Even more free DAWs for Music Production

[@AnotherProducer]

What's good fellow musicians?! While it takes some more time for the best free effect plugins videos because there are just so many I want to include, I made this follow-up video to my best free DAWs video. I hope you enjoy it and can wait a litte longer for the other videos. I have huge plans for this channel and I will try to upload more frequently

[@unou588]

Just wanted to reply; I personally use audacity purely for recording audio samples, and LMMS for all the production of music. LMMS allows sample tracks to be imported very easily, and though it may seem similar to FL studio, the way with which you compose music in it is very different. I've tried other daw's and LMMS is really the only one i can stick with. There's also feature differences between the Mac and the PC version of LMMS that make the PC version much more ahead. Last time I checked the mac version it didn't even have a metronome and the PC one has had it for quite a long time. Anyways, if you did wanted to do a video on LMMS in particular I would be interested in helping out with any questions you have with the software itself as i've been using it for quite a long while now. I'm no pro, but I just always advocate the usage of LMMS because it is extremely underrated due to it's lack of similarities with the workflows of other daws.

[@lloydmckay3241]

Mulab. If you get earlier demo versions they have fewer restrictions. No dropout,can save but just four tracks. Very easy to use and the full version is very reasonably priced. Developed by the same person who made the computer muzys app that used to be available from the magazine Computer Music.

[@techyvenkysmp2605]

IN LMMS YOU HAVE TO POINT TO THE LENGTH YOU WANT TO EXTEND YOU SONGS IN SEQUENCER IN THE TIME LINE AND JUST A RIGHT CLICK WILL EXTEND UR SEQUENCER LENGTH AND END MARKER WILL SHIFT THERE ,ITS VERY EASY

[@AnotherProducer]

Thanks man 😊 I'm going to try this 😁

[@AnotherProducer]

It worked perfectly! Thanks again ☺

[@bearsoundzMusic]

This: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2mYeoKHa9ebh68 "How to expand a loop" -You have already been told, but i want to address the one LMMS-feature, that bother most first-time users: "Why cant the MIDI-note 'pieces' in song-editor be *dragged* or *expanded* longer?" In LMMS we call a song-editor 'piece' a *segment* -or a *block*. Segments with MIDI-notes are *not* supposed to be dragged any longer, than they are *made* in piano-roll! Instead, you point mouse, hold ctrl, and drag a complete *copy* of the segment into the bar of your choise -Even for a different instrument! It is 'different' from expanding segments in most other DAW, but if you need arguments, for this feature, they are: * Segments can be dragged into different instrument * instead of have a doublet of the segment, you can make tiny changes and reuse those in other circumstances (LEGO-principle) However Truly uniform parts, can be made in Beat&Bass-editor, and those track-segments can be dragged to any length. You can read more about * Segments: lmms.io/wiki/index.php?title=Song_Editor#Working_with_Segments * Beat&Bass: lmms.io/wiki/index.php?title=Beat_Bassline_Editor Finally i need to say, that the best collection of instrument-presets in LMMS, are those in ZynAddSubFX! You have not experienced the full potention of LMMS before you have played ZynAddSubFX-presets -And ofcause VSTs, where most in release 1.2.1 works!

[@AnotherProducer]

Hey bearsoundz, Thank you for this extensive comment on LMMS! I really appreciate it! Cheers, Phil

[@LadyNicola]

I downloaded Pro Tools first and Cakewalk. I'll tinker with them, but my main DAW is Reason.

[@AnotherProducer]

Reason is great! I really like their instruments.

[@liegreys]

Thanks a lot bro! I was looking for good free DAWs and because of these 2 videos I have a lot to choose from!

[@AnotherProducer]

Hey man, I'm glad the videos helped you 😊

[@lloydmckay3241]

Earlier MULAB versions are available for download that are much more forgiving. Four tracks but saving is available and there is no time limit nor noise ect. I am not sure how far back these more usable versions are but try to go back maybe 4 or five versions. This is a highly usable DAW and I think worth the price of the full program. ingenious GUI.

[@kreestobal]

That's right , MuLab is a powerful DAW and very underrated IMO. Its GUI looks a bit "old school" but it's very easy to use as it is very intuitive !

[@cameronjones3982]

You got an electrifying talent! Keep it going!!! Soooooo good!

[@AnotherProducer]

Hey Cameron, Thank you so much! 🙏🏻 I will! Cheers, Phil

[@cameronjones3982]

@@AnotherProducer No problem, Phil!!! I’m a talent scout for NEXT Music. You’re really a fab artist and we’re absolutely really please to work with you. Kindly check your email our team sent you the details - Katrina Simonds.

[@VJBEATS-bq2nb]

Soundbridge is free and amazing

[@mrgilmoreg4420]

hello im a 52 y old man and im using cakewalk by banlab free daw im lost on it im in to r&b old school hip hop and sample base music if at all posable can you do a tutorial on cakewalk thanks

[@AnotherProducer]

Hi Mr. G, check out this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/boG5qXynmqmNbbc I would say it pretty much covers all the basics for Cakewalk. If you still have any questions left feel free to ask. :) I will also use Cakewalk in upcoming videos and you might get to see more of my workflow in it eventually. Hope this helps. Cheers, Phil

[@lilslickzz]

i got the demo version of reaper yesterday but i think ima buy it

[@BatteryProductions]

lmms and ardour.. all you will ever need (plus a bunch of free instruments and effects of course :) ) and audacity for quick edits only, mostly eliminating annoying intros in mp3s and blank end times

[@michaelhead875]

Glad you recommend Cakewalk by Bandlab for the PC. I have been using Cakewalk for 20 years, when you had to pay for it, and have never had any reason to switch. I don't agree with GarageBand for Mac. Reaper would be my choice for Mac users.

[@AnotherProducer]

Hey Michael, thanks for your comment. I use Cakewalk by BandLab now more often because of this video series and it is really amazing what you get for free now. Have you tried GarageBand recently? It developed a lot. Reaper unfortunately is not free. I also talked about this in my follow-up video because it was mentioned in many comments. Cheers, Phil

[@michaelhead875]

@@AnotherProducer My experience with GarageBand is a bit dated. I live in the Midwest and collaborate with an old friend in Los Angeles. He has a Mac and I use PCs. When we started, he sent me his old Mac, with GarageBand so I could familiarize myself with what he was using , and he upgraded to a newer Mac. There was a lot about GB I liked, though I found the editing inferior to Cakewalk. On our very first project came the rub. The song was in mixed meter, starting out in 3/4 and changing to 4/4 after the first 24 bars. While Cakewalk handled this transition effortlessly, GB was limited to a single meter per project. We ended up having to split the project in two, one in 3/4 and the other in 4/4, and I would then merge everything in Cakewalk. If GB would implement mixed meters, my opinion would change. I have been familiarizing with Reaper as a possible replacement, or in addition to Cakewalk, so that he and I can be on the same platform. So far, I have been very impressed with it, though I haven't looked into the mixed meter issue yet. As far as Reaper not being free, it is my understanding that the "demo" version will continue to fully function after the test period. You just have to put up with the nag screen when you start it up, though at $60, this is a company that should be supported.

[@AnotherProducer]

@@michaelhead875 I see! Well, GB does have a tempo track now which allows you to change the tempo within a project. Although I'm not an Apple fan I have to say it is really intuitive and for sure offers more functions than a couple of years ago. In the desktop version you can create up to 255 audio tracks. Which is something I missed out on the video as I thought the limitations are the same across the different devices. Turns out it only has this limit in the mobile version. In my opinion it cannot reach Cakewalk, though, as it's basically the former SONAR which cost around $600 and gives you a lot more functions. Did you both get Reaper to work with the same DAW? It definitely is an advantage to be able to share the whole project. But it does also work if you are using different ones :)

[@michaelhead875]

@@AnotherProducer One main reason I'm sticking with Sonar is I have a set of plugin instruments that are so old that most of the newer DAW software don't support. In particular Native Instruments B4 and Elektrik Piano.. The latest version of NI's Komplete I find to be bloated and difficult.. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Reaper runs these old plugin just fine. I've just spent a couple of hours with Reaper and slowly getting to understand it's functionality. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon enough but it may be a bit too imposing for my friend in Los Angeles. GarageBand is perfect for him in terms of ease of use. Reaper seems to like my i7 rig as much as Sonar though I have yet to track anything on it. Glad to hear that GarageBand now has a Tempo Track but does it have the ability to change meter? Again, that is my biggest gripe with it. I am also not an Apple fan. Too expensive for what you get. My one exception to that is I think the iPads are the best implementation of tablets, though I only buy those used.

[@AnotherProducer]

@@michaelhead875 You are right the time signature change in GB is only possible with workarounds, which in fact is really inconvenient. With Logic Pro X you can change the meter mid-song. Maybe the 200 bucks are worth it if your friend is used to this DAW layout/structure. Reaper and SONAR/Cakewalk are really third party friendly if you can say it like that. I also like this. Cubase is continuously trying to force you to the latest Steinberg technology (VST3). I like VST3 but it is required if you want to use the Cubase side chain function with third party plugins. Really disappointing because there are amazing plugins with side chain function that won't work within cubase because they are only available in VST2. (TDR Nova for example) However, they work in Cakewalk..

[@snotvlek4721]

The loop section can be adjusted with right click and middle mouse button (took me a little while to figure out but yeah)

[@renkaizaki4764]

I don't know man T7 is nice and all but it doesn't support Win VST on linux (the reason I stopped using it), But lmms does let you load Win VST (32 bit) on linux natively!

[@AnotherProducer]

Ah good to know man! Another Linux user said it would not be a problem because every Windows VST could be altered to work on Linux. (I also put a link to a tutorial on how to do that under the free VST instruments video). Of course this is not natively. As I mentioned also many Linux users said they use Ardour, a friend of mine also said it is great. LMMS is really a great DAW as well. Thanks to another comment I now know how to set the loop correctly 😂 personally I am not a fan of this FL studio kind of system and unfortunately you cannot record audio. But I assume a lot of younger producers see the tutorials and want to start with something which looks familiar maybe 🤔

[@renkaizaki4764]

@@AnotherProducer I like FL Studio but I like ableton too like writing ur melody directly on the playlist is a must for me and LMMS lets you do that while having the FL studio look unlike FL studio where you always have to go to the bassline editor to edit ur tracks! But LMMS should work on arranging patterns/tracks! Were you able to make a track after figuring out the loop system?

[@AnotherProducer]

Hey man, unfortunately I had no time to play with it yet. But when I find time I think I will post something of it on Instagram :) Do you mean like really writing on the track itself or in the same window on the bottom like for example in Ableton or Cubase?

[@renkaizaki4764]

@@AnotherProducer Yes writing on the track itself!

[@AnotherProducer]

@@renkaizaki4764 ahhh okay 😊 AFAIK Ardour and Tracktion handle it similarly 🤔

[@lloydmckay3241]

Check out Cantabile. Especially for live situations it is the boss. There is a lite free version plus two tiers of paid versions. Also earlier versions are available. I prefer Cantabile 2 as the newer version seem a bit more complex and I am also very used to the earlier version. Cheers.

[@AnotherProducer]

Hey man, I only had a glimpse at their website and the performer version seems really pricy for what this software is capable of. I own a copy of Ableton live lite, which I got with my keyboard like a lot of people out there. Maybe also you? I personally prefer to use Ableton for live situations. Just an example: we got playback tracks for some instruments, and an instance of guitar rig + a MIDI keyboard track in one project. You can now trigger the playback with a midi device or just press enter on your laptop keyboard to start the next track. It automatically switches the presets for the guitar and the keyboard and the BPM plus you could also add a click track and send it to the in-ear monitors if you have something like this. It takes some time to set it up like you want it to, but I love this convenience of not thinking about switching presets. Cheers, Phil

[@zeakthetinysoviet3702]

even more free daws puts a non-free in the video Me: bruh you serious now?

[@AnotherProducer]

100% serious. Under my first video many people complained that I did not mention it. Here in the video is the reason why. However, you can use Reaper if you want to at your own risk. Works like WinRAR 😅 I wouldn't suggest it if you are serious about producing music. Reaper is really powerful and $60 for such a DAW is not much. Cheers, Phil

[@harishguleria617]

If they're free thx a lot for sharing this information

[@AnotherProducer]

They are indeed except Reaper of course 😅 you are welcome 😊

[@HGCProd]

Whats a good daw to move to from Bandlab?

[@AnotherProducer]

I would say Cakewalk if you are on Windows and want to get a free one. But it is not as simplified as BandLab. There is a little bit more to learn, you have more settings and sometimes it takes you a few more clicks but you can do more with it than with BandLab.

[@phisitja01]

Nice. Thank.

[@kolon7223]

Good video

[@hismajesty1007]

As for me i want a player software that can help me take way the music it self and live the instrumentals or take away the instrumentals and live the words playing. i hope u can help me

[@AnotherProducer]

You can somehow achieve this with eq and Multibandcompression. But it won't be as good as with musical rebalance from RX7, which is a quite expensive program by Izotope. But it is definitely worth it

[@hadleymanmusic]

Rose writes your tracks to sheet music??

[@AnotherProducer]

I don't think there is a function to automatically transfer your MIDI into sheet music. You just can write music in the notation editor. But you also can use a MIDI controller to do that

[@user-vr4lu2qx8x]

Hey what about Zynwave podium

[@yxshmusic]

You forgot one thing about soundtrap that it has built-in autotune.

[@eman0828]

I don't think we need anymore DAWs as they going to over staturate the market as most DAWs all pretty do the same thing the share the same basic features. I don't think any of these new DAWs could rival the already established heavy weights like Cubase, Pro-Tools, Cakewalk, Studio One, Ableton, Logic etc.

[@lloydmckay3241]

Earlier versions of mulab demo are better. Not so many restrictions.

[@peterk3556]

Man can someone please teach me how I record my rap and vocals in cakewalk. I'm frustrated I don't know how anything

[@Tom-hg9lw]

First of all you need an audio interface and a condensator mic. Then select the right asio driver in cakewalks preference and than you are ready to record

[@peterk3556]

@@Tom-hg9lw thanks for the awnser i have already learnt how to record I got a USB mic which works crazy good for a USB mic 😀

[@marcoose777]

They're not really free, but an opener for other products/services... Facebook isn't free either, you (the user) are the commodity being exchanged in the transaction

[@unou588]

LMMS is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT free.

[@marcoose777]

@@unou588 @ Oops, sorrry ... indeed the open source offerings are free i.e. (typing this from my Manjaro desktop) Audacity, LMMS, Ardour, Rosegarden (MIDI only).. I was referring to the likes of soundtrap, cakewalk, and the other social music creation platforms: a small part of the software previewed. Have you ever wished you could un-type something

[@fredano5557]

1:36 what about Realtek ASIO?

[@se3saw]

So in lmms I can't record my tracks

[@AnotherProducer]

Nope, you can only import audio

[@se3saw]

@@AnotherProducer so do I need to use audacity to record audio

[@AnotherProducer]

@@se3saw Yeah, you could use Audacity or another daw to record audio. Are you used to the FL Studio workflow or is there any other reason why you want to use LMMS?

[@se3saw]

@@AnotherProducer I primarily use cake walk, but it's quite hard without a physical midi controller so I temporarily switched to lmms

[@fredano5557]

Geo A.m Get Traction T7

[@monilinda26]

Audacity is a music editing software, not a daw.

[@AnotherProducer]

You are right, I just mentioned it because some people missed it in my first DAW video.

[@victorwestmann]

Hey man, good video! Good job! Could you also talk about tytel.org/helm/ ? I know it is not a DAW but it looks really interesting!

[@AnotherProducer]

Hey man, I featured it in my best free instruments video. Cheers, Phil

[@stiventaho]

Lmms vs. Cakewalk?

[@AnotherProducer]

Personally I prefer Cakewalk as it works similar to what I am used to. LMMS is popular because it is quite like FL studio but you cannot record audio which for me is a huge disadvantage. It takes just too much time to record something with a different software and then put it into LMMS just to find out that it is not fitting the track or something like this. I like to to have all kinds of opportunities, when I create a song. That means quickly switching between recording audio, playing with MIDI (instruments or automations), and shaping sounds with different effects etc. LMMS is great if you like this FL studio system and there are probably also shortcuts to improve the overall workflow, but for me it is not really comparable to Cakewalk. It's fun to work with these crazy synthesizers, though. Cheers, Phil

[@banbar4795]

i used to use lmms and audacity together since you cant record audio in lmms. im currently trying cakewalk out and will follow up with you when i get a grasp on it. for now, download them both and try them out yourself!

[@pikminfreak0011]

@@AnotherProducer LMMS is very good if you're composing purely digitally (meaning, no physical instruments at all)... Its piano roll UI is IMO better than even some paid DAWs, and it comes with a ton of effects plugins and supports a surprising amount of plugin/instrument formats. Aside from no audio recording its biggest flaws IMO are that its support for multiple time signatures is shaky (functionally it works fine but the UI is bad at displaying it well), its MIDI import is so-so, and the windows version is a bit... unstable. particularly large or non-orthodox VST instruments can crash it easily. But worst of all is it's very slow to update. I don't think it's updated in... years. All of these nitpicks I've mentioned are perfectly fixable... they just need to update it more often. But despite its issues, LMMS is the reason I likely won't be purchasing any commercial DAWs anytime soon.

[@HGCProd]

bandlab vs soundtrap??

[@AnotherProducer]

Personally I like BandLab more, especially because you can export your songs to your hard drive in high quality ;)

[@dovonmusic7143]

Cake walk it seems like it not working

[@AnotherProducer]

Could you be more specific about what is not working...

[@Kaledrone]

@@AnotherProducer It doesn't even open, like I can't access it from the launcher, it doesn't respond....

[@mrgilmoreg4420]

@@Kaledrone works fine for me i say reinstall

[@AnotherProducer]

@@Kaledrone That's weird. What are the specs of your PC?