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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2 |
I’m planning on making a video that illustrates how EVERYBODY can make a song, a good song! My first problem now is, which daw should I use? GarageBand would be perfect if it was multiplatform, but it isn’t and I don’t want people to think that Apple is the way to go, if you wanna make music. I mainly use Ableton and so far my best alternative is the trial of Reaper. But please hit me op if you know some nice, creative, free or almost free daw that runs both Mac and win! 
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173 |
From my perspective it really depends on how far you want to go and how much time you are prepared to spend developing product knowledge and designing your work flow.
Reaper is very powerful with a huge user base and heaps of useful tutorials, particularly the stuff by Kenny Gioia. Cakewalk by BandLab is really great also once again there is a fair bit to learn and a lot of useful information with a huge user base.
They are two DAWs that I tend to use I have looked at others but am happy with these. Lately I tend to use Reaper for most stuff.
Either way whatever you decide if you go into correctly you’ll learn heaps. Funny stuff knowledge, sometimes hard to acquire but usually easy to carry.
Have fun
Tony
Edit: Forgot to add Cakewalk by BandLab is free, Reaper is US$60 but cheap at half the price.
Last edited by Teunis; 02/14/19 11:52 PM.
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 745
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 745 |
How about Audacity? It is free and easy to use. https://www.audacityteam.org/...Deb
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173 |
Audacity is free and it does have its uses I often look at stuff in Audacity but I would not describe Audacity as a full blown DAW. There are many things a good DAW can do that Audacity (to me as least) seems very limited at.
Editing audio for video can be fairly easily achieved in Cakewalk or Reaper as I understand it.
My thoughts
Tony
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 1,685
Expert
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Expert
Joined: May 2017
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win 10 64 bit 16gb,i7 chip, ssd 500gb, m-audio air, ,Roland BK-7M, 1000,shure sm7b,sonar,acid,mixcraft, variety of plugins.Sample tank 3,Kontakt. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 2 . https://beatmaster1.bandcamp.com/releases
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414 |
It's my understanding that Reaper and Cakewalk are good for this, but I can't speak too much on how well they work - I've never used either. I've heard positive things though.
Cheers,
Deryk
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,481
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,481 |
He asked for a DAW that works on both a PC and a Mac. Cakewalk is PC only but Reaper will work in both OSes.
The bumper sticker said "I'm a veterinarian, therefore I can drive like an animal".
Suddenly I realized how many proctologists are on the road.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732 |
I’m planning on making a video that illustrates how EVERYBODY can make a song, a good song! Check out this guy's blog. He does videos like that all the time. That should give you some good ideas. Recording Revolution Blog
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,782
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,782 |
I would have thought it would be obvious......
Real Band. It's a DAW, it's got a ton of useful features, you just have to take the time to learn them, and...... you already have it if you have Band In A Box.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173 |
I would have thought it would be obvious......
Real Band. It's a DAW, it's got a ton of useful features, you just have to take the time to learn them, and...... you already have it if you have Band In A Box. At the risk of starting yet another argument I would not put RB in the same league as Cakewalk by BandLab which is also free. I tried RB and to get a workflow like I had in Sonar, Reaper or any of the other DAWs I have used. I found RB laking in functionality. Things like the channel strips in Cakewalk or all the plugins that come with Reaper. Sorry RB loses for me in the DAWs stakes. Tony
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,782
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,782 |
I would have thought it would be obvious......
Real Band. It's a DAW, it's got a ton of useful features, you just have to take the time to learn them, and...... you already have it if you have Band In A Box. At the risk of starting yet another argument I would not put RB in the same league as Cakewalk by BandLab which is also free. I tried RB and to get a workflow like I had in Sonar, Reaper or any of the other DAWs I have used. I found RB laking in functionality. Things like the channel strips in Cakewalk or all the plugins that come with Reaper. Sorry RB loses for me in the DAWs stakes. Tony And I totally agree with you. No question. But the OP was looking for a reasonably good DAW for free. He already has RB. I don't consider RB to be a full featured DAW but it does a good job if you're short of money for one of the big names. Yeah... I've been a Cakewalk user and still am.... Sonar X1. Love it. But.... I'm also seeing where lots of people are having issues with BLCW. I was considering the jump but decided to stay with my "works perfectly" X1.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,481
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,481 |
Again guys he is looking for a cheap or free DAW that runs on both Win and Mac OSs.
The bumper sticker said "I'm a veterinarian, therefore I can drive like an animal".
Suddenly I realized how many proctologists are on the road.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 8,987
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1,173 |
At US$60 I consider Reaper really cheap for what you get and it will run on both. Functionality wise I think Reaper is right up there. However, learning wise there is a bit of work.
Tony
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,500
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,500 |
Probably Reaper. Reaper runs on a PC or a Mac, the price is right, and there are a lot of folks here (not me) who use it if you need help integrating it with BIAB.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2 |
I’m planning on making a video that illustrates how EVERYBODY can make a song, a good song! My first problem now is, which daw should I use? GarageBand would be perfect if it was multiplatform, but it isn’t and I don’t want people to think that Apple is the way to go, if you wanna make music. I mainly use Ableton and so far my best alternative is the trial of Reaper. But please hit me op if you know some nice, creative, free or almost free daw that runs both Mac and win! _____________________________________________________________________________________
Last edited by Andrew - PG Music; 02/23/19 12:39 PM. Reason: spam
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,481
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,481 |
If one googles/bings free daws that work in both mac and win oss you will find a few. Note that I have no experience with any of these but the price is right so you could DL them and decide if one is OK for you.
The bumper sticker said "I'm a veterinarian, therefore I can drive like an animal".
Suddenly I realized how many proctologists are on the road.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 115
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 115 |
I recently started using Cakewalk from bandlab. I'm really liking it and it's free.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,500
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,500 |
Cakewalk by BandLab is just SONAR reborn and as such it’s very good, but it isn’t available for a Mac.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Posts: 11,010
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You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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