Article: a free Windows-based software studio

[synthgeek]

EDIT: A new version of this article is now available from the FSA website:

A free Windows-based software studio, 2021 update

I'll leave the original post below, in case some people still want to check that out. It may still be useful for those on older systems, if nothing else.

I hope some people find this new one helpful too. Cheers.

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This is something I've been putting together off & on for a while, the somewhat-recent charity thread that mentioned raising freeware awareness kinda gave me a kick to finish it up. I may add to/tweak it a bit, but here it is:

A free Windows-based software studio

Of course I couldn't cover everything out there, so in some cases I just mentioned my personal favorites. I do mention some other places to look, and I'd rather this thread not turn into a list of suggestions for other freebies - only because those threads already exist, and that would be redundant. Also, I fear the article may already be a bit long & intimidating to noobs, who are probably the most likely audience.

Anyway, hope somebody finds it useful.

Mods, feel free to move this if you feel it should go somewhere else.

[bpblog]

great and informative article! wish i could have found something like this back when i first started figuring out how to make music on a computer.



EDIT: now that this is a sticky in the Getting Started section, i might as well add some of my own links that will help you build your freeware music studio. however, synthgeek's article features some pretty cool stuff which you won't yet find on BPB. so regard the links below only as a bonus to what you'll find in the first post:

BPB Freeware Studio // best freeware VST/AU plugins sorted by category

BPB Free Sample Shootout // same as bpb Freeware Studio, but for samples

enjoy!

[synthgeek]

Thanks! Your site is an excellent resource as well.

[Kaine]

Nice work!

I've just done a blog link back ( http://www.scanproaudio.info/?p=959 ) to see if we can point any readers your way.

[synthgeek]

Cool, thanks!

[Kaine]

Cool, thanks!

Oh and also posted a link back on Reddit too!

http://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMa ... e_windows/

The looks like a lot of work there, hope you get plenty of people onto the site

[The Telenator]

synthgeek, that article is one of the best ever on this subject -- well-written, concise, and containing some real gems I have not seen mentioned anywhere else. I've read practically all the others. What you have here is a professional article. Thanks!

[synthgeek]

Thanks Telenator! Glad you found something useful.

[Meffy]

Adhesive applied to thread.

[metamorphosis]

An excellent article. I support this fully.

ps. I recommend adding glaceverb.

[synthgeek]

Adhesive applied to thread.

My first sticky, cool. Thanks!

An excellent article. I support this fully.

ps. I recommend adding glaceverb.

...and thanks to you too.

Tbh, I don't remember exactly why Glaceverb isn't listed, as I do quite like it... but then, like I said, I couldn't mention everything. That's part of the reason I mention other freeware sites (the other being just to give props), so folks can have an easier time finding the other gems. When it comes down to it, I could write an article on just reverbs, or VA synths, or samplers... but our friend at Bedroom Producer's Blog is already doing a fine job there.

[bpblog]

woohoo, congrats on the sticky sg!

I could write an article on just reverbs, or VA synths, or samplers... but our friend at Bedroom Producer's Blog is already doing a fine job there.

that shouldn't be a problem, of course. the more sources available out there, the merrier!

there's quite a few stuff in your article that isn't yet covered on BPB. my bpb Freeware Studio series does cover a lot of great freebies, but i'm kind of struggling with categorizing all the stuff properly, whereas your article features all useful freebies in one place, making them much easier to reach.

so yeah, it's always better to have more choices - looking forward to more similar stuff from you! i'll include a link to your article once i create a dedicated page for bpb Freeware Studio.

[synthgeek]

Oops, missed this reply the first time... guess the spammer did some good this time.

woohoo, congrats on the sticky sg!

Thanks!

I could write an article on just reverbs, or VA synths, or samplers... but our friend at Bedroom Producer's Blog is already doing a fine job there.

that shouldn't be a problem, of course. the more sources available out there, the merrier!

there's quite a few stuff in your article that isn't yet covered on BPB. my bpb Freeware Studio series does cover a lot of great freebies, but i'm kind of struggling with categorizing all the stuff properly, whereas your article features all useful freebies in one place, making them much easier to reach.

so yeah, it's always better to have more choices - looking forward to more similar stuff from you! i'll include a link to your article once i create a dedicated page for bpb Freeware Studio.

I really appreciate the support, and yeah, I agree on the more/merrier thing. I do plan on posting more articles, but they'll likely be slow coming, as I have a lot of other things I'm working on as well.

Anyway, thanks again, and looking forward to seeing more from you too.

[Dtroy]

suppp

[bpblog]

just a note that i've finally created a page with all bpb Freeware Studio articles in one place:

http://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/

synthgeek's fantastic article is also linked there!