What are the best DAWs that support new beginners’ producer, beginners’ mixer, and beginners engineer that are compatible with WAVES? Thanks (no hidden intention). Pro tools currently does not work with my current system FYI.
The first question is: Mac or PC?
Windows 10 amd Ryzen 7 32g ram
Hi, I am windows user and I use Presonus Studio One for a years.
As freebie you can’t beat Cakewalk by Bandlab. It’s Sonar Platinum with some of the 3rd party plugins removed. It has a monthly update schedule too so not vapourware.
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Cakewalk is great for free (I came up on Cakewalk and then SONAR) but these days I would recommend Reaper. You can use it for two months in trial and I think after that it’s just a nag screen. It’s VERY affordable for what you’re getting. $60 for a personal license and that’s good for two full versions, so it will probably be 3 years before you have to pay again, to update.
As far as ease of use, it’s a full featured DAW so you’re going to have a learning curve – but it’s worth it. There’s LOT of useful Reaper videos on YouTube, and there’s an official Reaper forum, and also the r/reaper subreddit.
Reaper users are generally very helpful and enjoy the community aspect of music making, so you’ll be welcomed in and you’ll get help with your questions… And search the official forum and r/reaper on Reddit – you’ll find most of your questions already answered.
Reaper is incredibly powerful, incredibly stable, and incredibly efficient. I would argue moreso than any other DAW.
You could try Presonus Studio One Prime (it’s free), but might not allow VST plugins without an upgrade.
The downside I have with Presonus Studio One is the updates are quite spread out. If you’re waiting for one specific section of the DAW to get updated, it could take a while.
I use Studio One 5 Pro with little issues, but it’s not perfect.