Favorite DAW for Windows 11

Christian DeHoyos · From: Oside California, USA

Hey guys,

I follow some steel players who are using Logic, Garageband, and Luna when they record. But none of these offer Windows options.

In Windows, I've used Cakewalk and Ableton. I'm not certain I'm in love. They either seem geared towards EDM producers or overly complex. Does anyone have a DAW they love to use?

And if so, how did you tweak it to get it to sound the way you dig?

Thanks again
Chris

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Reaper is free if you can put up with prompts to buy every time you load it, but cheap if you decide to purchase.
It's as simple or as complicated as you choose to configure it. I discovered it can also edit video.
I use it to record our band rehearsals in a friend's house, and a symphonic brass ensemble in a church.
If I want I can also shoot video and sync it up.
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Tim Kowalski · From: Illinois, USA

I also recommend Reaper for your DAW. It is very powerful, customizable and there are many YouTube videos to help you learn the program from basic recording to advanced features. I have been using it for years and haven't found anything that it can't do or a plugin that doesn't work with it.
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Tom Jordan · From: Wichita, KS

I use Mixcraft Pro by Acoustica. Works great and have been using for several years.

Tom

Rick Campbell · From: Sneedville, TN, USA

I use Presonus Studio One because it's the one I understand the best. They all do the same thing, and there's tons of youtube tutorials for them. It's a deep hole once you take the plunge. There's so much effects plugins, etc... out there to try. Many are free. If you're not careful, you'll spend more time tweaking your setup and trying new plugins than you will actually recording music. I'm guilty of that. Very Happy

Have fun!

RC

Nicholas Cox · From: CA

Reaper is a great program and one of the most stable.

Colleen McTigue · From: Ontario, Canada

I’ve used Cubase forever, and I love it. You can get Cubase Elements to start, it’s relatively inexpensive, and a good basic setup. I’m on Cubase 13 Pro, and have had no issues with it in Windows 11.

Jim Fogle · From: North Carolina, Winston-Salem, USA

What kind of tasks do you want to do with a DAW? If your just going to record and edit audio it doesn't get much simpler than the free audio editor, Audacity. https://www.audacityteam.org/

You mentioned Cakewalk which I assume is the free Cakewalk by Bandlab DAW. I agree Cakewalk is a very complex program. But, since the interface is modular you can hide all the elements you don't want or need and create a VERY simple to use interface. In the top, right hand corner there is a drop down menu labeled Workspaces. I'd suggest starting with the "Basic" workspace and customize it to the way you want to work. Then save your custom workspace under a new workspace name. I should also point out that there are Youtube videos about using Cakewalk by Bandlab as well as professional video tutorials at Groove3.com.

I've not used Ableton so I hesitate to comment on it.

Others have mentioned Reaper. Like Cakewalk by Bandlab the Reaper interface can be customized to any degree you want. It costs nothing to try and $60 to buy. The best thing about Reaper is it has a strong and helpful forum as well as many available tutorials. https://www.reaper.fm/

Rick Campbell brought up a very good point, he uses PreSonus Studio One because it works the way he thinks. That's what you want is a software you are comfortable with and feels intuitive to you.

I like Cakewalk by Bandlab for mixing and for all the neat things it can do. But I do most of my live recording on an eight track hardware DAW, a Zoom MRS-8 (the MRS stands for mobile recording studio). I find online recording and gross audio editing easier using Audacity.

You may find you end up using multiple tools depending on what you want to do.
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Dell laptop Win 10, i3, 8GB, 480GB
2024 BiaB UltraPlus PAK
Cakewalk by Bandlab software & Zoom MRS-8 hardware DAWs
Zoom MRS-8 8 Track Hardware DAW

Joseph Carlson · From: Grass Valley, California, USA

Another vote for Presonus Studio One. It just seems to make sense for me, not too complicated, drag and drop functionality. Way more intuitive than other DAWs I've tried.

An added bonus is that you can master with it too.

Jim Fogle · From: North Carolina, Winston-Salem, USA

Chris,

I hope you will update this thread and let us know what you tried, likes and dislikes of each and what works best for you.
_________________
Remembering Harold Fogle (1945-1999) Pedal Steel Player
Dell laptop Win 10, i3, 8GB, 480GB
2024 BiaB UltraPlus PAK
Cakewalk by Bandlab software & Zoom MRS-8 hardware DAWs
Zoom MRS-8 8 Track Hardware DAW

Dan Kelly · From: Boston, MA

PreSonus Studio One is what I recommend. I have not tried many others, except ProTools (forget it). I rely on the YT Videos to help me through any confusion and have found Studio One easy to work with.
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Michael McGee · From: Everton, Missouri, USA

Reaper is my choice.

Bill Terry · From: Bastrop, TX

James Quillian · From: San Antonio, Texas, USA

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

While I am a Pro Tools user, Personas Studio One is a really nice package as well. I looked at it on my friends PC and to me it was very familiar to the workflow of Pro Tools. While I am still on a dedicated WIN 7 with Pro Tools I could easily move it to WIN 11. I just don't have a reason to do it at this time, or maybe ever !

One of the things to be aware of with many of the WINDOWS versions is AUTO UPDATES and if you are LIVE on the net. I don't think you can disable WIN 11 updates unless you are on WIN 11 PRO. Many DAWS are NOT IN LOVE with WINDOWS Updates. Very Happy

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CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Reaper seems indifferent to them. Reaper updates are more frequent, but manual.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

James Quillian · From: San Antonio, Texas, USA

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