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Subject: Just wondering........?


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Original Message 1/8             21-Dec-06  @  11:05 PM   -   Just wondering........?

nme

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..........What software are you guys using out there? Im guessing Cakewalk, Sonar Logic, Cubase, Ableton, Reason etc, etc....

Having heard various tracks from the usual suspects that seem to frequent this forum I couldnt help but notice a much superior sound quality coming from your very own, so you have inspired me to try & raise my game a little,& get away from just bolting on stock sample after stock sample, so Ive dumped Sony Acid Pro & Ive gone over to Reason 3 which is a bit of a headache trying to learn where & how every thing fits in together (tutorials helped a little) but Im more than impressed with the sound thats playing on the same hardware as Acid Pro was. Clearly Reason is much more of a challenge too, which Im more than a little apprehensive but looking forward too also.

I appreciate hardware plays a part too so all being well I should have a Korg Microkontrol arriving tomorrow morning & Im updating my sound card from an Audigy 2 to a Sound blaster. (are they as good as they say or are there better for around for similar money?)

Am I on the right tracks guys or is there somthing obvious Im missing?

As always your pearls of wisdom will be gratefully recieved.

PS Ive only started putting my own tracks together for about 6 weeks now & I know some of you know your subject inside out, but if you could keep it to 'bite size chunks' that would be cool, I dont want to be baffled by algorythms & the like!!!

Im just a simple man!

Cheers guys



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Message 2/8             22-Dec-06  @  09:18 AM   -   RE: Just wondering........?

Moujik

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quote
Im updating my sound card from an Audigy 2 to a Sound blaster. (are they as good as they say or are there better for around for similar money?)


I'm not sure how much you are paying, but there are definately better cards out there (especially for music production purposes).



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Message 3/8             22-Dec-06  @  10:22 AM   -   RE: Just wondering........?

Rags .aka. Welder

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Well, it really depends on your ways of working and preferences.... Reason 3, Ableton Live, Fruity Studio... any of these I can highly recommend... although you can't use plugins with Reason alone (these days VST plugins can provide a little better audio quality than Reason's built in modules, but you can still get pretty decent results ). As you've obviously invested some time into Reason I would say try to get the most out of it, and step "further" if you really feel it's lacking...

Logic, Cubase, Protools, Sonar... now those are the more "pro" stuff, which does not neccesarily mean that they're better fore dance music production (although some can argue that Protools plugins provide superior audio quality), but they provide the kind of multitracking capabilities that bigger studios use (or small project studios with outboard gear).

Are you planning to have any outboard gear in the future?



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Message 4/8             22-Dec-06  @  04:16 PM   -   RE: Just wondering........?

Maarten

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First off, I'm a hardware whore. But I've fooled around with a few software sequencers (Live, Logic, Cubase) from friends and am most impressed with Ableton Live. Not sure about the soundcard, it's something I've always underrated.. for example, the mixing desk I have now sounds really nice n warm and I'm starting to really notice that the soundquality I hear while recording (monitor directly to amp / monitors) is not reflected in what I hear during playback. So starting to consider upgrading soundcard myself. Not sure if all this matters at all if you do not use outboard gear though! Anyway, these things that do the handling of your sound are not to be underestimated is all I'm saying.



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Message 5/8             22-Dec-06  @  09:08 PM   -   RE: Just wondering........?

nme

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Ok, thanks for the headsup Moujik, Ive done a little research & I believe your right with regard to there being better value for money cards out there & more importantly better suited to music production. It had crossed my mind when I popped into PC World & saw them selling it there, PC World cater for the 'man in the street' rather than the prosumer (new word I learned today hehe!)
Incidently the card I was looking at was the Audigy Soundblaster XFI Platinum at £149. Having taken a look at numerous websites I came across this one which I think kind of puts the subject into perspective from a 'prosumers' () point of view.

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/news_story/a/news_id/e/1006

Im gonna give the guys at dolphin a bell tomorrow so I can decide which one is best.

So then ragsy my boy! I hear what your saying about thinking longer term regarding plugins VST's etc.... (shhh....whats a VST m8?) and it does make sense. Ive been using Sony Acid Pro which I purchased 2 weeks after downloading the cheap & nasty Magix Music Maker 11 which crashed on me & I lost everything, backups the lot! .... Ah thats why it was only £20! It did however help to plant the seed......and from little acorns.....(Im sure you know the ending m8)
And so entered Sony Acid Pro & that was completely reliable & after banging out 5 or 6 tracks of what I thought was the pinnacle of my music career I was about to tick off yet another 'life goal' & retire from the scene feeling inner peace & complete contentment when Jay J my little bruv, whilst we were working on Genesis together decided to introduce me to a little gem, yeah Dancetech & having listened to countless tracks, sounds, influences, genres etc... on here, well, in short you lot pissed on my parade!!! Retirement has been put back until further notice for the time being. I digress Rags I have been playing on Sonar 6 prior to messing on with Reason before feeling completely out of my depth, too much too soon I think. And I know Reason is very busy too but I think it suits me for now & inevitably I ll move on to the next step, probably Sonar 6, Cubase looks ok, dont know any of the others to use just yet.
...An outboard you say?........no, Ive no need for a boat where I live m8, hehehehe, just joshing fella!
Im assuming outboard is referring to external hardware, plug in keyboards, guitars samplers & so on. Whilst it should be noted that I dont play an instrument, read music etc... as such, (despite mumsys best efforts to have me learn Spanish Guitar from the age of 10, well it was that or ballet with my sister!!! Dont laugh, thats straight up! Shit, how I wish I had stuck at it now....... the ballet I mean!! LMFAO). Yes I can see me going down the route of outboard gear as my skills develop & the biggest inhibitor/factor, time allowing, work gets, well its difficult to describe without profanity so lets say unbearably hectic! So from the end of Jan 07 it could well be late Oct before you see me back on here, around about the time you will have finished reading this email! hehe.
Having looked into it today Im considering an external soundcard rather than inbuilt, is this a term you would use for an outboard device as such? I had read on the BBC website about most of this software we've discussed & they too widely regard Pro Tools as the market leader, but I think it'll be a little while yet before I roll up my trousers & dip my toe in the Pro Tools pool!

Maarten.....you mean to say you work in B&Q & at night frequent the red light district????

Thanks I will check out Ableton as soon as! Ive heard good things about it but not managed to get my grubby mits on it yet! With regards to the soundcard check out dolphins link above if your thinking of upgrading, they have a decent selection & there saying all the right things such as suggesting the card that fits with your needs rather than a one size fits all. Your right too about not underestimating the part hardware plays in reproducing sound quality which I think 'loops' (artists terminoligy, eh ) us back to the start of the opening conversation.

Thanks for your comments fellas, it has helped me consider my approach a little clearer. Feel free to comment further if the need arises. And despite my messing cheers too for keeping it in simple speak, for a simple guy! haha

Right, thats me back off down the 'bar' (last artist punn, I promise) Im in danger of sobering up here.

Oh, one more thing, prosumer, the definition,

"A consumer who is an amateur in a particular field, but who is knowledgeable enough to require equipment that has some professional features" ("professional" + "consumer").

I like that!

.........Cold beer awaits



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Message 6/8             22-Dec-06  @  09:34 PM   -   RE: Just wondering........?

milan

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well since i'm all done with beer for today i'll chip in my 2 cents...

since you are obviously just starting out i say stick with reason- it has more ready-to-use sounds and samples than any other package out there and you will get a lot of mileage from it. the sequencing might not be the dog's bollocks, but you can get more than enough done.

and yeah, forget the soundblaster... there are cheaper soundcards with better drivers for musicians out there... check out something basic from m-audio, emu, echo, or one of the other ones... that article you linked looked good so use that as a starting point.

if you dont have a keyboard yet, think about getting a usb/midi controller keyboard too! will make programming stuff easier to no end. and maybe some monitors too.

but most importantly: dont loose the fun factor of making music... most people (including me) tend to get hung up on tech stuff way too much  



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Message 7/8             22-Dec-06  @  09:50 PM   -   RE: Just wondering........?

nme

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Thanks your comments are duly noted, as far as the keyboard is concened I should have recieved a KorgMicrokontrol this morning, only the courier Interlink decided not to make his last pick up last night. However it will be with me tomorrow morning, im tracking it every step of the way!!!

I think the reason Ive started to look at the techy route is because I was beginning to feel a little stale after a very short time, used all my favourite loops n stuff in the tracks ive put together & then heard some of the stuff on here & thats given me fresh impetus, the techy thing Im sure will grow slowly as indeed my knowledge about the whole subjest does.

Cheers milan

nme



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Message 8/8             23-Dec-06  @  10:17 AM   -   RE: Just wondering........?

k

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Yeah, get a card like the m-audio Audiophile 24/96, which is probably the most popular cheap (50 quid) proper soundcard. Using that with the asio drivers you'll see greater efficiency from your system and can play all REASON's sound generators in realtime with a master keyboard just like hardware synth modules.

Also, checkout the m-audio/pro-tools 'Pro-Tools M-Powered'

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/ProToolsMPowered71-main.html

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