Pro Tools Studio – the pro version, with the full suite of features.

Pro Tools Artist – the intermediate version, ideal for independent musicians.

Pro Tools Intro – the free beginner version, which you can download here.

However…I’d argue that as a beginner, unless you see a specific legitimate reason to opt for something OTHER than the industry standard…Pro Tools is still your best bet.Ĭurrently, there are 4 versions of Pro Tools available: It’s just because that’s what everyone has come to use.Īnd for this reason (among others), it’s not entirely surprising to hear that it has more haters than any DAW on this list. So it’s not necessarily because Pro Tools has something special that other DAW’s don’t. So here’s the list: The Long-Time Industry Standard in DAW SoftwareĮven among musicians who have never stepped foot in a recording studio…Īnd even among folks who aren’t really involved with music at all…Īvid Pro Tools has been a household name for many decades now.īack in the early 90’s, Digidesign (Avid’s former name) began sending free test copies of Pro Tools to big recording studios.Īnd they obviously liked what they saw, because ever since then, it’s what pretty much all of them have used to some extent or another. Because they are the ones that have developed a strong reputation in the industry over many years.Īnd since each of these DAW’s has been used on countless hit recordings, they’re all perfectly capable of professional results. Poll 100 studios on which DAW they prefer…and you’ll hear a pretty wide range of opinions (often quite passionate).īut listen to enough expert opinions, and the same few names appear over and over. Up next… The Top Paid DAW Software Options

Which isn’t nearly enough for a pro using 10 tracks on just the drum kit alone.įor beginners though, 16 tracks can be more than enough when you’re debating between the lite and full version of any of the DAW’s we’re about to cover. Playback Limitations – your recording stops playing after x minutes, after which you need to press play againįor example, with Pro Tools First, the Lite version of the industry standard Pro Tools DAW, you’re limited to a max of 16 tracks.Track Limitations – you can only record and mix 4/8/16 tracks.Time Limitations – you can only use it for X number of days.Typical limitations on these lite versions include: Without investing too much on advanced features that you likely won’t be using anyway, at least not for another few years. Limited or “lite” version of a full-featured premium DAW can be a great way to get your feet wet with one particular software, or home recording in general… In between totally free DAW’s like the ones we just covered…Īnd totally paid versions, like the ones we’re about to cover…

Music record software free download