Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
At some point you might want to record some of the music you have been playing. Of course you can hold your phone next to your guitar and record, and at times you don't need more than that. But what if you want to do a bit more, actually record a full song, or multiple layers of instruments. That's when DAW's come into play.
What are some of your favorites? What are the ones that in specific cases do a thing really good, but in other scenarios not so much.
I have experience with the following DAW's (disclaimer: I am not a recording engineer, i can do basic operations, and a bit of mixing)
Reaper
Starting with Reaper, the one i will recommend first to anybody starting out. It is not the easiest one, also not the prettiest one, but, you can use it for free! And a personal license is only $60 (you can keep using the free version, but it will throw a popup every now and then).
So price is great! Next, it works cross platform, I run it as easy on a Linux machine, as well on Windows and Mac. Getting your audio devices working properly on Linux is a whole different topic!
Currently, we work together with multiple people on demo material and preparation for in the studio, and using Google Drive (i know i know) to sync the files and easily work on top of each others work. I can load the files directly from the sync folder and save when done.
Logic Pro
If you have a mac, and Garaband doesn't give you what you need anymore, Logic Pro is the next logical step. It works great within the Apple ecosystem, it looks nice, and works great. It will cost you $199,99 dollar though. And it only works on MacOS, so forget about easily sharing work files.
Ableton
Price: between 79 euro and 599 euro
If you want the flexibility of using a DAW for live performances (or a non-linear approach) combined with a classic linear approach, Ableton is your go to! Focused more on live performances, solo artists, sampling, sound design etc it is still a very powerful candidate for recording instruments.
Dont know about the rest but logic pro is a one time buy.
For Reaper and Ableton as well, you pay only when there is a new major release and you want to get that, but no subscriptions.
Ah ok. Interesting. Logic I bought like 8 years ago, never had to pay for new release or mayor update which is nice :)