A Recording Studio for Your PC
Best Audio Recorder to Capture Any Sound on Mac Losslessly. Record audios from online radios and podcasts such as AOL Radio, Sound Cloud, NPC, iHeartRadio, RTVE, iTunes Radio, BBC, etc. Record any sound from computer drive including local songs, game music, etc. Playing through music players or other apps on Mac.
There has never been a better time to buy digital audio workstation (DAW) software. Twenty years ago, to record a music album at a professional level, you needed a sizable mixing console, several eight-track digital records (such as ADATs or DA-88s), and a good selection of outboard compressors, reverb units, and other effects, plus a two-track deck to mix down to. In other words, you were looking at about $10K to $15K worth of gear to start—and that's before you got to microphones, speakers, and other accessories.
If you were on a budget, you'd probably stick with a tried-and-true Tascam or Yamaha four-track tape recorder and Alesis compressor, get used to bouncing tracks in mono, make peace with tape hiss, and remember to clean the tape heads every week. And you'd be sharply limited in the kinds of projects you could produce. The only easy multitrack recording you could do at the time was with MIDI, with hardware synthesizers or samplers, and maybe with a Mac or an Atari ST computer attached as a sequencer.
It's an entirely different world now. Software packages that cost a few hundred dollars now deliver hundreds of audio tracks and incredibly flexible editing. Some programs are even free. You can create as many instances of effects plug-ins as you want, including spot-on emulations of compressors that cost several thousand dollars each, and attach them to as many mixer channels as you want. It's all nearly unlimited and 'in the box' now.
Choosing the Right DAW
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From the standpoint of someone recording 20 or 30 years ago, a DAW today is like a giant candy store; it's as if you can do almost anything. For the newcomer, though, it may seem almost hopelessly complex. Choosing the right audio software can be quite difficult. Most of the famous packages like Pro Tools and Logic have been around for decades. They've grown incredibly powerful, and as a result have user interfaces that are as complex as…well, professional mix consoles.
So how to decide? To help with this task, we went out and tested the most popular DAWs. Numerous venerable (and excellent) recording magazines have reviewed these applications many times over the years. That's great for the existing user base of each DAW, but maybe not always quite as clear for newcomers. In each of our reviews, we did our best to approach each product as a whole, rather than devoting the majority of the space to just the latest features that were added in the most recent point update.
Before we get to the specifics, the simplest program for audio editing is a two-track editor; probably the most famous example here is the free Audacity. While Audacity aspires to some extremely basic multitrack recording with overdubs, its real use is as a solid stereo editor. If you're recording a podcast or editing a clip of your kid's piano recital that you recorded on your phone, Audacity is an excellent choice; you can probably start and stop there. If you need something more sophisticated, read on.
It helps to think about the kinds of projects you want to create. Are you planning on producing beats for hip-hop or fully electronic compositions? Do you want to record multiple musicians playing live instruments at once? Will you be using your setup to score for picture , or creating sound effects and dialogue for TV and video games? Do you need to produce fully polished, printed scores, or otherwise prefer to work with musical notes and staves? Do you plan on tuning the pitch of vocal performances? Working out the answers to these kinds of questions up front will help you narrow down your choices.
What Comes With Each DAW?
The good news is all of the packages can we tested can more or less do all of the above tasks, with a few notable exceptions. The trick is that each program has strengths in different areas, and some tasks may be a bit more complicated in one than they are in another. One overarching rule to decide faster is to look at what your colleagues or friends are using, and then choose the same package. That makes it easier to share tips or even projects between each other, rather than being the lone person using a particular product and then introducing session import issues.
Another is to look at what's bundled with each program. Would you prefer a DAW that comes with a ton of virtual instrument sounds, such as synthesizers, sampled violins, guitars, and electric basses? You may want to look at something like Logic Pro X, Cubase Pro, or Studio One, all of which include many gigabytes of sounds and loops. Do you have or plan to buy your own instrument plug-ins you want to use? Reaper is a fully stripped down DAW at an excellent price, and it makes an excellent host for third-party VSTs. It's also great if you're recording a band full of live instruments and don't need much in the way of virtual ones. Do your tastes lean toward the electronic and synthesized realm? FL Studio, Reason, and Ableton Live are inspired choices with plenty of built-in synths, though you can produce electronic music with just about any of these programs.
Often, it comes down to the details and the editing philosophies. Do you prefer pattern-based recording for electronic music? FL Studio is going to have plenty to offer. Would you rather have a 'do-it-all' DAW with a large built-in sound library at a low price? PreSonus Studio One beckons. Do you want to not just be able to bring projects into major studios, but collaborate online and also open sessions directly as you work on them with others? It's impossible to top Avid's Pro Tools for this. Is the music already done, and you work in post-production and want to produce more professional podcasts or videos? Adobe Audition is a prime contender for these tasks. And if you've got a Mac, it's worth giving the free GarageBand a spin, if only because it's more powerful than it ever was and you already own it.
How Much Do You Want to Spend?
Closely correlated to the bundled instruments and effects is price, and that's a factor that can cloud the issue a bit. Many of the top-tier packages also have less expensive (or even free), feature-limited editions available. It's not as simple as saying 'Reaper is a budget DAW at $60 and Studio One 3 is a professional-level DAW at $399,' because you can also buy the stripped-down (but still pretty feature-rich) Studio One Artist for $99. What do you lose? What do you gain? We try and touch on this as much as possible within each review.
Which DAW Is Right for You?
In short, read our reviews (linked below) and try some demos where you can. But otherwise, don't sweat it too much. We spent countless hours testing these products and putting together both the reviews and this guide. Despite the complexity of the software here, we've found it's honestly tough to go wrong. It's not like computers or cameras, where you can clearly see that of the latest crop of products, a few perform well and a few don't perform as well as the leaders. These are all mature, well-established products, each with thousands of fans.
As a result, more than half of the packages in this roundup score at least four out of five stars. You can get professional-level results with all of them. Each has some specific workflows that work really, really well for some people—hence the endless 'X is the best and Y is garbage' arguments on the internet—but they all can work for just about anyone.
Even so, we single out two DAWs, one on the Mac and one on the PC, for Editors' Choice awards: Apple Logic Pro X, for its absolutely unbeatable value with its built-in instruments and effects plug-ins, and Avid Pro Tools, for its seamless audio editing and suitability up and down the pro studio chain. But we'd happily use any of the programs listed below for new projects. Choose one, learn its secrets, and get to work creating and editing amazing music and audio projects.
Best Audio Editing Software Featured in This Roundup:
Avid Pro Tools Review
MSRP: $599.00
Pros: Still the cleanest audio editing workflow on the planet. Fast 64-bit recording and mixing engine. New cloud-based project collaboration tools. Robust, useful track freeze and commit options. High-end hardware and support policies are tops in the industry.Cons: Lacks built-in pitch correction. No VST plug-in support or instrument track presets. USB dongle-based copy protection. Monthly fee required for new software patches past 12 months.Bottom Line: Avid stays the course with Pro Tools and maintains its status as the standard cross-platform solution for professional audio editing work for music, film, games, and broadcast.Read ReviewImage-Line FL Studio Review
MSRP: $299.00
Pros: Vector-based interface is attractively animated, and supports 4K, multi-monitor, and multitouch configurations. Brilliant loop and pattern-based MIDI composition tools. Visible automation clips are easy to manipulate. Light memory footprint. Free lifetime updates.Cons: Convoluted, inflexible audio recording (in higher-priced versions). Must manually assign instrument tracks to mixer channels. Built-in sound library could use some updating. Lacks notation editor.Bottom Line: If you want to produce some of today's slickest beats, right up to full electronic dance music tracks, FL Studio could be the ideal key to unlock your creativity.Read ReviewAdobe Audition CC Review
MSRP: $20.99
Pros: Strong audio-restoration, sound-removal, and noise-reduction tools. Excellent stereo waveform editor. Useful visualization tools. Adheres to film and television broadcast standards for audio.Cons: Lacks MIDI support. Only available via an expensive monthly subscription.Bottom Line: Audition is a comprehensive audio editor for video post-production, podcasts, and audio restoration. It's expensive for what you get, though, and makes the most sense as a supplement to a video editor or as part of an existing CC subscription.Read ReviewSteinberg Cubase Pro Review
MSRP: $559.99
Pros: Comprehensive editing and automation support. Robust plug-in bundle. Powerful mixer. Rock-solid stability.Cons: Expensive. Dongle-based hardware copy protection. Bottom Line: Steinberg Cubase Pro is a top-notch digital audio workstation particularly suited to MIDI and virtual instrument composers.Read ReviewAbleton Live Review
MSRP: $749.00
Pros: Inspirational clip-based live and composition workflow. Fast navigation. Powerful automation. Suite version contains plenty of sample material to work with. Cons: No track comping. No notation view. No pitch correction tool. Mixer view could be more robust.Bottom Line: In its latest iteration, Ableton Live is a powerful all-in-the-box solution for composing music, particularly electronic-influenced, but it's not for everyone.Read ReviewPreSonus Studio One Review
MSRP: $399.00
Pros: Fast workflow for music composition and audio recording. Robust included sound sets. Attractive drag-and-drop interface. Powerful free version. Multitouch-enabled on the Windows side.Cons: No notation editor. No easy way to import session data or save I/O templates. MIDI editing is still weaker than the competition. Cluttered mixing console. Bottom Line: PreSonus reinvented the common digital audio workstation in 2008 with Studio One; the latest version is the most inspired yet.Read ReviewPropellerhead Reason Review
MSRP: $399.00
Pros: Versatile array of bundled instruments. Awesome sound set serves as instant inspiration for new electronic tracks. Fast composition workflow. SSL-style mix compression and EQ.Cons: Aging rackmount-and-patch-cable UI idiom. No surround or scoring features. Track editing still lags the competition.Bottom Line: Despite its flaws, it's tough to knock Reason as an all-in-one recording, mixing, and mastering tool, particularly if you're into electronic or hip-hop music and want a tremendous array of sounds and beats right out of the gate. It's still as much fun to use as it has always been.Read ReviewCockos Reaper Review
MSRP: $60.00
Pros: Multi-channel audio recording, mixing, and mastering at a bargain price. Heavily customizable. Fast. Extremely light memory footprint.Cons: No built-in instruments or loops. Uninviting, unintuitive interface.Bottom Line: Reaper offers nearly all of the features and flexibility, if not the ease of use or visual appeal, of powerhouse digital audio workstations like Pro Tools at a fraction of the cost.Read ReviewApple Logic Pro X (for Mac) Review
MSRP: $199.99
Pros: Excellent value. Stunning array of bundled instruments and effects. Terrific interface. No copy protection, unlike many competitors.Cons: A few older plug-ins still need a UI makeover.Bottom Line: Apple Logic Pro X 10.4 is a tremendous update to an already-excellent digital audio workstation, and if you own Logic Pro X, it's free. Read ReviewAudacity Review
MSRP: $0.00
Pros: Free. Lots of editing options ideal for dialogue, sound effects, and trimming music tracks. Supports multitrack audio and batch processing.Cons: Destructive editing only. Multitrack audio support is exceedingly basic.Bottom Line: If you're looking to get started in podcasting or recording music, it's tough to go wrong with Audacity. A powerful, free, open-source audio editor that's been available for years, Audacity is still the go-to choice for quick-and-dirty audio work.Read Review
Best Audio Editing Software Featured in This Roundup:
Avid Pro Tools Review
MSRP: $599.00Pros: Still the cleanest audio editing workflow on the planet. Fast 64-bit recording and mixing engine. New cloud-based project collaboration tools. Robust, useful track freeze and commit options. High-end hardware and support policies are tops in the industry.Cons: Lacks built-in pitch correction. No VST plug-in support or instrument track presets. USB dongle-based copy protection. Monthly fee required for new software patches past 12 months.Bottom Line: Avid stays the course with Pro Tools and maintains its status as the standard cross-platform solution for professional audio editing work for music, film, games, and broadcast.Read ReviewImage-Line FL Studio Review
MSRP: $299.00Pros: Vector-based interface is attractively animated, and supports 4K, multi-monitor, and multitouch configurations. Brilliant loop and pattern-based MIDI composition tools. Visible automation clips are easy to manipulate. Light memory footprint. Free lifetime updates.Cons: Convoluted, inflexible audio recording (in higher-priced versions). Must manually assign instrument tracks to mixer channels. Built-in sound library could use some updating. Lacks notation editor.Bottom Line: If you want to produce some of today's slickest beats, right up to full electronic dance music tracks, FL Studio could be the ideal key to unlock your creativity.Read ReviewAdobe Audition CC Review
MSRP: $20.99Pros: Strong audio-restoration, sound-removal, and noise-reduction tools. Excellent stereo waveform editor. Useful visualization tools. Adheres to film and television broadcast standards for audio.Cons: Lacks MIDI support. Only available via an expensive monthly subscription.Bottom Line: Audition is a comprehensive audio editor for video post-production, podcasts, and audio restoration. It's expensive for what you get, though, and makes the most sense as a supplement to a video editor or as part of an existing CC subscription.Read ReviewSteinberg Cubase Pro Review
MSRP: $559.99Pros: Comprehensive editing and automation support. Robust plug-in bundle. Powerful mixer. Rock-solid stability.Cons: Expensive. Dongle-based hardware copy protection.Bottom Line: Steinberg Cubase Pro is a top-notch digital audio workstation particularly suited to MIDI and virtual instrument composers.Read ReviewAbleton Live Review
MSRP: $749.00Pros: Inspirational clip-based live and composition workflow. Fast navigation. Powerful automation. Suite version contains plenty of sample material to work with.Cons: No track comping. No notation view. No pitch correction tool. Mixer view could be more robust.Bottom Line: In its latest iteration, Ableton Live is a powerful all-in-the-box solution for composing music, particularly electronic-influenced, but it's not for everyone.Read ReviewPreSonus Studio One Review
MSRP: $399.00Pros: Fast workflow for music composition and audio recording. Robust included sound sets. Attractive drag-and-drop interface. Powerful free version. Multitouch-enabled on the Windows side.Cons: No notation editor. No easy way to import session data or save I/O templates. MIDI editing is still weaker than the competition. Cluttered mixing console.Bottom Line: PreSonus reinvented the common digital audio workstation in 2008 with Studio One; the latest version is the most inspired yet.Read ReviewPropellerhead Reason Review
MSRP: $399.00Pros: Versatile array of bundled instruments. Awesome sound set serves as instant inspiration for new electronic tracks. Fast composition workflow. SSL-style mix compression and EQ.Cons: Aging rackmount-and-patch-cable UI idiom. No surround or scoring features. Track editing still lags the competition.Bottom Line: Despite its flaws, it's tough to knock Reason as an all-in-one recording, mixing, and mastering tool, particularly if you're into electronic or hip-hop music and want a tremendous array of sounds and beats right out of the gate. It's still as much fun to use as it has always been.Read ReviewCockos Reaper Review
MSRP: $60.00Pros: Multi-channel audio recording, mixing, and mastering at a bargain price. Heavily customizable. Fast. Extremely light memory footprint.Cons: No built-in instruments or loops. Uninviting, unintuitive interface.Bottom Line: Reaper offers nearly all of the features and flexibility, if not the ease of use or visual appeal, of powerhouse digital audio workstations like Pro Tools at a fraction of the cost.Read ReviewApple Logic Pro X (for Mac) Review
MSRP: $199.99Pros: Excellent value. Stunning array of bundled instruments and effects. Terrific interface. No copy protection, unlike many competitors.Cons: A few older plug-ins still need a UI makeover.Bottom Line: Apple Logic Pro X 10.4 is a tremendous update to an already-excellent digital audio workstation, and if you own Logic Pro X, it's free.Read ReviewAudacity Review
MSRP: $0.00Pros: Free. Lots of editing options ideal for dialogue, sound effects, and trimming music tracks. Supports multitrack audio and batch processing.Cons: Destructive editing only. Multitrack audio support is exceedingly basic.Bottom Line: If you're looking to get started in podcasting or recording music, it's tough to go wrong with Audacity. A powerful, free, open-source audio editor that's been available for years, Audacity is still the go-to choice for quick-and-dirty audio work.Read Review
Audio recording was a herculean task till a decade back. However, with advancement in technology, it has become easy to audio record sitting at home. Of course, there are a plethora of options to pick from, when it comes to choosing audio recorders. Just to make it easy for you to pick the most suitable one, we share here, our list of the best audio recording software.
Best Audio Recording Software for Windows 10, 8, 7
1. WavePad
This voice recording software is one of the top favorites on the list. The software has excellent editing features and is compatible with most of the file formats. From WAV, MP3, to MPC, APE and AMR, the software supports most of the file formats. Apart from the basic features like, cut, copy, paste, insert, auto trim etc. WavePad is compatible with Windows and Mac. An easy to use software WavePad offers professional quality sound recording.
2. RecordPad
RecordPad is a high quality voice recorder for pc. It has an exhaustive set of features which allows the users to record, rip and burn audios. A product of NCH Software, offers supporting audio feeds using application default settings.It has voice-activated recording, which is useful in reducing long periods of silence in the audios. It has features like, noise reduction, pitch shifting, fades and equalizing. The software lets the user customise the interface according to their needs. It is easy to use and is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X.
3. PreSonus Studio One 3
This music recording software has both paid and free version. The software is ideal for both beginners and professionals. It supports different formats such as WAV, FLAC, MP3 etc. You can also share your music directly on SoundCloud. It has a user friendly and minimalist interface and runs smoothly. Some of the highlights of the free versions are, unlimited audio tracks, multiple instrumentals, time -stretching, and latency compensation capability. The free version of the software offers a good set of editing tools.
4. Mixcraft 8
An easy to use voice recorder software, Mixcraft 8, has a plethora of features and special effects. The software supports multiple recording functions such as recording audios, editing, adding special effects and burning features. The interface has a modern feel to it yet is very sleek and easy to use. The software is compatible with Windows XP, however, it does not work on Mac OS as of now. Mixcraft 8 has many audio filters that can be used to record voice or audio. This software is definitely recommended by us if you want to record and edit voice or audio.
5. Audacity
This free open source software was first introduced in 2000 and has since then climbed the ladder to become one of the best audio recorder software. Audacity has an easy to use and simple interface which allows users to record and edit audios. The layout of the software is very basic yet has tools like navigation, tracking and mixing. Despite being an all free software, Audacity offers a wide range of editing tools, which is what makes it one of the top favourites. It is compatible both with Mac and Windows.
6. i-Sound Recorder 7
i-Sound Recorder is one of the most basic yet highly effective sound recorder. At a low price, the voice recorder offers basic yet well performing tools. Its universal audio input and audio ripping features are of good quality and has real time audio compression. Apart from these, the software has advanced recording scheduler and voice-activated recording. It also has a record timer which lets the user decide the duration of the recording. This audio recorder can open and save many file formats such as, MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, etc. This voice recorder is compatible with popular OS like Windows 7,Windows 10, Vista and XP. For now it is not compatible with Mac OS X.
7. Streaming Audio Recorder
Streaming Audio Recorder is one of the most best audio recording software today as it is capable of record streaming audio from the music sites, readio or even from the audio chats. Great, isn’t is? Apart from that, you can output the recorded audio in formats like MP3, AAC, FLAC, etc. and the quality remains upto the mark without much efforts.
8. Zynewave Podium Free
Zynewave Podium Free was launched in 2014. The voice recording software has paid versions as well. However, the free version in itself has many features. The software allows the users to customize the interface according to their choice and has many audio effects. It is however only compatible with Windows OS.
9. Ardour
Ardour is a Digital Audio Workstation which has been designed specially for Linux. However it is also compatible with Windows and MacOS. A stand out feature of the software is that it allows multi-track recording. It gives the user the freedom to record and edit as they wish, destructive or nondestructive. Since it uses a jack, it makes it easy to use outside applications. For all the features that are missing in Ardour, it allows the user to install third-party software. For those who want to do film scoring, the software lets the users import videos as well.
10. Easy Hi-Q Recorder
Easy Hi-Q Recorder is one of the most cost effective software on our list of best audio recording software. This music recording software has several audio-in options, which makes it easy for the users to make variety of audio recordings. It also offers voice-activated recording feature. The software is compatible with Windows 7, 8 and XP. With a simple and straightforward interface. It can play at least 20 audio formats including, MP3, WAV and WAM. It has relevant features like Recording Timer, Digital & Analog Rip and File Compression. You can download this sound recorder software from:
11. VirtualDJ Free
This one is specially for those who are professional DJ’s or are inclined to pursue a career in it. VirtualDJ has been around for 20 years now and has been downloaded by many people across the globe. The software is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS. It allows the user to record and mix audios in its free version. The interface of this audio recording software is similar to a traditional DJ console and is simple, and easy to use. It has the essential dials and sliders of a console and also lets the user spin and scratch two records. The users can create their own sample audio tracks.
So this was our list of the best audio recording software of the year 2019. We hope, the list was helpful to pick an audio recorder according to your needs and requirements. Do share with us, if you have some other software which you feel should be on this list.
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