One of the greatest inventions of the digital age is the digital audio workstation (DAW). It gives musicians the power to create, record, and mix their own music the way they intended. What’s better: musicians can do so without paying a cent. In case no one ever told you, most musicians are broke. The chance to record music for free is a life-altering situation. In this article, we’ll be breaking down the seven best free DAW platforms on the market.

Why DAW Software Is An Amazing Thing

Not long ago, if you wanted to record your music, you needed to go to a studio. It sucked!

The process went something like this:

1. Call around to a bunch of recording studios.

2. Find a studio that fits your budget and has time.

3. Pay a CRAP ton of money to use the studio and pay the producer (who may not know your music or like your sound).

4. Hope and pray that you can finish your material within the scheduled time.

5. Kiss the producer’s ass while they mix your work, hoping they care enough to do a good job.

It was a nightmare…but then the DAW came along. No longer did you have to go through all that mumbo jumbo. You could buy a DAW and practice the skill of producing at home, on your own time.

The stress of worrying about recording within a specific timeframe…GONE! How glorious! Now, you can get DAWs for free! Yes, life is pretty sweet for the new fandangled rockstar.

7 Best Free DAW ‘s

1. GarageBand

Apple’s free DAW is a staple for Mac users. It all started in 2004. GarageBand gave mac users the ability to record music straight from their laptop, for free!

It lacks a few features like MIDI export and the ability to control external MIDI, but it offers enough to help get the fledgling producer up and running.

Garageband has done an excellent job of helping new musicians get hooked on music production. It serves as a bridge to Apple’s premier DAW Logic Pro X.

Some shared features include:

• Drummer
• Groove Maker
• Apple loops sound library

The program offers up to 256 tracks per song in an easy DAW that seems to get better.

 2. Tracktion T7 (Waveform)

What’s excellent about Tracktion is that they offer the DAW that is two generations older for free. It gives users a taste of the program and the opportunity to level up their DAW when their new flagship DAW is created. It provides users a free DAW almost every year. Essentially, a new producer can learn on the older model. Once the new one is available, they have a new set of tools to explore. That keeps it from getting stale.

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The Tracktion T7 offers users unlimited audio and MIDI tracks. It is also able to host multiple plugin formats. To download the software, you’ll need to create an email and password. The first time you run the software, you’ll see a notification that it is running in demo mode. Simply click Unlock, and all features will be available.

3. BandLab Cakewalk

BandLab Cakewalk was formerly known by a different name, Cakewalk SONAR. It was one of the first digital audio workstations owned by Gibson until last year.

Luckily for musicians, BandLab picked up the software in February, making it free to download. Cakewalk has got the whole package, from tools and instruments to mixing and mastering tools. It also offers unlimited tracks for audio and MIDI and a host of editing tools.

The only downside to BandLab Cakewalk is that it is only available on Windows at the moment, so Mac users will have to wait.

4. LMMS

Available for both PC and Mac users, LMMS is one of the best fully-featured DAWs out there.  It has functionality reminiscent of FL Studio with a piano roll for composing melodies and harmonies.

It offers MIDI capabilities to plug in and play, making this extremely easy to use for beginners. It’s also lightweight enough to run off a flash drive.

5. Pro Tools First

This free DAW used to be an industry standard and includes XPAND!2 Virtual instruments. It also comes equipped with UVI workstation 3 sample player, which offers loops, sounds, power chords, and more.

It only offers 16 tracks with four simultaneous track recording. Nonetheless, if you are recording on your own, this is fine to start. It also comes with 23 effects and utility plugins.

To use the free tool, you’ll have to create an account.

6. PreSonus Studio One Prime

This DAW is extremely user friendly for beginners and comes with some useful features. It offers nine native effect plugins.

There is an excellent instrument editing workflow, drum and melodic patterns, and MP3 encoding. One drawback is that it offers just a taste of the programs available in their artist and professional DAW programs. Studio One Prime is still worth checking out.

7. Ohm Studio

What sets this DAW apart from others is that it allows for real-time collaboration with other artists. You can even chat while in the DAW. The program offers many effects and instruments. It also provides virtual studio technology plugins, though only in 32-bit.

What to Look For in a DAW

Some DAWs are better than others, depending on your specific needs. Some may be better for mixing, while others are better for producing. You’ll want to make sure you do a little research to find the DAW that is right for you. The best advice is to go with a DAW that is user friendly and meets your music needs.

Wrapping Up: Best Free DAW Programs of 2020

That concludes our list of the seven best free DAW programs of 2020. We hope that you found this helpful in deciding your DAW. Nothing feels as good as hearing your first songs played back. Now you don’t have to spend a fortune to do so.

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