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Is Cakewalk really free? And is it good for newbies?

Cakewalk is FREE. As far as I understand it, there is no catch.
Having used the program, particularly when it was SONAR and paid for, it has plenty to offer and can be quite complex for the newcomer.

However, it's been a long time favourite of many. It has many features and bells and whistles - just like other DAWS. My recommendation is to get it while it is still free and before they decide to add a 'catch'.

Do I still use it? Not really. I went to Studio One when Gibson sold out on it. But I still occasionally use it to access older tracks, or to obtain updates. Yes, the software is still in continuous update.

The quality is excellent, despite it being one of the older members of the DAW fraternity.
 
... and can be quite complex for the newcomer.
Do you think too complex? I'm doing a little poking around, and I see a $99 version of FL Studio. I wonder if that's a better choice for these guys? Or Ableton Live?
 
I used SONAR for quite a while until, like the previous person mentioned, it was sold by Gibson. It then also changed name to Cakewalk by Bandlab.
Having been with Cubase now for some years, I think it’s a better DAW for composing then Cakewalk but I’d definitely recommend it for newbies (and have done to friends).
It’s a very complete DAW, it works great and best of all, it’s free!

Edit: to respond to the previous post, I don’t think it’s that complicated to be honest. It’s quite similar to Cubase as well, so when I changed to Cubase, it didn’t take me long at all to learn my way around which could be a plus point for those starting out in Cakewalk and then maybe later on changing to Cubase.
 
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Cakewalk is indeed free, and it's very capable. It would normally be my recommendation for somebody needing a DAW on the cheap.
But if the goal is specifically Hip Hop or EDM, FL Studio would be the better choice, largely due to the available resources/tutorials and communities to help you along the way.
 
I started as a total newbie with Cakewalk one year ago. What looked first promising, turned to a frustrating experience. I connected more and more peripherals. With every single one there were issues to solve. Very frustrating.
Then tried Studio One a few months ago. Cakewalk is really complicated against that one. Every peripheral worked nearly plug and play. The workflow is much more intuitive.
At Ask.Audio, Groove3 etc you can get comprehensive courses, if you want to learn it that way. For Cakewalk there is no comparable thing, just snippets on single tasks, nothing structured. Only for the old Sonar.
I got a cheap used Professional license. I am so happy!
I like Cakewalk still for its GUI. But "the better is the good one's enemy" (don't know if it is correctly translated).
If you stay with Cakewalk, search for Creative Sauce on YouTube. Best tutorials for Cakewalk, also some for S1. 😉
 
Cakewalk is now way ahead of S1 with real usable articulation maps. Video thumbnails it had quite some time. No retrospective record though.

But for Hiphop I'd use Akai's free MPC Beats or the Standard version, if anybody needs more tracks later - but the track count really is the only difference, no other limitations in the free version.
 
Cakewalk definitely meets all my needs as hobbyist who is into orchestral music. The recent addition of arranger and articulation maps (can import Cubase expression maps) have been big improvements. The developers aggressively work at improving and expanding Cakewalk. Updates come out incrementally through the year rather than 1 big upgrade. And I think someone else mentioned it is completely FREE!
 
I don't find cakewalk too complicated but I've been using it like forever.
I last year I taught a friend who had never used a daw before how he could record his vocals in a 1.5 hour video conference.
And definatley check out the creative sauce aka @Mike Enjo tutorials for cakewalk. You should get a good impression from those:
 
Cakewalk is maybe a bit on the complicated side, this comes from constant evolving and adding features over the last 30+ years. It is very adequate (at best) for orchestral and production music, but they actively pursue the hobbyist and songwriting crowd while packing in bloatware and ignoring stability issues.

I've used it for over 30 years with a small hiatus to Opcode Studio Vision briefly. To answer your question @Mike Greene, there is no catch whatsoever.
 
TBH, I am sceptical with Cakewalk. Not with the app itself, but the homepage has not had a change in about two years. Who knows how long it will last.

The everlasting trial version of Reaper and the aforementioned MPC are better choices IMHO. And if you buy an audio interface, Ableton Live Lite often comes with it. Another viable option.
 
TBH, I am sceptical with Cakewalk. Not with the app itself, but the homepage has not had a change in about two years. Who knows how long it will last.
That's the original Cakewalk (Gibson) webpage, this site won't change any more ;)
The current one:
 
Thanks guys. I think I'll steer them towards FL Studio, since that's probably going to be the closest match for their needs, plus I imagine it's a bit easier for a newbie than Cakewalk, which it sounds like is more full featured.

"Easy" is the name of the game, because we get tech support questions from at least half the Hip Hop Creator customers, which is crazy high. It is *not* a tech savvy group. (Sunset Strings is at the other end of the spectrum, where a tech support question is very rare.)
 
Thanks guys. I think I'll steer them towards FL Studio, since that's probably going to be the closest match for their needs, plus I imagine it's a bit easier for a newbie than Cakewalk, which it sounds like is more full featured.
I seriously would advise they use MPC Software, like Fl they at least have heard the name (MPC hardware units were famous, don't know about now) and is easier than FL, although the workflow is almost the same (you also mainly use the step sequencer).
Just some random google result:
 
My concern with the MPC software is that with its pads layout, it looks a lot like Hip Hop Creator, so I imagine some people getting it and saying, "Hey, why do I need Hip Hop Creator when this is so similar and free?"

Hip Hop Creator goes much further that, of course, but a newbie might not understand the subtleties of why. So I don't want to lead them down that path.
 
Cakewalk is fine, when you're used to using a major DAW.
A learner/newbie will need to get into something fairly quickly and with minimal frustration.
Better to choose something that's easy, straightforward and has a bias towards the type of music that they are into.

Some great suggestions given above/earlier. Just because some things are free doesn't mean it's going to meet the needs. When starting with the basics, it's an easier ladder to climb.
 
Tracktion Waveform Free works on all platforms, even ubuntu and raspbian. https://www.tracktion.com/products/waveform-free
Totally the one I'd recommend 100%.

Free. Step sequencer. Chord track (and chord generator). Low latency. Easy layout to learn - especially if you're not coming from a hardcore DAW already, since it's instruments on the left make music in the middle, with output and effects on the right. The only thing it's not as amazing at is the bundled effects. It's definitely aimed at electronic and beat-driven music rather than, say, orchestral.
 
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