UKC

I know there are a few musically creative types in these parts.

Hopefully getting a new laptop in the next few weeks.

I have a Scarlett Focusrite but need to know the best software for recording / mixing .

Have used ableton in the past but it fried my brain!

Any recommendations for more user friendly stuff would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

I use a mix of software but mainly use Traction (or as they confusingly refer to it as Waveform)

Waveform free is on the attached page.  

Full functionality and unlimited tracks.

I've used Ableton, Cubase and others but Traction is great compared to these. And it's free.  Download some pluggins free from plugin boutique and expand your effects of you require any.

https://www.tracktion.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAxeX_BRASEiwAc1QdkWdpoGttNIKKMFagBN...

CT

Reaper. Free unlimited and fully featured trial period, and only about £50  for a licence. Loads of you tube tutorials - reaper mania is excellent. 

Works a bit differently to more well know Daws, but is very flexible and customizable.

I'm running it on an old i5 desktop with no problems. 

With the full free trial, its worth downloading for a play around with.

I'm using Pre-Sonus Studio 1 Artist on a small laptop and finding it very user friendly. I could eventually be persuaded to upgrade to Studio 1 Professional, but the entry level is working well for me so far. I've used Cubase in the past with Sibelius, but the Studio 1 is easier all round.

I suppose it depends what kind of recording you want to do?

Dave

I use Logic Pro X and it’s amazing.  The main benefit is that the quality of virtual instruments and effects that it comes with are of really high quality, with few gaps.  Bearing that in mind, it’s very good value.

But Ableton is appealing, especially if I wanted to do more ‘jamming’ p, using hardware, especially with Push.

If you have a Mac get Logic... If you don’t have a Mac get one and then get Logic

If you're mainly planning to record audio tracks then I'd give Reaper a go. If you're wanting to use lots of software instruments as well as audio tracks, then I'd persevere with Ableton a bit, I had a good share of frustrations when I first started using it but now I'm a big fan!

Thanks for the tips all, what I want  to do is simply record some songs mainly for my own amusement.

 I have all of the kit I need ( guitars, amps, pedal board, keyboard, mics etc.) just need to find a relatively simple way of putting all together.

 I’ll sort out the laptop first, I think and have a play with the various free/ trial options, then see what happens.

Cheers !

I'm in the same boat at the moment and pissing about with Pro Tools First which is free and seems to be fairly easy to use in terms of recording and editing. Been recording straight out of a zoom G3 pedal and amp simulation  with good results.  Haven't tried mixing yet on it. I will check out some of the others on this thread also.

Just to throw in tuppence... 

i'm an audio engineer by trade, and have been around for a while. My views on the various DAW's is that they all have their use cases, for example I use a combination of Pro Tools for audio editing and mixing, Logic Pro X if i have to do anything with MIDI, iZotope RX 8 for cleaning up audio and specialist editing.

If you're only doing simple recording and you don't want to splash out then i recommend Pro Tools First, Ardour, Reaper, or if you have a Macbook then Apple is doing Logic Pro X on a 90-day free trial.

 It's all a much of a muchness really, test them and see what you like

Lots of decent suggestions on here and all are good options. IMO I would recommend reaper as I think it represents great value for money (and you can trial it completely free for an unlimited time I think) and it's pretty powerful too. I've used it a lot (on a MAC) but I know a lot of people using it on PC too. 

Some good advice on this thread. I can concur that any DAW will do what you've said you're after.

I can picture your issues with Ableton when you're using it to track audio (songwriting, guitars, singing, that kinda thing). By default, Ableton has a "Warp" feature which works to quantise your recordings to fit the tempo grid. This is GREAT for DJs and electronic producers but significantly worse if you're just trying to get something recorded so you can listen back. If you aren't going off the metronome for the BPM that the project is set to, it will garble your audio as soon as you've played it in. So if you do try to use Ableton again, make sure you switch off warp in the default preferences.

Otherwise, go with Reaper for a free DAW on PC. I use Logic on a Macbook and feel like I always will: the plugins are pretty decent for mixing, FX and the guitar amp modelling is really good! Nice one x

In a similar situation to you. I’ve got plenty of guitars of all varieties, a keyboard, a tambourine, a couple of Shure SM58 mics, and about ten miles of assorted cables, randomly attached to a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and an old Fostex MR8 multitrack recorder. I do the playing part and my partner in musical crime does the singing. 
All we want to do is use this assorted tackle to record maybe 12 tracks so we can stick them on a CD to take round to local venues (as and when they ever reopen) in the hope of getting some live bookings. To achieve this, we just use Audacity - it’s free, even a Luddite like me could get it to do what we want after a day or so of mucking about with it (although I’m still learning). Because you’re limited to two simultaneous inputs with the Focusrite, we tend to record guitar and vocals together, then send that to the Fostex to add backing vocals and extra guitar parts, and then send the finished version back to Audacity on the laptop via the Focusrite (it’s less complicated than it sounds). Anyway hope that makes sense, keep on making music, and good luck 👍