DAW technology has come a very long way since its beginnings in the 1970s. During that era, the capabilities of DAWs were relatively limited because of issues like expensive storage and slow disk speed. 

In 1978, there was Soundstream, the first audiophile digital audio recording company in the United States. They developed digital audio tape recorders which many consider to be the very first DAW.

As technology progressed, people in the recording industry were introduced to digital audio editing. Home computers like Apple Macintosh and Atari ST were invented, and sound engineers could use certain software programs to make music. But it wasn’t until computers became a household item that modern DAWs simultaneously became popular as well. 

The Logic Pro we know today was initially known as Notator Logic when it was launched in 1993. Amongst the other DAWs, I’ve personally had the most experience making music with Logic Pro. It was the most natural progression to a top-tier DAW from my early days of experimenting with GarageBand. It is also fitting that I use a MacBook, which Logic is made for.

Fast forward to today and DAWs like Pro Tools and Ableton Live have become the industry standard for producing records. Almost everyone now owns a laptop or a computer, which means that music production at a professional level has become more accessible than ever before. Homegrown artists have the privilege to set up a fully functioning studio in their bedroom with the help of some acoustic panels and purchasing a good enough microphone to record vocals with.

Bibliography

Michael, C. (2022). What is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)? Recording Connection. Available at: https://recordingconnection.com/reference-library/what-are-digital-audio-workstations-daw/#:~:text=Soundstream%2C%20which%20developed%20the%20first. (Accessed: 29 November 2023)