A compact DAW for a noob (looking to find one for my friend).

[dupont]

Waveform free is surprisingly robust. One of my friends has been using it as his main DAW without any noticeable limits.

Op is on PC but i'm on mac and Waveform is a crash fest here. I have owned a licenced from 1 to 7 version until it has becomen not reliable enought. Perhaps he can try Waveform free version and see if it suits him.
Personally, Traction 1 (before the names changed to waveorm) was my first and main DAW until I stopped licencing at tracktion 7, I like the interface and still keep an eye until a stable version for mac will come out.

[jens]

bitwig 8 tracks ?

Yes - here's a comparison chart:

https://www.bitwig.com/de/feature-list-8-track/

TBH I dunno what they were thinking when they decided to leave out comping.

Compare this to Live Intro (which allows 16 tracks , rather than just 8 ):

https://www.ableton.com/en/live/compare-editions/

[sQeetz]

Waveform free is surprisingly robust. One of my friends has been using it as his main DAW without any noticeable limits.

Op is on PC but i'm on mac and Waveform is a crash fest here. I have owned a licenced from 1 to 7 version until it has becomen not reliable enought. Perhaps he can try Waveform free version and see if it suits him.
Personally, Traction 1 (before the names changed to waveorm) was my first and main DAW until I stopped licencing at tracktion 7, I like the interface and still keep an eye until a stable version for mac will come out.

I just updated to 12 this week and can confirm that it still crashes like there is no other thing it can do. No wonder they don't allow license transfers....worst 50 bucks spent in a while

[dupont]

Waveform free is surprisingly robust. One of my friends has been using it as his main DAW without any noticeable limits.

Op is on PC but i'm on mac and Waveform is a crash fest here. I have owned a licenced from 1 to 7 version until it has becomen not reliable enought. Perhaps he can try Waveform free version and see if it suits him.
Personally, Traction 1 (before the names changed to waveorm) was my first and main DAW until I stopped licencing at tracktion 7, I like the interface and still keep an eye until a stable version for mac will come out.

I just updated to 12 this week and can confirm that it still crashes like there is no other thing it can do. No wonder they don't allow license transfers....worst 50 bucks spent in a while

they should name this DAW crashform

[sQeetz]

Tracktion Crash&Burn

[giaco17]

Cakewalk is free and decent I think

[Lectropunk aka influx808]

Ableton are doing a special deal you can pay installments and it's on sale too , worth a look ,