WA digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software program on a laptop, to an integrated stand-alone unit, all the way to a highly complex configuration of numerous components controlled by a central computer. Regardless of configuration, modern DAWs have a central interface that allows the user to alter and mix multiple recordings and tracks into a final produced piece.
WAbleton Live is a digital audio workstation for macOS and Windows developed by Berlin-based Ableton. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Ableton Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for composing, recording, arranging, mixing, and mastering. It is also used by DJs, as it offers a suite of controls for beatmatching, crossfading, and other different effects used by turntablists, and was one of the first music applications to automatically beatmatch songs. Live is available in three editions: Intro, Standard, and Suite.
WAdobe Audition is a digital audio workstation developed by Adobe Inc. featuring both a multitrack, non-destructive mix/edit environment and a destructive-approach waveform editing view.
WArdour is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application that runs on Linux, macOS, FreeBSD and Microsoft Windows. Its primary author is Paul Davis, who was also responsible for the JACK Audio Connection Kit. It is intended as a digital audio workstation suitable for professional use.
WBitwig Studio is a proprietary digital audio workstation developed by Bitwig GmbH. Bitwig is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Bitwig is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for composing, recording, arranging, mixing, and mastering. It offers a suite of controls for beatmatching, crossfading, and other effects used by turntablists. Bitwig supports both traditional linear music arrangement and non-linear (clip-based) production. It has multi-monitor and touch screen support. Bitwig is notable for its strong modulation, and automation capabilities. The current stable version of Bitwig is "Bitwig Studio 4.0", and was released on 13 July 2021. In 2017, Bitwig Studio was named DAW of the year by Computer Music (magazine).
WFL Studio is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line.
WFL Studio Mobile is a digital audio workstation available for Android, iOS and Windows UWP.
WThe Fostex Foundation 2000 was a high-end digital audio workstation that Fostex introduced in 1993, at a cost of about $60,000. Many of its engineers were refugees from the recently bankrupt New England Digital, makers of the highly regarded and much more pricey Synclavier music workstation. It was considered a very innovative product in its time for its intuitive touch-screen user-interface and very high performance. The Foundation 2000 cost approximately $60,000 when it was introduced and ended up not being successful in the market. Software updates were still being released as late as 1996. A cheaper version called the Fostex Foundation 2000RE was also sold.
WFugue Machine is a music sequencer created by San Francisco composer and software developer Alexander Randon, also known by his stage name as Alexandernaut. Marketed as the "world’s first multi-playhead piano roll," Fugue Machine allows the user to sequence a melody and have up to three variations of it play all at the same time. The application was originally released on October 8, 2015 for iOS, and quickly garnered notability for its intuitive methods of making complex pieces and for being the first app to be developed from the "Cultural Incubator" program by the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts.
WThe KRISTAL Audio Engine is a digital audio workstation for Microsoft Windows. It is free for personal & educational use, with licensing options for commercial use.
WLMMS is a digital audio workstation application program. When LMMS is executed on a computer with appropriate hardware, it allows music to be produced by arranging samples, synthesizing sounds, playing on a MIDI keyboard, and combining the features of trackers and sequencers. It supports the Linux Audio Developer's Simple Plugin API (LADSPA), LV2 and Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plug-ins. It is free and open source software, written in Qt and released under GPL-2.0-or-later.
WLogic Pro is a digital audio workstation (DAW) and MIDI sequencer software application for the macOS platform. It was originally created in the early 1990s as Notator Logic, or Logic, by German software developer C-Lab which later went by Emagic. American technology company Apple acquired Emagic in 2002 and renamed Logic to Logic Pro. It is the second most popular DAW – after Ableton Live – according to a survey conducted in 2015.
WLogic Studio is a discontinued professional music production suite by Apple Inc. The first version of Logic Studio was unveiled on September 12, 2007. It claims to be the largest collection of modeled instruments, sampler instruments, effect plug-ins, and audio loops ever put in a single application.
WMaking Waves (MW) is computer software designed to produce professional quality audio from basic Windows multimedia PCs. This application was among the first of the 16-bit digital sequencers that evolved from the MS-DOS WAV trackers of the Eighties to become the digital audio workstation software available today including Steinberg Cubase, Pro Tools and ACID Pro. Making Waves enabled a small community of independent artists to use existing hardware to record, sample, mix and render their own original work creating professional-quality audio with a modest investment of less than $100. This same dynamic user community played a significant role in the application's development, suggesting program revisions and performing extensive beta testing. These users were all organized and mentored by Stephen John Steele, the original programmer and developer of Making Waves as well as a founding director of Perceptive Solutions, Spacehead Systems and Making Waves Software Limited.
WMixcraft is a multitrack recording application for Windows. This music recording software functions as a digital audio workstation, MIDI sequencer, virtual instrument host, non-linear video arranger, and music loop recording program.
WMusE is computer software, a sequencer for Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) and audio, with recording and editing abilities. It was originally written by Werner Schweer and now is developed by the MusE development team. It is free software released under GPL-2.0-or-later.
WPro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture and, more generally, sound recording, editing, and mastering processes.
WQtractor is a hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation application for Linux. Qtractor is written in C++ and is based on the Qt framework. Its author is Rui Nuno Capela, who is also responsible for the Qjackctl, Qsynth and Qsampler line of Linux audio software. Qtractor's intention was to provide digital audio workstation software simple enough for the average home user, and yet powerful enough for the professional user.
WREAPER is a digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software created by Cockos. The current version is available for Microsoft Windows and macOS, as well as for Linux. REAPER acts as a host to most industry-standard plug-in formats and can import all commonly used media formats, including video. REAPER and its included plug-ins are available in 32-bit and 64-bit format.
WRecord is a music software program developed by Swedish software developers Propellerhead Software. Designed for recording, arrangement and mixing, it emulates a recording studio, with a mixing desk, a rack of virtual instruments and effects and an audio and MIDI sequencer. Record can be used either as a complete virtual recording studio in itself, or together with Propellerhead Software's Reason.
WRenoise is a digital audio workstation (DAW) based upon the heritage and development of tracker software. Its primary use is the composition of music using sound samples, soft synths, and effects plug-ins. It is also able to interface with MIDI and OSC equipment. The main difference between Renoise and other music software is the characteristic vertical timeline sequencer used by tracking software.
WRosegarden is a free software digital audio workstation program developed for Linux with ALSA and Qt4. It acts as an audio and MIDI sequencer, scorewriter and musical composition and editing tool. It is intended to be a free alternative to such applications as Cubase.
WSound Forge is a digital audio editing suite by Magix Software GmbH, which is aimed at the professional and semi-professional markets. There are two versions of Sound Forge: Sound Forge Pro 12 released in April 2018 and Sound Forge Audio Studio 13 released in January 2019. Both are well known digital audio editors and offer recording, audio editing, audio mastering and processing.
WCubase is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by Steinberg for music and MIDI recording, arranging and editing. The first version, which was originally only a MIDI sequencer and ran on the Atari ST computer, was released in 1989. Cut-down versions of Cubase are included with almost all Yamaha audio and MIDI hardware, as well as hardware from other manufacturers. These versions can be upgraded to a more advanced version at a discount.
WNuendo is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by Steinberg for music recording, arranging, editing and post-production. The package is aimed at audio and video post-production market segments, but also contains optional modules that can be used for multiple multimedia creation and audio sequencing.
WStudio One is a digital audio workstation (DAW) application, used to create, record, mix and master music and other audio, with functionality also available for video. It is developed by PreSonus and available for macOS and Microsoft Windows. In addition to the commercial editions of the software, PreSonus also distributes a free edition, with reduced functionality. The Professional edition is also available as part of the PreSonus Sphere monthly subscription program.
WWaveLab is a digital audio editor and recording computer software application for Windows and macOS, created by Steinberg. WaveLab was started in 1995 and it is mainly the work of one programmer, Philippe Goutier.
WZ-Maestro is a MIDI and digital audio sequencer designed with a focus on ease of use and power for the Windows platform. Developed by Z-Systems, it has seen over a dozen regular releases spaced two to six months apart.
WPodium is a digital audio workstation software program that integrates audio recording, VST plugins and external MIDI and audio gear. An object based project structure allows for advanced media and device management.