Cons And Limitations Of "Free" DAWs

[Numanoid]

Ardour 5

Not a turn key system.
Users need to be more engineers than musicians having to build the free version themselves.

Not really. It's quite easy to get it free via your distro's package manager.

On Windows ?

[Kumi_27]

Ardour on Windows is donationware. For free You can only get a demo.

And their problem is that they are not freeware

Yes, but Reaper isn't exactly free either and is on the top of OP's list.

Basically one can say, that even T7 (30$) or Podium (50$) is cheaper than Reaper here.

[Numanoid]

Tracktion 5 or Podium Free looks like the best totally free options.

T5 was launched just over 2 years ago

http://www.kvraudio.com/news/tracktion- ... on-5-24865

[Kumi_27]

T5 is not locked to one core like Podium Free. It's a full commercial version.
All plugins may go top-speed, but not everyone may like the layout and interface...

[sprnva]

No, loading third party plugs is Studio One Prime's problem

And Pro Tools First only loads plugins bought from the Avid Marketplace

It's a far cry from the old free versions of Pro Tools.

[Numanoid]

but not everyone may like the layout and interface...

Compared to FL Studio or ReNoise, Tracktion interface seems quite normal

[Robert Randolph]

Ardour 5

Not a turn key system.
Users need to be more engineers than musicians having to build the free version themselves.

Not really. It's quite easy to get it free via your distro's package manager.

On Windows ?

I don't know about windows, what package manager does it use?

[Numanoid]

I don't know about windows, what package manager does it use?

Well it doesn't use one

But we can get the source code:

You'll need to build this yourself. That can be a challenging and complex process, especially on Windows and OS X. '

So as I said, more for engineers, than musicians.

[Kumi_27]

Compared to FL Studio or ReNoise, Tracktion interface seems quite normal

But doesn't have the virtual console mixer. And afaik is single-screen only.

[whyterabbyt]

I don't know about windows, what package manager does it use?

Well it doesn't use one

But we can get the source code:

You'll need to build this yourself. That can be a challenging and complex process, especially on Windows and OS X. '

So as I said, more for engineers, than musicians.

Or you could pay a $1 donation to get a built version.

[Numanoid]

Paying $1 means it isn't free

Then it is a different topic, it is certainly cheap, but has nothing to do with free daws

[stanlea]

I don't know about windows, what package manager does it use?

Well it doesn't use one

But we can get the source code:

You'll need to build this yourself. That can be a challenging and complex process, especially on Windows and OS X. '

So as I said, more for engineers, than musicians.

Or you could pay a $1 donation to get a built version.

Thanks whyterabbyt - Let's say that Ardour if "near almost" free, users pay for a built version. The source code remains free, and Linux users can effectively get it with their distribution.
I didn't mean that Ardour is the best ultimate sequencer, but I'm tired of the Ardour bashing here and there. Some will like it, others no : that's life.

[Numanoid]

I didn't mean that Ardour is the best ultimate sequencer, but I'm tired of the Ardour bashing here and there. Some will like it, others no : that's life.

I am not bashing Ardour, but I wouldn't call it free to use (for the not tech-savvy)

It certainly can be had for cheap, but cheap is not free

[whyterabbyt]

Paying $1 means it isn't free

Then it is a different topic, it is certainly cheap, but has nothing to do with free daws

So you're arguing that somehow, as a DAW, the free version is more for engineers than musicians, while the $1 is fine for both.

Despite it being the same DAW.

That makes sense.

I wonder whether you think its still more suitable for engineers if someone else builds it and gives it to a musician for free?

BTW, topic has the word 'free' apostrophised, and the OP mentioned Reaper, which is only free as a demo version. So you probably need to check whether $1 counts as being close enough to "free" (sic) or not before you speak for the OP's intent.

[Numanoid]

That makes sense

Thanks for acknowledging that, I know when I am right