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Serato now has a free edition of its music-making software

Serato now has a free edition of its music-making software

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For making beats and DJ edits

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Image: Serato

Popular DJ and music production software company Serato has released an update to its Serato Studio DAW, and it comes with a big change: there’s now a free edition. This free edition is feature-limited, but it does let you make, save, and export tracks.

Serato Studio is a digital audio workstation like Ableton or Logic, but it has features that are geared toward DJs and beat-makers. It integrates with Serato’s DJ software so you can quickly make edits or mashups of tracks you already have. It also includes DJ-style channel mixing strips and works with Serato DJ-compatible controllers, so DJs can use them to make music with Serato Studio.

The free edition of Serato Studio has most of the functionality of the full edition, but with restricted use. The amount of audio sources you can work on at one time is limited, you can only export tracks as a single MP3 file, and automation is disabled.

The free edition probably isn’t a good solution for someone who wants to make robust tracks that use a lot of audio sources. But it could be useful for beginners and DJs who want to alter songs for use in live performances. “We wanted to offer the best tool for people to start making beats and DJ edits,” Nick Maclaren, chief strategy officer at Serato, said in a statement. “Just load up an acapella or full track to chop up, make a mashup, or create a quick intro edit so it’s ready for your DJ sets.”

Serato Studio is also getting other updates today. A new auto chord mode lets you play chords in the key of your project by pressing any note, and a “Feel” parameter will adjust the timing and velocity of the chord’s individual notes to make it sound more natural. There are also a handful of minor improvements around quantizing and layout.

Any time is a good time for freebies, but they’re especially welcome now as much of the world is stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of other companies have issued temporary free offers as of late, but this one is nice since it’s a permanent move.

Serato Studio’s free edition can be downloaded now. If you want to upgrade, the full edition of Serato Studio has a 14-day trial and is available as a $10-per-month subscription or a one-time cost of $199.