The Guitar Recording Software I Keep Coming Back To (After Many Late Nights)

I’m Kayla, and I record a lot of guitar at home. Mostly after the kids fall asleep, with a cup of tea that always gets cold. I’ve tried a bunch of apps and plugins on both my MacBook Air (M1) and a small Windows PC. I even put together a deep dive on the guitar recording software I keep coming back to for fellow night-owl players. My interface is a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Sometimes I use an SM57 on my amp. But most nights, I go straight in and use amp sims.

You know what? Good tools don’t get in your way. They help you play better. Here’s the stuff that did that for me.

Reaper is my main DAW. It’s small, fast, and cheap. I spent one weekend learning it and then tracked a four-song EP with a friend. We did guitars, vocals, and simple drums. If you're curious about capturing vocals without spending a dime, I recently compared options in my roundup of the best free vocal recording software.

What I like: It never crashes on me. Track freeze is simple. Routing is easy once you get it.
Real moment: I recorded a clean fingerstyle part on my Fender Player Strat. I used a Neural DSP Plini preset (specifically the Neural DSP Archetype: Plini X). I comped three takes in Reaper and got a clean, chimey track in under 20 minutes. No fuss. That felt good.

If you need one thing to start recording guitar, Reaper gets you there without drama.

When I Want Simple and Pretty: GarageBand

On my Mac, GarageBand is the “no thinking” button. It’s free. It looks friendly. The Drummer track helps fill space when I’m drafting song ideas.

Real moment: I tracked a soft folk song with a Taylor GS Mini (mic’d with an SM57) and a DI. I blended both. Added the “Nice Room” reverb. Done. My mom cried when she heard it. That’s my true test, honestly.

It’s not fancy, but it’s fast and musical.

When I Need More Power on Mac: Logic Pro

Logic is GarageBand’s big sibling. Same vibe, but with grown-up tools.

What I like: Comping is smooth. The built-in amps and pedals are very usable. Flex Time saves wide strums that drift a hair.
Real moment: I tracked a jangly rhythm with a Capo on 4. Logic’s “Studio Stack” preset gave me a bright stereo spread. It sat nice with a vocal without me fighting EQ.

I use Logic when I’m sending stems to a producer. They always say, “Thanks for clean takes.” That tells me a lot.

When I Want Loops and Play With Time: Ableton Live

Ableton is fun. It feels like you’re holding a box of toys. I use it for loop ideas and ambient swells.

Real moment: I recorded a slide guitar drone in Open D. Then I stacked a dotted-eighth delay. I used the Looper device and a slow filter. It became the intro to a church piece we played last fall. People asked how I made that “ocean sound.” Ableton did most of the heavy lift.

It’s not my mix tool for rock. But it’s great for ideas and textures.

Studio One: The Fast Arranger

Presonus Studio One feels very “drag-and-go.” The Arranger Track and Scratch Pads help me try song shapes without fear.

Real moment: I had a chorus that felt flat. I moved it to the front in two clicks. Tracked a palm-muted Tele part with the stock Ampire sim. Suddenly, it slapped. Sometimes that’s all you need.

If you like tidy layouts and quick arranging, this one shines.

Pro Tools Intro: When I Have to Trade Sessions

I don’t love Pro Tools for writing, but I do use Pro Tools Intro when a studio sends me a session. It’s the language a lot of engineers speak. There’s a reason so many producers default to these tools; I break down the usual suspects in my article on what software music producers actually use.

Real moment: I cut a tight metal rhythm at 120 BPM with a click and punched in two bars that were sloppy. The Elastic Audio fixed a small timing slip. The engineer thanked me for clean edits. That saved time in the mix.

I use it when I must, and it works fine.

The Amp Sims I Actually Use

Good tone helps you play better. Here are the ones that stuck.

Neural DSP (Plini, Cory Wong): My go-to for modern clean and edge of breakup. The noise gate is gentle. The chorus on Wong is sweet without getting cheesy.
AmpliTube 5: Tons of amps. Great for classic rock crunch. The “Brit 8000” with a 4×12 cab gives me that 80s bite.
Guitar Rig 6: Fun for weird stuff. I use it for shimmer verbs and pitchy delays when I want “what is that?” vibes.
Helix Native: Solid all-rounder. If you know Line 6, it feels natural. The “Litigator” model handles blues rock well.

Real moment: I tracked a Les Paul bridge pickup into Helix Native with a Minotaur drive and a Deluxe Reverb model. Straight to a mix. No extra EQ needed. Felt like cheating.

Latency, Buzz, and All the Stuff That Can Ruin a Night

Here’s the thing—little settings matter.

On Windows, I use ASIO drivers. With the Scarlett 2i2 at a 64-sample buffer, my round-trip latency sits around 7–10 ms. That feels fine for tight riffs.
If I hear pops, I push the buffer to 128 while tracking heavy plugins. Then I lower it again for overdubs.
I record at 48 kHz, 24-bit. Not fancy, just steady.
I keep my guitar volume up and the interface gain low. That cuts hiss. I use a simple noise gate in the sim. Not too hard, or it chops sustain.

I also do a quick exported bounce and listen in DeliPlayer, a lightweight audio player that lets me catch pops or hiss without the DAW in the way.

Real moment: I had a nasty ground hum on my Strat. I moved the power strip to a different wall outlet and turned my chair 30 degrees. Hum dropped a lot. Felt silly, but it worked.

My Actual Workflows (Real Songs)

Clean worship intro: Strat neck pickup -> Scarlett DI -> Neural DSP Cory Wong “Glass” preset -> gentle compression in Reaper -> high-pass at 80 Hz. Tracked two takes hard left/right. Sunday band said it sounded “wide but soft.” That was the goal.
Indie rock chorus: Tele bridge -> Helix Native “Litigator,” gain at 3.5 -> Studio One. Double-tracked and nudged one take 10 ms. Instant hair. No chorus needed.
Lo-fi instrumental: Nylon string mic’d with SM57 -> GarageBand, “Natural” reverb at 18% -> light tape saturator. Left a cough in the intro. Kept it human.

And when total beginners ask me where to start, I just point them to this rundown of good music software for beginners, because it covers the low-friction tools that get you making noise fast.

Quick Craigslist Side Note

If you’re a late-night gear hound like me, you’ve probably cruised Craigslist for a cheap pedal or a half-broken Squier. While you’re there, you’ll notice the personals section is its own wild universe—some folks even treat it like a dating hub. For anyone curious about that rabbit hole, this guide to the best Craigslist for sex apps compares modern services that recreate the old Craigslist vibe while adding better safety features and filters, so you can explore without the usual sketch factor.

For guitarists (or anyone) around Tampa Bay who’d rather keep things local, the Backpage-style classifieds focused on the Largo area can be just as handy for scoring used gear, meeting players, or even lining up post-jam hangouts—check out Backpage Largo to zero-in on nearby listings and connections without sifting through national clutter, saving you time and keeping the search squarely in your neighborhood.

Small Things That Help More Than You Think

Record a DI track even if you mic an amp. You can

The “Quick Pick” I Recommend First