The Music Software Recommendation Thread
 

i wanna start playing around with samples etc. i have fruityloops, is this a good one?

Yes, but beware all FL are not created equal. There are cheaper more basic versions that are way to limiting. The producer edition, while expensive is fantastic and will give you way more routes for your projects.

i have FL Studio 9 producer edition XXL!

For anyone who would like to make music online I would suggest trying out the sonic producer or dubturbo. Both are great for what your looking for. I hope this helps!

I will suggest you to purchase AV Music Morpher Gold.It is one of the most advanced multitrack music editor programs.It has following features.I think it is the best.It has following features.

Voice Remover and Voice Extractor
Multitrack Editor
2-Dimensional Voice Changer
Advanced Morpher
A Huge Effects Library
Effects Mixer and Editor
Digital Audio Recorder
CD Burner/Grabber/Organizer

Any recommendations for sound clip software? I have one called WavePad Sound Editor by NCH - which you can use to split audio -- though I need to be able to save in to REX2 format

If you ask me... I recommend using Pro Tools for all none VSTi related instruments. If its a real instrument (like guitars, drums, bass, harp, whatever) - use Pro Tools. If its Vox related - Use Pro Tools.

And as for anything synthetic / programmed / sequenced / keyboard / MIDI / synthesizer etc - use either Cubase or Nuendo series (and, yes, despite them seeming similar, they are in fact kinda different. Both sound wise, and especially when it comes to video editing. Though some people may second guess on that one. But i`m too lazy to argue!).

Ok i used to use Reason with Acid to make music quite a while ago, now i want to get back into it i have loaded reason 3 and acid again but i need to update can someone help me. You will need to treat me as a NOOB as i am now serious in taking this up as a hobby.

you can check out this guys MIXHOUSELA

If you bought the programs, than usually there`s an option for an automatic update. Granted that perhaps updating may require you to buy the newest versions of both of these software. Though I recon that if you have legit programs, than you can download stuff from their website (you know, compressors, plug, etc), regardless of your version.

To be honest, I dunno much about Reason and Acid, but its logical.
However. If you downloaded a cracked version of those, than that`s a different story entirely. If that`s the case than you may have to do that again.

Greetings from Brighton UK! Noobie to your forum... I get song ideas middle of the night and want to leap up and bang them down as sketches to play to band later. what i need is a windows 7 prog where I can record drums either from my alesis hr16 machine or use a metronome loop (either imported into prog or built in) then same with my bass or use same looping technique (like 303) then chuck a guitar and keys on then couple vocals. Need simplicity cos I've lost the song idea by the time I've waded thru some progs. I've been recommended using ESI Maya to plug instruments in via USB. BASICALLY I NEED AN 8 TRACK PORTASTUDIO ON MY LAPTOP!! Please help. My dilemma is i just want to throw songs at the band and let them mess around with them before we rehearse. no fuss, just basic. thanx in advance for any advice you got for me. cheers!

Here is a list of the relatively easy to use programs that I know of which may suit your needs:

Recording software:

1. Nuendo
2. Cubase
3. Cakewalk sonar
4. N-track Studio
5. MixCraft
6. Logic
7. FL Studio

Granted there are others, but those are very user friendly (in my opinion). All of which work just fine on Windows 7

Gotta question here. Does anybody have any advice on how to program custom drum tracks in Drumkit From Hell or transfer drum tracks from Ableton 8 to DFH? I've managed to get the files from Ableton to my MIDI files in DFH, but they won't play. And yeah, I've tried running as an administrator. What am I missing?

Logic Pro 9 if you have a mac.
Reason or Pro Tools if you have a PC.

Set up a project in cubase.
configure all your inputs for your drum machine, guitar, keyboard and vocal.
save the project


wake up in the middle of the night
open up project
record enable

BOOM rough demo

Ok I have used every major DAW out there, and with out a doubt the most powerful and user friendly (IMO of course) is Pre-Sonus studio 1 pro 2, there are tons of features that other programs just do not have, one of which is hoping from your master file to the mix, if you hear something in your master you need to bring up or down you literally click a toggle in the top left and it goes to your mix, also it has some amazing stock plugins, this is the first software I have ever used, that didn't make me think of something I wish it did or did better or easier, and best of all it is cheap, even free depending on your moral out look, I got a free copy when I bought my interface.

My favorite features are,

1.The mastering software allows you to arrange your album master, the whole thing in one view and has powerful features that detect volume differences between tracks.

2.The layout reminds me a lot of logic, my 2nd favorite DAW, and is super user friendly, it seems like the programer was inside my brain, making things easy to figure out because they are how you would of put them.

3.Stock plugins and presets are all you really need for a great mix.

4.You can personalize the home screen to have your album art and artist info, so that when you export, its already tagged correctly for the project.

5. they used colors that were designed to be easy on the eyes, so you do not get fatigued during long sessions.

6. It is a standalone software, you do not have to have your interface to open tracks, and edit tracks. making mixing on your laptop very easy and if you route your files to an online drive you can mix the same song from multiple places.

For the longest time pro-tools was what people swore by, mainly because it had way more plugins than anything else. but now there is a competitive market,
I very highly recommend this over every other software.

Any CSound users in the house?

I'd like to compose a waltz or Balkan melody, but have only found either composing programs where you merely produce sheets, or music making programs which are made for band music. Any good references?

Amateur Production Software
 

For anyone looking for amateur music production software try out Dr.drum, its cheap and v. user friendly and great for beginners.

First, I want to say that it's really nice that this forum is here; I hope you all can help me.

I've been looking for decent beginner recording software for some time now. I want to connect my Digitech RP255 Modeling Processor via USB and my Casio LK-160 keyboard via USB. Audacity only detects the RP255, though the multitrack ability is nice for doing basic rhythm and lead stuff.

Most of the software I find in my searches doesn't give me a straight answer for what it's about. Many of them seem focused on creating "beats" or other electronic/hip-hop music which I have no interest in. Others seem entirely focused on virtual instruments and make no mention of recording actual instruments or having any way to make a cohesive song.

What I'm looking for is something I can do real-time recordings of my guitar and piano with. It should have some way of keeping time between instruments and ideally have some options for adding percussion. Easy interfaces are necessary because I don't want to learn an entire content creation pipeline; I just want to create some basic music.

I really appreciate any advice you can give me.

Yes, very

Btv
 

BTV Solo is pretty legit - Its my primary BEATMAKER247 software platform - I like it a lot

I use FL Studio. Some people prefer Ableton, some prefer Garage Band (lol). They're all the same, depends on how passionate you are about creating music and how much effort you put into the software.

There are endless tutorials on YT n **** for every DAW out there! Windows, Mac, anything.

CSound :crazy::tramp::thumb: Those were the days...

+1. It is the creativity of the person that matters, not the software. Personally I started to make music with MAGIX, granted it isn't as well known as the major DAWs, but I learned the principles and can apply them to whichever DAW I wanted.

BTW, I also didn't see it mentioned in this thread, but it is worth remembering that with most controllers come with some form of Ableton Lite, while all DAWs generally have a 30-day trial period. I recommend trying a few out and seeing which suits you the best.

How hard is it to get the hang of Cakewalk if all you ever managed on FL 7 were some beep maps and 40 seconds of engineered song? I need a new mic and one I found comes with a free install, I have heard its easier.

All DAW's do pretty much the same thing, it's just the interface learning curve that people struggle a bit with. Sonar (Cakewalk) is fairly straight forward, and there's always the help files, knowledge base, and forums if you get stuck.

I say jump in and see what happens.

What kind of mic, btw?

Any ol' vocal mic under 50 bucks, really. The one I saw with cakewalk was about 40 bucks, just ten bucks more than the cheapest Best Buy had to offer. Mine has been acting up lately, and performed admirably for a piece of ****. Had it for years, used it frequently for years.

They probably tacked on 10 bucks because of the software. You could get a better mic, and just use Audacity but then again, I'm an Audacity fanboy. I've used it for so long, that even when I get a piece of equipment that comes with ProTools or whatever, I never install it.

Yeah I've been using audacity with my current mic and it is pretty awesome, but I'd like the ego boost of learning something more complicated haha.

Just... not too complicated. FL made my head explode more than once.

Yeah, FL is a bit unintuitive. I've used it before. I've also used Cakewalk, but that was quite a few years ago.

I say go with it. You no like, you take back. Get full refund.

FL is eeeaaasssyyyy. Especially with all the tutorials out there and dedicated learning sites like warbeats.com or nfx-beats.com

Well i belive one of the best software out there for recording and editing is Reaper,its only some MB and there are so many things you can do with it.For some samples you can go with Fruity Loops.Also a great software for recording and even playing guitar is Guitar Rig Pro,you can use almost every kind of amplifier and effects to achive the sound you want.Now for recording drums EZdrumer is the best software out there.

I've played with FL Studio and Ableton. I prefer Ableton. Cleaner look and a lot more comfortable feeling in my opinion.

Any1 who can master my hip hop songs?

Maplatoon - I don't know of anyone, but try www . landr . com /en for an automated mastering service. I've just started using it and it's great.

As for the software, I've been using Cubase, and have found it... buggy. Anyone else had similar experience, or am I just not doing it right?

(had to spread out that url because I haven't reached my 15 posts yet :P)

Cubase was easy for me. Now i use FL studio and it seems not so easy for me, lol, even if every kid now can use it :)

Anyone looking for a good soft synth for EDM, these would be my recommendations:

1) Serum - Wave table synth that's great for bass and unique sounds, and it's ez to use.
2) Diva - Tones of analog character - Bass, 80's pads Diva can do it all.
3) Zebra - The Swiss army knife of synths.
4) Dune II - Huge sonic capabilities with a clean sound.
5) Spire - Virus in the box? Well, not quite. But it's still one of the best round.

No, they're instruction packets for MaxMSP. Unless you're a college educated programmer, I'd stay away and just stick to Synth1. Not to be confused with Sylenth 1, which is a DIY Arduino LFO generator..