LUNA DAW now free to all Mac users, no UA interface required

Universal Audio has announced that its LUNA DAW, which used to be available free but only if you bought an Apollo interface, is now available gratis with no restrictions to all Mac users. Simply download it and go.

Designed to “just sound better”, LUNA is supposed to be easier to use than many of its competitors (which does mean it may not come with every bell and whistle you might need — or at least, think you need). It claims to be the only recording software with the sound of classic studio equipment like analog console summing and tape machine emulations built in. That may be true, though of course there are plenty of plugins for other DAWs which will do this for you.

Included with the free (presumably) forever LUNA is a 30-day trial of the Pro bundle which, errr, bundles a lot more features and functionality. Don’t know if it’s fair to suggest LUNA is to LUNA Pro what GarageBand is to Logic Pro, but there you go, I’ve said it. There’s no doubt from a business point of view that getting someone hooked on LUNA and giving them a month to try out more advanced features is a smart move. There’ll definitely be some upsell, particularly as the normally $399 pro bundle is currently being offered for $199. Not the cheapest DAW on the market, but you do get quite a lot as standard meaning you don’t need to go hunting for more.