Best daw in 2025 (it’s not cubase, logic, studio one, or pro tools!)

What is the Best DAW to use as a music composer in 2025? It’s not Cubase, Logic, Studio One, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Digital Performer, or Reaper…

Your Artistry is the Best DAW

  • DAW: a tool for converting the sound in your head into real music

  • Artistry: your one-of-a-kind sound that cannot be replicated by others

Of course we all know what a DAW is - a piece of music software that helps you convert the sound in your head into real music. We do this with MIDI, sample libraries, and plugins to convert these ideas into a final product. We produce, mix, and master our music. We export it as an audio file and we have a finished track.

Your Artistry is your one-of-a-kind sound that cannot be replicated by others. I can mimic composers like Nobuo Uematsu, Austin Wintory, or Hans Zimmer. I can learn their melodic structures, chord progressions, tempos, instrumentations, etc. But I can’t sound like them. I can sound similar, but why is it that I cannot replicate that person? Why does a client want to hire that composer over everyone else and pay top dollar for it? It's artistry. That person is one-of-a-kind and can’t be replicated.

STOP BUYING GEAR THAT YOU DON’T NEED

  • Lie: If I only had X library or plugin, my music would sound so much better

  • Truth: A master carpenter can create a masterpiece with entry-level tools, but a beginner can’t create a masterpiece even with master-level tools

  • Meaning: You can create amazing music with what you already have

Back when I was in college, before I really understood what I was doing as a composer, I had access to virtually everything. On our college campus, they had workstations as part of our composition program, and we had access to just about every sample library ever at the time. And it was overwhelming. I probably used about 1% of the tools that were available to me. I found a few sounds that I liked from a few different companies, and just kind of stitched them together and hoped it would work. I was a beginner who couldn’t create a masterpiece because I didn't understand the building blocks of how to use the tools. Having access to master-level tools was worthless to me. You have the ability to create amazing music with what you already have. 

Hire Live Musicians

All pro composers have the same sample libraries & plugins. Some may have expensive analog gear as well, but if you want to capture a unique sound that no one else on the planet can replicate, hire live musicians. Even if another composer hires the exact same musicians as you, you’ll both end up with vastly different sounds, styles, & directions

This is the secret to releasing your Artistry into the world and standing out among thousands of composers.

Make Something Unique

It’s not enough to hire live musicians. Your music needs to be unique (tone, style, genre, melodic & chord choices, etc.). This is how you build a quality portfolio & get hired as an artist. This is how you battle AI music.

A game developer or film director can type in a prompt and get something that more or less fits the description of what they need. But what's the problem with this? It has no soul, humanity, or emotion. For us as artists, we have to dig deeper. We have to hone this craft of digging into the emotions of our life experiences and expressing that through our music. On a practical level, it's the tone, style, genre, choices of melody and chords that ultimately make a Steven Melin composition a Steven Melin composition, and not an Austin Wintory composition (or whoever else).

You Won’t Please Everyone

The true sign of being a successful artist is that you will be highly attractive to some and repulsive to others. When you’re being authentic to your artistry, then you will attract your ideal game developer clients and work on the projects you’ve dreamed of.

When you’re starting off as a composer, people have to know what you stand for. What type of music do you write? Game developers are looking to partner with composers who are 100% tuned in to the style of their game. If you look at any of my music, even though I've written in a lot of genres over the years, my music is kind of one of two things. It’s either going to be highly emotional, orchestral music, or it’s going to be quirky, high-energy, upbeat, platformer game type of music. Most of my music falls in that category, so you need to figure that out for yourself. What is your lane going to be? That's how you're going to get most of your work.

If you’re wondering what DAW I use though…

  • Steinberg Nuendo: I affectionately call this “Cubase Pro Pro”. I use it every day in the studio for all things MIDI, Audio, & bulk exporting files.

  • Pro Tools: When I record live orchestras & choir, Pro Tools is required by the sound stages, but when I receive the Pro Tools session back after a session, I just export all the audio and import it into Nuendo for mixing & mastering.

use whatever you’re skilled with!

There are many other DAW’s out there, but the most important one is the one you’re skilled with and can write quickly in! But to our point earlier, your artistry is the only thing that separates you from every other composer on the planet. Be unique. Do good work. Build a meaningful career.

If you want to become a full time game composer, stop chasing tools and sharpen yourself as the tool.

I hope that this inspires you to stop chasing the gear and instead start investing in yourself. If you want to invest in yourself today, come join the free Video Game Music Alliance® Discord, and let’s chat about it. Make sure you introduce yourself and let us know where you’re at in your career. We’d love to help you along that journey.