A million years ago, when I finally jumped ship and went digital, I tried out pretty much all of the DAWS out there.

They were awful. The majority of them were designed for dance music (pause to spit) and were either too complicated

or too basic - certainly not intuitive.What you want is something that is fairly straight-forward, to begin with,

which you can make as complicated as you like later on. Enter Tracktion

The company has changed hands a dizzying amount of times - and they've changed the program a lot, too.

I've disliked all their reincarnations. After a recent problem,

I was dismayed to find that my version wasn't anywhere out there and is no longer supported.

Bearing in mind, it is a very old program, by modern standards - but I have a pretty advanced set up - gear-wise,

and it has still worked fine from the days of Win XP - all the way up to Windows 11.

If, like me, you're a proper DIY musician, it's brilliant

... no more waiting around for everyone else to get their act together !

Click on the picture below to download the zipped/compressed folder.

(The password is Noise>1024 to open) And check the tips below

TIPS

 Always set the tempo(s) (BPM) at the beginning, otherwise editing can get pretty messy later on.

 I use BEHRINGER UMC204 for plugging in live instruments. They also do good mics etc

(High spec - low price)

Get a copy of KONTAKT (NATIVE INSTRUMENTS) - great for keyboards, etc

I often use SCARBEE RICKENBACKER BASS through it, just for the sound

 Drums are a pain - I do some live, but the ADDICTIVE DRUMS program

is fast becoming a favourite

OTHER (FREE) DAWS

Bear in mind, some of these won't be as useful (or as free) as they first appear.

I've only tried out 2 or 3 of them in the list, and didn't like them, but try them for yourself

Click below

 MIXING

Still can't believe how good these Kjaerhus plugins are.

Designed as free giveaways to promote their pro programs,

I still use them all the time - mainly because they look like the tech I was familiar with in analogue times.

Makes things 10 times quicker. Click below for info and downloads

(No Install - just place DLLs in VST folder)

MASTERING

 Not something I particularly enjoy - I tend to leave it to professional and younger ears,

but, if it's a personal project, I often use IZOTOPE OZONE 8.

It has the handy feature of allowing you to load a similar song you really like,

not just as a guide track, but as an actual modeller for the final master.

Izotope have some free tools on their site HERE

They also claim to offer a free version of Ozone 11 -

through the Native Instruments website (haven't tried it)

-Click the link below

 Or, if you're really in a hurry ...

'Final Mix' is an old program, but the 'CD Mastering' preset is

really good for balancing tone and keeping things out of the red.

(No install, just copy DLL into VST folder)

Password is Noise>1025

Click below

I may post a list of my favourite VST instruments at some time,

as it's really time consuming finding those good grungy/experimental sounds