Are there any real benefits to running more than one DAW? I have SPLAT, and was thinking of getting the free Tracktion 5, just for fun. I used Tracktion 1 and 2 as my only DAW many years ago, and I'm curious to see it again. Kind of nostalgic too.

Is a second daw just for fun? Another toy to play with? Or are there real benefits in having a second one?

Hi Bill,
 
I bought Reaper.
 
Used it a bit... Thought it was good.
 
Not used it for ages. I am so at home in Sonar, always have been.
 
But that's just me
 
cheers
 
andy

For me, and I'm not 100% there yet, Harrison's Mixbus 32C is my #2 DAW for mixing and mastering. 
 
The reason why I am not there yet is that they have a serious problem with UAD and Brainworks plugs. 
 
Once they straighten that out my plan is to 99% of the time do my mixing and mastering in Mixbus.
 
I have Reaper and like Andy, I found no joy in its paradigm. I do not plan on buying a new license when V6 comes out.
 
I also have Studio One Pro 3.x and I thought that its "arranger" ability was something I'd like to use but I'm still more comfortable in SONAR for tracking and editing. Maybe one day SONAR will have "arranger" capabilities and I can stop paying upgrade fees for Studio One too.
 
I expect to continue to pay upgrade fees for Mixbus 32C (and maybe Mixbus 3 too, we'll see). 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that for me the benefit of using Mixbus 32C for mixing and mastering is that I use it a break away from tracking and editing (change of mindset i.e. think differently).
 

I love the sound of Mixbus and it seems you can get a better mix faster but Mixbus doesn't play well with Sonar drivers for my Roland Studio-Captures so I can't use it without my ASIO drivers hanging if I go back to Sonar. Splat's good enough anyway.

Went for Tracktion as a second. Simple and smooth.

I view a DAW as a tool; either it can give you something you don't already have and need or it doesn't. If the first then get and use it. If the latter, then there's really no point in having it. For basic sequencing I prefer to use what I work best with, which is Sonar. Have never seen the need to use another DAW. I can and have used, but never felt anything is better than Sonar, since it's workflow suits me.
 
But I have bought a copy of Reaper, because it is vastly ahead of Sonar in one thing: time stretching. The engine and an algorithm in Reaper is far far far superior than the one in Sonar. So for me this second DAW is a tool for a specific task.
 
But would I use Reaper for much more? Probably not, since Sonar gives me everything the way I want it.

My main DAW is Logic X.
 
I also have Pro Tools installed, to take advantage of my control surface (Command 8). The performance leaves to be desired compared to Logic, so I don't use it that much, but it's handy for compatibility reasons, and I try to stay on top of it because PT is everywhere.
 
I have Harrison MixBus, which I never use. Cubase, if I feel like I need a change of pace - but I don't use it either. I had Studio One but I sold my license because I never used it.
 
In my experience - and I know it's different for every one - the only reason I ever really "need" another DAW is if I feel uninspired. Instead of working, I start messing with plug-ins and synths. But the problem is me, not my DAW. If I'm inspired, I can't imagine working with anything but the software I know like the back of my hand.
 
For me the benefit of having a second DAW is that I can launch it and get it out of my system, validating that a second DAW is not the solution to my problem. Every time I do launch Cubase or Pro Tools, I usually get back to Logic within minutes. In all fairness, if I had to pick a real second DAW, I'd pick Logic 9.
 
On a very pragmatic level - a lot of my music is built in Logic, meaning that I create sounds as I go, adding busses and all. By the time it's time to mix, I don't feel like starting from scratch. And Logic let's me create a new project and import individual tracks, their settings, automation and their assigned effects and busses if I want to - which is the best of both world.

I guess if I recorded bands, it's be different.
 
 
 
 

I now use Ableton Live for most of my stuff because it's unique workflow fits my creative process. I mostly use Sonar for it's comping features. 
 
I actually prefer Sonar for mixing - I love the Console view. I just found that I do a lot of mixing as I create, and dumping those tracks from Ableton to bring into Sonar is more work than it's worth.
 
I have both Mixbus versions, and I intend to try and master my current project in Mixbus after exporting stems from Ableton Live.

Depends on "your" workflow and what "you" are trying to accomplish.
For "you" another DAW could be more efficient at some task than another maybe.
To save yourself some financial remorse, just try the demo of whatever DAW you might be interested in, that's pretty much an easy thing to do nowadays.
Imho.