If you're wanting to start making music
But you don't have the money for the software at the moment
This video is going to show you 7 of the best free DAWs for music production
I'm welcome to Simple Green Tech Links to all of the software mentioned in this video
are down in the description be sure to stick around to near the end
as I have some great advice for
which software you should get and you should use
now first up on the list of free DAWs is
Presonus Studio One 5 Prime
with this one you can have virtual audio and instrument tracks
virtual instruments and effects channels
Studio One has become a favorite among Music Producers
because of its workflow and ease of use
Studio One Prime includes the Presence XT Sampler player instrument
which has a lot of instrument presets included
plus you also get some great effects and the ampire guitar amp sim
giving you everything you need to start creating music
right away using Presonus' popular workflow
the only real limitation in Studio One 5 Prime
is that you can't use third party plugins with it
but for starting out you really don't need that anyway
discover why more producers are switching to Presonus Studio One by giving Studio One 5 Prime a try
Some of the pros of Presonus Studio One 5 Prime are you get unlimited tracks
it includes decent effects plugins
it includes the Presence XT sampler player instrument with a lot of presets
and the user interface is easy to use and designed with speed in mind
and the cons well you can't use third party plugins in the free version
next on the list of free DAWs for Windows 10 is Tracktion Waveform free
this one is a full featured free program so you can have unlimited tracks
add 3rd party effects and instruments and pretty much do everything the paid for version of Waveform can do
it's basically the same as the pro version but it doesn't have some of the extra features and instruments
You do get the micro drum sampler plugin
and you also get the 4OSC synth
along with the same workflow that makes the Tracktion DAWs stand apart from the rest
Waveform free does include some basic FX plugins but you can add
3rd party plugins if you need to and there are a lot of free plugins available
I personally find the Waveform workflow to be quick
and it allows me to focus on creating music
some of the pros of Waveform free are
it's completely unlimited giving you creative freedom
the user interface is designed with speed and music creating in mind
so it doesn't get in your way and it has easy to use midi features
plus it includes some decent effects and the micro drum sampler plugin
the cons well some users don't like the user interface
so you can give it a try and see how it works for you
up next on the list is another full featured free DAW. This one is Cakewalk by Bandlab
a little history about Cakewalk before it became a free daw it was known as
Sonar Platinum which was a premium DAW
so that makes this a Free premium DAW
and it doesn't have any limitations you can have unlimited
audio midi, instrument and auxiliary tracks in all of your projects
you also get some decent effects plugins included with Cakewalk
along with an interesting channel strip that has some cool tape emulation
and saturation effects
You get a really nice guitar amp simulator called TH3
plus some free virtual instruments like a bass guitar
a drum kit, a piano and a string instrument
cakewalk by bandlab gives you everything you need to start making music
and doing music production inside the box
you are required to install the Bandlab Assistant software in order to install Cakewalk
so some of the pros of Cakewalk by Bandlab are
it comes with a great selection of effects and instruments
it's completely unlimited
has a more traditional user interface that some users might be more familiar with
it has midi features that are easy to use and a decent guitar amp simulator
some of the cons are having to install the Bandlab Assistant software in order to install it
and some users think that the user interface is outdated
before I get to the next free DAW on the list I just want to ask if you're
enjoying this video so far and getting some value out of it can you
please give it a thumbs up it really helps my channel out and I appreciate it so much
Now next on the list is LMMS
this one is a lot like FL Studio it's very easy to start making music
in LMMS using virtual instruments
however it doesn't allow you to record audio into it so
it may not be ideal if you plan on recording real world instruments or vocals
you can record audio into another program and bring it into LMMS
so you're not completely limited to virtual instruments
and I'm sure as it continues to grow it will add more and more features
including audio recording one day
LMMS does come with some instruments and effects plugins
but you'll want to add some third party effects to give you more variety
some of the pros are it's easy to sequence music
it has a similar workflow to FL Studio
it includes some instruments
and the cons are the lack of audio recording capabilities
next on the list of free daws for Windows 10 is Magix Music Maker Free
Music Maker 2021 is now 64 bit
which brings it up to speed with modern digital audio workstations
the free version of Magix Music Maker gives you one free Soundpool
and Soundpools in Music Maker are like a loop pack
and it can get you started making music quickly and easily
recording music in music maker is very easy and the audio engine is pretty solid
you also get a few virtual instruments with this DAW
and the Vandal SE guitar amp sim
the free version is however limited to 8 tracks
so if you plan on making large projects. This may be the one for you
but if you just want to record your guitar maybe some vocals and a few other things
Magix Music Maker Free is a very easy program to get started with
another limitation in the free version is that you can't bring in your own 3rd party VST plugins
you have to upgrade to a higher version for that
pros of Magix Music Maker Free it's easy to get started with
includes decent instruments and that Soundpool
and it also includes a guitar amp sim
some of the cons of Magix Music Maker free it has the track limitation
and no VST support in the free version
the next free DAW is Soundbridge
this free digital audio workstation focuses on simplicity
it's a full featured daw that's easy to use with no limitations
the channel strip has many presets and you can also add 3rd party plugins for even more variety
plus it comes with a nice collection of built in effects
one of the biggest highlights is the free Ritmix drum machine plugin
that you get with soundbridge
as this is actually one of the best free drum machine plugins out there
it's available in both 32 and 64 bit downloads
and I know there are still some users out there that want 32 bit software
and this might actually be the most complete 32 bit
audio recording and editing software available right now
Soundbridge pros are it's designed to be easy to use
and it has that Ritmix drum plugin
some of the cons well some users say they don't like the
interface and workflow but really that's about it for
cons so you can check it out and see if it works for you
next up on the list is Pro Tools First
and this is a free slimmed down version of Pro Tools
a lot of Pro studios use Pro Tools so if
you ever plan on working in a pro studio one day
learning on this software will help you
but you're not getting the full Pro Tools Software here
as there are some limitations in Pro Tools First
you can only have 16 audio tracks in a project
which is quite a bit anyway
and you can only record a maximum of 4 inputs at a time
it does come with some decent FX plugins and the XPand2 instrument
but if you want to add any other instruments or effects
you have to purchase them from the Avid marketplace
you do get access to a very large library of loops and samples
that are easily searchable and it comes with some templates that you can use
for various styles of music production or podcasting
some of the pros of Pro Tools First are
the included effects and instrument are great
it includes loops and samples
and it has the same workflow as Pro Tools
some of the cons are the track limitation
and you can't bring in your own effects or instruments
now what I recommend for you is download 2 or more of these
free daws and see which one you really connect with
which one do you like the workflow of which one really works for you
now don't get influenced by Somebody else saying you know
this software is the best you gotta use this software it's the best
that might be best for them it may not be best for you
so find the one that's best for you, stick with it
go through the bit of learning curve that there's going to be at the start
and the more you use it the easier it's going to become to start making music
with that program and that's what you want to do
now if you want to check out some of the best free VSTs out there
click up here or click down here to see what YouTube recommends
if you liked this video please give it a thumbs up
also subscribe to the channel for more videos like this
thank you so much for watching for Simple Green Tech
I'm Zane, keep creating and we'll talk soon