But, for the home user, DJ, and casual musician a DAW usually refers to computer software for laptops, PCs, Macs, and even mobile devices, with FL Studio being one of the most well-known.įL Studio, though, has undergone a number of updates since its introduction 20 years ago, and, on ]Ma 22nd of this year it even introduced a native MacOS-compatible version. Today, DAW hardware is still used in professional studios for the production and recording of music, speech, pre-recorded radio, books-on-tape, and television. The idea, of course, was that all of the sound recording and post-production work could take place all in one machine. More advanced than a drum machine, DAWs could be rolled out in a number of configurations, but most had a central sound interface and mixing station attached to the core percussion unit. Essentially it is a computer and soundboard the is pre-programmed with sound manipulating software. The digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device used for recording sound, editing it, and producing complex audio files. The drum machine soon evolved to become a software version that could be downloaded for home and personal computer, but, before it could get there, the technology had to undergo one more transformation. Drum Machines, DAWs, and, Finally, FL Studio for Mac