# Best entry level (free?) DAW on Windows



## Yogevs (Jul 6, 2020)

I have a friend that wants to try writing some music.
He got Spitfire Audio's BBC Orchestra Discover (game changer anyone?) but ha now DAW.
He doesn't want to spend money (or not too much money) as he doesn't even know if he likes it.

The requirements:
* Windows (otherwise I would have suggested Garage Band)
* It needs to be able to run Virtual Instruments (BBCO Discover! Game changer I said!)
* It needs to be able to record audio (he is planning to try and record some guitar and drums)
* It should be somewhat popular so it will have some tutorials available on YouTube as I won't be able to support him TOO much (I'm a Logic Pro X user)

Any suggestion would be appreciated!


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## MartinH. (Jul 6, 2020)

Yogevs said:


> He doesn't want to spend money (or not too much money) as he doesn't even know if he likes it.





REAPER | Download



The Reaper trial should run long enough (don't think it ever stops working at all even, just keeps showing a nag screen) to figure out if he likes it, and then it's just 60$ for the discounted license. Also there's a message on that page about a free temporary license because of covid19, but I haven't read the details. 

Reaper has plenty of tutorials available online. It may not be as simple to use as Garageband, but probably easier to get into than a more obscure free DAW. 

I haven't watched this, but there's a link to a Reaper Template for BBC SO Discover in the video description: 



I hope it will be a proper game changer for your friend!


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## Yogevs (Jul 6, 2020)

MartinH. said:


> REAPER | Download
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I figured Reaper was the way to go - but I really don't know so I preferred asking first.
What is the difference between the Free, Discounted, and Commercial versions?

Thanks for the video but I think working with a template is way to early for him. We need the basics first.
How to record, how to load any VST, etc...


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## MartinH. (Jul 6, 2020)

Yogevs said:


> I figured Reaper was the way to go - but I really don't know so I preferred asking first.
> What is the difference between the Free, Discounted, and Commercial versions?
> 
> Thanks for the video but I think working with a template is way to early for him. We need the basics first.
> How to record, how to load any VST, etc...



Reaper is what I know and what I can wholeheartedly recommend for that task. If others have other suggestions, it's worth checking them out too, I for sure don't know every DAW there is out there. 

Regarding differences between the versions... I don't think there are any. 

Quoted from the site: 

"Purchase a REAPER License 

A new license includes free upgrades through REAPER version 7.99. There is only one version of REAPER. The license price depends on how you use it. 

*$60* : discounted license.
*$225* : commercial license.

You may use the discounted license if: 

You are an individual, and REAPER is only for your personal use, _*or*_
You are an individual or business using REAPER commercially, and yearly gross revenue does not exceed USD $20,000, _*or*_
You are an educational or non-profit organization."


Your friend qualifies for the discounted license, so it costs 60$, no limitations. 

Reaper is a bit unusual in that regard. For my first DAW about a decade ago (iirc it was cakewalk music creator) I paid 50,- Euro and they didn't clearly mention in the product description that it was limited to 8 vsti tracks... they wrote "up to 128 midi tracks", but they just meant midi without vsti plugins... which is useless. Borderline fraud imho and upon my complaints they claimed that was quite a lot for industry standard and I thought "Wtf? That can't be true.".


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## zolhof (Jul 6, 2020)

Other than Reaper, your friend can try Cakewalk by BandLab, which is essentially Sonar Platinum without the third-party stuff. I went to check their website and was very impressed with what is bundled: 64-bit processing, VST3, ARA and multitouch support, great effects, video and notation editing, ProChannel mixing console and more. Their community seems to keep going strong with busy forums and lots of content on YT for both Cakewalk and Sonar. Pretty cool that all of this is now free. 









BandLab: Make Music Online


The cloud platform where musicians and fans create music, collaborate, and engage with each other across the globe




www.bandlab.com





edit: check out the release notes too, they seem to push out updates every other month not only with bug fixes but also features and enhancements. I wish Steinberg was this active!


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## rrichard63 (Jul 6, 2020)

The closest thing to Garage Band for Windows is Acoustica Mixcraft ($75 for the standard version). There aren't as many tutorials as there are for some other DAWs, but the manual and the developer's forum are both excellent.

The next closest in terms of ease of learning is probably Tracktion Waveform, which has both free and paid versions. The free version is fully functional -- unlimited tracks, etc. To folks who know other DAWs, Waveform is a little quirky, but in ways that might appeal to urban/EDM/pop producers. And that would matter less to newcomers who don't know conventional DAWs.

Cakewalk by BandLab is somewhat more challenging to learn and use than Mixcraft. But it's less challenging than Reaper.

Reaper is an amazing product, but in my opinion requires a somewhat geeky approach to making music -- more so than the other products mentioned.

Your friend should start out by trying the free trial of Mixcraft.


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## robcs (Jul 6, 2020)

The other one to try - and it’s completely free - is Waveform from Tracktion. It’s surprisingly full-featured, and the upgrades to pro aren’t too expensive.


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## SergeD (Jul 6, 2020)

Also the free LMMS https://lmms.io/


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## AmbientMile (Jul 6, 2020)

I would REALLY suggest Waveform as well! Not only free, but very easy to learn. I use Logic Pro on my MBP, but I use Waveform Pro on my Windows machines. It is a very powerful yet simple to learn DAW.


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## FinGael (Jul 6, 2020)

Cakewalk. Also recommend Mike Enjo's very good tutorial videos (Youtube) to get things rolling.


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## easyrider (Jul 6, 2020)

Reaper...it’s not an entry level DAW...the reason it costs 60 bucks is that the developers wrote Winamp...made a fortune and decided to code a DAW that was accessible to the masses....

The support the forum and the community is second to none...Studios use Reaper


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## vitocorleone123 (Jul 6, 2020)

Waveform Free by a massive amount. So much easier to use. Inputs on left, outputs in right, music in the middle. Drag and drop inputs, synths, and effects. Or samples. Chord track, and a ton more.

Doesnt have notation, though.


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## storyteller (Jul 6, 2020)

And free... a hotrodded version of Reaper configured for composers =>>> otr.storyteller.im

It is called OTR... Orchestral Template for Reaper.


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## Villanao (Jul 7, 2020)

I love REAPER but it can be difficult to learn. I find Cakewalk much easier to use and it's pretty powerful and stable. It's not as CPU efficient as REAPER but it's way more efficient than Studio One. Waveform Free looks cool but I've heard it crashes a lot. Cakewalk has updates every 1 or 2 months and they've done a great job and will probably continue to improve it. Popularity seems to be going up with lots of YT channels about it.


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## easyrider (Jul 7, 2020)

You lot on MAC complaining about CPU?

Cubase for me is worse than Studio one for cpu on PC....


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## mussnig (Jul 7, 2020)

rrichard63 said:


> The closest thing to Garage Band for Windows is Acoustica Mixcraft ($75 for the standard version). There aren't as many tutorials as there are for some other DAWs, but the manual and the developer's forum are both excellent.
> 
> The next closest in terms of ease of learning is probably Tracktion Waveform, which has both free and paid versions. The free version is fully functional -- unlimited tracks, etc. To folks who know other DAWs, Waveform is a little quirky, but in ways that might appeal to urban/EDM/pop producers. And that would matter less to newcomers who don't know conventional DAWs.
> 
> ...



I also think that Mixcraft is easy to use and comes with a great variety of stock sounds/instruments (especially some of the synths actually sound really good). Sure, they are clearly not in the same league as other products out there, but given the price ...


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## Villanao (Jul 7, 2020)

Mixcraft is cool but it has no track templates and the developer doesn't seem to think they're necessary since they have project templates already (said so in a forum post).


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## windyweekend (Jul 7, 2020)

Best Service are selling Cubase Elements for $85 if he can stretch to that. It's a mini version of the full thing. Best DAW in the world imo (I'll get burned for saying that), so this entry price for the cut down version is a great way to get the best at an affordable price. The Discover pack is pretty awesome. The two together will have him salivating.


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## Trensharo (Jul 9, 2020)

Cakewalk by BandLab, absolutely. Its almost like a Cubase Lite. I would use that over Cubase Elements, which really is missing most of the good features and only has a basic score editor, anyways. 

Also, the track limitations are in that SKU are challenging for composition. 

Steinberg is running a "Buy Artist, Get Pro" promotion for Cubase where you buy artist and Get Upgraded to Pro for free. That should be considered, since its basically a 40% discount (or so).

I would definitely start with Cakewalk by BandLab, though. 

Not really a fan of Waveform. My experience with it hasn't been great, and I don't like the UI/UX. 

REAPER is not beginner friendly, and Cakewalk has better facilities for MIDI composition and working with Virtual Instruments, anyways.


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## Al Maurice (Jul 10, 2020)

I would say it all comes down to whether he enjoys playing directly into the daw or prefers to enter each note by mouse, as some have better piano rolls than others.

Also something like Cubase Elements (CE) has a restricted number of tracks, so what track count is he looking at? Also CE has very limited midi features. Moreover Reaper requires lots of configuration up front and does not come with many vitual instruments.

So he may be better with something like the pro version of Studio One, he can try it at $14.99 a month using their subscription service (Studio One Sphere), then he'll have access to all their plugins and instruments (also that comes with a licence for their notation editor), it has a very easy workflow compared to Cubase, and is great for recording audio -- in fact that's probably its strong point. Plus it has a sampler albeit quite basic and a drum machine. Although as of version 5, its composing features have improved, with the addition of the notation edit window, enabling easy tweaking of notes too and even the option to use some keyswitches. Moreover it has a very handy step record feature making it simple to enter in quick moving lines. But it doesn't yet have retrospective recording.

However there are plenty of free options out there, so he could start with one of those and see what features he likes or misses before committing.


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## iwritemusic (Jul 10, 2020)

I'm a huge fan of Mixcraft, and even run a YT channel called... Fans of Mixcraft. When it comes to being comprehensive and easy to use, its really second to none. Version 9 can get quirky when you push it hard, but they are getting that sorted out (its a tiny company). If you spring for the Pro version, the Pianissimo piano sounds great and is lightweight too.

Regardless of what DAW you choose, be sure to try a demo and run 20 or so instances of BBC to see how it behaves. I have an older i5-4570s machine 16gb/500ssd and Bitwig is the only DAW running a full set of BBC tracks reliably right now on my machine. Mixcraft and Reaper get a little quirky for me when the RAM starts filling up.

Here's an Orchestral track I did with the stock Mixcraft instruments...



Best,

Nathan


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## ceemusic (Jul 10, 2020)

Cakewalk By BandLab. Fully featured daw & free. 
I've done many projects with it over the years. Like any daw it has it quirks but it also excells in other areas over the others.


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## Trensharo (Jul 11, 2020)

iwritemusic said:


> I'm a huge fan of Mixcraft, and even run a YT channel called... Fans of Mixcraft. When it comes to being comprehensive and easy to use, its really second to none. Version 9 can get quirky when you push it hard, but they are getting that sorted out (its a tiny company). If you spring for the Pro version, the Pianissimo piano sounds great and is lightweight too.
> 
> Regardless of what DAW you choose, be sure to try a demo and run 20 or so instances of BBC to see how it behaves. I have an older i5-4570s machine 16gb/500ssd and Bitwig is the only DAW running a full set of BBC tracks reliably right now on my machine. Mixcraft and Reaper get a little quirky for me when the RAM starts filling up.
> 
> ...



Unless you have a preconceived preference, MixCraft is really a waste of money when its Windows-only and you can get Cakewalk; which I don't even use (Cubase Pro, here).

You're still going to want to get better plugins, soft synths and/or virtual instruments if you go with MixCraft. Cakewalk is the more comprehensive offering, when you factor in the base DAW - unless you want to edit video in your DAW - and more powerful for MIDI composition.

MixCraft is great, and absent the "free Sonar Platinum" I would totally agree with you; but it is not a better DAW and it makes little sense to buy into it *given the current choices (and their price points).*

There is a reason why Cakewalk is seeing a lot more coverage, and increasing amounts of coverage, on YouTube - while there is very little available for MixCraft... another reason why I would favor Cakewalk, especially for a beginner/upstart.

Pianissimo really isn't sounding much better- if at all - than the free Acoustic Grand Piano you get in SampleTank CS (or dirt cheap AIR Mini Grand). Bundled instruments and synths in a low-end DAW are not a selling point to someone who wants to get into this seriously.

You can get a free Addictive Keys piano if you buy a Focusrite interface, or UVI Model D if you buy a PreSonus interface. Pianissimo is literally ignorable, as both of those are better, and an interface with headphones is a better investment than paying for MixCraft Pro Studio over using Cakewalk by BandLab for free.

You can buy AIEP Complete for $80 and come out with better synths and instruments than MixCraft, and save money.

Get Cakewalk and use that money to buy whatever else he needs.

Not to mention the free options should always be de facto because who wants to spend money when they'd otherwise be fine with what they can have for nothing?

Cakewalk: Better resources, better third party/hardware support, etc.

-----

And if I'm going to be honest, some of those sounds sound synthesized, and barely better than what you'd get out of the included TTS-1 GM player in Cakewalk.


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## Trensharo (Jul 11, 2020)

Al Maurice said:


> I would say it all comes down to whether he enjoys playing directly into the daw or prefers to enter each note by mouse, as some have better piano rolls than others.
> 
> Also something like Cubase Elements (CE) has a restricted number of tracks, so what track count is he looking at? Also CE has very limited midi features. Moreover Reaper requires lots of configuration up front and does not come with many vitual instruments.
> 
> ...


Studio One Artist has VST support OOTB, now, so I'd probably start with that. Its included with PreSonus Audio Interfaces. So if he doesn't have one, he can buy an AudioBox 96 and get the DAW and some usable plugins and sounds with it.


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## iwritemusic (Jul 11, 2020)

Trensharo said:


> MixCraft is great, and absent the "free Sonar Platinum" I would totally agree with you; but it is not a better DAW and it makes little sense to buy into it *given the current choices (and their price points).*



Morning,

I hear what you're saying, and you're not wrong. However, when it comes to the ease of use aspect, Mixcraft blows away just about everything out there. There are not a lot of tutorials for it, but it is so simple that it really doesn't need them. For a beginner, The Cakewalk interface is something like the proverbial "antique axe with 7 heads and five handles", as it has been fleshed out to the point of complication. It's a high-end DAW that happens to be free.

When the OP suggested Garageband, that's pretty much what sealed my suggestion, because you'll get much further dabbling in Mixcraft than you will in Cakewalk or Reaper, and with the free trial it's worth a shot. Mixcraft is absurdly simple, and will provide a much better experience if this individual just wants to jump in immediately and check things out. Even simple actions like trimming or looping a clip is child's play in Mixcraft compared with the other two.

If I wanted to try out flying, this would be like having the choice between a new Cessna Skyhawk or a free, recently-retired Delta MD-80. The MD-80 is a proven, well-engineered, and reliable plane that can go for longer distances and carry more passengers, but the learning curve is much much steeper than with the Cessna. In addition, like the MD-80 it's basically a zombie on life support. Let's not forget that Cakewalk went out of business, and Mixcraft was pretty much intended to compete with Sonar at the time.

But yes, the step sequencer in Cakewalk is amazing, and you can do much more with it compared with the one in Mixcraft. On the other hand, the Mixcraft performance panel blows away the rudimentary clip launcher in Cakewalk. Cakewalk has that great channel strip, but now Mixcraft has a fully modular/customizable mixer with the same functionality. I really don't think Mixcraft is that far off, and will probably develop faster from here on out to boot as Cakewalk is sort of living abandonware at this point.


- Nathan

P.S. - My first approved track on AudioJungle is nothing but Pianissimo, so it can't be THAT bad!


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## rrichard63 (Jul 11, 2020)

iwritemusic said:


> When the OP suggested Garageband, that's pretty much what sealed my suggestion, because you'll get much further dabbling in Mixcraft than you will in Cakewalk or Reaper ...


This. Many others, including Cakewalk and Reaper, are more powerful. But I think Mixcraft is easier to learn.


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## Markrs (Jul 11, 2020)

I use reaper but find it hard, there is a lot to learn, lots of custom scripts to do certain things. In the end you feel you can do nearly anything daw related with reaper but I find it required a lot of knowledge to make it efficient. At the moment I feel as a beginner myself I would rather use something that is more intuitive and gets less in the way of creating music. At the moment though I am still sticking with reaper but likely to take advantage of the cubase artist to pro deal or get studio one 5


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## Al Maurice (Jul 11, 2020)

To be honest there's lots of options out there and all these are decent suggestions. 

But if he wants to save money in the short run, the best advice I ever received was to download the demos and try them out first. Because if he goes down the wrong route, he'll end up forking out lots of money and find he still isn't satisfied. Some of the artist versions are great, but you'll end up paying almost a full licence to upgrade later if he chooses, which is what I found by going down the audiobox route even with a sale. Each of these evaluation versions last about a month, leaving him 3-4 months without having to spend a penny and by November the offers start to come in.

The library he is looking at uses key switches, and most others of that ilk do as well; also many require you to use CC data to play or later record the dynamic and modulation. So whatever he chooses needs support for that. Otherwise he will need to enter them in by hand, which is huge headache as soon as he wants to make any changes or change the instrument later on. Alternatively he can use one track per articulation, but some of the cheaper options have limited track counts. As usual best to take his time and find a DAW that suits him best.

Also if he has a small keyboard, which lots of us have for lack of desktop real estate, he'll spend his life transposing to reach those key switches too -- unless he has an external controller that can be midi mapped. Midi music is fun, but over time the expenses can easily add up, especially once he starts looking at VI instruments too (for starters there are lots of free or cheaper options. Once he knows what he wants to do and feels comfortable with his DAW and starts creating something that sounds decent, then it's worth considering other instrument options.


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## Villanao (Jul 11, 2020)

Mixcraft's new mixer is really awesome, I wish they had track templates!


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## bill5 (Jul 17, 2020)

rrichard63 said:


> The closest thing to Garage Band for Windows is Acoustica Mixcraft ($75 for the standard version). There aren't as many tutorials as there are for some other DAWs, but the manual and the developer's forum are both excellent.
> 
> The next closest in terms of ease of learning is probably Tracktion Waveform, which has both free and paid versions. The free version is fully functional -- unlimited tracks, etc. To folks who know other DAWs, Waveform is a little quirky, but in ways that might appeal to urban/EDM/pop producers. And that would matter less to newcomers who don't know conventional DAWs.
> 
> ...


Seconded. I tried almost every DAW known to man and Mixcraft was easily the easiest to learn. PS they do have a lot of tutorials and excellent support overall. Reaper came in second, not getting people who say it's hard to learn. I'd try the free trials of each.

Really I'd try as many as he can stand (the majority have trial versions) because that's the only way he'll know what works for him.


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## bill5 (Jul 17, 2020)

iwritemusic said:


> Morning,
> 
> I hear what you're saying, and you're not wrong.


 For the most part, yeah he is. Calling Mixcraft "low-end" and "a waste of money" is ridiculous. 

But again, the OP and his friend shouldn't take my or anyone else's word for any of this. Go try them.


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## lljfnord (Jul 20, 2020)

Gotta toss in one more vote for Cakewalk by Bandlab. Its learning curve is really not that steep, and it has so many resources available (online help, forums, YouTube tutorials) that you should be able to find the answer to any question you might have. I've used it to create four game soundtracks and two albums, so it's no lightweight once you do get to know it. _Very_ highly recommended.


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## DoubleTap (Jul 23, 2020)

I'm about six weeks ahead of your friend, prompted almost entirely by the discovery that Cakewalk was now free. I'd previously made occasional attempts to make tracks using Audacity, but hadn't made any music since about 1996 (if you can call it music - I'm a drummer) and the last time I'd looked into all this stuff it seemed like just getting started would cost a big wodge of cash. So I downloaded Cakewalk. 

But I would recommend Tracktion Waveform - it's so much more intuitive for someone like me without any handle on what a DAW should be like. I remember trying to figure out if the reason the effect plugin wasn't working in Cakewalk and not knowing if it was because it was on a midi track, if the free plugin was just rubbish, or if it was working and I just couldn't hear it, or if it was something wrong with my laptop... Cakewalk is worth trying though - he might like it better than me. 

Waveform does crash quite a lot, although I've nicknamed it Weeble because it just springs right back up again. There's plenty of stuff that's still a bit baffling and there's a constant tension between wanting to pursue an idea and coming to a grinding halt while I teach myself how to do something basic, but it's all absolutely marvellous fun.


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## vitocorleone123 (Jul 23, 2020)

Waveform is definitely MUCH more intuitive - at least if you either don't have lots of experience with other DAWs, or you hate other DAWs for being how they are. I fall into the latter camp. I can't for the life of me figure out how to even use my MIDI keyboard to play a soft synth in most other DAWs within a few minutes, let alone hardware (I just demod Reaper, Ableton, and Bitwig within the last few weeks). But, then, I'm very used to Waveform.

Waveform 11 is more stable with plugin sandboxing, though that has some other issues. A big part of instability is plugins, and the fact that plugin makers don't QA against Waveform because it's not One Of The Big Ones. Odd numbered Tracktion versions have, to date, been better in my opinion than the even numbered versions.


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## starise (Jul 24, 2020)

I keep hearing the statement that Mixcraft is the same as Garageband and can't fully agree. I have used both. Though GB was not on one of my computers.

GB is MUCH more basic and stripped down than Mixcraft Pro 9. Mixcraft is a full featured DAW with lots of extras. GB is beginner software and I wouldn't try to make orchestral music with it. I highly doubt it even accepts BBCSO Discovery. FWIW the Spitfire site has videos on use of BBCSO Discovery in the most used DAW software.

Instructions are there for Ableton, Cakewalk, Cubase, Studio One, Logic and others. Cakewalk users have made templates for the orchestra based on templates made for other DAWs. There's a thread there with a free download on the forum. I can't vouch for Mixcraft being as capable for larger templates. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. One thing I like about Mixcraft is that many of the included plugins scan in other DAWs. It isn't my main DAW. Has some strengths, like basic video editing in windows formats. Not many DAWs at that level offer this. Since I can't vouch for the ease of template creation I can't fully recommend it for this user.Plus it's over 100.00 and Cakewalk is free. Big difference there.Neither does Cakewalk offer the extras that Mixcraft does. You get a bunch of instruments and plugins with the MC deal. Whether they would be things you use is another question.

You could theoretically grow with Cakewalk as you go and it can be set for templates. If you upgrade to BBCSO CORE there are expanded templates for it and for the larger 600gb library.

Reaper is a great DAW as well but in this case we are talking beginner. It isn't beginner friendly IMHO.


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## Sunny Schramm (Jul 24, 2020)

Found this yesterday - an Open-Source DAW for Linux, Mac und Windows:






Ardour 7.2 - What's new







ardour.org


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## rrichard63 (Jul 24, 2020)

starise said:


> I keep hearing the statement that Mixcraft is the same as Garageband ...


No one in this thread has said that Mixcraft "is the same as Garageband". What several of us have said is that it comes closer than anything else on Windows to sharing Garageband's gentle learning curve. How close? I don't know. I do know that I find Mixcraft very approachable.


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## starise (Jul 24, 2020)

I didn't say anyone here made the statement.


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## rrichard63 (Jul 24, 2020)

Sunny Schramm said:


> Found this yesterday - an Open-Source DAW for Linux, Mac und Windows:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ardour is the basis for Harrison Mixbus ($89 for the basic version but frequently on sale). Mixbus has some interesting features, but I don't think it's learning curve qualifies it to be part of this discussion.


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## easyrider (Jul 24, 2020)

rrichard63 said:


> Ardour is the basis for Harrison Mixbus ($89 for the basic version but frequently on sale). Mixbus has some interesting features, but I don't think it's learning curve qualifies it to be part of this discussion.



Mixbus inbuilt DSP and mixing desk make it more simple to get results than other DAWS with endless plugins etc...so in this respect I think it does qualify.


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## tf-drone (Jul 24, 2020)

Hi,

I agree that Reaper is rather tech at the beginning. 

A friend of mine started recently, and he discarded Live and Reaper to use BITWIG. Another candidate for entry.


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## SlHarder (Jul 24, 2020)

Trensharo said:


> Cakewalk by BandLab, absolutely.



Cakewalk is a very solid performer. I've loaded multiple instances of Play, Kontakt, Synchron, Sine all together along with effects vsts to fill up my 32g ram. And it was ticking along happily.

Very regular (3 so far in 2020) updates that are responsive to user requests. Supposedly expression maps are upcoming.

Cakewalk has a large worldwide user base because of its quality and because it is free.

Check out Creative Sauce vids to get a new user up to speed quickly.


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## bill5 (Jul 24, 2020)

tf-drone said:


> Hi,
> 
> I agree that Reaper is rather tech at the beginning.
> 
> A friend of mine started recently, and he discarded Live and Reaper to use BITWIG. Another candidate for entry.


Bitwig? We'll agree to disagree there. Not at all user friendly IMO.


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## vitocorleone123 (Jul 24, 2020)

bill5 said:


> Bitwig? We'll agree to disagree there. Not at all user friendly IMO.


Agreed. Ableton I figured out how to play a softsynth in a few minutes. Not Bitwig.


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## HeliaVox (Jul 25, 2020)

It's all Apples and Oranges. I despise Ableton Live, but I took to Bitwig like a fish to water.

So really, download all the *free* DAWS you can get your hands on and try them out. You'll never know what you like or how your style fits with software unless you try it.

Here's a short list to try

ProTools First
Waveform T7
Ardour
Cakewalk

Those choices above should give your friend PLENTY to try out and see what he likes


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## azmusic (Jul 25, 2020)

When I was using a ton of Linux, ardour was the way to go. I tried it briefly on Windows and I could just tell the code was not ported well. Higher latencies, more glitchy, dodgy graphics, etc.

if you just want to try some VSTs and literally can’t spend a dollar then yes it will work though and will not cost you anything! IMO not a long term working solution on Windows

If he’s in the market for an audio interface, many interfaces and some midi keyboards come with the like of Ableton Lite, Studio One Artist, etc.

Big Reaper fan at $60 as well! I had a period where I used Harrison Mixbus which at the time was on sale for $30. I suspect it may have the same stability issues as Ardour on Windows but not tested. I don’t think the learning curve is bad at all, especially if you like “tactical” knobs and faders over more digital UIs.


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## bill5 (Jul 25, 2020)

HeliaVox said:


> It's all Apples and Oranges. I despise Ableton Live, but I took to Bitwig like a fish to water.
> 
> So really, download all the *free* DAWS you can get your hands on and try them out. You'll never know what you like or how your style fits with software unless you try it.
> 
> ...


I agree but would add also try those with free trials as well, like Reaper, Mixcraft, etc.


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## rrichard63 (Jul 26, 2020)

I hope that @Yogevs lets us all know what he recommends to his friend, and what his friend likes best.


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