ProTools (because DP was the only way I had native control over my PT sessions), but that was way more orthodox audio/studio/band work.
So, I think I’m going to skip iOS Logic Pro and stick to Ableton Live.
I am open to the possibility of switching; one day, but any switch would need to be permanent. Ableton for me has the best combination of the fast & intuitive workspace and tight MIDI controller integration, and it’s as close to plug & play as it gets. I’ve been warned so many times not to change the DAW that there has to be wisdom in there.
One thing that I’m beginning to feel as I start outputting more stuff is the “more trouble than it’s worth” effect. Uprooting the knowledge I’ve built in the last year or more would take a fair bit of effort and I’d rather not distract from the tune making process.
Maybe with more experience it’d be a 2 DAW thing, or even a switch. But I guess for now I’d be switching away from something I’ve just invested in, so it makes little sense for now.
Update: What a difference a year makes! Having gotten access to Logic as a bit of a punt, spending more time with it has been a very interesting experiment. I’m not fully decided on whether I should stick with one DAW and switch permanently (or use both.) While sonically, there is technically no real reason to do this today, I can see why people would prefer a 2 DAW approach from a workflow point of view. I’ve heard a lot of people say they value the change in mindset when ending the creative session and then opening a new one in a new DAW to focus on mixing.
Thinking about where the 2 DAWs are headed, while they do have relative similarities - they also have clear points of difference. Logic has added so much stuff in the last 4 years, from Live Loops, to Quick Sampler, all the way through to Sample Alchemy, Beat Breaker, Chromaglow and Mastering Assistant. They seem to be focussing on adding mainstream production tools for the most part. The way Live has been going is all about experimentation, specifically Roar, Meld, Tunings, MPE, Modulators and all the generative MIDI stuff. They do have a handle on more bread and butter sounds, via Drift, and new Saturator and Limiter too, but their focus seems to be much more on the classic Ableton low latency, multi-modular quick and dirty workflow.
If you use them for their relative strengths Ableton and Logic make a kinda super DAW. Logic can run loads of plugins and heavy sessions, has amazing stock sounds and effects. Ableton is light and nimble for all audio and generative MIDI messing. But when it comes to a more mixing focussed workflow, Logic starts to take over for me. Even down to the hardware where Ableton controllers have only 2 sends in the design, that feels like the focus is to quickly jam ideas out rather than finish a mix. Most engineers will have more than 2 sends, at which point you’re moving beyond what the hardware is set up for. At that point you’re using mouse and keys anyway, and Logic is just better then.
Feels like Logic is 70% of what I’m looking for. One thing that may tip me over the edge with the choice is if I can get fast enough with MIDI and audio editing in Logic. Currently I find that side of things a little kitchen sink in Logic, which has pros and cons. Currently, I still prefer the stripped back nature of Ableton, and how snappy it is to just mess with a sound that way. And heck, there’s always Ableton Link. No need to Rewire anything, you can just have Ableton running there to do experiments and then export those specific things into the Logic session.
I’ve got a bit of experimenting ahead, and I don’t know where I’ll end up, but I’m definitley open to having 2 DAWs for different things. I think Logic could become my primary DAW with Ableton there in the background for specific things, or potentially I could use Ableton as my ideas DAW with Logic only for mixing to make a clear split in the workflow. That’s probably the more important call than choosing one and one only at this point.
Messed around with linear DAWS early on, but couldn’t stand floating windows, drawing automation, or any sort of mouse-centric workflow. Tried Renoise upon its release in 2002 and never looked back. It’s literally ruined every other DAW for me, or hardware for that matter, especially for arranging. I’d still be on version 2.6 from 2010 (when autoseek was added) if computer OS upgrades didn’t make it obsolete. Also, $75. Best money spent ever.
I use both Logic and Ableton. I started on Logic around 1997 and always loved the look of Ableton, but didn’t have the mental bandwidth to try it out for a long time. In the last 2 years I’ve dived into Live Suite in earnest and I love working in it for many kinds of tasks.
IMHO, Logic is a much more pleasant environment to track live instrumentation in. I find the comping in Live to be convoluted and visually really confusing compared to the process in Logic. I also just think Logic has the advantage when your composing more traditionally, left to right in the DAW. Having said that, I think I enjoy getting very outside the box a lot more in Live. I love the modulation that’s possible in Live and I can do weird things much faster.
At this point I just use both depending on what sort of material I’m working on. It’s easy enough to knock out stems in either one of them and move them over into the other if it’s really important. Otherwise it’s easy enough to get work done in either for me.
It’s worth noting, it took a lot of effort on my part to get fluid in Live, though. I don’t see myself incorporating a 3rd DAW in my lifetime. These 2 are plenty and I feel like they’re both pushing forward in cool ways that are great for the end user. They complement each other very well.
My 2 cents.
Ableton alone pretty much. It was the first one I used so familiarity (and Max4Live devices) keep it on top.
I bought Logic when I ordered a new Mac at one point - I always update it but I rarely use it. There are things that are nice (like snapping cuts to zero points, Ableton still seemingly incapable of finding zero points on the timeline) but the muscle memory of switching back and forth keeps me from using it regularly.
FL Studio - bought the top package on a Black Friday sale but every time I open it I find myself baffled about doing anything and before I delve into a tutorial I just open Ableton back up.
I use MPC Software and Ableton Standard.
I mostly produce in MPC Software and work with the audio tracks in Ableton to deal with automation and mixing. At that point, if I get a new idea I tend to use MPC Software as VST In Ableton.
Mainly Reason and Live for me here. I do use others for certain projects from time to time. Nothing better than switching things up for me.
Here’s a typical example of what I do.
Mostly produce in MPC Software, then automate&mix in Ableton.
First part you will see the MPC Software and in the end the bounced auido tracks in Ableton.
