Best Free DAWs 2021 👉 Free Music Production Software For Windows 10

in this video i'm looking at 11 of the best free  DAWs available in 2021 on windows 10 and i'll also   let you know my top three picks near the end of  this video so be sure to stick around for that   i'm zane welcome to audio tech tv where it's  my goal to help you conquer the tech so you can   unleash your creativity by providing easy to  follow audio tech tips tutorials and reviews   i've included links down in the description to  all of the free daws mentioned in this video but   right now let's jump in and first on the list of  best free daws of 2021 is tracktion waveform free   this free digital audio workstation is completely  unlimited so you can have unlimited audio midi   and auxiliary tracks or as many as your computer  can handle anyway and i've noticed that tracktion   waveform doesn't use a lot of system resources i  actually did a series on recording a song with the   cheap audio interface on an older laptop where  i used waveform and it performed really well on   that older laptop i was able to have a ton of  plugins open in my project with a lot of tracks   waveform free includes some useful effects plugins  plus a couple of decent instruments in the micro   drum sampler and the four ask synth and if you  need to add third party plugins you can do that   too the differences between the pro version and  the free version are the pro version includes   some more instruments and plugins and there are a  couple of advanced features that aren't necessary   for making music but they do help to make things  easier but not having those features isn't   limiting in any way you can get traction waveform  free on windows mac linux and even raspberry pi   next on the list is avid pro tools first this is  the free version of the very popular pro tools daw   that's been used in pro studios for years the free  pro tools first program does have some limitations   you can only have a maximum of 16 tracks in your  projects and this can be any combination of audio   midi or auxiliary tracks 16 tracks is still  very usable though so that's not too big of   a limitation another limitation is that you can't  add third-party plugins unless you purchase them   through the avid marketplace so even if you own  plugins that you purchase from somewhere else   you can't use those in here having said that  i've noticed that some plugins are showing   up in my version of pro tools first so it's a  quirky limitation that may not be a limitation   if your plugins do actually show up in it now what  pro tools first does have going for it is that   it gives you the same sort of user interface and  workflow that the pros use so if working in a pro   studio is something that you're striving for then  learning on this software can be a big advantage   to you you also get the air expand 2 instrument  which is huge and it has a lot of great sounds   in it plus the plugins that pro tools first comes  with are very usable you can get pro tools first   on mac and windows up next is a fairly new daw  that's really geared towards beat makers this is   akai mpc beats this one gives you a workflow  that's similar to working on an mpc but with the   added benefit that it's in the software world so  editing can be a little easier if you have a midi   controller with pads on it this can be a great daw  for you as it integrates with pads very easily as   you can see you have your pads on the screen  but you can also just create beats with your   mouse by drawing them in onto the piano roll or  you can use your midi keyboard to play the notes   on the keys mpc beats is pretty easy to use if you  want to record audio into it you can do that too   but you only get two audio tracks per project  and speaking of tracks you can only have eight   instrument tracks in a project so that's a total  of 10 tracks altogether which can be quite a few   for beat creation in the beginning but you may  find you need more later on once you get used to   the workflow it's very quick to start making  music in mpc beats it includes some kits and   synths but you can also bring your third party vst  instruments into it too plus mpc beats includes   over 80 quality effects plugins and just like with  instruments you can also bring in your own vst   effects like i said earlier this one is fairly new  but i can really see this taking off in the future   as it's an incredible daw for beat creators and  i'm sure it's going to continue to get better   as they continue to develop it you can get mpc  beats on windows and mac all right before i get   to the next free daw on the list i just want to  ask if you're enjoying this video so far getting   some value out of it can you please give it a  thumbs up it really helps my channel out and i   appreciate it so much now next on the list of best  free daws of 2021 is audacity this one is a fairly   simple program that's been around for years you  can record audio into it arrange your recordings   in a multi-track setup edit the audio levels and  add effects but you can't use midi in audacity   so if you're wanting to use vst instruments  then you're going to need to look elsewhere   it's a very lightweight program and it's great  for audio editing a lot of people have used this   as their main daw for a long time and if you want  a simple program that's easy to use but lacks some   of the more pro features then audacity might be  for you it's available on windows mac and linux   next on the list is cakewalk by bandlab this  one is pro software that used to be a paid for   daw but it was taken over by the company bandlab  and they've decided to give it away for free i'm   unsure how they actually make money with this or  if they even need to make money they don't spam   your email account or anything like that and  there's nothing to upsell you on as of right   now anyway but with cakewalk by bandlab you get a  completely unlimited daw that comes complete with   instruments and effects including a very nice  guitar amp simulator called three plus you can   also bring in your own third-party effects and  instruments too cakewalk has a similar interface   to a pro tools style of daw and you can also  customize the interface if you like and because   it's a pro daw it's full of pro features cakewalk  by bandlab is windows only the next free daw on   the list is presonus studio one prime studio one  prime is the free version of studio one which is   quickly becoming a favorite daw for many studios  and music producers it has a sleek user interface   and it has a very quick workflow presonus studio  one prime includes a nice selection of effects   including the Ampire guitar amp sim plus you  also get the presence xt synthesizer plugin   that's capable of tons of great sounds in studio  one prime you can have unlimited tracks but the   biggest limitation is that you can't add  third-party plugins so you can only use the   included plugins which are decent but you may want  to add more eventually there's also two gigabytes   of loops and samples that are included with it  studio one is an awesome daw the free version is   very capable of helping you create music and it  gives you a nice upgrade path if you need it you   can get presonus studio one prime on windows and  mac next up on the list is magix music maker free   this free digital audio workstation is fairly easy  to get started with it includes some great virtual   instruments and effects which includes a decent  guitar amp simulator called vandal se you also get   a sound pool which is like a big loop pack that  includes loops that work very well together you   can record and edit midi plus you can record and  edit audio but you have an eight track limitation   and you can't add any third-party plugins to magix  music maker free for beginners it's a great daw   and if you decide to upgrade to the highest  version it's fairly budget-friendly and it   includes a ton of extra instruments and sounds one  thing to keep in mind is that any music that you   create using those sound pools you can't monetize  you're free to post your music online everywhere   but you aren't allowed to sell it unless you  purchase a commercial license for the sound pool   that you use typically that license is around 12  but if you're just using the included instruments   and also you're recording anything into it you're  free to sell your music as long as you're not   using anything from those sound pools magix music  maker free is only available on windows systems   alright we've gone through quite a few free  daws so far and i still have more on the   way plus i also have my top three picks and some  advice coming up but i want to ask you to let me   know down in the comments which of these does you  decide to go with now the next free digital audio   workstation on the list is soundbridge this free  daw is another one that's completely unlimited   so you can have unlimited tracks and also add your  own third-party vst plugins it does include some   decent effects and probably the best free drum  machine plugin out there the user interface   makes this one very easy to create music from  easy access to the piano roll mixer and recording   features and this one is also available in 32-bit  or 64-bit options so if you're looking for a   32-bit daw soundbridge might be the choice for you  you can get it on windows and mac this next free   daw on the list is a very interesting one as it  can be used on pretty much any operating system   and mobile device including chromebooks this is  bandlab bandlab is a browser-based daw but there   are some apps available on ios and android to make  the performance a little better on those devices   this records to the cloud but you get unlimited  free cloud storage so you don't have to worry   about that you can record audio into it and they  also give you some decent instruments and effects   too plus you have access to bandlab sounds  which is a huge library of royalty-free loops   and samples and you can use an unlimited amount  of those as of right now i don't think there's   a way to use third-party plugins in the web-based  ban lab daw but who knows that could come later on   and with everything that they give you you may not  need it they also offer unlimited free mastering   service and you can also release your music for  sale and keep one hundred percent of the royalties   these guys are serious about helping musicians  and this daw is great for beginners it's easy to   use and you don't really need to worry about how  powerful your computer is and like i said earlier   this daw is available on pretty much any operating  system that can access the internet this next free   daw on the list is limited but it's very easy to  use and the drum rack plugin that's included with   it is extremely nice this is mulab 8 free this  is a free version of the powerful mulab 8 daw   basically this is a track limited version of the  full daw in my opinion they've limited it a little   too much as you can only have five tracks you can  definitely create a decent foundation for a beat   in mulab 8 free but for a complete song it might  be a little too limited so let's look at some of   the highlights of mulab 8 and then i'll look  at some of the restrictions first off it's an   extremely lightweight daw it's under 100 megabytes  plus you don't even need to install it you just   unzip the folder and run it from there so this  isn't going to add any bloatware to your computer   another highlight is the mudrum plugin which  is the drum rack that i talked about earlier   this is an excellent drum sampler plugin it even  includes some decent kits to get you started   plus it has some cool routing features and it  also allows you to really sculpt your drum sound   you also get some other great instrument presets  too plus effects the piano roll is super easy to   work with along with recording audio this is  a simple daw that's capable of creating some   great music as long as you can keep within the  five track limit or you can upgrade to the full   daw and i think it's around eighty dollars now  now the limitations of mulab eight free are   there's a maximum of five tracks like i said  and you can't add any third-party vst plugins   there's also no rewire or multi-core support  there's some other limitations in there as well   but mulab 8 really is a great dawn i hope you'll  check it out and give it a try maybe even support   them by purchasing a license all right now this  next free daw is more like an honorable mention   as it technically isn't free but you can use it  free forever this is reaper reaper is an extremely   powerful digital audio workstation that comes  with tons of effects but no instruments however   you can add your own third-party instruments and  plug-ins you get unlimited tracks an easy to use   interface that's customizable to suit your needs  and like i said earlier it's technically not free   but you can download the trial and once the trial  runs out you can continue using it fully unlocked   there's just a five second screen that pops up  every time you open it and it reminds you to   purchase a license which is only sixty dollars  and it's well worth it if you can afford it   so if you do decide to go with reaper and you  enjoy it then purchase a license and help support   their continued efforts in making reaper an  incredible and affordable daw you can get reaper   in both 32 and 64-bit options and it's available  on windows mac and linux alright so i told you   i'd give you my top three picks out of these but  before i do that i just want to give you a little   bit of advice for when you do make your decision  or before you make your decision and the first   piece of advice is download two or three of these  programs and give them a good try if you're going   to be using them for beat creation try making a  beat in each one of them if you're going to be   making rock music try to create a little bit of  a rhythm in each one and really get an idea of   which one of these pieces of software works best  for your style and your workflow and don't worry   about what other people say is best for you just  concentrate on which one you think works best for   you by trying them out because when you get that  good feeling about the program you're going to   want to get more into it and find out all of the  little features with it and this is going to lead   to you creating great music and once you narrow  it down to that one daw that you're going to use   stick with it become a master at that one da find  out all its little features and the more familiar   you become with that program you're not going to  be needing to figure out how to do certain things   the music is just going to flow naturally every  program is going to have a bit of a learning curve   just don't get discouraged stick with it play  around with some of the features so you can become   really familiar with the program you've got that  passion to create music in you don't give up on   it now here are my top three free doll picks from  this list and the first two were really easy for   me they are tracktion waveform free and cakewalk  by bandlab now my third pick would be reaper but i   feel bad calling it a free daw so my third pick's  going to be soundbridge and that's because it's a   completely unlimited daw it allows you to record  as many tracks as you want and you can bring in   third party vst plugins and remember these are  just my three picks they may not be the best ones   for you so choose whichever ones you think are  going to be best for you now if you want to check   out some of the best free vst plugins available  click the video on the screen right now and if you   liked this video please give it a thumbs up also  subscribe to the channel for more videos like this   thank you so much for watching for audio tech  tv i'm zane keep creating and we'll talk soon

Channel: Audio Tech TV

Views: 188,481

Rating: 4.9720588 out of 5

Keywords: best free daw, free daw, daw, digital audio workstation, best free daws, free daws, best free daws 2021, free daws 2021, free daws for windows 10, free daws windows, free daw 2021, best free daw 2021, free digital audio workstations, free digital audio workstation, free digital audio workstation for windows, music making software, music making software free, free music making software, free music making software windows 10, top free daws, home studio, music production

Id: dlKz-h4W7SA

Length: 16min 39sec (999 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 11 2021