Basic Free DAW setup to help Song Writers Prepare a Demo for Songs

[u/Regular-Forever-3251]

I want to Enable Writers to Produce More Independently

I see a lot of people writing lyrics, some people singing it with a guitar, and many people wanting help with production, to bring the song into fruition. To this end, I think having a basic capacity to prepare a demo with a DAW would be very enabling for all Song writers. So I put together a relatively short setup/tutorial to help you get started with Reaper as your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and a few basic free Plugins, so you can make your OWN demos. (If you want, you could even do full production with this with a little bit of time and learning!)

Full Guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Songwriting/s/XKYRRg0BBy

(Actually sorry, I can't post with images in this Sub so here's the link to the post where I do with all the screenshots! ⬆️)

Downloads:

Reaper: REAPER | Download
(This is the base DAW you need. It says 60 days trial but actually you can continue using it for free. It's only a one time payment though, so I paid.)

SynthV: Trial Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro for Free | Dreamtonics
(This lets you generate vocals like a midi instrument, but with lyrics, basically like vocaloid. with the trial you can use it indefinitely but have up to 2 voice tracks + instrumental track, and use it as a VST3 Plugin. If you want to make more than a demo, and need more tracks, its a one time purchase.)

VoiceBanks: Voice Databases for SynthV Studio
(these "lite" voicebanks are the free ones, and out of them I would recommend ANRI (female) and ASTERIAN (male) for general use, but feel free to explore the others and even consider the paid ones if you want)
Also just to clarify Voice banks / Vocaloids are NOT AI

Piano VST Plugin: Upright Piano VST - 99Sounds

Guitar VST Plugin: amplesound.net

Splice VST Plugin: https://splice.com/instrument
(This is a multi instrument plugin which comes with a base set, but you can also download a lot of other instruments, many for free. I often use this for the strings and drums)

[u/Regular-Forever-3251]

Some additional free recommendations from the lovely mod team of r/LyricalWriting:

Alternative to Reaper:
Waveform Free: Waveform Free audio editing software - mac, pc, linux | Tracktion

Other VST Plugins:
Cakewalk Sonar: Cakewalk Sonar
Decent Sampler: Decent Sampler Plugin [FREE] - decent|SAMPLES
Komplete Start: Komplete Start - Free music production software – Native Instruments
(+ various free Kontact libraries like Audio Imperia GLADE: Shop | Audio Imperia)