General Software Question...

[Cold Truth]

well, i have been researching a lot of software lately. it seems that most people here use reason or fruity loops, and some use cubase, cakewalk, pro tools, etc. i have been looking at software and the cards i will need to run them, and allthough i am sure that this is a dumb question i will ask anyways. using any of these, cubase and cakewalk more specifically, i can make my beat, do all my mixing/editing-i.e., panning, eq, effects, etc., and burn them straight to the internal burner on my PC with ZERO outboard gear, right? i dont want to hear things like "if you want to get ths type of sound, you will need an outboard compressor, DAW just cant recreate this or that" type of replies. i dont really care about that. yes, i know i will need something to record my vocals, live instruments, etc. also, if i have say, Cubase SX, i would still need to purchase a soft synth or sampler for sounds, right? does nyone use Sampletank? i liked what heard from Halion, but i have no clue as to its overall capabilities.

 

[dacalion]

Truth I really want to speak on this topic but since I don't use Cubase or Cakewalk, I can't answer that question. I will say this...I use ACID's Sound Forge, Fruity Loops and ProTools and I love them. Alot of cats say that ProTools is good for "Vocals" but I like it for recording my beats as well. The sound quality is great and I never have any program conflicts. Anyway, good luck on your quest!

--dacalion

 

[Cold Truth]

you use pro tools to make beats? everything i have been told is that pro toolsis horible for beats..... anyhow i am still looking. i found a cheaper version of the aardvark ($350, which saves me $150) and so i am seriously leaning towards the cubase. the Digi 001 looks real good, but again you are the first to endorse pro tools for your beats. actually, i know that the guy from Black Eyed Peas makes his beats almost entirely on pro tools..(wiil.i.am?) but he uses the "big" version, not le.

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

1. The point of programs like Cakewalk and Cubase intitially was to sequence your hardware synths. Then, they added the capability to mix it with audio tracks. Then, they added effects, then soft synths...

Now, there is a 'virtual studio' in your computer when you run SX or Sonar, a whole suite of mixers, soft synths, effects, etc.

To answer your question: NO, you don't have to buy any hardware to make music if you have only a program like Sonar and SX. They come with softsynths already, some of them are very good and would have cost a pretty penny as standalone programs a few years back.

HOWEVER, you will get bored of these softsynths as they are all analogue emulators...you will start itching for more!

2. Yes, I have used Sampletank. It is like a hardware sound module (Triton, Motif, Roland XV, Proteus, etc.) that runs inside your sequencer, you just choose whatever sound you need and you can play it with your MIDI controller. It gives you the ability to edit the sounds, but not to load your own...

3. Halion is a software sampler. So is Gigasampler, Kontakt, V-Sampler. While Sampletank has a ton of sounds loaded in it, Halion has ZERO sounds in it, so you have to load them yourself. These can be sounds that you make yourself (burping, screaming, playing an instrument, etc.), or sounds that you get from a third party (like an Akai sample cd).

I've never used it, but I'm sure that it's pretty good, and I'm CERTAIN that it's a lot better than the hardware samplers a lot of people use. I say better because it will have more polyphony, a larger synthesis architecture and flexible routing, effects, and it integrates with your sequencer.

4. You can use a calculator to make beats, if you're clever enough! Why have you been told that Pro Tools is horrible for making beats? I've been told that it's good for a lot of things, the problem is that it costs so much.

Take care,

Nick