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