Digital Music Doctor announces the release of a new analysis which compares seven of the most popular Digital Audio Workstation software products from DigiDesign, Steinberg, Cakewalk, Sony, Apple, Ableton and Image Line. This analysis is an update of an ongoing study and now includes ratings for the recently released Cakewalk Sonar 8. The analysis measures these products based on two ratings, an overall functional rating and a value ratio. In the functional rating Cubase 4 remains the leader by a small margin over Sonar 8. ImageLine FL Studio 8 continues to be the product which provides the most value for the money.

PRODUCT RANK (FUNCTIONAL RATING)

1 - Cubase 4 (4.7)

2 - Sonar 8 (4.5)

3 - Logic Pro 8 (4.2)

4 - Acid Pro 6 (3.4)

5 - Pro Tools 7 (3.2)

6 - Live 7 (3.1)

7 - FL Studio 8 (2.9)

PRODUCT RANK (VALUE RATIO)

1 - FL Studio 8 (1.46)

2 - Pro Tools 7 (1.29)

3 - Acid Pro 6 (1.14)

4 - Sonar 8 (0.90)

5 - Logic Pro 8 (0.84)

7 - Live 7 (0.62)

6 - Cubase 4 (0.78)

The functional rating evaluates 130 different factors on a scale of 0-5 (5 being best) which are combined to arrive at an overall rating. The second metric of the analysis is the value ratio which is the ratio of the overall functional rating divided by the representative dealer price. Each main category of the functional rating has several subcategories which provide overall ratings for such functions as mixing, MIDI editors, recording, and track management. The analysis also includes an explanation for each rating as well as a description of what a particular function is and why it is important.

This analysis is based on the materials used in the video training courses produced by Digital Music Doctor for DigiDesign Pro Tools, Cakewalk Sonar, Steinberg Cubase, Sony Acid, Apple Logic Pro, Image Line FL Studio and Ableton Live. The complete analysis is available at the Digital Music Doctor web site: http://www.digitalmusicdoctor.com/shootout/shootout_summary.htm



Author Information

CLARK MURRAY
Digital Music Doctor