From FL Studio to Audacity: Here are our picks for the best DAWs you can use today
Whether you are looking to mix your vocals with music or are looking to produce your own beat and instrumentals, having access to a Digital Workstation is a must. Here are our picks for some of the best DAWs you can use.
Many upcoming artistes and music producers now prefer to produce music from the comforts of their homes. Now easily accessible technology makes music production, mixing and mastering easier than ever. Whether you are looking to mix your vocals with music or to produce your own beats and instrumentals, having access to a Digital Workstation is a must. A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is software used to record, edit, and mix, and master music on your computer.
There are many free and easy to use options that can be used to record vocals, like audacity. Experienced users who are inclined towards production and mixing and mastering can invest in software like FL Studio. Here are some of the best DAWs you can choose from to start your musical journey today.
Our pick for Windows computers
FL Studio
Our Pick for Beginners
Audacity
Audacity is a free software and is one of the best options for beginners. The programme is a solid offering for recording vocals and the interface is extremely user-friendly. Audacity offers various options that allow you to edit the tracks and perform basic functions such as compression, reverb, normalize and more.
The software also supports various third-party plugins. Though you can use the software for mixing and mastering, you cannot create beats and music on the platform. Audacity is lightweight, uses fewer resources and should work well on even older generation PCs with less power under the hood. The app is robust with its functionality at the same time and is very easy to learn.
Audacity is a solid offering for recording vocals and the interface is extremely user friendly ( Image source : Varun Krishan)It also offers an excellent Noise Reduction tool. Even though I prefer using FL Studio when I need to do in-depth audio mixing, Audacity is my go-to software for recording and getting my vocals ready before entering the next stage of production. The software is highly recommended for users looking to record vocals, create podcasts and perform basic editing functions.
FL Studio is one of the best DAW you can work with. The software features professional-grade native plugins and also supports third-party audio plugins. The combination of functionality, features and user interface make this a great DAW for beginners and advanced users alike. For mixing tracks you can easily drag your files on the channels and start the process.
The software offers many inbuilt plugins to mix and master your music including Fruity Reverb, Fruity Limiter and Maximum among others. Even though when using the software for the first time, I was able to get a hang of the basic workflow in under a week, it can take a while to get used to the software and all the features it offers.
It is best to start with the basics and move forward. I used the software mainly for mixing and mastering and the experience was smooth and the DAW offers a host of options that can be used to achieve a pro grade output.
You can also use the interface to record vocals with the help of a microphone. For music producers, the software features a plethora of options to choose from. FL Studio features a comprehensive list of professional-grade synths including PoiZone, Sawer, Harmor, Sakura and Toxic Biohazard among others. The high quality synths can be used to produce beats and instrumentals according to your taste. Fl Studio’s price ranges from $99 (approx Rs 7300) all the way up to $737 ( approx Rs 55,000).
Our Pick for Mac
Logic Pro X
If you want one of the best DAW’s and are not shy of spending big bucks, you can set your eyes on Logic Pro X. The software was developed in the 1990s by German software company C-Lab and was previously known as Notator Logic. The DAW is considered to be one of the most widely adopted standard names in the market and is now developed by Apple. One thing to note is that the software is exclusive to MAC so if you own a Windows PC, the software won’t work. Logic Pro X comes with support for some of the best free VST plugins available in the market today.
If you want one of the best DAW’s and are not shy of spending big bucks, you can set your eyes on Logic Pro ( Image source : Apple)The software comes with stock plugins including Single-band EQ, Compressor, Multiprocessor and Adaptive Limiter among others. Whether you intend to create great sounding beats, mix and master a song or simply use the software for recording vocals, Logic Pro X would not disappoint. The software is priced at $199.99 ( approx Rs 15,000).