Opinions on best, easiest to use music writing software??

habitualundergroundsound · Post by **habitualundergroundsound** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:37 am

hey there... Im pretty new to the board, and pretty new to dubstep as well. I have tried writing dubstep "sounding" tracks on my current program "music generator" for PS2. Yeah, yeah, I know its wack. But like I said I just started getting into dubstep and production as well. I figured this would be the place where I could gather the help I obviously need to get something crackin. So, If anyone has ANY tips, suggestions, advice... Im all ears baby!!

Matt/Habitual/Frank Grimes

ekstrak · Post by **ekstrak** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:49 am

I'd probably recommend Reason as its very very easy to use and will give you a good grounding in the way things work in a larger sense. You'll soon out-grow it though as its a little "fisher-price" in some areas.

Fruity Loops is also very popular. It has lots of very intuitive, handy little devices and workflows. beware though as it is quite unlike anything else so when you want to make the jump to a more 'serious' sequencer it'll be harder.

There is an excellent piece of software called 'Buzz' which is a tracker so unlike any of the 'normal' step style sequencers you sequence with numbers in columns.. i like to use it sometimes to get another angle going. It is very powerful and supports VST's and its free.. again though its totally unlike the 'industry standard' so the jump will be harder if you ever feel like making it. A good idea though to learn the concept of trackers as they're alot of fun.

I pretty much exclusively use Cubase SX as when i started producing there was only cubase (sequencing audio was still pipe dreams). I cannot recommend SX enough though, when they made the jump from cubaseVST its just been getting better and better,.. such a nice working environment. The main alternate to cubase is obviously Logic Audio but since that meglomaniac fuck Steve Jobbs decided to buy it and make it Mac only i have stopped using it.

pangaea · Post by **pangaea** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 6:14 pm

Acid Pro and Fruity ('FL Studio' now) are very easy to use in my opinion, Acid especially. I was going to try my hand at Cubase but because the first two do the job for me at the moment, I'm not going to bother right now.

If you're new-ish to production it may be worth learning Cubase now though, save you the problem of relearning if you ever 'grow out' of FL etc.

dubdisciple · Post by **dubdisciple** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:06 pm

Pangea. i agree.. acid is very easy to use. have you tried producing dubstep with it? i am going to attempt it but I am not used to the new version yet. Plus i have never made dubstep before.

ekaj · Post by **ekaj** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:05 pm

Well I've tried Cubase, Logic and Reason and I've stuck with Reason for a few reasons (no pun).

1) It's fucking easy
2) I'm lazy, which makes it even easier
3) It has a lot of potential!

But.. a lot of people will say that eventually you will need something more (which is what I'm looking at right now) because there are some things that Reason is limited to -
* only 2 synths
* one filter
* limited LFO abilities
* limited FX units

But, it has good points:

* the routing capabilities are fucking cool - you can do a lot with them!
* it's very simple once you get the feel of things
* you can make tracks fast in it, like a kinda sketch pad
* automation is easy
* the distortion unit is nice
* the advanced reverb unit is nice

So my advice is Reason is a great to start off with and you will be making tunes in a few days for sure. Just read the manual (seriously, it helps man)

But for me I'm wanting to move onto something like Cubase or Logic so I can make use of more VST things etc. I could resample them and load them back into Reason, but I dunno. The only problem I'll face is learning another program because it will slow me down loads.. heh anyway there's my 'advice' if it matters

j_j · Post by **j_j** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:35 pm

when you say easy to use ..what do you mean ..draggin and dropping loops like in ableton for instant head nod or programming presets in reason and loooping drums..its bullshit to say easy or difficult.
reason isnt any easier than cubase or any other program ..its the way you use your software that matters .THE SOFTWARE DOESNT MAKE THE TUNE ..YOU DO !!!!

ramadanman · Post by **ramadanman** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:47 pm

if i had the choice to turn back the clock 3-4 years, i'd start production on logic. may as well start on the 'industry standard'!

too much effort now to switch, and i'd just spend time relearning shortcuts etc, when i could be making tunes.

forensix (mcr) · Post by **forensix (mcr)** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:00 pm

I started on reason, its pretty good to get a founding knowledge on programming synths and beats, i like the sampler its very easy to use and less confusing than most, i still use reason although rewired to cubase and i could quite happily make a tune just in reason if it wasn't for the mixer being so difficult to mix on.

id go for reason

lycaon_prod · Post by **lycaon_prod** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 5:02 pm

fruity loops
it's way less limited than reason (you can use 3rd party plugs which in my opinion is essential) n it's really intuitive n has a nice workflow.
only downside is limited routing (though you can get round that with senderella vst) and the arragement screen canget VERY messy.
i started on fruity, went onto cubase but have gone back to fruity.
its just faster to write with n the samplers are badass.

docwra · Post by **docwra** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:32 pm

lycaon_prod wrote:fruity loops
it's way less limited than reason (you can use 3rd party plugs which in my opinion is essential) n it's really intuitive n has a nice workflow.
only downside is limited routing (though you can get round that with senderella vst) and the arragement screen canget VERY messy.
i started on fruity, went onto cubase but have gone back to fruity.
its just faster to write with n the samplers are badass.

Amen

digitalia · Post by **digitalia** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:16 pm

Live! i can kick out trax hellafast with that, and 6 is killer.

you heard it here first.

d

novo · Post by **novo** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:35 pm

Frooty Loops often come recommended for beginners, but I've never used it so I can't really comment on it.

I can comment much on Reason tho. For starters it's a great introduction to production with it's easy user interface. It's a very stable and cpu friendly program and it's unique with the routing possiblities. If you have any question about the program go ahead and pm me.

As stated before, eventually you'll find that Reason is limited in a few ways and you may want to move on to something a little more upscale.
I moved up to Cubase SX and love it. There is, however, a definite learning curve between the programs so I would recommend buying a book on Cubase and visting Cubase forums.

The really big plus, is that you can still route Reason into Cubase through ReWire and have it all. I'm really happy with this combination.

Cheers!

ekstrak · Post by **ekstrak** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:57 pm

The really big plus, is that you can still route Reason into Cubase through ReWire and have it all. I'm really happy with this combination.

Yeah this is a really good point, Rewire is great.. i think theres a stack more stuff that can be rewired too.. including Ableton Live no ? (please correct me if i'm wrong)

tes la rok · Post by **tes la rok** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 11:52 pm

first question - how much money u want to invest innit? basicly it doesnt matter what software u r using, coz any of current sequencers / trackers takes time to learn, and after u know every little secrets of your software its all about your ideas and skills.. reason is most likely easiest to start, but to me no VST support means absolutely - NO NO. since dubstep is mixture of sounds from tekno, dub etc it helps you alot when you can use VST instruments..

i use do beats in logic audio , but after they quit PC support i switched to cubase and no regrets. sometimes i miss that easy-automation but after weeks of practising i learn it. but with cubase, you really need someone to show it or you need to_buy_ tutorials. theres so many things you will miss unless you read it / watch it from someone.

+ audio editing, its really easy (timestrech to correct bm etc)
+ editing your tunes / range-edit-copy-paste is ultimate
+ audio routing is heavy!

- not too easy to learn..
- automation is kinda difficult compared to logic audio
- cubase reverb sounds SHIT (you really need invest to good reverb)

i only had two crashes in last 8 months, so i count it good result. and both crashes was because of bad VST effects. it run really smooth in my DAW
(athlon +4400 x2 64bit, 2 gig ram, emu 1820m).

ekaj · Post by **ekaj** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:28 am

J_J wrote:when you say easy to use ..what do you mean ..draggin and dropping loops like in ableton for instant head nod or programming presets in reason and loooping drums..its bullshit to say easy or difficult.
reason isnt any easier than cubase or any other program ..its the way you use your software that matters .THE SOFTWARE DOESNT MAKE THE TUNE ..YOU DO !!!!

Well, yeah it is. Reason is easier than Cubase and Logic.

panzar-rukkuz · Post by **panzar-rukkuz** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:24 am

what bothers me most about reason is the unified sound ... granular it sounds all reasonish ...

fruity I like cuz it can like stated use third party plugs and is a very musical interface ...

SX however is my main love ... I came from cubase on the atari and a akai s900 .. over the years I have used somewhat all builds from the cubase family ... and to be hones I thinnk it is the best software around nowadays if we're talking multi platform ...

fruity as cubase plugin is ultimate if you are able to control it well imo

metalboxproducts · Post by **metalboxproducts** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:03 am

I use logic and to be honest i found it very easy to learn. I found learning most things quite difficult as my attention span is that of an orange.I surpose it help that i learnt the fundemantals os sequencing on an old Roland W30 syth with its built in sequencer. Oh the fun i had placing every note inderviduelly and not haveing drag and drop or copy and paste.

digitalia · Post by **digitalia** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 11:50 am

metalboxproducts wrote:...I surpose it help that i learnt the fundemantals os sequencing on an old Roland W30 syth with its built in sequencer. Oh the fun i had placing every note inderviduelly and not haveing drag and drop or copy and paste.

aye, mate - Roland S-550 and MC-50 sequencer combo here myself. ooooold school. that and tracker programs on a PC, remember those? go back far enough there's me and a Tascam 4-track.

these kids today, totally spoiled!

d

moderator · Post by **moderator** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 5:39 pm

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hamilton · Post by **hamilton** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 6:26 pm

What style of computer/OS are you running? (besides the PS2, heh).
This will probably dictate your choice of software(s).
Personally i like REAL machines, with knobs and sliders and all'o'that.
A mixture of both Virtual instruments and Real ones, software sequencing and a harware mixer is the optimal setup for any audio production....

Opinions on best, easiest to use music writing software??

Reason, or something else?

Opinions on best, easiest to use music writing software??

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