What DAW do you recomend for windows

[splatter]

I'm gonna start recording again but have no clue what DAW to get. I'm selling the old Roland dinosaur I used to record with and am gonna jump into this century and use a windows laptop. So your experiences and suggestion would be greatly appreciated

 

[ultimatemetalguitartones]

I always use Audacity since I find it really easy to record with!

 

[Thunkful]

I'd say Reaper. Really easy to use and learn + it's free.

 

[PeteLaramee]

I still use sonar/cakewalk. I dig it and it's free. Depending on your experience with daws this may or may not be for you. This is a full Producer version and because it can do so mich it may be a bit daunting. A "home" or "light" version of something else may be a better start because it will just give you the basics w/out having to have to sift through the extras.

 

[Kordoba]

I started with Audacity over 10 years ago then switched to Ableton Live Lite which came with my Focusrite interface. Ableton was part of a bundle that included some eq plugins. Still using Ableton Lite with Windows 10 and I have it installed on both of my laptops. It has a few quirks that I don't like, but after getting through the initial learning curve it's worked very well for me overall.

 

[Thunkful]

I'd say Reaper. Really easy to use and learn + it's free.

Not quite free, but reasonably inexpensive: https://www.reaper.fm/purchase.php

I use Cakewalk by Bandlab, which is free. I think each of the DAWs do some things better than others. I've used Cakewalk forever, so it's familiar to me, and I like how I can write parts out in standard notation to play using various MIDI instruments, and then combine with digital tracks I might record. Probably more of learning curve with it. YMMV.

I think most or all of the major ones offer evals. That might be a good way to see what the best fit is for you.

Reaper is free. The software doesn't force you to buy it even after 60 days.

 

[stratjacket]

I'm gonna start recording again but have no clue what DAW to get. I'm selling the old Roland dinosaur I used to record with and am gonna jump into this century and use a windows laptop. So your experiences and suggestion would be greatly appreciated

Do you already have an interface or will you be buying one of those as well?
I think before you invest a bunch, try some of the free suggestions and see if you get into it. You also may just like those, they’ll get the job done just fine. You can use the AX8 (in your dig) as the interface if you just want to track yourself and not a full band.

 

[Monkey Man]

If you need an interface as well, the new MOTU M2 and M4s are by far the best-bang-for-buck out there. Nothing comes close in terms of features, sound quality and price.

I mention this 'cause if you grab one of 'em, you get Digital Performer Lite "for free", and it's likely everything you'll need 'cause it doesn't suffer from the typical audio-and-MIDI-track-number limitations companies impose on so-called Lite versions.

DP is a mature app - arguably the most-mature 'cause it's been around since the early '80s and guess what? You can still load projects created way back then. I would guess that it's the oldest DAW / sequencer on the Mac by a great margin, and when choosing a DAW IMHO the company's longevity counts for a Helluva lot.

 

[guitarbilly74]

+1 on choosing the interface first. Most of them come with a light version of a DAW. Try that and go from there. Depending on what you're doing the light version might be enough or if you like it but need more features you can get the full version.
Also download the free ones (Audacity, Reaper, Cakewalk) and give them a try.
I use Sonar/Cakewalk because it's what I learned to record on and I'm used to it. All modern DAWs are really good, it's a matter of finding the one that seems more intuitive for you.

 

[DragonCrestPC]

I use reaper.

 

[Thunkful]

If you need an interface as well, the new MOTU M2 and M4s are by far the best-bang-for-buck out there. Nothing comes close in terms of features, sound quality and price.

I mention this 'cause if you grab one of 'em, you get Digital Performer Lite "for free", and it's likely everything you'll need 'cause it doesn't suffer from the typical audio-and-MIDI-track-number limitations companies impose on so-called Lite versions.

DP is a mature app - arguably the most-mature 'cause it's been around since the early '80s and guess what? You can still load projects created way back then. I would guess that it's the oldest DAW / sequencer on the Mac by a great margin, and when choosing a DAW IMHO the company's longevity counts for a Helluva lot.

Have you compared the MOTU to Focusrite Scarletts? I have the 2nd gen 2i2 and i think it's great.

 

[Monkey Man]

They're in different leagues, man. Seriously, check out the PooToob reviews of the MOTU units. People have been blown away by them. You mightn't have heard much about them yet 'cause they only came out in December.

They're in a league of their own in that price range in so many respects it's not funny.

+1 on choosing the interface first. Most of them come with a light version of a DAW. Try that and go from there. Depending on what you're doing the light version might be enough or if you like it but need more features you can get the full version.
Also download the free ones (Audacity, Reaper, Cakewalk) and give them a try.
I use Sonar/Cakewalk because it's what I learned to record on and I'm used to it. All modern DAWs are really good, it's a matter of finding the one that seems more intuitive for you.

Great advice IMHO, mate.

 

[skullfxr]

At this point in time, they will all do the job for 99% of us.

Reaper for me. Full featured and $60 ONCE! I can't find a better value for myself.

Also izotope puts out a lot of good free plug-ins every month or two if you get on their email list.

 

[aftec]

Reaper too. Stable, low CPU usage, simply works, got everíthing I need.
Besides, Protools sucks royal dick on windows.

 

[romanianreaper]

I use Reaper for all of my recordings and have for years. They are constantly providing updates, great helpful community to figure things out, and really easy to use. I'm not a "dig in the weeds" kind of person with this stuff and simple enough.

 

[splatter]

I'm gonna start recording again but have no clue what DAW to get. I'm selling the old Roland dinosaur I used to record with and am gonna jump into this century and use a windows laptop. So your experiences and suggestion would be greatly appreciated

Do you already have an interface or will you be buying one of those as well?
I think before you invest a bunch, try some of the free suggestions and see if you get into it. You also may just like those, they’ll get the job done just fine. You can use the AX8 (in your dig) as the interface if you just want to track yourself and not a full band.

No I don't have an interface .I think I'm gonna go with the MOTU M2 and try the software that comes with it for starters.

Thanks for all the info guys

 

[Ventura]

Reaper - any platform.

 

[stratjacket]

After thinking about it a little more. If we concede that all DAW's will more or less "get the job done", I wouldn't focus too much on comparing features and things like that. I think the best thing would be to think about the workflow each DAW is best at and choose from there. You can do a quick search on "DAW workflow" on YouTube or google and find a bunch of info. Each DAW will be a little different in how you do things that effects the workflow of what you're trying to do.

For example, I have used Pro Tools forever, no expert, but I know what I know and how to do the things I need. I am used to it from setting up tracks, recording, adding effects, mixing, automation, and mastering. I tried to switch to Logic Pro and just couldn't get used to it. Logic does some thing automatically that I had to manually do in Pro Tools, but it didn't make sense to me. I'm sure if I grew up on Logic, I'd feel like it's dumb that I have to do something a more manual way in Pro Tools.

So I'd really recommend watching some youtube videos on basic workflows for each DAW you're looking at and seeing which make sense to you. The easier for you (meaning it logically makes sense), the more you'll enjoy it.

 

[Monkey Man]

More wise words from you, brother.

In my biased, but in this case true opinion, DP is the most-versatile when it comes to choosing one's workflow. It's always been this way, and this is the main reason why it suffered from a too-many-windows "problem" in the past (for new users who didn't understand why there were so many). What they didn't get is that the huge number of options is like a full palette of colours for a painter - you use only what you need for your particular workflow.

The introduction of the Consolidated Window enabled users to configure their preferred pop-up windows into sidelines, which cleaned things up nicely. More-recent tweaks to font size have helped too.

Anyway, I mainly just wanted to say that once again, your words have been wise, brother.

I'm gonna start recording again but have no clue what DAW to get. I'm selling the old Roland dinosaur I used to record with and am gonna jump into this century and use a windows laptop. So your experiences and suggestion would be greatly appreciated

Do you already have an interface or will you be buying one of those as well?
I think before you invest a bunch, try some of the free suggestions and see if you get into it. You also may just like those, they’ll get the job done just fine. You can use the AX8 (in your dig) as the interface if you just want to track yourself and not a full band.

No I don't have an interface .I think I'm gonna go with the MOTU M2 and try the software that comes with it for starters.

Thanks for all the info guys

A wise choice in my biased, humble opinion, mate. Wuddun!

BTW, tell me that interface isn't killer.

 

[stratjacket]

Thank you sir!!