I’ve never used a DAW before because honestly I’m not very computer literate. But lately I’ve started using Overbridge with my DT and I quite like the workflow.
Any recommendations software wise that would be a good starting point? The only computer I have is a 2013 MacBook Air running high Sierra 10.13.6.
At the very least I just want to be able to play the tracks that I can capture with the DT and then record them onto one master track. And maybe add a basic effect like a reverb etc to it. Unless I can do this with just Overbridge? Thanks
DAWs tend to be quite a personal thing, what one person likes another person hates. It’s not normally so much about features, more about the user interface.
Most DAWs allow free trial downloads, and even if you can only trial the full version (most expensive) it will still give a flavour of how their entry level versions look and feel.
Not sure if it’s free but you can get Live lite with many products. I just purchased Koala Sampler IOS iPhone app (forget how much, maybe $3.99) and noticed it included a Live lite license.
I would go with Ableton, the signal routing is easy, it’s very clean and there’s contextual help at all times. Plus the FX are mostly pretty good now-a-days.
For basic 2 channels recording you can use the Digitakt standalone app to record via USB your tracks in a stereo wav file. Then you can add some FX with the excellent and free Audacity. I used this workflow at my begening.
For more complex thing, I recommand you Studio One 5. I never liked DAWs but Studio One is very clean and intuitive. Very easy to records the 8 separates tracks and drop some cool FX on it.
Like @Stickhit said, there’s a lot of choice and they’re generally all capable of what you want.
If all you really want is to record and mix down a few simple tracks then GarageBand will be available on your machine.
If you want to take this as an opportunity to explore options for more capable DAWs then look their the websites and choose one that appeals to you. It is very personal.
It’s also not a lifetime choice - as your knowledge grows you might find you change tools as other features stand out more, and this is generally ok as what you learn is pretty transferable.
With that said, ever since encountering Live (bundled as Lite version with something else), I’ve came to finding it interesting, to loving it, getting bored with it, then loving it again, then absolutely hating it again, now I find it indispensable.
I second Tracktion Waveform as a good choice. Signal routing isn’t obvious at first but is extremely flexible. As a tracking and mixing environment it’s hard to beat. Haven’t tried it with Overbridge but I might soon as I might soon have an Analog Keys.
Reserving Ableton for things that will have to be cued and mixed live or meshed into networked devices and software instruments etc.
