List of Free or Open Source DAWs, Sequencers, and Hosts for Windows:

[trimph1]

What was this thread about in the first place?

[hseiken]

To those who've said I legitimized piracy, you clearly read wrong. I don't legitimize it. I simply am saying that 1.) Price drives piracy (in most cases). 2.) Inflating the price of software makes people percieve a value that in most cases ISN'T there. It's like that really expensive iPhone app that simply displayed a picture of a diamond. People bought it BECAUSE it was expensive. There's simply this false belief that expensive software somehow will a.) Give you more options thatn cheaper alternatives b.) work better c.) make you a pro. It's really a crying shame.

My 100$ price cap is very reasonable. Again, with very little overhead costs (software houses don't even need to house backstock!), 100$ per unit seems just fine. I simply cannot and will not pay NOR PIRATE (which to me is like advertising software in the first place because people will almost always ask 'what software do you use?') anything over $100 USD. It's as simple as that. I don't think any software in the world for non-commercial use is worth more than that.

Its funny that it was mentioned that some software has upwards of 10 people working on it...so how many do hardware have? Just 1 guy? LOL

Also, someone mentioned UPGRADES and the like. Hardware gets upgrades too. And they charge for those upgrades, so I don't see why that's any kind of 'debunking' of my argument. I'll pay for upgrades too (I'm about to buy Orion 8 ). I certainly said nothing even regarding free upgrades and such in my original post (just like I didn't dignify pirating).

All I'm getting at is that I bet you my left testicle that Reason would sell a lot better (I'm just using that as an example, not trying to make a point about Propellerheads business model specifically) and would ultimately make the company more money if they had nothing on their site over 100$. 100$ can still be leisurly. You go over that, and you're looking at an 'investment' and not all people wish to make 'an investment' in something they may or may not want to use much and won't know until after purchased. I mean, wouldn't you feel like you wasted money if you bought a grand piano at full price only to find out you really don't like playing piano at all?

[memyselfandus]

any others?

[memyselfandus]

...here are some you may or may not wish to add to your list:

Acid Xpress 7 Free:
http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/
- inline MIDI editing, video scoring track, punch-in recording, freehand envelope drawing, 10 tracks

Rosegarden:
http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/
- audio sequencer, MIDI sequencer, score editor

Wired:
http://wired.sourceforge.net/
- unlimited Audio/Midi tracks playback and recording, plugin system

Tonescape:
http://tonalsoft.com/
- microtonal music production software in beta trial

SunVox:
http://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/
- modular music creation system

Anvil Studio Free:
http://www.anvilstudio.com/

Aria Maestosa:
http://ariamaestosa.sourceforge.net/
- open source midi tracker/editor with keyboard, guitar, drum, and controller views

Anthem:
http://anthem.sourceforge.net/
- open source MIDI sequencer

DrumFlow:
http://tnikolai.nm.ru/drumflow.html
- MIDI drum sequencer, integrates with other sequencers

Sequential-Vibes:
http://www.evobeats.de/
- pattern orientated audio sequencer/tracker, DirectX & VST support (scroll down the page; don't know what's up with that)

Fat Rock Studio:
http://hem.passagen.se/xlnt/frs/

Gungirl Sequencer:
http://ggseq.sourceforge.net/HomePage
- audio sequencer, file manager, drag & drop

MidiMountain:
http://www.midimountain.com/

Muse:
http://www.muse-sequencer.org/index.php/Main_Page

OpenSebJ:
http://www.evolvingsoftware.com/opensebj.html

PlayerPro:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/playerpro/
- music composer and sound editor

Rebirth:
http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/
- classic

Space Toad:
http://www.spacetoads.com/

Jackbeat:
http://jackbeat.samalyse.org/
- drum machine audio sequencer

LiveProfessor:
http://ifoundasound.com/?page_id=8
- effect rack of VST-plugins

Scooty:
http://tgomj.webs.com/scooty.htm
- freeware 32-bit VST sequencer

Buzzle:
http://buzzle.spr.at/
http://www.buzzle.de/
- Buzz clone

Evolutif:
http://evolutif.sourceforge.net/

MED Soundstudio:
http://medsoundstudio.com/
- Stereo Tracker & MIDI Sequencer with VSTi and ASIO support

beast:
http://beast.gtk.org/

Qtractor:
http://qtractor.sourceforge.net/qtractor-index.html

Kangas:
http://www.kangasound.com/

MadTracker:
http://www.madtracker.org/
- tracker with VST, ASIO, and ReWire support

QWS:
http://www.andrelouis.com/qws/

Glitch Sequencer:
http://www.glitch-sequencer.com/
- free cellular automaton based MIDI sequencer

[fistfullofnails]

Thank you very much for the info. Im a beginner and have Fred Welsh's Synth Cookbook, however I cannot find a host that will accept his synth that he recommends as well as the Freak(a)scope. Any suggestions? My computer uses Windows 64 and the driver is the Asio4v2. I do have Mulab, but it will not recognize the plug-ins.

[DuX]

You must have installed Mulab x64 version and your plugins are x86, so that's probably why Mulab can't recognise the plugins. Both DAW application and plugins have to be x64 or both x86 in order for the plugins to be recognised.

If your Mulab is x64 and your plugins x64 then you probably only have to edit the VST plugins path in Mulab so it can find them.

The other solution, when your plugins are x86/32-bit and you want to use them with your x64/64-bit DAW is to use 32-bit plugins in 64-bit hosts with a "bridging" software like JBridge. http://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/

You can also install Mulab x86 and use it in Windows x64 with x86 plugins, no problem. Bridging software is not such a great solution and it can be problematic. It's better to use a x64 host and plugins, or x86 host and plugins.

Cheers!

[fistfullofnails]

You must have installed Mulab x64 version and your plugins are x86, so that's probably why Mulab can't recognise the plugins. Both DAW application and plugins have to be x64 or both x86 in order for the plugins to be recognised.

If your Mulab is x64 and your plugins x64 then you probably only have to edit the VST plugins path in Mulab so it can find them.

The other solution, when your plugins are x86/32-bit and you want to use them with your x64/64-bit DAW is to use 32-bit plugins in 64-bit hosts with a "bridging" software like JBridge. http://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/

You can also install Mulab x86 and use it in Windows x64 with x86 plugins, no problem. Bridging software is not such a great solution and it can be problematic. It's better to use a x64 host and plugins, or x86 host and plugins.

Cheers!

thank you very much. so i am guessing i couldnt load the 32 bit version into my 64 bit computer either, could I?

[fistfullofnails]

Asking that is because the SCB-1 syncth and the Fread(a)scope I want are 32 bit.

[DuX]

You must have installed Mulab x64 version and your plugins are x86, so that's probably why Mulab can't recognise the plugins. Both DAW application and plugins have to be x64 or both x86 in order for the plugins to be recognised.

If your Mulab is x64 and your plugins x64 then you probably only have to edit the VST plugins path in Mulab so it can find them.

The other solution, when your plugins are x86/32-bit and you want to use them with your x64/64-bit DAW is to use 32-bit plugins in 64-bit hosts with a "bridging" software like JBridge. http://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/

You can also install Mulab x86 and use it in Windows x64 with x86 plugins, no problem. Bridging software is not such a great solution and it can be problematic. It's better to use a x64 host and plugins, or x86 host and plugins.

Cheers!

thank you very much. so i am guessing i couldnt load the 32 bit version into my 64 bit computer either, could I?

Not quite. Read my post a few times to get it right. Not meaning to sound preachy. Forget about the operating system, first. What matters is if your DAW [VST host] is 32-bit or 64-bit. What matters is that you can only use 32-bit plugins in a 32-bit DAW-host and 64-bit plugins in 64-bit DAW-host. Simple.

However, it is the best [performace wise] if you can use a 64-bit DAW under a 64-bit OS, with 64-bit plugins, or using a 32-bit DAW under a 32-bit OS, with 32-bit plugins. It's simple, just match them all if you can.

For example, I'm using Windows XP x86 [32-bit] with Reaper x86 and x86 plugins. The only difference going x64 would be I could use more memory than 2GB per project, but it can be circumvented, but I don't want to confuse you with that.

It seems like you should install x86 32-bit version of Mulab to make it work with your plugins. You can have both Mulab x86 and x64 installed side by side, no problems.

[fistfullofnails]

I kind of rebelled and went the other way Dux, but still, in a way, followed your advice haha. I was intent on getting the SCB-1 and freakascope to justify the purchase of the book, and it turned out they are 32 bit plug-ins. So i downloaded the 32 bit Mulab and put those plugs into it. Works like a charm, day turned out great after all. Thanks for the advice and your time.

[DuX]

No problem, mate! I'm glad it worked! That's what we're here for. Cheers!