best free software to record audio

[Marlot]

Hi I am using Audacity but for some reason It doesnt convince me. Any suggestion besides OBS Studio? It would be great if its free.

What do you use to record?

[sergio.bello]

My personal preference:

https://ardour.org/

Full featured, multiplatform (I use Ardour on Linux, for example), and free.

Edit: steep learning curve, but worth it...

Sergio

[AllanAllen]

iPhone Voice Memos

[Marlot]

My personal preference:

https://ardour.org/

Full featured, multiplatform (I use Ardour on Linux, for example), and free.

Edit: steep learning curve, but worth it...

Sergio

you can add backing tracks and record with the microphone over it?

[Bop Head]

you can add backing tracks and record with the microphone over it?

Ardour is a fully featured DAW (digital audio workstation) like ProTools, Logic, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper etc. made for multitrack recording / mixing and MIDI stuff with the advantage of being free (as in free speech) and open source software. Readily compiled binaries (in other words ready the ready-to-use program) for Windows and Mac cost a small amount. In many Linux distributions ready-to-use binaries can be simply downloaded for free (as in free beer).

I am not sure if you can import MP3s, but after converting them in Audacity to WAV or AIFF importing should be no problem.

[Bop Head]

BTW there is are two DAWs based on Ardour made by Harrison Consoles emulating the classic sound of their analog mixing boards: Mixbus and Mixbus 32C. I haven’t used them myself yet but from what I have heard so far they sound phantastic and they have an intuitive GUI (graphical user interface) emulating the look of an analog board as well. The smaller version is not very expensive.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I've used Tracktion 7 for a long time now. I've also used Ardour on a Linux box, and Tracktion seems to me to offer a lot more functionality in a more intuitive package. It runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux - I run it on both Ubuntu 20 and Windows 10. It's now called Waveform Free, and it's better than ever.

[Bop Head]

I've used Tracktion 7 for a long time now. I've also used Ardour on a Linux box, and Tracktion seems to me to offer a lot more functionality in a more intuitive package. It runs on Windows, MacOS, and Linux - I run it on both Ubuntu 20 and Windows 10. It's now called Waveform Free, and it's better than ever.

I experimented a little with Tracktion when it was rather new and owned / distributed by Mackie. It was the first DAW with an all-in-one GUI and the first to use a 64 bit sound floating point mixing engine IIRC which made a huge difference in depth compared to the 32 bit floating I was used to from Cubase.

[Jazz_175]

My personal preference:

https://ardour.org/

Full featured, multiplatform (I use Ardour on Linux, for example), and free.

Edit: steep learning curve, but worth it...

Sergio

I also use Linux, Ubuntu 22.04 so I might try Ardour. Which audio interface do you use for your guitar?

[Bop Head]

I also use Linux, Ubuntu 22.04 so I might try Ardour. Which audio interface do you use for your guitar?

I am not Sergio but IMHO you get the best price-performance ratio with a Focusrite Scarlet — either the Solo or the 2i2. Both have the option of directly plugging your guitar in and with the latter you could record with two mics as well. The Focusrite interfaces are class-compliant meaning they work with Linux flawlessly (even at 24 bit / 96 kHz).

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I am not Sergio but IMHO you get the best price-performance ratio with a Focusrite Scarlet — either the Solo or the 2i2. Both have the option of directly plugging your guitar in and with the latter you could record with two mics as well. The Focusrite interfaces are class-compliant meaning they work with Linux flawlessly (even at 24 bit / 96 kHz).

After years of using TASCAM, M-audio and other good interfaces, I discovered that a decent handheld digital recorder is a great DAI that also records as well as most computers if you go remote.

I bought a TASCAM DR40x last year to record our bands and discovered (when I left it plugged in after downloading the files I recorded at a gig) that it’s a great stereo DAI. I no longer use the M-a and I sold my much bigger units. The preamps in the recorder are excellent- and it even has 2 onboard mics so I can record playing through my amps & speakers too.

There are several excellent little recorders like mine for no more than a Scarlett 2i2. I think they’re well worth considering.

[Bop Head]

After years of using TASCAM, M-audio and other good interfaces, I discovered that a decent handheld digital recorder is a great DAI that also records as well as most computers if you go remote.

I bought a TASCAM DR40x last year to record our bands and discovered (when I left it plugged in after downloading the files I recorded at a gig) that it’s a great stereo DAI. I no longer use the M-a and I sold my much bigger units. The preamps in the recorder are excellent- and it even has 2 onboard mics so I can record playing through my amps & speakers too.

There are several excellent little recorders like mine for no more than a Scarlett 2i2. I think they’re well worth considering.

How is simultaneous recording and playback working regarding latency? If someone wants to overdub let’s say a solo over a guitar backing or an Aebersold track he/she needs low latency.

Anyway those portable recorders are great. I have an older Zoom with built-in camera (no HD, 720p I think) and built in stereo microphones that records at up to 24 bit / 96 kHz (no USB unfortunately, records to card).

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

How is simultaneous recording and playback working regarding latency? If someone wants to overdub let’s say a solo over a guitar backing or an Aebersold track he/she needs low latency.

Anyway those portable recorders are great. I have an older Zoom with built-in camera (no HD, 720p I think) and built in stereo microphones that records at up to 24 bit / 96 kHz (no USB unfortunately, records to card).

Monitoring with ‘phones from the jack on the recorder, there’s no detectable latency at all if you set the audio playback device to the recorder. But that’s only necessary if you want to monitor your playing through the phones too. Recording yourself over a backing track (or 10), you can just use your default monitors to hear the prerecorded track(s) as long as you don’t need to hear the live track through the monitors. Turn both loopback and software pass-through monitoring off in the DAW, follow the instructions for latency compensation, and have at it.

I hear my guitars fine without monitoring the live track. Even my solid bodies make enough sound, as long as I keep the monitors low. And when I really need to monitor what I’m recording along with the previously recorded tracks, I plug my ‘phones into the recorder.

[Alter]

Isn't Cakewalk Sonar free these days? And Reaper also (not free but you can use the trial version -which is the full version- for as long as you like).

[strumcat]

I used Cakewalk Sonar until it went south a few years back. Worked well for my purposes. Didn't know it had been acquired and kept alive by BandLab as a free DAW. After reading the Wikipedia page about them, the only thing that would give me pause is that it requires a connection to BandLab every six months or it stops saving projects. Fair enough, but if BandLab ever goes away or stops supporting the DAW, that means you'll have six months to find another one and convert all your data. Having already been through that once, I'm not sure if I'd be willing to take the risk. But that's a personal decision for everyone, and if it still works the same as it once did, it is a nice DAW for free. Thanks for mentioning that it's still around.

[fep]

A Daw for free, the one that comes to mind is Cakewalk sonar as has been mentioned. Reaper is near enough to free for me, especially as I use it almost every day.

I'm not an Apple user, but for Apple users Garage Band is free.

[Gabor]

If you are using Windows, CakeWalk is unbeatable.
It is free, but you must register.

It has all features like any professional DAW.

[rpjazzguitar]

How is simultaneous recording and playback working regarding latency? If someone wants to overdub let’s say a solo over a guitar backing or an Aebersold track he/she needs low latency.

Anyway those portable recorders are great. I have an older Zoom with built-in camera (no HD, 720p I think) and built in stereo microphones that records at up to 24 bit / 96 kHz (no USB unfortunately, records to card).

Somebody else will have to explain it, but when Reaper is set up correctly, latency is not a problem whatsoever. I followed the instructions in a youtube video. The latency is there, but Reaper figures it out and it becomes imperceptible.

[Alter]

I have a Scarlett Focusrite and it has options for tracking/mixing. When you use the zero latency option there's no perceptible latency (I use reaper - fresh completely off the shelf install). I didn't have to do anything extra.

[grahambop]

The Focusrite installs ASIO audio drivers which are very low latency (compared to the standard Windows ones). On top of that, I went into the ASIO configuration panel in Reaper preferences on my PC and lowered the buffer size to 64 samples (I believe this alters the buffer size inside the Focusrite, at least that’s what it looks like from the screen display).

That basically removed latency altogether, for all intents and purposes. However it says somewhere in the help stuff that how low you can take the buffer size is dependent on your computer power etc. Too low and you will get clicks and dropouts as the PC struggles to deal with the demands on it.

Anyway I found 64 was ok on my PC.

I am using the option to monitor all tracks back through the Focusrite, so the PC needs to playback already recorded tracks in Reaper simultaneously with me recording a guitar part.

[Gabor]

what is more important, than latency, is the DAW software capability to measure automatically (and optionally can set manually) the total playback + record latency, and automatically adjust a newly recorded track to be in sync with the existing recorded tracks applying that amount as back shift in time.

When recording a second track to be added on an existing track, the player should hear the playback and himself (live) in realtime, so sync is OK by definition, regardless of latency

On the recorded multiple tracks the newly recorded track will be automatically shifted back in time with the total latency, so it will be in sync, again, regardless of latency.

[fep]

Somebody else will have to explain it, but when Reaper is set up correctly, latency is not a problem whatsoever. I followed the instructions in a youtube video. The latency is there, but Reaper figures it out and it becomes imperceptible.

[Alter]

The focusrite card comes with a program called Scarlett Mixcontrol. It monitors your ins-outs when using the card. There you find options for your monitors: mixing, zero latency tracking, daw playing, etc.. I only had to setup the buffer to a point where there is no cracking when recording, nothing else.

[st.bede]

You can do complex tracking, mixing, and mastering using Reaper. (I would include a handful of plugins/vst. There used to be a bunch floating around the internet for free. Now days it is a little more complex but you can still find some for free). Reaper is an excellent DAW, with a steep learning curve; however, there are excellent tutorial vids. I think the vids are even hosted on Reaper’s site, that way you can avoid the stupid commercials that have made youtube a bothersome experience.

Reaper’s score is not too bad. However when I was in the trenches I found Emagic’s logic to have the best score. I hate Logic since Apple bought it. (I even bought a imac to run Logic. I was not happy. I then moved onto other DAWs).

If you need to score stuff, Muse is a really powerful and free.

The one problem with Reaper is midi clock stuff. (To my knowledge, Ableton is still the best at that).

[st.bede]

Latency issues are about what you are trying to do and how you are monitoring it.