If you’re into songwriting, podcasting, or just making music in general, then I’d say The Best Software for Music Production is for you. These are the best software tools to use when creating music.
The best software for music production is not some programmed drum machine with a bunch of presets, but rather some basic elements that you can move around with your hands while you compose or play guitar. While all of the software on this list can produce some pretty amazing sounds, they are all missing certain elements that would boost the creativity of any music producer.
Waveform Free
Waveform Free is a powerful DAW that can load VST plugins. It is the best free music production platform on the market.
Waveform Free is a free digital audio workstation developed by Tracktion Corporation. The DAW is the core of every music production software setup, and Waveform Free is the best one you can get for free.
This powerful music-making tool works on all major platforms (Windows, macOS, and Linux) and provides all the features necessary for recording and mixing a professional-sounding song.
Waveform Free can record audio and MIDI, it features an audio mixer with built-in effects, and it offers various advanced features like automation, track analysis, and more.
Most importantly, Waveform Free can load VST and AU plugins. This means that you can expand your music production workspace with hundreds of free VST plugins like synthesizers, samplers, effects, and more. The most essential freeware audio plugins are featured in this article.
However, we recommend Studio One Prime if you’re a singer/songwriter who only needs a multi-track recording application without VST plugin support.
The hard truth is that no freeware DAW is perfect, though. If you can spend some money on music production software, the digital audio workstation should be the first item on your shopping list.
The most budget-friendly DAW on the market is Reaper. It is priced at $60 for a discounted license and comes with a very generous 60-day free trial period.
Some people actually just stick to using the trial version of Reaper for an infinite amount of time. But if you use Reaper to make music, be fair and support its developers by purchasing a license.
Other popular DAWs are Ableton Live, FL Studio, Steinberg Cubase Pro, and Bitwig Studio. Logic Pro X is the logical choice if you’re on macOS, and our favorite pro digital audio workstation is Studio One Pro.
The top freeware alternatives to T7 DAW are Cakewalk by BandLab on Windows and GarageBand on macOS. Our readers also recommend Ardour, the free music production workstation for Linux.
If you don’t want to use VST plugins and just need a free music production program to record and edit your songs, try Studio One Prime or Pro Tools First.
More info: Waveform Free
Audacity
Audacity is a powerful free audio editor with recording functionality and VST plugin compatibility.
A music production setup is not complete without an audio editor. Audacity is the best free audio editing software on the market, which also acts as a great piece of free recording software.
Open-source and fully cross-platform, Audacity comes with a great selection of tools and effects to handle audio editing and recording tasks.
Audacity is developed by a group of volunteers and receives frequent updates almost every month. It is lightweight, stable, and intuitive enough to be used by beginner music producers.
Audacity can also load VST plugins, although only 32-bit plugins are supported.
More info: Audacity
TX16Wx Software Sampler
TX16Wx Software Sampler is a free sampler plugin for your software-based music studio.
TX16Wx Software Sampler is the best free sampler plugin for your music production studio. It is also the best free alternative to the industry-standard Native Instruments Kontakt sampler.
The plugin can load samples in WAV, AIFF, Ogg, and FLAC formats. It can also handle SoundFonts, SFZ patches, as well as Akai and EXS format presets. SoundFont and SFZ compatibility are essential features.
There are hundreds of free SFZ sound libraries you can find online, such as the fantastic Piano in 162 and the SM Drums acoustic drum kit.
Of course, TX16Wx Software Sampler can also be used to create your own sample-based patches.
TX16Wx Software Sampler features a powerful mapping editor, a non-destructive sample editor, built-in effects, time-stretching, unlimited modulation sources, and even the ability to record audio. You can capture any sound from your digital audio workstation and treat it as an audio sample.
TX16Wx Software Sampler can be used as standalone music production software or as a VST, VST, AU, and AAX plugin in a compatible digital audio workstation.
The majority of music-making applications, free or paid, will include some type of sampler instrument. That said, TX16Wx Software Sampler offers an advanced feature set for a sample-based music production workspace.
If you think that TX16Wx Software Sampler is overly complicated, take a look at Grace, an intuitive freeware sampler instrument that only works on Windows.
More info: TX16Wx Software Sampler
Apple GarageBand
This is one of the most popular DAWs on offer, and is a perfect place to start if you’re new to the production scene. It’s free and available for Apple Mac, with an easy-to-understand interface that makes it simple to visualise your project as you go.
Included are built-in lesson functions for guitar and piano, including mapped-out chords and explanations to some of the basics in music theory. USB keyboards are supported and loops are built-in, with additional ones available on the App Store for a fee.
It’s also compatible with iPads, making this a good option for simple, portable musical mixing and production. There’s enough here to meet basic needs without paying a penny.
Ableton Live
Recommended level: All levels
Operating system: Mac or Windows
Free trial | Full versions (Live 10 Suite | Live 10 Standard | Live 10 Intro)
Since it’s introduction in 1999, Ableton Live has been steadily growing as a very popular DAW and for good reason. We know we’ve gotten scrutiny for listing it first, and everybody is entitled to their opinions. However, we feel this is the best digital audio workstation for most of our readers. Here’s why (and just a few reasons, considering it would take days to explain the power of this) — you’ve got the standard multi-track recording (an unlimited number of audio/MIDI tracks for songs) and cut/paste/splice features, but what’s especially great about this software is the seamless MIDI sequencing software and hardware. We’ve had so many fusses with our MIDI controllers getting mapped to our sounds through the DAW (back when we used Acid Pro in 2005-2010), but ever since the switch to Ableton it’s been extremely headache-free. Another huge plus is the included sound packages included. Although this really depends on your preferences and whether or not you have your gear and sounds up to speed, it comes with 23 sound libraries (about 50 GB of sounds), so you can make music right out-of-the-box (great for starters).
To finish off our description for the beloved Ableton, this thing is the absolute best music software for performing live with. We’ve experienced very few glitches (the biggest fear of performers…it can make or break a set). What’s even better is that Ableton has paired up with some brands to create gear specifically for the program, often matching interfaces with the software for easier pairing and remembering of sounds. Although this is an extremely simplified summary of the software, you can’t go wrong with Ableton Live, regardless of your “level” (how do you even categorize that?). We recommend trying it first to see what it’s all about — you then have two versions (intro for about a hundred bucks or standard for half a G — try intro first before you go all the way up).
Conclusion
Music has been a part of everyone’s life since the beginning of time. But what many don’t know is how it’s made. You might have heard bands on the radio or thought some tracks sounded pretty damn good, but you didn’t want to know how exactly they were made. If you’re a music producer, then this article is for you. In this article I’m going to show you the best software for music production.