Easiest DAW Software for Beginners

[Soc Prof]

I did my first recordings on a cassette 4-track. Then I graduated to a Fostex 8-track digital portastudio. Now I am ready to try the software approach. What do people recommend as an easy DAW for beginners?

At the moment, I am not interested in midi. I plan to record guitars + hardware effects, hardware synths and digital drums. I have experience using Audacity to make podcasts, but want to consider other programs.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[fictionmusic]

Every major platform has a little brother and they are all fairly easy to use. If you are on a PC then I'd say Reaper might not be a bad bet or Cubase lite or Sonar lite (I'm not sure of what their names are exactly but they are the smaller versions). Seriously though, if all you are doing is recording audio, then Audacity should do you fine.

If you're on a Mac, then Logic is the way to go. They have a smaller version of that too. Quite frankly, the small versions of these programs offer far more features than most people ever use so any of them should do you fine. You can get a lot of these bundled for free (not the mac though) with audio interfaces, so that might the best way to go.

[Soc Prof]

Thanks. I'm on a PC. I might experiment with Audacity first (since it's free) before buying anything. I have a Focusrite interface that came with Abelton Live, which I think is more for looping than standard multitracking.

I noticed that the price has dropped (on Amazon at least) for Roland/Cakewalk's VS 20 console with Guitar Tracks 4. The Youtube videos made it look pretty straightforward.

[trurl]

Ja... I use Cakewalk/Sonar and *I* think it's easy, but I have been using some version of it for almost 20 years *lol* I find other DAWs "hard" because they are different and don't suit my adopted work flow. I would 2nd Reaper; I like it a lot, it's very stable and functional and you can also use it with a free license under most conditions.

[fictionmusic]

Ableton Live can do anything the others do, albeit a wee bit differently. I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. I use it all the time and quite like it. It obviously does looping but if you go to the arrange page (the icon on the top left corner will get you there) you can see a multitrack lay out. Like the others it will have a lot of features you probably won't use, but it is rock solid and will do anything Audacity can as far as recording audio goes (audacity probably has the edge for editing), and is probably far better in terms of bundled plug-ins, vst hosting and resource use.


Although it didn't pioneer the concept of audio being treated like midi (quantizing, changing speeds etc), it perfected it and most other daws have followed suit. It still does it the most gracefully I think and can be especially handy when recording drums or keyboard played drum parts. It can also destruct audio in very very interesting ways. I'd defintely go to the Ableton forums and get a over-view of all it can do before you do look any further afield.

[Wisdomview]

Ableton Live can do anything the others do, albeit a wee bit differently. I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. I use it all the time and quite like it. It obviously does looping but if you go to the arrange page (the icon on the top left corner will get you there) you can see a multitrack lay out. Like the others it will have a lot of features you probably won't use, but it is rock solid and will do anything Audacity can as far as recording audio goes (audacity probably has the edge for editing), and is probably far better in terms of bundled plug-ins, vst hosting and resource use.


Although it didn't pioneer the concept of audio being treated like midi (quantizing, changing speeds etc), it perfected it and most other daws have followed suit. It still does it the most gracefully I think and can be especially handy when recording drums or keyboard played drum parts. It can also destruct audio in very very interesting ways. I'd defintely go to the Ableton forums and get a over-view of all it can do before you do look any further afield.

Absolutely. I use Ableton as my DAW. Works great for everything.

[Yodelgoat]

If you came from the world where you have to play it to record it (in other words, no MIDI) perhaps you ought to stick with the free stuff because any one of these products like Sonar or Cubase or any DAW requires a commitment to a rather sharp learning curve. Chances are good that once you learn one, you wont want to change for anything, and re-learning is almost always too much of a headache to bother. My advice is to choose one and learn it really well, you probably wont find much benefit in changing to a different DAW. Most of these platforms can do just about anything most musicians want done, just a question of how you want to do it. Ive tried a few times to move away from Sonar, but I always get drawn back into it. I know it too well, and I don't want to spend weeks learning, I'd much rather be composing.

[Soc Prof]

Ive tried a few times to move away from Sonar, but I always get drawn back into it.

That sounds like Michael Corlione's dilemma in Godfather III. "I keep trying to break out. But they keep pulling me back in!" :) Someday I'll probably want to do midi (which Audacity doesn't handle), at which point I'm sure I'll find your advice to be spot on.

I'll pull out my Ableton CDRom and have a look at it. Hopefully there is a manual pdf somewhere.

[Wisdomview]

That sounds like Michael Corlione's dilemma in Godfather III. "I keep trying to break out. But they keep pulling me back in!" :) Someday I'll probably want to do midi (which Audacity doesn't handle), at which point I'm sure I'll find your advice to be spot on.

I'll pull out my Ableton CDRom and have a look at it. Hopefully there is a manual pdf somewhere.

Fwiw, Youtube is a good resource for Ableton and other DAWs. There are plenty of tutorials.

[fictionmusic]

I tend to have to use quite a few different ones as I do sessions in other people's studios, or have to engineer stuff for other people's productions. Once you understand what your favorite sequencer does, it doesn't take too long to figure out how someone else's works. They all have basically the same tools but their work-flow and key commands are different.

I wouldn't say learning one daw well disqualifies you from learning another at all. I use Logic on a huge Mac system, Live on a laptop and have Sonar, Cubase LE, Samplitude lite and Garageband all available on various laptops when needed.


I much prefer Logic as I have been using it since it was Creator on an Atari back in the late '80s (and even have designed much the same key commands) but the others aren't hard to fathom at all. The trick is to remember that they all basically do the same thing.

[MudShark22]

This thread has been really cool as I have been rebuilding the home studio.
I have been busy mic-ing the drum set and running XLRs to the mixing board etc.
So when the room setup is done; I am going to move onto the DAW / software side.

:up

[Koreabruce]

REAPER is pretty darn cool (and inexpensive). Been using it for 4-5 years now at least. You can download it for free, and it is fully functional. If you want to take advantage of all the upgrades, by all means do the right thing and buy the license for $60. Great DAW with massive capabilities! http://www.reaper.fm/

[WHORG]

I moved to Ableton Live about 6 months ago and never looked back. "Session" view is the best thing in the DAW world to come along in decades - their "warping" secret-sauce is truly a blessing for loopers - and especially live performance (if that's your thing). I've a lot of pro DJ friends who use Ableton on a Powerbook - a pair of thumb drives and an Akai controller - and it's fucking incredible the control they have with that program . . .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj3kF6dt4uo

That's "Session" view on the screen in the above video - - - he's triggering samples, loops, midi tracks, percussion, effects and mixing all live and on that box.

Backfill: working and taking classes at Berklee - it was a Mac/Logic shop . . . and I grew up on Cakewalk products since V1.0/then Sonar, etc . . . made a turn towards Reaper 2 years ago with pretty good results . . . so I've used a lot of products.

Get a good (fast) machine with lots of RAM - fast front end bus - multi core processor (see if your DAW can utilize such technologies) - a quality audio interface - etc. I just got a new laptop with a solid state drive - - - it screams.

Have fun, that's the main thing - - -

[Mr. Grizzly Bear]

For Windows, you can;t go wrong with either Cubase, Sonar or Reaper. I would avoid Pro-Tools like the plague though, pure overkill and way overpriced and not the most user-friendly program in the world. .

[Mikhael]

I'd say Reaper is as easy as the others, and much less expensive.

[Soc Prof]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've decided to start with Audacity since I already know the basics and it's free. If I eventually get into midi, I will have to move on to something else, probably Reaper.

[klothos]

Audacity can read MIDI information although its not the best for it

One more to consider, with the emphasis on "Easy" as the OP:

Sony ACID is more than just a techno-boy looping tool. It can also be a fantastic easy-to-use (keywords) DAW as well once it is approached by its own layout instead of the "studio console" approach of most major DAWs. It can hold VSTs and VSTi instruments and implement MIDI. With its plug-ins (not to mention that it can read many plug-ins designed for other systems) It can do most of the same things bigger and more expensive DAWs can do but (keyword) easier....If you aren't worried about in-depth GUIs that are supposed to resemble the "outboard gear/console in a studio" like other programs use, ACID is a nice simple choice...Not once am I saying that it is "better" than the other ones mentioned, but I will say it is "Easy-To-Use"

[Yodelgoat]

I used Acid Pro for years, but when I got into heavy MIDI, it just wouldn't do what I needed. I was on Acid Pro 4.0 which is probably so outdated it hardly runs on the newest OS'. I haven't tried to bring it up on my newest PC, so I've kind of lost touch with it. I'm moving away from using automation, and trying to move into straight recording all parts from scratch. It was fun for a time, and really made me stretch my imagination and challenged me to think outside my comfort zone, but it's not what I want to use to actually create music. For me, its the journey and not the destination that counts. Actually playing the parts is harder, and fraught with clams and retakes, but I get better as a musician by working it until it works. I found that I could be much more lazy with ACID. A looping drum part is just not as much work as laying it down. Its probably better, but since it is mostly just me listening, its worth it to me to take the road less travelled. ( though sometimes its less travelled for a good reason)

[klothos]

I used Acid Pro for years, but when I got into heavy MIDI, it just wouldn't do what I needed. I was on Acid Pro 4.0 which is probably so outdated it hardly runs on the newest OS'. I haven't tried to bring it up on my newest PC, so I've kind of lost touch with it. I'm moving away from using automation, and trying to move into straight recording all parts from scratch. It was fun for a time, and really made me stretch my imagination and challenged me to think outside my comfort zone, but it's not what I want to use to actually create music. For me, its the journey and not the destination that counts. Actually playing the parts is harder, and fraught with clams and retakes, but I get better as a musician by working it until it works. I found that I could be much more lazy with ACID. A looping drum part is just not as much work as laying it down. Its probably better, but since it is mostly just me listening, its worth it to me to take the road less travelled. ( though sometimes its less travelled for a good reason)

The point of my post is that ACID works beyond a looping tool. For example, I do not loop drum parts either: I use multi-layered sampled one-shot sets. My sampled Yamaha 5-Piece kit with Sabian Hi-Hats, Crash, and Ride is about 150 one-shot samples. I have a Sonor kit similar and I use that 70s LLudwig sample set that has been on the internet longer than I have. Im a bass player so I record my own basses. My Guitars are done similar to the drums, with one-shot string samples. I use quite a bit of these and usually opt for the SpeedY Sampled sets I acquired from http://www.freesound.org/

As far as MIDI, I have been doing electronic music since 1989 ( started with an 8088 and Voyetra Sequencer Plus Gold :D)...For keyboards, I use VSTis and I have gotten to the point where I don't even use a MIDI keyboard-in anymore: I write the parts in with a mouse on the Piano-Scroll grid ( eighth note here - dotted 16th rest there - etc -)........ Some of my VSTi s I have written myself in Java using jVSTWrapper from http://sourceforge.net/... Im not sure what applications you are using it for, nor am I saying that ACID is the best for it, but it has a LOT of MIDI flexibility (I use ACID 6.0 -- there is a 7.0 out and I think there may be an 8 as well)

What I champion about ACID (for beginners) is its GUI. It doesn't look like a recording studio or mixing board: Its just put out there to make things simple for the user who may not have ever seen the inside of a recording studio before

My point again is that ACID doesn't need to be for Loops and it really is an "Easy To Use DAW for Beginners" as was the original request in this thread ( and, hey, if the OP wants to use loops, that option is there :D )

[Soc Prof]

Thanks for the suggestion, Klothos. I'll look into it.

[Stickleback]

No mention of Pro Tools. Interesting. The benefit of using Pro Tools is that you can record a session in any major recording studio and then open the session at your home studio (or vice versa).

[fictionmusic]

No mention of Pro Tools. Interesting. The benefit of using Pro Tools is that you can record a session in any major recording studio and then open the session at your home studio (or vice versa).


In my experience most major studios have pretty well any platform you could use, and the ones that don't, will render files you can open in it anyway. In my opinion, Protools is perhaps the least useful platform out there.

[Stickleback]

That may be your opinion, but the fact remains that virtually all major recordings are done in Pro Tools.

[Thebigdipper]

That may be your opinion, but the fact remains that virtually all major recordings are done in Pro Tools.

We're all lazy when it comes to learning new software when we already know something else that gets the job done. Recording engineers in studios are no different. If you know Pro Tools already, it's likely you'll not want to change to something else unless it truly lacks something you really need. I've never used Pro Tools, so have no axe to grind one way or another, but I doubt that it is found in every pro studio because it is the best, just that it is the tool more pro engineers than most know how to use.

Therefore, that proliferation does not support Pro Tools case for being an easy DAW for beginners to learn.

Me, I use GarageBand on iOS. I like its limitations. It makes me focus on the writing and performance and stops me playing with the plugins. I like Audacity, too.

We all start off thinking we need the best DAW we can afford, but unless you're planning on running your own studio and recording other people, it's just a distraction.

N

[klothos]

No mention of Pro Tools. Interesting. The benefit of using Pro Tools is that you can record a session in any major recording studio and then open the session at your home studio (or vice versa).



We're all lazy when it comes to learning new software when we already know something else that gets the job done. Recording engineers in studios are no different. If you know Pro Tools already, it's likely you'll not want to change to something else unless it truly lacks something you really need. I've never used Pro Tools, so have no axe to grind one way or another, but I doubt that it is found in every pro studio because it is the best, just that it is the tool more pro engineers than most know how to use.

Therefore, that proliferation does not support Pro Tools case for being an easy DAW for beginners to learn.

Me, I use GarageBand on iOS. I like its limitations. It makes me focus on the writing and performance and stops me playing with the plugins. I like Audacity, too.

We all start off thinking we need the best DAW we can afford, but unless you're planning on running your own studio and recording other people, it's just a distraction.

N

The Thread Title is "Easiest DAW Software for Beginners".

IMO, I don't think ProTools should be used in the same sentence as the words "Easy" and "Beginners" :D....It is why I suggested ACID.....the suggestion of GarageBand is another good one :up

[Stickleback]

Therefore, that proliferation does not support Pro Tools case for being an easy DAW for beginners to learn.

N

Good point. PTs ubiquitousness in major studios is probably due the fact that it was the first one being used. Since I've never really used any other program I can't compare it's ease of use to the others (although I got frustrated trying to use Logic because it seemed so alien to PT).

PT has been extremely convenient for my own projects in being able to work on sessions at home after recording in a commercial studio. And then bringing the sessions back into the studio for final mix. I think that should count for something. Unless one is strictly working at home, then I agree it's not an important criteria.

[fictionmusic]

That may be your opinion, but the fact remains that virtually all major recordings are done in Pro Tools.


Pro-tools was certainly the transition software of choice.

DAWs first became popular with home users (generally) and midi was the basis of that. Protools came out geared towards audio only (with the idea that midi was amateur hour) and that suited studios making the change from analog to digital. Studer's Dyaxis system as well as AMS' audiofile and even Canada's Radar system were also designed to capitalize on the pro studio market as they all edited audio digitally and were essentially turnkey systems without midi. They were all fairly popular but also extremely expensive. Pro-tools was the first affordable modular digital audio editing system available and instead of using its own computer which the others tended to do, was easily outfitted on Macs.

It wasn't until late in the game that Protools even had midi capability and by the time they incorporated it, midi-based legacy systems like Logic, Digital Performer, Cubase etc. had far eclipsed Protools for all around ease of use, and, since the midi-based platforms had long since intergrated audio recording and editing into their basic feature set, were generally more stable, more feature rich and far more user friendly.

I've done engineering work on lots of series and during the transition time had to use Pro-tools. I found it slow going. So much of what I like about Logic (custom key commands especially) is the ease of use. Most studios then looked down on Logic. I work in a lot of studios from mid-level to top-end and if anything, I see Logic used a lot these days, although Cubase is still very popular among PC users, and of course geography seems to have some sway too. In Montreal the Sadie system is popular and in Europe Samplitude is popular. These days most Daws are pretty well equal, but the point is Protools is hardly ubiquitous.

Most pro studios still have it mind you, but in a lot of ways it is kind of like Yamaha NS 10 monitors; they are wise to have around, but are seldom the first choice.

[WHORG]

Not sure about any other music/production type of schools - but Berklee was on "Logic" from day one.

[klothos]

Not sure about any other music/production type of schools - but Berklee was on "Logic" from day one.

Full Sail in Orlando was heavy on all the Sony/ former Sonic Foundry Solutions (ACID, Sound Forge, Vegas, etc) about ten years ago. Not sure what they teach these days

[Minkybaba]

Logic is AS DEEPLY entrenched in pro studios (at least here in LA) as Pro Tools. I am surprised at the number of posters who mentioned Ableton Live - a DAW usually not associated with writing progressive rock. I love it - and have used it since V4, now in conjunction with Logic, Sibelius and Reason. Live 9 is Bad. Ass!

[dlm]

I'd say Reaper is as easy as the others, and much less expensive.

I agree. I started out on Cakewalk/Sonar and recently switched to Reaper and never went back. There are a bunch of great online tutorials for Reaper.