Thread: Music Programs

Propellerheads Reason & Recycle
Sonic Foundry Soundforge

hardware?

2 turntables & a mixer

Here's what I personally own -
Software -
Cubase SX
Ableton Live

Hardware -
Yamaha Motif 6
A few miscellaneous synths that I'd rather not admit I own.
M-Audio FireWire 410
An old compressor

I sold a lot of my old equipment when I was still an undergrad since I needed the money and I started working in an actual studio.

Thanks for the replies, i just want to see what up and coming djs are using now a days. I hear FL studio is a big 1 for hip hop and trance, thats what i use to make most of my loops with. Anyone got any feedback on pro tools? I really want to get it but i dont want to if its limited like i hear some ppl say.

Logic 7 Pro. All the way...

A lot of really famous and talented artists use it. Depeche Mode and BT to name a few...Check out the full list HERE

Originally Posted by Shaggy_Da_Clown

Thanks for the replies, i just want to see what up and coming djs are using now a days. I hear FL studio is a big 1 for hip hop and trance, thats what i use to make most of my loops with. Anyone got any feedback on pro tools? I really want to get it but i dont want to if its limited like i hear some ppl say.[/b]

Fruity Loops is a decent program for beginners to learn on. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in it, though. More recent releases have gotten better, but there are still many fundamental holes in it. I know a lot of producers make hip hop tracks with Reason, and most trance tracks are made in Cubase or Logic.

Originally Posted by Artelis

Fruity Loops is a decent program for beginners to learn on. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in it, though. More recent releases have gotten better, but there are still many fundamental holes in it. I know a lot of producers make hip hop tracks with Reason, and most trance tracks are made in Cubase or Logic.[/b]

That's BS. FL Studio latest versions are really complete, comfortable and pro-like. It's a misconception that FL Studio is for begginers. I've been using it for 4 years, and i can asure you there's not much i can't do with its latest version.. I've tried Cubase too. FL Studio is 10 times more comfortable and easier to use. And I told you: there's not much you can't do with it. It's perfect for house music, too.

Here's my present setup, which I'm extremely happy with:

FL Studio, producer edition
Reaper (independent and EXCELLENT DAW package for recording and mixing)
Mackie Tracktion (still my favorite for final mixes)
Sony Sound Forge (for editing and mastering)

E-Mu 1616m interface (HUGE leap forward from what I was using and did fine with. The converters on this unit are staggeringly excellent)
E-Mu's PatchMix DSP application for patching - should go in the software section, I guess
Event 20/20 BAS nearfield monitors
Laptop de jour (right now a very sweet Compaq nx6325, maxed out)

I've been divesting my far more complicated setup based around a hard drive recorder. The E-Mu isn't exactly intuitive if you are used to boards and patch bays, but it's simply amazing once you get the hang of it.

Originally Posted by Artelis

Fruity Loops is a decent program for beginners to learn on. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in it, though. More recent releases have gotten better, but there are still many fundamental holes in it. I know a lot of producers make hip hop tracks with Reason, and most trance tracks are made in Cubase or Logic.[/b]

What fundamental holes? I've been with FL since the Fruity Loops days - and now use it for the vast majority of what I do. It is an amazingly capable and complex package. I record with it, use it as my MIDI editor, apply and record automation through a control surface, use their fantastic plugs and more.

The ONLY thing I don't like it for is final mixes, really. If I'm doing something with no MIDI content, I'll go to a simpler DAW like Reaper.

I've really tried to like Cubase, Reason and Ableton. After years of FL and doing things that way, the others just don't cut it for me.

I guess it has a lot to do with what you're used to and how you like to work.

Originally Posted by mmv

That's BS. FL Studio latest versions are really complete, comfortable and pro-like. It's a misconception that FL Studio is for begginers. I've been using it for 4 years, and i can asure you there's not much i can't do with its latest version.. I've tried Cubase too. FL Studio is 10 times more comfortable and easier to use. And I told you: there's not much you can't do with it. It's perfect for house music, too.[/b]

Yes, FL studio is very flexible in it's latest version. It can do everything that Cubase SX does, but with less efficiency. The problems are now in the programming. VSTis, DXis, and Buzz's run terribly slow in FL Studio. The generators suck. The UI is fucked up because they try to hide all of the advance features from the noobs as to not 'scare' them (taken from the FL website). Most of it's flaws are in the design of the program, not what it can actually do. This pertains to the newest version of FL Studio. Anything before that is shit.

Originally Posted by Artelis

The generators suck...

This pertains to the newest version of FL Studio. Anything before that is shit.[/b]

I presume you haven't spent much time with Sytrus, Simsynth, Wasp, Slayer or BooBass. I've never had any problems with any VSTis or DXia in FL... I don't use Buzz generators or plugs, so I can't speak for those. My present arrangement is running around 12ms latency for up to dozens of plugs and generators - 2ms for live mode.

Sytrus has been and remains my favorite VSTi of all time. It is the most staggeringly capable combination synth I've ever tried. I've turned more than one pro onto it, and none of them have ever turned back - though they have expressed consternation with the learning curve. It is one complex synth.

The changes in Version 7 continue to be refinements of the big steps they took between four and five - and it was a great package even before that.

Ah well... you like what you like. If you're productive with what you're using, what more is there to say? The bottom line is sort of like wondering which guitar the famous guy you want to sound like plays. That's not going to get you anyplace anyway - what you know and learn, combined with your creativity, talent and (mostly) hard work is what is going to make the difference in the end.

Don't short-sell FL though. It is a stellar package.

I hate to admit it but I agree with Artelis on this one. I've never heard anything good made in fruity loops.

I'd be more than happy to change my tune if someone can show me some sample work made on it that sounds even halfway close to decent. To me, everything made on Fruity Loops sounds WAY too amateurish. Fruity Loops, just like Sony's Acid or Propellerhead's Reason, is just for beginners trying to learn the ropes of programming. Eventually, any real artist or studio will fork over the real dough and invest in some decent studio software like Cubase or Logic. Just because you've chosen to acclimate yourself to some beginner software doesn't make it more than what it is...

Originally Posted by SolSkye

I hate to admit it but I agree with Artelis on this one. I've never heard anything good made in fruity loops.[/b]

You've heard a zillion things made with FL. You just don't know it.

That's OK though... the guys selling the jingles, backing tracks and other goods are happy with it.

I've never heard anything good made in fruity loops. Show me something semi-decent and I'll gladly eat my words.

The sad part is, I can generally pick out a FL track amidst others.

Originally Posted by Artelis

The sad part is, I can generally pick out a FL track amidst others.[/b]

if they're only using the stock samples, maybe

But fruity loops is a sequencer
use your own samples

Software:
FL kicks ass
I love Seer System Reality. they don't have a win XP version yet ( just win 98). It worked in real time with full polyphony, effects, layers on ancient pentium 400mhz with 32M of memory, and a Sound-Blaster.

I'm still waiting to hear something decent made in FL from those who disagree...

Originally Posted by SolSkye

I'm still waiting to hear something decent made in FL from those who disagree...[/b]

Don't hold your breath on my behalf. It doesn't much matter to me what you choose to believe. I just want it to be known that not everybody agrees with you.

I don't expect anyone to agree with me. I do, however, expect people to back up their opinions with some hard evidence otherwise their opinions undoubtedly amount to squat. I provided everyone here with a irrefutably large list of respected people of the industry that support and use Logic 7 Pro, to basically show that I'm not alone in thinking what a great program it is. Until I see people doing the same their opinions ultimately carry no weight, which goes without saying really...

logic pro's good if you need the whole midi shabang
but a lot of people don't

me, for instance
I'll nab samples off of records, manually changing tempo or whatever with my hands
and build up songs as a series of samples

all I need is the simplest of sequencing programs
FL would be all I need
(I personally don't use FL, but anyhow....)

what software you use doesn't actually matter that much, in all honesty

I use eJay programs (www.ejay.com). I currently have the full versions of:

Hip Hop 6 (about 25 Australian dollars, 5000 royalty-free sound clips, loops, beats etc, sampler, poly synth etc)

Dance 4 (about 10 Australian dollars, 5000 club sounds, vocoder, voice generator, eCard generator, online sound archive etc)

I use Jazzware MIDI Sequencer too, but only for certain reasons

Originally Posted by mollyrulz9999

I use eJay programs (www.ejay.com). I currently have the full versions of:

Hip Hop 6 (about 25 Australian dollars, 5000 royalty-free sound clips, loops, beats etc, sampler, poly synth etc)

Dance 4 (about 10 Australian dollars, 5000 club sounds, vocoder, voice generator, eCard generator, online sound archive etc)

I use Jazzware MIDI Sequencer too, but only for certain reasons[/b]

Damn, that's too bad. I'm not a big fan of making music via samples - it's more of DJing than making your OWN music.

Originally Posted by Ynot

logic pro's good if you need the whole midi shabang
but a lot of people don't

me, for instance
I'll nab samples off of records, manually changing tempo or whatever with my hands
and build up songs as a series of samples

all I need is the simplest of sequencing programs
FL would be all I need
(I personally don't use FL, but anyhow....)

what software you use doesn't actually matter that much, in all honesty[/b]

The level of program you choose to use does make a difference on how long you will be sitting there plugging away editing and mastering a track. I don't know if you have had the opportunity to use Logic Pro 7 before, but it sure sounds like you haven't because you would've known you get more effects, plugins, audio instruments (soft synths) and mastering processors than any of the competition. Great sound modeling synths like sculpture, the es2, or exs24 sampler to name a few. The 'midi shabang' you refer to is just one of the seemingly endless amount of features Logic actually has to offer. Even with what you say you do with samples Logic would be easier for mapping out your sample to an instrument and altering the sound. I definitely knew right away after having used Reason before purchasing Logic that you get what you pay for.

Originally Posted by Ynot

Damn, that's too bad. I'm not a big fan of making music via samples - it's more of DJing than making your OWN music.[/b]

I definitely agree. Using only loops and samples is more like assembling a puzzle or playing three-card monte than it is actually making music.

I actually agree too. I've always wanted to use REAL equipment. eJay's only to get me started.