A question for music makers

Post by **duffman91** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:04 pm

A friend of mine and I are considering trying our hands out at music (Think Depeche Mode or house music). We are thinking of messing with some computer tools first to get the feel of everything.

What tools are the most popular/most used?

I have heard of fruity loops 5 for drum machines and Acid Pro for mixing. I have also heard that Pro Tools is one of the most powerful ones out there. However, I would like a broader opinion. Are there any alternatives/better choices? Or are these the top most used?

Post by **eepberries** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:07 pm

Cakewalk Plasma is the program professional music studios use. I's even supported by Daft Punk and Trent Reznor.

Post by **mik0rs** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:14 pm

That's some expensive tech support.

Sorry.

Post by **Dek** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:17 pm

Learn to play an instrument first.

Post by **Deji** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:47 pm

Somehow I think that duffman is a guitarist, no?

Post by **brisk** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:21 pm

For sequencing: Cubase, Logic (mac) and Pro Tools (mac) are the soup de jour. Acid is nice and easy to learn, and also quite poweful. There are also others like Orion which some people prefer.

You can get a shitload of VST's which are supported by all of the sequencers I listed. VST's are literally virtual instruments like a nord lead, or a juno.

"Virtual Studios" include Reason and Fruity Loops. I'm a big fan of reason.. its quite easy to learn, and very powerful. You can also rewire it to external sequencers like cubase if you just want to use the reason specific synths. Reason doesn't support VST's.

You'll also need a decent sound editor like Soundforge or wavelab for your wav editing. If you want to master your own tracks, a nice DX plugin to use is Ozone.

Of course, you'll also need a good soundcard with asio support, and plenty of room for input devices. A midi controller would also be handy, but isn't essential.

Post by **R00k** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:23 pm

It depends on what you're going to do with it. Mainly mixing, with just the drumbeat synthesized? All synthesized instruments? Just using it for levels and recording?

Post by **duffman91** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:58 pm

Dek wrote:Learn to play an instrument first.

I'm not interested in learning a traditional instrument at the moment. Synthesizers and drum machines have caught my eye recently.

Deji: No not quite a guitarist, but I've always wanted to learn. Only lesson's I've taken are piano. There's a new acoustic guitar at my parents house, I might pick it up and see how far it takes me.

Riddla: Music theory is very interesting to me. But that can lead to a 4 year degree in an university. At the moment, I want to play with some tools for a while.

As for the tools, money is really no object. I want legitimate opinions regardless of price.

Thanks for the advice so far though.

Post by **Deji** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:49 pm

And get to know the major scale and learn how to construct chords, unless you plan to pump out techno.

Some hours of effort and it will help tremendously.

Post by **l0g1c** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 11:35 pm

Looks like you've got the bases covered. Cubase, Acid, and Fruityloops. :icon14:

Post by **Geebs** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 9:07 am

I woudn't go Pro Tools if you're a) not absolutely bleeding loaded or b) not interested in recording lots of live audio.

Logic or Cubase would be up your alley - but if you don't have a Mac, Logic's out.

I've also heard fairly good things about MOTU's Digital Performer, but never used it myself and I can't remember if it's available for Windows.

p.s. Riddla, about the circle of fifths: cobblers.