Tracktion 4 is now free for everyone! The old version (last updated on December 9th, 2013) of the popular Tracktion digital audio workstation is now released as freeware for all interested users.
Tracktion 4 was normally priced at $59.95, however in April 2013 it was offered as a free music making program for all Behringer customers (here’s our coverage of that promotion). Now Tracktion 4 is being released as a free tool for anyone interested, potentially earning the title of the best free DAW at the moment. Granted, this is an older version of the software (the most current version is Tracktion 6) but it’s packed with features and incredibly powerful for a free music making application. I’ll have to spend some time with it first and check if it’s really better that Podium Free which is (or at least was up to this point) the best freeware digital audio workstation.
Let’s take a quick look at some of Tracktion 4’s most important features. First off, it can run on Windows (both 32-bit & 64-bit), Mac OS and Linux. Pretty much everyone can install it on their machine and start making music for free right away, regardless of their system environment (this also makes it much easier for people to collaborate even if they’re using different operating systems). Secondly, it features a powerful single screen user interface which (after you spend some time with it) is optimized for a super fast audio editing and mixing workflow.
Of course, Tracktion 4 also loads VST plugins, so you can use all of your favorite freeware and commercial virtual instruments and effect to create and mix music. I’ve also noticed that Tracktion 4 supports loading of video files, so it can be used to edit background audio for video projects (I think that there’s no other freeware tool which can be used for this at the moment).
On the downside, the user interface is definitely different to anything I’ve used before. It will obviously take some time for me to get used to it, but (as I’ve already mentioned) one of Tracktion 4’s main features (according to its users) is the streamlined user interface optimized for a fast mixing workflow. I’m guessing that I’ll be able to use Tracktion 4 to its full potential after I’ve familiarized myself with the interface a bit and after I watch some online tutorials in order to understand how everything works in this free DAW.
Before you go and get your free copy of Tracktion 4, here’s a brief overview of the things you’ll need to do in order to get it up and running on your machine:
Visit the Tracktion website and download the installer (linked below).
Log in to your user account and register your free copy of Tracktion 4.
Install Tracktion 4 and activate it by entering your username and password.
That’s all there is to it! After the activation process, you can scan your VST plugins folder and start working on your first project. The download page also has some free project files to help you get started and figure out how things work in Tracktion 4. Happy music making and leave a comment letting me know what you think about this new free music making tool!
Tracktion 4 is available for free download via Tracktion Software Corporation (21 MB download size, EXE installer, available as a 32-bit & 64-bit standalone application for Windows, Mac OS and Linux).
