What Software Do I need?
As above, the answer depends on your needs. If you’re planning to composer using your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and get into more advanced music production then you should really do your homework to see which DAW is best to suit your needs and your preferred workflow. But for simply recording yourself, the honest truth is that any DAW will do.
I’ll go over some of the choices available below, but keep in mind that they all offer free trials. So you can download the trial version of any of them and see how you like it before you commit to purchasing. Make sure you read the minimum system requirements and compatibility for any DAW you’re considering to make sure your system is compatible. Most are available on both PC & Mac, but some are specific to one or the other.
Furthermore some DAWs come free when purchasing hardware, which I will highlight below when discussing audio interfaces. This may affect your decision of what audio interface to purchase.
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a popular choice and works on either PC or Mac systems. I like it a lot for working with audio. I think it has some of the best audio-editing and recording features and is very easy to use for that kind of stuff of all the DAWs. If you’re looking for great MIDI features, I’d look at some of the other options I discuss below.
And while generally speaking I’m not a big fan of the subscription pricing mode, if you don’t think this is something you’ll be doing a lot, it’s hard to beat $34.99 a month for a monthly subscription you can turn on and off whenever you need it and only pay for the months you use (it’s $29.99 a month if you commit to a year or $299 per year if you wish to pay up front. They also have discounted student/educational pricing, but that’s likely irrelevant for most recording professionals). There is Pro Tools | First, which is free, but I believe you an only save 3 projects in the included 1 GB cloud, so it’s probably not a great choice. And Pro Tools | Ultimate is overkill for home recording. If you’re curious about the differences between the 3 versions of Pro Tools, this article from Pro Tools Expert does a great job of breaking it down.
Pro Tools Pros: Designed specifically for audio recording and editing and is rich with features. Cons: Can be a bit of a CPU hog compared to some of the other DAWs, though unlikely to impact simple recording projects.
GarageBand
If $34.99 a month on an as needed basis is too much and you’re on a Mac, you probably already have a free DAW that came with your computer – GarageBand. You can record into GarageBand and do basic editing and export your finished tracks just fine using this free Mac-only software. The obvious pro of this one is that it’s free. There is also an app version of GarageBand for your iPhone or iPad. The cons are that it’s features are pretty limited compared to other DAWs, but for recording it’s mot likely more than enough. Also unlike most DAWs, it’s Mac only.
GarageBand Pros: Free. Available for iOS devices. Cons: Mac only, limited features.
Logic Pro
If you’re a Mac fan and want something more advanced, Logic Pro is your next logical choice (the current version is Logic Pro X). Many composers use Logic Pro as their DAW of choice, and it is an extremely deep and versatile solution. At $199.99 it won’t break the bank, either.
Logic Pro Pros: Great price for a full fledged professional DAW. Has an iOS version. Cons: Mac only, a bit of a learning curve, can be a bit complicated to use.
Cubase
Steinberg’s Cubase is another popular pro-level DAW. This is my DAW of choice as a composer, I like it’s workflow more than others I’ve used in the past. Many A-list composers and artists use Cubase. The company offers many versions with varying levels of features ranging from a free Cubasis LE version for iPad, and a free Cubase AI version that is included with certain Steinberg and Yamaha hardware, to Cubase Elements at just $99.99 to Cubase Artist at $337.98 to the Pro version at $578.98. Discounted Competitive Crossgrade pricing is available if you’re switching from a qualifying product. I use CubasePro, but you most likely don’t need the Pro version, the Elements version should be more than enough.
Cubase Pros: Cubase Elements is very affordable and more than enough for most. Includes lots of additional features and effect plug-ins. CPU efficient. Cons: A bit of a learning curve, has it's quirks.
Digital Performer
MOTU’s Digital Performer is another popular pro-level DAW. Like Cubase, there is no shortage of A-list professionals who use this one. It’s a great option that has everything you need and then some. At $195 it’s not particularly expensive. It’s pretty easy to use and comes with lots of plug-ins and advanced features. There is also a Performer Lite version that comes free with certain MOTU hardware.
Digital Performer
Pros: Easy learning curve at a great price for a full-fledged professional DAW
Cons: Like other DAWs has its quirks, last I tested (a few versions back) wasn't as CPU efficient as Cubase or Logic - this may no longer be the case.
Studio One
PreSonus Studio One is a relative newcomer to the scene compared to the DAWs mentioned above. I don’t have much experience with it, but from what I’ve seen it seems to be very GarageBand like in it’s simplicity, but with more advanced features, though I’m not sure it goes as deep as Cubase or Logic Pro or Digital Performer. But then again, you probably don’t need all those more advanced features anyway for simple recording. This one comes in three flavors – Prime, which is free, Artist, which is $99.95 and Professional, which is $279.97.
Studio One
Pros: Easy learning curve, has a free version
Cons: Not as popular as other DAWS in the film/TV industry so support might not be as easy to find
Reaper
Another relative newcomer is Reaper. I’ve not used it yet, but I know several people who use it a love it. What makes Reaper unique is that it is extremely flexible and customizable and has seemingly endless features and more are being added all the time. Like the other professional level DAWs, it’s probalby overkill for your needs, but if you’re into tinkering and customizing things to the extreme, this may be the choice for you. A Discounted License will cost just $60, while a Commercial License is $225
Reaper
Pros: Extremely flexible and customizable.
Cons: A bit of a learning curve and if you're the kind of person that likes to tinker you maybe going doing a rabbit hole (which you may consider a pro, not a con)
Luna
Luna is the newest DAW on the market. Recently announced by Universal Audio, I’m afraid other than seeing the announcements about it, I have no firsthand knowledge. Therefore I cannot really say much about it. From what I’ve seen the interface looks very clean and intuitive, and it seems to come with plenty of features.
Luna Pros: Free for current owners of any Apollo line of audio interfaces. Cons: Limited to working with UA hardware. Being so new not well tested yet in real-world applications. Mac only.
Audacity
The final DAW I’ll mention is Audacity. This is a free open source cross-platform audio software that works on Mac OS X, PC Windows and Linux operating systems. This a pure audio DAW, there are no advanced MIDI features that I’m aware of, though you can import MIDI files to get your tempo maps when recording.
Audacity
Pros: Free, easy to use.
Cons: Not really a pro-app with limited advanced features.
The Bottom Line
The DAWs listed above cover the most commonly used ones on the market. There are some others that I didn’t cover because I simply don’t know them, but there are other options out there. For example, a simple internet search revealed this list of recommended apps for recording directly on Android devices. And here’s one for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad)
Not sure what to get? Here’s the bottom line. If you just want to record audio and don’t really need advanced features, use what you may already have – say GarageBand, or grab one of the other free options. Any of them should be more than enough. If your’e looking for more advanced features, dive deeper into each to see which seem attractive to you. There are lots of online tutorials for all of these DAWs, and as mentioned above, you can always get a free trial and test-drive any of these.