Returning hobbyist needs quick advice.

[stoopicus]

There are also many sample based plugins, though oddly few actually sample, so you’ll need a recording utility like Audacity (free) to make the sample and then bring it into your sampler, or you can do what I do and buy sample libraries.

Just a small nit here as warning for the OP, any DAW will work as well or better for recording audio samples than Audacity - if you're already buying a DAW (which you almost assuredly will). Especially true for the ones more focused on instrument tracking (Reaper, Pro Tools, etc).

Also, under no circumstances attempt to use Audacity itself as a DAW; despite its self-marketing and superficial visual similarities, it makes for a very poor DAW.

Audacity is great for what it is (audio recorder and audio file editor) but if you've already got a DAW there is little/no reason to use Audacity for recording IMO. It would however work very well for (permanent, destructive) editing to the audio sample itself, which can be useful.

[Jac459]

Start with Reaper.

Hobbyist here, I saw someone above also recommended not to start with Reaper and I am going to second that-- no offense meant to Saffran at all-- Reaper is an amazing DAW, but its interface can be very tricky to decipher for a newbie... it took me months of frustration in Reaper to get comfortable doing relatively 'normal' things.
I use Studio One now, which I think is great-- it was very quick to learn, however, this was of course after I had already learned Reaper, so I can't really comment on it as a 'first DAW'.
I would (again, as a hobbyist) recommend trying demos of the big ones-- Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, Live, they all have demos, as well as 'cut-down' versions that are cheaper for hobbyists. As far as I know, they also all allow customers to transfer their licenses (sometimes for a fee), so you can often find them for cheaper second-hand here on KVR (in the 'Sell & Buy' forum) or Knobcloud.

Agree agree, reaper is not for returning people asking themselves if they will enjoy doing music. It is as powerful and flexible as uninviting. It is the contrary of fun. It is for people who know what they want to do exactly, want to configure their DAW to do it and have a ton of immediate shortcut.

Very fun day can be Reason or preferably Bitwig because more future proof.

[thecontrolcentre]

Tracktion's free DAW Waveform 13 looks pretty good (Live user myself).





https://www.tracktion.com/products/waveform-free

[kvotchin]

Because you specifically mentioned the piano roll approach to composition, OP, I’m going to have to suggest looking at FL Studio, even though it’s about my least favourite DAW in just about any other way. But yes, that’s where it’s known to shine, above probably all others. Oh, and it’s literally a buy once, own forever deal, which is uncommon these days.

[mixyguy2]

it’s literally a buy once, own forever deal, which is uncommon these days.

??

[kvotchin]

??

It’s an eternal license. Most companies offering DAWs these days do not go about it that way. Want an update / upgrade after a certain amount of time? Pay again, thank you. Or, it’ll just be flat out subscription, without the shyness.

[viewa0]

Because you specifically mentioned the piano roll approach to composition, OP, I’m going to have to suggest looking at FL Studio, even though it’s about my least favourite DAW in just about any other way. But yes, that’s where it’s known to shine, above probably all others. Oh, and it’s literally a buy once, own forever deal, which is uncommon these days.

I wanted to commit to FL because I remembered how good the piano roll is. Had a few months fun, but there are too many other things that made it feel clunky for me.. In case of FL especially, my advice is to demo it for a good while, because for me the not good things weren't obvious at the beginning.

@OP If you use a mac, you can get Logic for 200 - also free software updates - which comes with a good arsenal of tools (for sampling, synthesis, effects). For me it seems more structured and its better customizable. Tons of quality samples too.

[mixyguy2]

??

It’s an eternal license. Most companies offering DAWs these days do not go about it that way. Want an update / upgrade after a certain amount of time? Pay again, thank you. Or, it’ll just be flat out subscription, without the shyness.

Oh so you're talking free updates, got it. I was thinking "I've bought a lot of stuff and pretty sure I own it forever"

[Starbright]

[/img]file:///C:/Users/thesn/Pictures/Screenshots/Screenshot%202024-07-28%20010542.png[/img]
Actually Reaper doesn't have to be this hard. I actually configured a version for beginners right now with:
- Audio and Midi Quantization
-Fast Midi Input Quantization before recording
-Clip rendering with fx (so that you can render out a whole clip and later just have to put your fx on to record on the same track again)
-a reset button for fixing audio and midi problems in one click
- a sequencer button that loads up a sequencer that works like the one in FL Studio
-A slicer script with whom you can slice recordings and samples in 3 seconds and play them
.a fast sample script that samples any audio file to a new track so you can play them as an instrument
- a take align script for aligning recordings
plus other handy stuff

Tiny side notes:
The Free Monster DAW Instrument Plugins are great and Analog Obsession too.
I personally think the best daw for beginners is Logic Pro and the one I'm starting really to loe right now is Ableton Live (though I have found it very hard for beginners to operate it/teach them due to the feature size)

[mixyguy2]

When I was researching DAWs, I found Reaper to be the second easiest to use/learn. Happily I found Mixcraft, which IMO blows all others away in that regard.

[tapper mike]

This is what I don't like about reaper. When you get it it's stripped and barely usuable, so you have to add on and add on and add on. And finally you might have something kind of usable but you waist a lot of time getting there.

In expensive and free daws you get what you pay for with headaches.


Start with something that you can use out of the box and then grow with without breaking the bank. Like Mixcraft



It comes with Acoustica Instruments that automatically load when you import midi files Unlike some where you have to load up a plugin for each track like some or are forced to use Microsoft sounds that haven't been updated since 95
Also you get tonnes of freebie vst's some are long time freebies offered across the web including here at kvr, Some are Acoustica's own creations and some are recent third party plugins. So you won't have to spend hours trying to find something on the web when you are first starting out.

Nonetheless Mixcraft supports all 3rd party plugins. I run expensive third party plugins all the time and it's stable but if you get the heavy sampled based orchestral libraries (East/West, SonusScore Spitfire) then I too would strongly suggest an external SSD to hold them.

[rj0]

If one is just starting, a DAW with many included instruments/effects can help get one launched.

If one already has a good coverage of instrument/effect plugins, what is included with a DAW may not matter one bit.

[mixyguy2]

Most come with a fair bit, and there's so much good free stuff out there, that's not a reason to choose a DAW. Someone should choose the DAW they feel most comfortable with, i.e., it's workflow, GUI, etc.

[stoopicus]

Most come with a fair bit, and there's so much good free stuff out there, that's not a reason to choose a DAW. Someone should choose the DAW they feel most comfortable with, i.e., it's workflow, GUI, etc.

100% agree - choose for workflow, bundled things are fantastic bonuses but nothing trumps workflow.