Best free audio recording software

Studio One Prime
Free
Offline
presonus

PreSonus® has released Studio One® 3 Prime, a free, entry-level version of its powerful yet easy-to-use music recording and production software for Mac® and Windows®. The company concurrently released Studio One 3.0.2, a free update that provides numerous enhancements and usability improvements to all versions of Studio One 3.

Although it is free, Studio One 3 Prime is not a demo and does not time out. Rather, it is a feature-rich digital audio workstation that includes many of the key features found in Studio One 3 Artist.

Studio One Prime Highlights

  • Studio One Prime does not time out, feature a nag screen, or limit the number of songs you can create.
  • Record and mix with no limit on the number of simultaneous tracks, plug-in inserts, or virtual instruments.
  • Create songs quickly with Studio One’s fast drag and drop workflow, and newly enhanced browser for accessing backing tracks, plug-ins and more.
  • Get inspiring sounds with the new Presence XT sampler featuring a rich 1.5 GB sampler library.
  • Sweeten your mix with nine PreSonus Native Effects™ audio plug-ins that cover all the bases.
  • Access the power of a real DAW with real-time time stretching, resampling, and normalization; single and multitrack comping; multitrack track transform (advanced freezing), and Control Link controller mapping.
  • Expand Studio One Prime with more Presence XT libraries and professional loop content, purchasable directly from within the Studio One browser.
  • Experience the full power of Studio One by converting Studio One Prime into a 30-day demo of Studio One 3 Professional at any time.

This combination of features and ease of use, and great sound quality makes Studio One 3 Prime a perfect choice for beginning producers and composers, music students, and anyone who simply wants to get acquainted with Studio One’s superior workflow on real projects.

Studio One 3.0.2 Highlights

Studio One Prime is built upon the Studio One 3.0.2 codebase, which was simultaneously released as a free update to all registered Studio One 3 customers. Studio One 3.0.2 introduces new functionality and addresses usability issues reported by customers after the launch of new version 3. Areas of improvements include multi-touch implementation, Song Page track focusing, new shortcuts for the Arranger track, and Audio Pool UI enhancements. In addition the Studio One 3 Reference Manual is now available in Japanese, German, and French.

It is necessary to register on the manufacturer's website to access the software download.