DAW for Windows

[Caravan Ray]

Computer help for old bloke please.

For 20 years or so now - I have been a Mac guy. Had an iMac at home that I did all my recording on and managed photos and general computing.

I have recently started doing a lot more "work" work at home, which is very Excel heavy - and the Mac simply doesn't cut it.

So - I have an elegant solution - I have a Dell Windows laptop identical to my government issued one at work at home that I do most stuff on, and if I want to record music or manage my photos - I simply swap it out for the MacBook Air in my top drawer which plugs into the same monitors and keyboard etc.

All good.

But next year I am going to Vietnam for a couple of months working on an Australian Aid project. I would like to record while there. I plan on taking a mic and my little keyboard and buying a cheap guitar in Hanoi - which I will donate to my colleagues when I leave. But I think that taking 2 laptops is excessive.

I will need my Dell Windows machine for work. What can I put onto that that will be an easy DAW for me to use to replace my Mac environment for music recording? I am familiar with GarageBand and Logic - and I really don't want to learn anything new for a short amount of time. And very simple is the key - I can image being a bit bored and lonely in Hanoi - and playing Songfight will likely be a thing I will want to do in that time.

Any suggestions for a simple transition from GarageBand to something on Windows? Cost not really a thing - more than happy to pay for something that suits my needs

[ken]

I've pretty much only used Cubase on windows PCs, so take these recommendations with that in mind.

My first thought was the recent Fender Studio app, which seems like it wants to compete with Garageband. They also reference the Presonus Studio One on that page.

If I was starting over, I'd really consider Universal Audio's Luna as my DAW.

How many tracks do you expect to record at once?

[fluffy]

Cubase is pretty similar to Logic Pro, in my experience (and is actually a bit more powerful with its MIDI implementation). Since Garageband is basically a simplified version of Logic Pro, it might be a suitable thing to try out. It has a 60-day trial, which might even be enough to cover your whole time in Vietnam.

REAPER is also worth looking into. It's pretty barebones but you can customize it a whole bunch and it's also super cheap and has an extremely generous free trial period. I actually used this professionally at HBO and it was pretty capable, but it took some patience.

Luna looks interesting but I'm not a fan of how AI-first it appears to be.

[Caravan Ray]

REAPER is also worth looking into.

Ahh - of course Reaper. I forgot all about that. Now I recall I was in a similar circumstance about 10 or so years ago when I was working in outback QLD but still trying to play Nur Ein. I loaded Reaper onto my work laptop and recorded a couple of songs at the Thargomindah Caravan Park.

That seems like the obvious go-to. Thank you.

[Caravan Ray]

Though I might also have a look at Cubase too. Maybe it is time to leave the Apple suff behind and just stay on Windows?

Back in 2004 when I got my first Mac - GarageBand and iPhoto were AMAZING and I thought "this is it - Im a Mac guy forever!!"


Now....maybe it is time to consider the alternatives again?

[Caravan Ray]

REAPER is also worth looking into.

Ahh - of course Reaper. I forgot all about that. Now I recall I was in a similar circumstance about 10 or so years ago when I was working in outback QLD but still trying to play Nur Ein. I loaded Reaper onto my work laptop and recorded a couple of songs at the Thargomindah Caravan Park.

That seems like the obvious go-to. Thank you.

Ha - I had to look back to see if I asked the same question back then - and yep... more or less:

Shit. I'm in trouble.

I am in Thargomindah, about 1000km west of Brisbane on the edge of the Sturt Stoney Desert.

I brought my old MacBook with me so I could nur Ein. But the MacBook is dead. It has ceased to be. It has shuffled off this mortal coil and gone to meet its maker. It is an ex MacBook.

I have my work Windows laptop with me though.
I have never used it for recording.

Quick - what is a cheap (or free) and easy to use DAW I can download?

Somebody chimed in with Reaper - and that was done.

I now recall that the battery in my MacBook had actually swollen like a ballon in the boot of the car during the 10 hour drive in 40 degree heat. Bloody lucky it didn't ignite - it wouldn't have just been the MacBook that was dead....

[fluffy]

ah yeah the spicy pillow problem. I’ve had two Macs succumb to that.

(plenty of other devices as well, it’s not JUST an Apple problem)

[Caravan Ray]

ah yeah the spicy pillow problem. I’ve had two Macs succumb to that.

(plenty of other devices as well, it’s not JUST an Apple problem)

Yep - that happened before I worked in waste management.

After 10 years at the Toowoomba Tip - I saw that battery fires are a daily thing.

Kids - don't put your Apple (or non-Apple) spicy pillow in the wheelie bin. Or your TEMU scooters.

[Pigfarmer Jr]

My immediate thought was Reaper but it is NOT the most intuitive on some of the settings etc., Being very customizable just means it has lots of bits that can be tweaked. The more knobs the less easy in my experience. But if you've had a go at it before....

Anyway, good luck. Hope to hear more music soon.

[ken]

Cubase works on PC or Mac, so if you started using it, you'd be good on either moving forward. There is also an app version called Cubasis that I've played with a bit and it may be a bit more Garageband like.

[jb]

Cakewalk Sonar is free these days. They make money with some premium features on top. https://www.cakewalk.com/

*What is included in the free tier of Cakewalk Sonar?*
The free tier includes the core functionality of Cakewalk by BandLab, adding many new features and enhancements. It is designed to provide a robust experience for music production without requiring a Membership subscription. Premium features are available with the purchase of BandLab Membership.

*Are there any limitations in Sonar Free compared to Cakewalk by BandLab?*
Yes. While Sonar Free offers the majority of the core features available in Cakewalk by BandLab, some premium capabilities are reserved for BandLab Membership, including plugin oversampling, Elastique Pro time-stretching, multiple Arranger tracks, and integrated access to BandLab Sounds - a library of over 250,000 high quality, royalty-free loops and samples spanning many genres. Additionally, the free tier of Cakewalk Sonar introduces new features that were never available in Cakewalk by BandLab, including an integrated sampler, per-track spectrum analyzer, plugin A/B settings toggle, sidechaining enhancements, and more.

*What's included with a BandLab Membership for Cakewalk Sonar?*
BandLab Membership unlocks additional premium features in Cakewalk Sonar, including:

• Track Manager (new)
• Jump-to-track (new)
• BandLab Sounds (new)
• Elastique Pro
• Plugin oversampling
• POW-R dithering
• Multiple Arranger tracks
• Overloud TH-U guitar amp and FX modeling
• ProChannel Modules

[ujnhunter]

Reaper is the only real answer. Mac/PC/Linux.