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Want to start Producing
Well I'm a DJ, and I've always wanted to produce. The only thing though, is I don't know that much about music theory and all that jazz. I used to play a little piano when I was in high school, but nothing really special. Will I be heavily handicapped for not having much musical history, what should I do if I want to start to produce and what not.
I've seen squabbles over how sometimes musical theory training can actually force your melodies into the realm of generics and cheese, since you begin following "rules and guidelines" to achieve maximum cheeeeese.(I do love my cheeeese sometimes though 
)
Personally I think it's up to the creativeness of the artist to use what they know, (or where to find out if they don't :P) to make the best track they can at the time.
Music theory could only help imo, but not having it shouldn't be a problem.
A DAW (FL,Cubase,Reason etc...) you like helps.(Depending on how you like to work/what kinda setup you use)
A .midi controller helps a great deal with creation, as does some good monitors for sound quality control. I find a good pair of studio monitor headphones great for those late night endeavors where you most often have some time to spare 
...(Without pissing off your roomates/gf's/etc...of course)
Are you the same St John that used to be on Power 106?
Ideally - if you have a friend with some production kit have go on their setup. Alternatively buy a sequencer / DAW with pre-loaded VST (software synthesizers and effects units) to get you started. The best for introducing you to such gear and one of the cheapest being FL studio, the XXL version has all the image line synths, many of which are excellent.
Another alternative is the full free computer music DAW and instrument suite. I think there is another decent free one too, can't remember it's name though - someone will be along soon with the name
Having learn to play piano will help a great deal in production, so invest in a midi keyboard if you can.
You wont be handicapped in anyway, in fact since you dj that helps with giving you an idea of arrangements for make the track, i.e. when to build up, put a break in, what FX's you would like to hear and when.
It would be wrong to tell you what program to use as it depends on what you feel works best, but download demo versions of the main ones and see what works for you. Youtube has some great video's for help also.
whats more important is if u understand basic rhytm and groove imo.
download a cracked copy of cubase or logic. Fuck around. Don't invest money till you've had the chance to gather a little bit of insight. And start slow. You won't be star in the next 5 years so just accept that and work slowly but surely. Try making a drum beat. Then a bassline. Then a song. Just mess around. I would personally just get reason as it is self contained and will limit your choices so you don't go mad.
-1 "download a cracked copy" and also -1 for Reason
Yes, Reason is fast to get into and limitations are kinda useful when you are a new to producing. However, learning Reason is like learning 100% into the wrong direction. Its a great addition to any studio.
Trust me, been using it for like 8 years only. Switched to another host in the beginning of this year. Its like black / white to me. I think if you are really into this, dont waste your time with Reason. Its a great piece of kit to have later on for writing, but its not worth imo to focus on learning this and then totally up to learn something from the ground later on again, instead of learning a "better" sequencer from the beginning.
And also, there is no need to download any cracks. Cant believe that at a "serious?" forum you really get such a reply. Get Zynewave Podium Free. This one got a very little limitations. Yes there is no multicore support, which kinda is a "limitation" that will help you as a beginner. Also, nowadays there are some synths that eat like 0 CPU at all, like the free Synth1. Also, Podium Free doesnt come with any crap about "10 tracks only" or something like that. The limitations are not really noticeable for a beginner, like missing 64bit processing mode and such. You can always bounce stuff into audio and save up CPU this way, which kinda makes it a fully featured and useable host or get the full version for only 50$.
lol man get off your high horse. Who here can honestly say they have never ever used a crack. Reason is great to start as it is self contained and teaches you about routing and that sort of business. I used 100% cracks until I started making money. I feel absolutely no shame admitting it. Of course the software I was using was substantially more expensive than stuff you would use for trance but man, it really isn't a big deal for someone new to just try a crack and see if it works out. I also sometimes steal water or a bag of chips when the lineup is too long and I have things to do and places to be. Besides, its like a coffee card just unspoken.
so
1. download reason from some website
2. Steal a bike,
3. go to your local convenient store and don't pay for that energy drink
you are now ready to make some music.
Its one thing if you used cracks and another thing to tell a beginner, who aint even started, to use some 
I also posted this because I bet some ppl dont even know there is something like Podium out there
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Coyke ...also -1 for Reason Yes, Reason is fast to get into and limitations are kinda useful when you are a new to producing. However, learning Reason is like learning 100% into the wrong direction. Its a great addition to any studio. Trust me, been using it for like 8 years only. Switched to another host in the beginning of this year. Its like black / white to me. I think if you are really into this, dont waste your time with Reason. Its a great piece of kit to have later on for writing, but its not worth imo to focus on learning this and then totally up to learn something from the ground later on again, instead of learning a "better" sequencer from the beginning. |
and if you steal it , everyone wins.
Picasso's own words " good artists borrow, great artists steal" Pretty sure this is what he is talking about.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by EddieZilker It's likely the cheapest, easiest means for someone to be able to teach themselves the craft and, while certainly not a replacement for tutorial instruction, it basically wraps almost every concept there is to know in music production into a convenient, user-friendly package. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Coyke Yes, its great as for limited, all-in-one, collection of instruments and effects, with a sequencer, out. But cheap? Just look what I put. Podium, Reaper, EnergyXT are much cheaper AND they have better audio handling. And for effects, there is better freeware out there. U liked RV7000 reverb sound? U like mclass processing? I didnt. Knowing some algorithmic reverbs that are free are sounding better and knowing about free impulse respone for free convolution reverbs. So with one of these sequencers, you will have like 350� left. I dont wanna start here what synths you could get for that. |
I have to agree with one thing. When you start, quality isnt that much of an issue as when you develope and get more experience and you are actually able to hear some differences, like with compressors.
Reaplugs come to mind, as they also avaible for anyone else with a host that is able to run vst and they are good.
And about support issues. I know a lot of freeware developers who are permanently bringing updates and also, did you know what happend to Kjaerhus Audio who was developing commercial plugins? He just disappeard and the URL expired, without any information that this is going to happen. Not even now after like 6 months, developer was up to giving any statement to that. What I wanna say, this can happen to any software, any time, not only freeware. And now there are customers out there, who paid for the stuff and have problems. Maybe his business went down of warez users, who knows.
From all the points that are important to me - Reason isnt cheap and not good for a "have a look", compared to the money you pay for it, if you can get the same / better results, maybe with more work, with something else for free and cheaper and 2nd, I never would say to anyone "just download the crack."
Would you recommend to anyone to start smoking, if you smoke yourself? No, you wouldnt because you know it aint right.
Just my 2 cents
I think that a person starting out has no idea what she/he might like and using cracked copies can give the person an idea of which direction they want to go. Buy it if you like it but I really don't recommend on a whim spending 500$ on something you might not ever use. I guess i'm not pandering to some kids naivety. And i'm also not a hypocrite.
Actually , to be fair, I did buy my first version of cubase. VST 32 and all my synths were hardware. So I suppose i did buy everything but I still would of had the option to try things out before hand. And I amassed a 20 000 debt. So I suppose I am on the person saving money side. But when I went to school and sold my synths and relied on all software, it was all cracks. Big deal.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Coyke Trust me, been using it for like 8 years only. Switched to another host in the beginning of this year. Its like black / white to me. I think if you are really into this, dont waste your time with Reason. |
Re: Want to start Producing
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Saint John Well I'm a DJ, and I've always wanted to produce. The only thing though, is I don't know that much about music theory and all that jazz. I used to play a little piano when I was in high school, but nothing really special. Will I be heavily handicapped for not having much musical history, what should I do if I want to start to produce and what not. |
instead of downloading faulty cracks of Reason id go and download Reaper (www.repear.fm), a "free" and very functional daw with MUCH better possibilities than Reason, though with abit limited included instruments. get some free VSTs (like Synth1) to fill in whats missing in Reaper (mostly a synth) and play around with it. Reaper is alot more like the other big daws (Cubase, Logic, Sonar) compared to Reason which is like on its own.
I would not recomend Reason for anyone to start with eventhough its a great app with great included instruments, u sort of stay very closed minded in it and have not a clue whats going on in the real world as it doesnt support plugins, hardware, midi-out, audio-in or none of that shit. It might get u pretty far but as soon ur feeling it limits you need to start on rock bottom again in a new environment totally different to what u are used to in Reason, no mather what daw u end up with. Reaper is much better that way, and also its sound is great.
Reason is an additional tool, not a complete setup imo. Ive learned that now, after being closed minded since 2003, when I first got Reason. It was a great ride but now I have to start on bottom again in a totaly new way of working because ive addapted to the way stuff works in Reason which is nothing like other stuff works. Poor writing I know.
edit: i think its about time Propellerhead release their instruments as VSTs because they are totally great and I want them inside Logic without using the stupid rewire-technology. Its the actual daw/sequencer/rack in Reason i dont like anymore, the separate instruments are awesome (Thor, Malstroem, Subtractor, Redrum, Scream).
I can't see any problem with starting out with reason, it has everything you'll need, it's what i started with.. Yes i can understand people's points as i have now moved on to live and ditched reason, but it was an easy switch to make, wasn't like starting all over again, it was taking the next step if you like..
I found using and learning the subtractor a big help when it came to using vst synths for the first time.. I had a good idea of how to use them and what did what, where i feel if i started the otherway round i would have been switching from one vst to the other without gaining any knowledge on how to use them.. I suppose what im trying to say is reason forces you to learn as your restricted with its own tools, a good thing imo!!
Download a cracked copy, if you like it, buy it!!(or not, it's up to you)
my opinions are always biased by my own experience so u might be right. it was just how i look at it. Reason was great for me to start with, but i should have switched earlier.
I personally found Reason extremely confusing as I started with Cubase but I always had a more traditional sense of how a studio worked and cubase made more sense as I had synths and external effects. I tried reason just to see what the fuss was about and it was just confusing but I can see how it would be great for someone to learn on as it restricts what you can do which is really important when you are learning. Otherwise you will just start collecting every single vst on the planet never getting anywhere.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Mad for Brad I personally found Reason extremely confusing as I started with Cubase but I always had a more traditional sense of how a studio worked and cubase made more sense as I had synths and external effects. I tried reason just to see what the fuss was about and it was just confusing but I can see how it would be great for someone to learn on as it restricts what you can do which is really important when you are learning. Otherwise you will just start collecting every single vst on the planet never getting anywhere. |
hi there Sinnica, long time
hi palm!! yeah,,, it has been far too long and it's great to be here again, hope you have been well!
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