Choosing the best DAW (digital audio workstation) to record vocals has much less to do with the DAW than you might think.
In fact, the best option for you is almost entirely determined by your circumstances, and what you are trying to achieve with your vocals.
Consider the question; “what is the best DAW for recording vocals?” It suggests that you are recording only vocals. After all, if you were recording an entire track, you wouldn’t use a separate DAW for instruments.
It is an important distinction because if you are recording only vocals (or spoken word, for that matter), the choice of DAW is almost inconsequential.
You essentially just need something that will take your mic input and record it. You could even use Audacity – a limited but free audio editor.
In this post, we’re assuming you are focused on vocals only. There are plenty of considerations to take into account when choosing a DAW for vocals.
We’ll do our best to lay it all out for you, as well as cover some other ways you can improve your vocal recordings.
Recording Vocals: Which DAW?
Let’s start with the basics; what can you really get? On the one hand, professional DAWs are not cheap, with the industry standard offerings easily stretching into thousands of dollars or hefty monthly subscriptions. On the other hand, as we mentioned above, you don’t need all that power to record vocals.
So, let’s make one thing clear straight away. When we’re talking about the bare necessities, anything more than the ability to record audio is a luxury and should be treated as such.
If you have $700+ burning a hole in your pocket and want to buy Ableton Live Suite, go ahead. It will absolutely do everything you need it to.
However, if you are working with a more modest budget, there is also Ableton Live Intro, which costs less at $99.
The dirty little secret about DAWs is that, for the vast majority of people, it doesn’t make a difference which you use, and those for whom it does make a difference don’t need to read posts like this. What could make a difference is the plugins you use (more on that shortly) so as long as your DAW supports plugins, you should be good.
The next factor to consider is your computer hardware. Music production is an intensive process on your computer, so if you are attempting to record vocals on something a little light on processing power, you might want to bias your choice of DAW towards the most lightweight options, or you will need to factor in the cost of upgrading your computer to run your new DAW.
One example of a lightweight DAW is Reaper.
In the Box?
“In the box” is the name given to music production entirely on the computer. There are no outboard compressors, choruses, reverb, or any other hardware involved other than a microphone and a singer. Of course, in-the-box production places more of a burden on the computer, but only if you are doing any kind of processing to your recording.
If the goal is just to record dry vocals and send them on to someone else, none of this needs to concern you.
If you are doing some processing, but you like to work with hardware, once again your choice of DAW is relatively unimportant.
The audio coming into your computer will have your processing on it, and your DAW will just record it like any other audio source.
DAW Recommendations
Here are some recommendations for DAWs based on different circumstances. Bear in mind that all of these recommendations assume you are specifically looking to record vocals.
The Money is No Object Suggestion
Avid Pro Tools is an industry-standard DAW that does everything you might want from a DAW. Granted, buying Pro Tools just to record vocals is a little like buying a sports car just to drive to the supermarket, but if money is no object, why not drive the sports car?
The Creative All Rounder Suggestion
While Adobe Creative Cloud includes a lot that is unrelated to music production, the subscription price for the full suite compares favorably to DAWs like the above Pro Tools. It includes Adobe Audition-a good DAW in its own right. If you’re only recording vocals, this would be a terrible choice, but if you need any of the other applications in the CC suite, this is by far the most cost-effective option.
The One Size Fits All Suggestion
If we could only suggest one DAW regardless of circumstances, it would be Ableton Live. Live can do all the things that you would expect from a professional DAW and comes in a variety of flavors to suit different budgets, from the aforementioned $99 price tag all the way up to Pro Tools pricing. You can even get a “Lite” version for free with some hardware and applications.
It’s Not All About the DAW
Recording good vocals is not about the DAW, and if you are looking to spend a little money to make your vocal recordings better, you would get much better results putting that money into your recording space.
Microphones for Recording Vocals
The single biggest factor in your vocal recordings (other than the singer, of course) is the microphone. You’re probably not using a $2,000 Neumann U 87 on your recordings, but there are more affordable mics that can greatly enhance your vocals. Our top two pics are the Shure SM7b, which is a little pricey at around $500, but is very versatile, or the Rode NT1-A, which is around half the price of the SM7b but an excellent quality mic.
Acoustic Treatment and your Voice
Having a properly prepared recording space will make a world of difference. If you can’t afford to have your studio professionally and acoustically treated, spend some time reading about the process.
Also, note that you’ll need an Audio interface. If you’re on a budget check out Audio interfaces under $200.
At the very least you should invest in things like pop shields and isolation shields. Moveable acoustic panels that can be placed behind the singer are also a good investment, and you can even get a similar effect much more cheaply by hanging up thick blankets!
Final Thoughts
Arguably, when recording vocals, the DAW is the least important thing to worry about. It undoubtedly plays a role, of course, but things like your recording space’s acoustic properties and the microphone you use will make a far bigger difference.