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!
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; 02/14/1911:52 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
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
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.
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.com Add 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.
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
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.com Add 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.
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
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 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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!
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.
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
I wouldn’t worry so much about cross platform. Mac users will have GarageBand and if they are recording their first song ever even their first ‘good’ song, they will almost assuredly be using GarageBand. They would be way outside of the norm if they chose something else.
Same with iOS users. You can make great songs on iOS GarageBand and that’s where newbie songwriters will go if they aren’t using Apple Music Memos first, which exports into GarageBand.
So I would limit choices to PC platform if I was you.
I would NOT recommend Reaper for first timers. It has far too much tweak ability up front if your purpose is to teach assembling a good song right from the start without having to go download a bunch of instrument plugins and to decide on templates and what not.
Cakewalk is an entire package. DAW and all the plugins you need and notation editing and entry and available to anyone, rather than requiring a BIAB purchase.
I assume that your goal is affecting the largest number of potential people new to DAW use, that want to make songs on their computer but have never done that before.
I don't want to start an argument either but RB has some quirks and is inconsistent for many of us. Some others have no issues but it is unpredictable for me. As soon as I finish the project I am working on, I will be learning something new.
+++ Audacity +++ is great if all you want is a free audio recorder. However be aware it is a waveform editor and not a DAW.
The BIG limitation with Audacity is that it does not work with midi. MIDI and computers go together like peanut butter and jelly. That's why Audacity is considered a waveform editor and not a DAW. Though you may not think so in the beginning that is a huge limitation.
The BIG plus is it is as simple as it gets if all you want and need is to be able to make any computer into a digital audio recorder and playback machine.
Anyone that has ever used a CD, DVD or DVR will instantly understand the transport controls. Delete, cut, copy and paste are as easy to use, and work the same, as a text editor or word processor.
Most of all, the program is rock solid. Audacity is very stable and crash resistant.
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!
_____________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you my issue has been solve
AND THERE IT IS..... Look at the signature. SPAMMER
Now...read the post carefully and see if it makes sense. In the context of the whole picture. It doesn't.
Last edited by Andrew - PG Music; 02/23/1912:41 PM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add 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.
I assume the original poster meant for 'good song' to be quality of sound recorded rather than quality of content. That said, DAW or OS platform is irrelevant to his objective to show that anyone can record a good song. Anyone and everyone wanting to record a good song will start recording songs with the equipment and software they own or have access to.
A DAW or computer is not required to make a good recording. Commercial releases were made in the 1990's with digital eight tracks like the Tascam DA-88. Alesis, Foxtex, Roland and other manufacturers made similar models. Some of that equipment is still around and useable today. It's entirely possible to make as high quality recordings with analog mixers into digital recorders as can be done with any DAW.
A beginner will likely make faster progress and better recordings starting off with simple digital recorders like the ones by Tascam and Zoom. A Tascam DP004, 006 or 008 are readily available used for less than $75. Especially if they know the equipment well and are adept at studio recording techniques and standards.
Both Presonus Studio One and ProTools have free DAW versions that are cross platform and are capable of commercial grade recording capability. They are similar to PGMusic's BIAB that the core is there and the paid versions provide more features and content. But the core is there and completely capable of outputting top quality sound.
I've been of the opinion for years that Bill Szymczyk could produce the Eagles using Radio Shack hardware and could obtain radio ready, commercial quality recordings. I say the same today using entry level, consumer grade equipment and software.
It's never the gear. It's always the people and the knowledge and skill they possess.
I had a post that showed an edit by Andrew, but to my knowledge, my content wasn't changed. I assume Andrew must have removed some comment a hacker added?
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
That is so strange. My screen doesn't show Andrew's edit at all.
Hey Jim, it's not the original post you need to look at. It's that user's 2nd post about half way down the thread. Once you get there, you will see the edit.
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
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