2019 Best Recording Software for Beginners

June 11, 2020

Thinking about taking your first steps into a brave new world of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) and music creation software? Whether you’re making the transition from a knobs-and-sliders Portastudio setup or taking the plunge into multitrack recording for the first time, this Sweetwater feature will be your guide through the eight major beginner-friendly software platforms available today. Why Go DAW? Standalone recording environments definitely have their charms. Many of us at Sweetwater fondly remember our pioneer days of multitrack recording through cassette 4-tracks and Realistic-brand mixers. But these days, software-based recording is definitely where it’s at — not only in terms of editing convenience and track counts, but also in terms of quality, flexibility, compatibility, and file exchange with other collaborators and mix/mastering engineers.

Today’s DAWs and software platforms pair digital audio fidelity with the workflow and sound of analog recording setups: console-based mixing environments, tape and hardware-based FX emulation, and virtualizations of impossible-to-find synths, drum machines, and drum kits. Dollar for dollar, DAWs promise way more flexibility than standalone setups and are generously equipped to take your music in bold new directions. While there are dozens of options out there today, here are our best recommendations for anyone who’s diving in for the first time. Our Favorite Recording Software for Beginners For the Band & Songwriter Avid Pro Tools | First, Full, and Ultimate — Mac/PC Your intro to the most popular DAW on Earth

What better entrée into the world of DAWs than a completely free version of the most popular recording software on Earth? For more than 20 years, the name Pro Tools has been synonymous with the word DAW. Pro Tools | First gives you 16 tracks of audio-layering freedom and a generous host of FX plug-ins, instruments, and loops to fast-track your production results. For the solo instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, 16 tracks are more than enough to create radio-friendly productions and immersive soundscapes.

Once you gain command over all that Pro Tools | First can do for your creation process, the transition to Full is totally seamless. Pro Tools’ monthly and annual subscription options step you up to 128 audio tracks (32 simultaneous), 1,024 MIDI tracks, 80 FX plug-ins, and video support. Best of all, your PT|First projects are fully supported, so if you just need additional tracks or functionality for a particular project, you’re just a Sweetwater call or online upgrade away. One feature that cooperative creatives love is Pro Tools’ Cloud Collaboration feature, which connects users to players, engineers, and songwriters all over the world. Say you need a tasty solo for a lead break, or a live drummer to put the final sheen on a song, or you want to track a session and then connect with someone who can mix and master it:

Pro Tools does all the legwork for you. Did we mention the plug-ins? Pro Tools has shaped the industry with its great-sounding and visually appealing FX and instrument plug-ins. We’re pleased to report that the plug-ins in 2019’s Pro Tools | Ultimate are better than ever. We’re talking licensed content from Purple Audio, Fairchild, Pultec, and Moog, along with some brilliantly sampled pedal FX and amp models via the Eleven MK II software. It’s just another example of Pro Tools users finding limitless ways to shape their sound entirely in the box. And of course, you can’t mention Pro Tools without talking about its powerful editing features. Elastic Time. Splitting and joining. Comping. Creating pitch-perfect takes is so simple within Pro Tools that it’s little wonder why users all over the world have made the jump and found their home in this ecosystem. Pro Tools subscriptions and purchases include a year of support, so you’re fully covered in the event of an upgrade coming along between now and next year.

When it comes to DAWs, workflow is everything. Thanks to its high-contrast multicolored interface and intuitive layout, many users have found their production home in Studio One from PreSonus. Studio One 4.5 Artist is a full-featured audio and MIDI production suite with support for traditional multitrack audio (bands, podcasting, voice-over) as well as virtual instruments to accommodate modern metal and EDM production.

Studio One 4.5 Artist also excels as a song arrangement tool, making it so you never have to leave your workflow to add a little drama and flair to your chord progressions. The Chord Track feature works with not just MIDI data but raw audio as well, which really saves time when it comes to sketching out progressions or experimenting with different keys for your singer. The Chord Selector tool suggests chord patterns and ideas automatically — even advanced and extended chords — so you’ll never have to monkey around with a troublesome bridge or turnaround again. Best of all? No music theory required!

Another time-saving feature in Studio One Artist 4.5 is its ARA (Audio Random Access) 2.0 integration. With this protocol, third-party plug-in developers and DAW hosts can share tempo, pitch, and other data with one other, allowing for nondestructive editing even from traditionally destructive editors (e.g. pitch correction). The list of third-party plug-in manufacturers supporting ARA continues to grow, today with options from Melodyne, Softube, and Synchro Arts.

Sampling is another area in which Studio One Artist 4.5 is an obvious choice over other DAWs. The included Sample One tool samples audio from anywhere within your session, as well as traditional import/export, allowing you to loop vocals, chop beats, and warp audio to your heart’s content.

The entry-level Artist edition of Studio One nets you unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, 32-bit floating-point audio resolution, a whole suite of loops and FX plug-ins, onboard amp modeling, and even integrated vocal and instrument pitch correction via Melodyne Essential (trial offer).

The lightweight yet feature-laden Elements 10 is built on the same architecture as the award-winning Cubase Pro 10 — one of the industry’s most popular audio production powerhouses. Users who are flocking to their first DAW from an analog production environment will feel immediately comfortable in Elements 10’s console-based workflow. The resizable MixConsole window fills your entire screen with the workflow and sonic essence of a real-deal analog desk, giving you 64-bit floating-point audio and sample rates up to 192kHz for unimaginable sonic clarity and source fidelity. Elements 10 comes stock with 45 audio/VI plug-ins and 5GB of hi-def sounds and loops to stoke your creativity.

New for Elements 10 is the Cubase Channel Strip. This 500-style plug-in rack and its flavorful range of FX modules is fully integrated into every channel within your session, combining the top-down feel of an analog gear rack with digital editing convenience and clarity. This keeps options nice and streamlined for audio editing; much like an analog console, there’s no worry about what plug-ins to use or how to route them. With Channel Strip, modules can be dragged in any order to unlock subtle to extreme shades of sonic sculpting.

Also fresh for version 10 is Cubase’s Groove Agent SE 5, which crafts beats for your session on demand with hypersampled acoustic drum kits and some seriously vibey drum machines. So whether you’re adding earthshaking acoustic drums to a skeletal song arrangement or reaching back for old-school street beats, Elements 10 has the tools you need right inside.

As with Studio One above, Cubase Elements 10 also gives you several songwriting and arrangement tools — the real-time Chord Pads chord player and the intelligent Chord Assistant chord analyzer — to help your song ideas reach their full potential.

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Yanbu Gypsum

2019 Best Recording Software for Beginners

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