Looking for a beginner friendly DAW

[hard_string]

Hello people, I’ve been playing guitar for a while. Now I want to get into music production as a hobby. I have done a lot of research on the various DAWs, but I am very confused about what to choose. I want it to be very beginner friendly, so that I can easily grasp it. But I don’t want to get compromised with all the essential features. I’m waiting for your suggestions. Thank you for your time

 

[Standalone]

Hello people, I’ve been playing guitar for a while. Now I want to get into music production as a hobby. I have done a lot of research on the various DAWs, but I am very confused about what to choose. I want it to be very beginner friendly, so that I can easily grasp it. But I don’t want to get compromised with all the essential features. I’m waiting for your suggestions. Thank you for your time

I got my start on Steinberg’s Cubase LE in 2008 or so. Protools was the industry standard at the time. Cubase has steadily grown in pro usage.

I’m now running an outdated 8.5 edition. Current is up to 14.

It’s hard for me to know whether my comfort with it now translates to it being easy for newcomers. But it seems easier than other “real” DAWs to me, and it’s an accepted professional standard.

Anyway, Cubase has a lot of users from
Amateur to pro, and the real key to getting comfortable with a DAW is having an active forum community to help solve issues. Once you get it set up, you should be good.

 

[uOpt]

That's a very individual question. What is friendly to one beginner is not friendly to the next beginner.

One easy path is through Garageband, which is easier than average and then up to Logix Pro X, which is similar to Garageband.

If you can I would settle on Reaper, just because of DRM and licensing issues. It's not the most easy to use, though.

 

[Standalone]

That's a very individual question. What is friendly to one beginner is not friendly to the next beginner.

One easy path is through Garageband, which is easier than average and then up to Logix Pro X, which is similar to Garageband.

If you can I would settle on Reaper, just because of DRM and licensing issues. It's not the most easy to use, though.

This is very true. I came from the days of cassette based four track recording. Cubase made a lot of sense to me. But I certainly had several times when nothing worked and I needed to go to the forums to ask for help.

I recorded this album on Cubase —

 

[Mincer]

Check out Waveform Free. Easy and powerful.

 

[beaubrummels]

GarageBand was my first thought at "beginner-friendly"

 

[hard_string]

I’m now running an outdated 8.5 edition.

Still it gets the job done? Nice! I think basic tools same in all the DAWs, final output is depends on the producer's creativity, isn't it?

 

[hard_string]

Check out Waveform Free. Easy and powerful.

Hey thank man, I'll check it out.

 

[hard_string]

GarageBand was my first thought at "beginner-friendly"

Thank you for your reply, is it available for Windows?

 

[beaubrummels]

Thank you for your reply, is it available for Windows?

You'd have to use a VM, or an alternative DAW.

https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/install-and-use-apple-garageband-on-windows/

 

[uOpt]

Thank you for your reply, is it available for Windows?

Luckily not.

 

[Securb]

Check out Waveform Free. Easy and powerful.

Great suggestion, Audacity is another great open source DAW. Keeping in mind that some of the commercial DAWs you need to buy are built using a lot of this open source stuff as a platform. Download them both and play around a bit they are both free. I have quite a bit of software and plugins but fire up Audacity here and there when I need to do something down, dirty, and quick.

Audacity ® | Free Audio editor, recorder, music making and more!

Audacity is the world's most popular audio editing and recording app. Edit, mix, and enhance your audio tracks with the power of Audacity. Download now!

www.audacityteam.org

 

[uOpt]

Audacity is not a DAW in the narrow sense of the word. It is an audio editor.

 

[Mincer]

I use the paid version of Waveform for all my recording, and it is very close to the free version. I like it as there isn't a lot of menu diving, and the most common tasks are really simple to figure out how to do easily.

 

[Securb]

Audacity is not a DAW in the narrow sense of the word. It is an audio editor.

Multi-tracks, VSTs, the midi is limited but it is a great place to start and not overly complicated. Best of all it is free.

 

[hard_string]

You'd have to use a VM, or an alternative DAW.

https://www.macobserver.com/tips/how-to/install-and-use-apple-garageband-on-windows/

Hey, thank you for your reply, is this same thing that you have shared? Will it works? Have you ever tried it yourself?

 

[hard_string]

Great suggestion, Audacity is another great open source DAW. Keeping in mind that some of the commercial DAWs you need to buy are built using a lot of this open source stuff as a platform. Download them both and play around a bit they are both free. I have quite a bit of software and plugins but fire up Audacity here and there when I need to do something down, dirty, and quick.

Audacity ® | Free Audio editor, recorder, music making and more!

Audacity is the world's most popular audio editing and recording app. Edit, mix, and enhance your audio tracks with the power of Audacity. Download now!

www.audacityteam.org

Hey, thank I'll try this out.

 

[hard_string]

Cubase made a lot of sense to me.

Are you still using the Cubase? I've heard that Cubase has a one-time purchase system so if they update the software then you'll get the benefit or not?

 

[hard_string]

Multi-tracks, VSTs, the midi is limited but it is a great place to start and not overly complicated. Best of all it is free.

So, if after some time when my learning horizon has increased then will I have to shift to another DAW?

 

[Securb]

So, if after some time when my learning horizon has increased then will I have to shift to another DAW?

Not necessarily, but likely yes. I eventually moved to PreSonus, which is now Fender. Audacity is a free way to learn the basics and to see if making music at home is for you. When I bought my first interface, probably 20ish years ago, it came with PreSonus Studio One, and I have been using that ever since. But as I said, when I have to do something quick and dirty, I use Audacity still.