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Cakewalk
Here’s the story: Cakewalk started
on DOS in 1987, spawned high-level digital
audio workstation SONAR, its parent
company got bought by Gibson, which
gave up on the software, then BandLab
snapped up the license, renamed SONAR
back to Cakewalk, restarted development,
and threw the whole thing online for free.
It’s a fantastic pro-level DAW worthy of all
those commas. http://bandlab.com32
Pro Tools First
We wouldn’t use Cakewalk to
record a podcast, but Pro Tools First,
which is a cut-down tool based on the
high-end audio workstation used in
professional studios, is the perfect choice.
It can pull in four audio inputs at once,
which is great for separating individual
mics, and the First version includes 23
high-end effects. http://avid.com33
Audacity
For simplistic audio futzing, or
cleaning up less-than-great recordings,
Audacity’s straightforward interface is
just the thing—particularly given the
greater complexity of full-on workstation
packages. It’s great for swift cuts and
crops, snipping out coughs or hesitations,
or just recording something simple and
quick. http://audacityteam.org34
GIMP
It wouldn’t be a free software list
without GIMP. That’s not us being lazy
(honest), but evidence of its brilliance—for
a community-developed image editor, this
is as good as you’ll find. It’s approaching
the abilities of Adobe Photoshop, and
while it might never reach those heady
heights, it’s also not going to cost you
$500 a year to use it. http://gimp.org35
Paint.NET
Microsoft seems determined to
kill its own creative apps, but Paint.NET
—which takes the Microsoft Paint
formula and adds a host of power and
functionality—remains determined to
keep that simple dream alive. It might
not have all the features and plugins that
GIMP waves around, but it has enough to
pull off a quick job. http://getpaint.net36
Inkscape
Do you frequently edit vector
graphics? You don’t? Of course you
don’t. But if you ever do need to create a
scalable illustration, the extra learning
curve of Inkscape is probably worth thevast difference in price between this
and Adobe Illustrator. Even if you don’t
think you need it, Inkscape’s abilities as a
planning and sketching tool are peerless.
http://inkscape.org37
Scribus
We admit we’re still waiting for
someone to release a truly awesome free
desktop publishing package, but if you’ve
had it with Microsoft Word’s inability to lay
out a page properly, this well-seasoned
DTP veteran will come in handy. Nearly
20 years down the line, it works perfectly
well, but it’s still a little rough around the
edges. http://scribus.net38
DaVinci Resolve
Another one with a steep barrier
to entry, but don’t let that stop you: DaVinci
Resolve is a super-high-end video editor,
inexplicably offered to you for free. It’s
adept at cutting and slicing, particularly
with the new features in version 16, but it’s
primarily a grading tool—turning mixed
footage into one consistent and colorful
whole is a satisfying experience indeed.
http://blackmagicdesign.com39
Blender
Once (oddly) touted as a game
engine, Blender has settled into its skin
as a full 3D suite, with all the tools you
need to construct models, and plenty of
tech in there to allow you to rig, animate,
and motion-track them, too. Its rendering
engine is super-neat, and Blender can
even act as a video editor and 2D animation
suite in a pinch. http://blender.org40
Daz 3D
Used by professionals but easy
enough for anyone to get involved with,
Daz 3D is another 3D renderer that gives
you access to a whole lot of intricate detail
and physics features. As far as we can
see, it makes its money from asset sales,
but as Daz also publishes the Hexagon
modeling tool (also free), it’s plausible to
run a cost-free pipeline. http://daz3d.comCakewalk incorporates its own software
instruments and works with VST synths, too.SUPERCHARGE YOUR
STREAMING41
STREAMLABS OBS
We’ve nothing against
standard OBS but our preferred
stream tool is Streamlabs’ variant.
It’s neater, it’s packed with handy
filters, and it makes both configuring
a stream layout and controlling your
inputs and outputs straightforward.
There’s even a selection of (somewhat
cheesy) templates to choose from to
get you started. http://streamlabs.com42
LIGHTSTREAM STUDIO
If you want to quickly stream
from a new computer, or don’t want
the hassle of installing anything,
Lightstream is a very cool solution—
it runs entirely within a web browser,
and allows far more customization
over what you’re showing than the
rudimentary browser tools offered by
YouTube or Facebook. There’s a 720p
limit and a watermark on the free
tier, though. http://golightstream.com43
DISCORD
Nothing builds a community
like Discord, so whether you want to
give viewers somewhere to go to bad-
mouth you or you want to get other
voices on your stream, Discord is an
efficient way to do it. It’s supplanted
things like Skype and Slack for us;
it’s perfect even if you just want
to set up a meme-heavy chat with
buddies. http://discordapp.com44
HEXCHAT
You’ll know Twitch chat as
a rotten hellscape of awful icons
and incessant shouting, but it’s
still useful for streamers who want
to see who’s backseating and who
needs banning. HexChat, spiritual
successor to mIRC, allows you view
Twitch chat differently, to filter out
the noise and see who’s actually
watching. http://hexchat.github.io45
TWITCH TRACKER
Just how well has your
stream performed? If you use
Streamlabs OBS, you get a nice little
report at the end of each session, and
Twitch itself offers some insights, but
for the rest of us, Twitch Tracker is
a very handy tool. It’s not restricted
to just your own streams, either; you
can use it to see what’s hot, who’s
performing well, and a lot more
besides. http://twitchtracker.comCREATIVITY
maximumpc.com MAY 2020 MAXIMUM PC 37
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