I have been trying this software for a few days now and I am finding it very useful for creating quick backing tracks for song writing purposes. The home page gives you an overview of the software. It really is free. There is no trial period type catch or anything of that sort. It has a good forum and help pages. You can get a response from the person who wrote the software. I am not connected with this company in any way, shape or form except that I have been using the software for a few days n
Yes, once you have your tracks in MIDI format, the sky's the limit as far as what you can do with it in terms of sounds with Cakewalk, even if you have no money to invest at this time.
Get SampleTank Free CS 4, which has many really good sounds, Kontakt Komplete Start, 6GB of free high quality content, or even just start with the SI Strings, Drums, and Piano, and TTS-1 and put on some effects.