Recommended Recording Software for Windows 10

[treyhaislip]

Apologies in advance if this is a redundant question–I upgraded my iPhone and now my plugins (several brands of guitar imports including the most recent Line6 Sonic Port) no longer work for recording.

I really liked how Apple's Garage Band recorded--seemed to be real time (no delay if you are listening to a previously recorded track.) I remember trying several cheaper ones on Windows years ago that if you recorded while listening to a previous track, it was delayed.

Anything similar for a Windows based computer currently on Windows 10? (using a Lenovo Legion)

 

[LLL]

I don't know for the life of me why so many dudes are using Macs for recording, but then again, I've been building my own IBM-compatible computers since the early 90s.

You need Reaper. I use it primarily but I also have Cubase and Pro Tools. But Reaper is the one. Win 10.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

I use Logic, and the closest thing to that style of workflow in Windows is probably Audition.

 

[Mincer]

I use Waveform, and there is a free version, too. It rocks.

 

[GuitarStv]

I really liked how Apple's Garage Band recorded--seemed to be real time (no delay if you are listening to a previously recorded track.) I remember trying several cheaper ones on Windows years ago that if you recorded while listening to a previous track, it was delayed.

This issue might be caused by the recording software. What you're describing though is latency (a delay between when you play a note and when it actually gets recorded into your PC). This can be introduced by your computer (especially common on PCs that are underpowered for the task), your drivers (using directX vs asio drivers for your interface can introduce weird slowness for example) , or sometimes your audio interface. Most recording software has an offset that can be entered to minimize the effects of this.

 

[ErikH]

I use Reaper. Has been fine for my use. I've used Audacity as well. Majority of the time when I run in to latency it is the audio setup in the software. I use Asio drivers and have zero latency.

 

[alex1fly]

Are you doing iOS recording, computer recording, or both? What do you want to do? The original post is a little unclear.

I've used Ableton and Reason both on a Windows 10 machine with little to no noticeable latency. The interface/sound card plays a big role in latency. I use one of these: https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0BK1

My buddy got the 2 track version and when messing with it at his place there was no latency, so I got the 4 track version. I don't know what specs determine latency, but I can tell you that it works great.

However, unless there's a big need I wouldn't give up on iOS recording quite yet. Sometimes bugs get worked out with subsequent updates. It's no small move to research and buy a computer, get the hardware, get the software, set everything up, etc.

Alternatively, you can get any Mac and use Garageband on it.

 

[Wattage]

i use Cakewalk it is free and easy to work with

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Reaper and Cakewalk are both great DAWs, but the workflow is nothing like Logic.

 

[Ewizard]

Reaper is probably the most popular of all the free options out there. It is everything Pro-tools wishes to be. I love Reaper and it is used by MANY professional studios.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

What's all the fuss about Reaper? It's not entirely free and takes too much space on the hard drive.

I have used Podium since 2016; it's free, MIDI capable and requires only 12MB of space.

 

[devastone]

Reaper and Cakewalk are both great DAWs, but the workflow is nothing like Logic.

Logic is Mac only, he's looking for Win 10.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Logic is Mac only, he's looking for Win 10.

Yes, that's why I recommended Audition, because the OP said he wants the same (or similar) WORKFLOW. Cakewalk and Reaper are nothing like Logic in terms of WORKFLOW; this is why I suggested Audition. Bitwig would probably also scratch the itch if you're used to Logic's workflow. Workflow has nothing to do with your OS.

 

[devastone]

Yes, that's why I recommended Audition, because the OP said he wants the same (or similar) WORKFLOW. Cakewalk and Reaper are nothing like Logic in terms of WORKFLOW; this is why I suggested Audition. Bitwig would probably also scratch the itch if you're used to Logic's workflow. Workflow has nothing to do with your OS.

Gotcha, sorry missed your first post.

I used Logic years ago when it was supported on Window (NT?), great program, was disappointed when Apple bought it and discontinued Win support.

 

[Erlend_G]

I have heard great things about Reaper-. and it's free, as well

 

[GuitarStv]

I have heard great things about Reaper-. and it's free, as well

Reaper is free to try, but it's not free software.

 

[Erlend_G]

Oh`? I didn't know that. Always heard it was freeware. Thanks!

 

[devastone]

$60 for private use, $225 for commercial use.

https://www.reaper.fm/purchase.php

 

[Erlend_G]

I remember in the "good old days", back in... 2003? I was running a (sorry) pirate verision of a program called Cool Edit Pro 2.0.

My PC wasn't very quick; and I had no soundcard apart from the motherboard built-in;

yet I managed to record alot of music, with no glitches, low latency and passable sound!

My computer then had... 512MB's of ram? And stuff somehow worked... this one has 8 GB, and, I'm told- it's just enough to run software music programs smoothly.

..

Oh well.. (Really I want to score a nice Tascam 424, mkII or mkIII ... but those are hard to find nowadays!)

 

[GuitarStv]

I remember in the "good old days", back in... 2003? I was running a (sorry) pirate verision of a program called Cool Edit Pro 2.0.

My PC wasn't very quick; and I had no soundcard apart from the motherboard built-in;

yet I managed to record alot of music, with no glitches, low latency and passable sound!

My computer then had... 512MB's of ram? And stuff somehow worked... this one has 8 GB, and, I'm told- it's just enough to run software music programs smoothly.

..

Oh well.. (Really I want to score a nice Tascam 424, mkII or mkIII ... but those are hard to find nowadays!)

Cool Edit Pro used ASIO drivers to achieve that low latency. They're stripped down to perform recording operations with minimum overhead. Regular windows drivers are pretty crap for this. The newest DirectX drivers are better, but have patchy support with many recording programs. What drivers are you currently using to record with that are causing you issue?