DAWs and Editors, What's The One To Get (Hopefully Freeware)?

Hi All,

I have previously used Adobe Audition (out of the CS6 collection).

I will soon need to get a new machine and that licence will go with the old machine.

I have been trying to find a replacement of sorts.

Mostly it is for playing around with existing recordings, or trying to fix stuff from old tapes.

I have tried Audacity, but as you can't run effects (EQ, Mix, etc.) while the track is playing this seem like a bit of a dead end.

Any suggestions for what's out there in this modern, scary world?

I would be interested to know too.

I highly recommend Reaper. $60US for lifetime licence and worth the exchange in AUD (includes all future upgrades). This is however for non-commercial use.
It's a very powerful program with way more capability than I have ability, but is reasonably intuitive and not "power hungry" on your computer.

The last two songs I released (09/22) were recorded, mixed and mastered using Reaper.

Mick Reid on YouTube

Mick Reid on Spotify

Scroll to find "singles"

Cheers McCreed.

I'll have a squint at it.

I installed Cakewalk last night. Now there was an install experience from the 1980s. Slow, poorly mapped and even more poorly explained (especially the activation malarkey).

I am sure it has what I want but I can't even seem to find a simple EQ panel.

I've used Audacity previously, and IIRC, I was able to use FX while tracks play. (???)
My biggest issue with Audacity was not being able to overcome latency issues with recording. Just couldn't get it to work.

At that time I was using my Zoom R-8 digital recorder as a capture device then loading the wav's into Audacity for editing and mixing.
Have hardly touched Audacity since switching to Reaper.

FWIW, I just had a look and Audacity has had a significant overhaul/update and changed their I/F as well as improved how plug-ins work.

Reaper is what I use and would recommend. The $60 is a lifetime licence but upgrades stop after two major releases. Which in my experience means getting on for a decade.
Cakewalk is a slightly different beast to use but it is genuinely free and is a fully featured DAW these days.

I'd definitely recommend checking out Reaper too, it's actually a great Daw that's made by some ex-Avid ProTools guys, I bought the $60.00 non-commercial license and have been very happy with it, I'm currently on Reaper version 6.78, they also have a version for Mac OS too, Reaper pretty much handles all the usual audio file formats, supports midi and third-party vst plugins, think it also supports video clips as well.

If you're after a good suite of free plugins, check out this Essentials plugins suite from KiloHearts:

https://kilohearts.com/products/kilohearts_essentials


I also seem to remember that the makers of Cooledit Pro (remember that?) have made it a free download, but I could be wrong.

Hi, i am a songwriter, Guitarist and Keyboard player. I have used many DAWs before and have a few first hand experiences with many. I would like to ask a few questions before I could suggest some thing

1. What would you like to record?
2.Do u have necessary hardwares like soundcard/ interfaces, Mixers, DI boxes and stuff?
3. Do u want to Run Vstis and Vsti FX?
4. What is the quality of exporting that you need? Do u need video mux capabilities too?

Cheers
Drashkum

Drahkum,

Actually, none of the above.

I have got a hold of some MP3 files of some tracks that were released in 1984, on cassette only. I gather these were taken from long forgotten masters that, unfortunately, had an early version of Dolby noise reduction applied.

When they were ripped to MP3, the Dolby compression/NR seems to still be there in the mix but obviously not the encoding.

The tapes are no longer available. Even if they were, a 1" tape player and Dolby A or B decoder wouldn't be!

So the idea is to simply muck around with what I have and try and tidy it all up as best as can be done. I did one or two using Adobe Audition, but as a learning experience I thought getting to grips with a modern DAW might be fun.

There's no real intended outcome other than having a play and possibly expanding and improving some memories from the halcyon days of the Sydney pub rock scene!

(I do have some USB/Digital toys I might plug in later but time won't allow that for the foreseeable future :) )

Hey Rabbitz.

Now that you've described what you're looking to achieve, I'd have another look at Audacity TBH.
Their latest release is 3.2.5 and now utilising real-time effects. There are lots of good free plug-ins available nowadays.
I reckon you'd be able to do what want without spending any money.

I just checked Audacity, it is 3.2.5 and still doesn't allow real-time effects.

That is to say, all the effects are greyed out when it is playing nor can you play the track if the EQ effect dialog is open.

Seems strange to me but I guess it's all in the price you pay :)

EDIT:
AHHHH HA!

You need to add vst plugins to get the real time effects....

Including a Reaper FX suite

Quote:

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Hey Rabbitz.

Now that you've described what you're looking to achieve, I'd have another look at Audacity TBH.
Their latest release is 3.2.5 and now utilising real-time effects. There are lots of good free plug-ins available nowadays.
I reckon you'd be able to do what want without spending any money.

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The plugins from KiloHeart that Doc left the link for can also be used on Audacity. I installed the VST3 set and they work.

This is hot off the desk and was recorded, mixed & mastered in Reaper, it will only be up on soundcloud for a few days so a couple of mates in the US can hear it before I pull it down again

New song now removed

Our 2nd album likewise all done in reaper ( I'm the grey headed old fart without a hat )

https://open.spotify.com/album/3EM3Zk2r04xyQ1J1eXIkyc

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colin2121

The plugins from KiloHeart that Doc left the link for can also be used on Audacity. I installed the VST3 set and they work.

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Pretty much any Daw that supports VST, VST2, and VST3 should work with those KiloHearts plugins.