This doesn’t refer to the number of songs you can create with a workstation, it just means the number of individual parts you can have in each song. If you’re just starting out, you’ll likely find that a track count of 16 will be sufficient. Some of the products in our round-up have a steeper learning curve than others, but ultimately it’s about finding one that suits the way you want to work. However, we’ve tended to focus this guide mainly on the mid-range, paid versions that offer a little bit more to get your teeth into for a much lower outlay than the full, pro versions. Many offer free or trial versions, so you can try these first to see whether or not that particular beginner DAW is the best one for you.

For instance, don’t go for Acoustica Mixcraft if you have a Mac.Īside from making sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements for RAM, processor speed and hard disk space, choosing the right level of DAW is important if you’re a beginner. What does this mean? Platform compatibility is the first thing you should check. Some workstations are PC only, some are Mac only, but many can run on both systems.

First and foremost in your best beginner DAW-cision should be the computer platform you’ll be running it on.

Reaper vs mixcraft