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[YogX]

Hey all,

Trying to get back into writing some music (didn't have time at all in the last couple of years).
Since I don't really know how much time I will have to invest in this - I don't want to just throw money away.
Is there such a thing as a free DAW that would satisfy most of my needs as a hobbyist composer?

Minimum requirements:
1. Should work on a Mac
2. Should be able to use VST plugins and KONTAKT etc...

Thanks for your help!

[Bibiki]

REAPER is an awesome choice. You can download it from the official site. It says you have only a period of time free, but when it expires you can continue using it with all the functions for free!

Also, the license is so cheap. The discount one is about 60$ I think.

Here is the website: http://www.reaper.fm/

If you have any questions, just ask :D

PD: Another one totally free is https://lmms.io/ , but I prefer REAPER.

[YogX]

Thank your for the link - I will definitely check it out!

[YogX]

I ended up downloading GarageBand (with the extra 20GB+ of extra sounds/samples/loops) and every available and interesting (to me) demo from Native Instrument's Komplete website.
This is more than enough to get me on the right track and see if I should keep doing this or not.

[Pearl Pixel]

As much as people try to diminish the usability of Garageband, it's a decent DAW, and some big artists started out using it! If you happen to like that and start to outgrow it, Logic is probably your easiest route. It's a bit more complicated and has more features, but it's like Garageband had a parent, and that parent is Logic. It's a very smooth transition between the two(sorry if you've already been told the same elsewhere) Good luck, and have fun!!  

Also, here are some links for free samples - some might seem odd, but you never know where you might actually end up using them:

http://www.embertone.com/instruments/instruments.html
http://www.atomhub.net/Freebies.html

Not free, but cheap and whimsical:
https://www.audiothing.net/instruments/

[YogX]

Awesome! Thanks for the help.

As much as people try to diminish the usability of Garageband, it's a decent DAW, and some big artists started out using it! If you happen to like that and start to outgrow it, Logic is probably your easiest route. It's a bit more complicated and has more features, but it's like Garageband had a parent, and that parent is Logic. It's a very smooth transition between the two(sorry if you've already been told the same elsewhere) Good luck, and have fun!!  

Also, here are some links for free samples - some might seem odd, but you never know where you might actually end up using them:

http://www.embertone.com/instruments/instruments.html
http://www.atomhub.net/Freebies.html

Not free, but cheap and whimsical:
https://www.audiothing.net/instruments/

[Geoff Moore]

Also, here are some links for free samples - some might seem odd, but you never know where you might actually end up using them:

http://www.embertone.com/instruments/instruments.html

Nice!! Not sure how I missed Embertone when looking for unusual free samples, these are really cool. Thanks Pearl!