Best DAW (FREE) for beginners! :D

[equill]

Ardour's my choice.
As others have said, they all have a learning curve. This one definitely does, but its flexibility is worth the climb.

 

[Tom Baker]

Reaper (as many other have noted)
Ardour (if $60.00 is too much this is a great option)
Audacity (for critically editing audio and doing format conversions)

 

[leonard]

Reaper. Much more than just for beginners.

 

[Cree]

It really depends on what you are trying to do, and how serious you are about it. Do you already have an audio interface? Most come with some access to a perfectly fine, free recording software.

I don't know much about Reaper, but I agree that Adam Steele, as quoted above, has some of the best content out there about it.

For the most part I do whatever is easiest, so I use Garageband on a iPhone or iPad. I use the Apogee Jam as the interface. Graham Cochrane over at therecordingrevolution.com had some of the best videos about recording with Garageband on an iPhone.

I also use another iPhone app called Music Memos that I like a lot to get basic song ideas down.

 

[Nuage420]

I received Ableton Live Lite free with a novation midi keyboard I purchased. It's easy over my head to use it to full capacity but a long weekend spent messing with it I can record my bass into it, create drum loops, and do basic arrangements. Don't be afraid to dive in.

 

[Swampish]

I'm a big Audacity fan, but what I do isn't super-complex. Also, I use it on a Linux machine, since, as alluded to earlier, there can be pretty big latency issues with Windows.

 

[funkinbottom]

Another Reaper user here. Inexpensive, runs on PC or Mac, and a short learning curve.

 

[JRA]

it has to be FREE or very cheap and for dummies!

i use several DAWs (mostly pro tools) but i would also recommend checking out reaper as it's super stable. i'm also with the posters who are encouraging you to really understand the basic options, operations, and processes of any software you choose...they all have a learning curve. patience is your friend! good luck with your recordings!

 

[getBAK]

Anyone try Sumotunes
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It's a free in-browser setup. I know a bunch of people who love their photo-shop emulator

 

[mikewalker]

I use MixBus mostly nowadays (not free), but still keep the totally free "cakewalk SONAR by bandlab" handy for doing certain things. I think it's probably the best choice for beginners. (Ardour is another nice one, but a bit more convoluted to use...)

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Reaper.

 

[aldaa]

Like everyone else has recommended: Reaper for sure. I bought a license eventually. It was only $60. So worth it, especially for how often I have used it.

 

[Wfrance3]

Any of them can do the job if you sit down and learn them.

I have limited needs and am on a PC. I found the easiest to get along with to be Acoustica Mixcraft 9. Sorry, I know you stressed must be free, but the basic version is pretty inexpensive and the learning curve is practically nothing. There is a 2 week free trial if that helps. If you are not on a pc, garage band is great too. I don’t know much about the actual Mac version of garage band, but I have used it on my iPad and found it to be super easy to get along with.

if you don’t have DAW experience, and don’t have a lot of free time on your hands, I would suggest starting with one of these two products. The worst thing that could happen to someone starting out recording is to get too frustrated early on. In my opinion, both the mixcraft and the garage band will get you some usable recordings right away. Cakewalk gets an honorable mention because it’s free and very versatile. Not as easy to use, but really nice none the less. I tried Reaper and could never get along with it. No doubt because I simply didn’t put the time in. I hear many good things about that product as well, so don’t judge Reaper by my experience.

 

[seamonkey]

I know this is the free/cheap thread but don't let the price or ease of use fool you as many of these DAWs and full class audio workstations and scale up and down to many levels. They will grow with you.

For example:
REAPER 6.0 is qualified by Waves for multitrack recording and playback via the SoundGrid Driver.
You can expect to see Reaper as the GUI for a huge live show console, or in a high end studio.

Cakewalk Sonar supports ARA (audio random access) often used for Melodyne for example. That is something that Ableton Live doesn't yet have.

 

[N4860]

Reaper.

 

[Tim Grant]

Audacity is very basic and a good place to start. I've never used Reaper. I am currently using Ardour. I would not Ardour is easy though it's not terribly hard either. There is definitely a learning curve on that piece of software.

 

[Tommy V]

LMMS

 

[matdras]

If you can figure out how to keep Ableton Lite from crashing, then I would definitely recommend that you don’t abandon that as an option...yet. Reaper is a wonderful program, that I would also highly recommend, but Ableton’s [fairly] simplistic approach to live performance through clip-based looping has made it one of the most inspirational and downright fun musical tools that I have ever had the pleasure of learning!

I would encourage you to try out Reaper too, so you can compare workflows, and find out what works best for YOUR needs.

It’s also important to realize that learning any DAW (especially if this is your first dive into it), takes time and dedication, and the plethora of tutorial videos out there will continue to be a fantastic resource throughout your journey.

 

[--Vissinger --]

Audacity isn't a DAW, but rather a waveform editor. It does record but has none of features that makes for a DAW. Use Reaper, and pay for it.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi everyone! any suggestions on the above!?
Please, it has to be FREE or very cheap and for dummies!
I tried Ableton live lite but I didn't quite get it, I am afraid! Also it keeps crushing almost everytime I am there using it..! Anyway.. I want to try something else and possibly easier to use

Thanks a lot

Reaper