Free Software To Get You Started

[AusDave]

Great topic guys. I'm new here but thought I'd add my 2c to the list. Some of my favourite VSTs are the ones from Variety of Sound, especially the NastyDLA (which I use on almost all my mixes these days) and they're free.....
http://varietyofsound.wordpress.com/

I'm also a keen REAPER user and have been since around 2007/8 when I switched from ProTools. For those who also use REAPER and like the look and functionality of hardware mixers, I created a REAPER theme based loosely on the Neve Genesys and Calrec Omega consoles. Screen grabs, info and downloads for the theme can be found here....
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=130838

Another of my favourite VST developers is Sean Costello from Valhalla DSP. His Valhalla Room and Shimmer plugins are my goto reverbs these days. They are first class algorithym based verbs and are a crazy price for what you get....
http://www.valhalladsp.com/

[zpink]

Not sure where this would go since it's not actually for recording but since it's free, I post it here!
Free for a limited time
http://www.fortenotation.com/en/lp/giveaway/

[SysExJohn]

Hmm! Interesting list.

Another one that doesn't seem to have got a mention (that my ageing eyes can see) is MuseScore, for those interested in notation.
Does it rival Finale or Sibelius, the two mainstream products?
Perhaps not, but it's extremely competent, especially after recent significant upgrades, and it's free.
https://musescore.org/

Strictly speaking Cockos Reaper isn't free, one is supposed to buy a licence for 60 dollars.

Another freebie, primarily for MIDI sequencers, and probably one of the easiest to 'get into' is Anvil Studio.
http://anvilstudio.com/
It has some audio capabilities too, but limited in comparison to e.g. Reaper.
The basic free program is an excellent starting point for many, and has many (paid for) expansion packs.

Just my 2d.
Regards,
John.

[SeaGtGruff]

A few more freebies to add to the list:

PreSonus Studio One 3 Prime -- Free DAW ("lite" edition) -- Previous version was called PreSonus Studio One 2 Free

Zynewave Podium Free -- Free DAW (older/"lite"[?] version)

Tracktion T4 -- Free DAW (older version)

Ohm Studio -- Free DAW -- Cloud-oriented

Avid Pro Tools | First -- Free DAW (lite edition) -- Cloud-oriented

SynthFont -- Free DAW(?) (donationware [EDIT: but no donation is required]) -- No recording, but MIDI sequencing and editing, VST host, sample/soundfont player, etc.

NCH MixPad -- Free DAW

NCH WavePad -- Free audio editor

NCH Crescendo -- Free notation software -- Not nearly as sophisticated as MuseScore, but very easy to use

Notation Player -- Free MIDI player -- Handy for viewing and printing a MIDI song file as a musical score

EDIT: I'm not sure where this post/thread falls as far as the recent announcement about "no more free advertising." I don't think anyone here has connections/affiliations to any of the software mentioned in this thread, so none of us are "advertising" per se, but it seems kind of gray-area-ish to me.

[SysExJohn]

Great additions, Michael.
Do you have any experience with any of them?
Some links would be very useful, if you have them, too!

Re advertising:
I think Saul is referring to manufacturers or businesses using the site to sell stuff, rather than members posting opinions or pointers to freebies.

Regards,
John.

[Saul]

Yeah just to clarify, as John said the new advertising rules are really aimed at businesses promoting themselves.

I know some of the DAW software mentioned also has "paid" versions but I think on balance it's a good thing to provide info on what's free out there. Of course if anyone can get us a link back that would be fantastic. I will certainly try myself but as it stands it's fine to continue this thread.

By the way I am going to add a dedicated DAW category to the forum with sections for all the most popular DAW's...and probably a few not so well known ones. Might save people having to hunt around for the info

[SysExJohn]

Thanks Saul, thought I'd got it right.

Yep! A DAW page might be interesting and generate some traffic.

Added later, I tried Zynewave Podium free, and ended up buying it.
The main reason was because it has one of the easiest to use tempo mapping procedures I've found, so far.
I make a lot of classical backing tracks where there is usually no clear 'beat' for an automated procedure to 'lock' onto.
Podium allows me to view the wave file and align the MIDI file tempo to match.
Great when trying to learn about the lengths of fermata different conductors use.
Zynewave can be found here: http://zynewave.com/

John.

[Saul]

Have added the DAW category and put in sections for Cubase, Sonar, Presonus Studio One and Reaper, just for now. Will add others so suggestions welcome.

[parametric]

This is great thread - and an excellent resource for the forum.

As we progress our projects - some of us may get the chance to get a "reader" to play on our tracks - which then presents the problem that they want sheet music to read . . . .

Whilst Sibelius and Co are acknowledged greats in the field, many of us are not disposed to pay out 100s of quid to achieve this, so its good to find alternatives that will do the job "for free" - or at least, for smaller amounts of money. . . .

Thanks to <Saul> for creating the DAW subforums too!

Its good to have somewhere in here to present our findings and experiences with these products.

parametric

[SysExJohn]

Have added the DAW category and put in sections for Cubase, Sonar, Presonus Studio One and Reaper, just for now. Will add others so suggestions welcome.

Hmm!

Thanks, Saul, for the new DAW section.

Just thinking aloud:
I wonder, as we explore this new area and people's interest in it, whether dividing it into specific DAW products may be a step too early?
Maybe, initially, just a section to discuss DAWs in general and their merits (or otherwise) might be more encouraging?
What about, for instance, Yamaha's own SQ01 which still ships with some products, I believe?
Perhaps we could have a General DAW questions/conversation topic to head up the new section?

Plainly, it's just my point of view, and would love to hear other's thoughts on the subject.

Regards,
John.

[Saul]

We can certainly have a section to discuss DAW's in general but I would like to keep the individual software sections, first because it makes it easy to find what you need and for new visitors using one of those DAW's they know they will be in the right place and second if we just have a general DAW section that covers all of them it makes it much more work to go through and separate out the posts at a later date. Will add the general section now though so thanks for the suggestion

[elwoodblues1969]

Some superb free synths;

A fantastic analogue-sounding synth... https://www.kvraudio.com/product/alieno-by-acrobatics

An equally impressive,free synth(though if you want the included effects,it's 5.95 Euro.) http://www.tubeohm.com/TubeOhm/ALPHA-RAY-PIC.html

Here is a Youtube demo,for the Alpha Ray synth; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN7HS5sBFl8

More freeware from TubeOhm; http://www.tubeohm.com/TubeOhm/FREEWARE.html

[seanmichaels]

Though I haven't used it before, I did recently come across a free and open-source digital audio workstation: LMMS.

Edit: I tried out LMMS and I have to say, I was not impressed. The UI is absolutely terrible and I cannot understand the workflow for the life of me. Now, I know it's free and open-source, but I could never work on LMMS after using Cubase for so many years.

[parametric]

Looks interesting - although I'm committed to Reaper . . . .

Nice to see mention of Hydrogen support . . . .

No reason now not to make Music on grounds of cost . . . .

parametric

[Saul]

Agreed, looks like a very interesting piece of software. Will have to check it out when I get some time.