Hi there ive just been given cubase 5 and ive only spent about an hour trying to create a basic tune but im already tearing my hair out.

I plan on creating a house style tune with vocals (have female singer) although i dont even know where to start

Is It worth me purchasing music production software a bit more aimed at beginners? or should i buy the dummies guide to cubase 5?

I have the following equipment: Numark mixdeck, yamaha djx keyboard, cubase 5, mic, female singer. I dont plan on using any external hardware to create my tunes.

any guidance is much appreciated thanks

Cubase is not difficult, but you need a bit of time to get your head around it. I personally think it's the moest versatile DAW of all.

I would suggest to just start reading the quickstart manual and ckick as you go, spending 30mins with that will teach you a whole lot more than waiting on generic answers on Cubase.

Just to put things in perspective, did you purchase Cubase already? or are you "testing" it?

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Analogue Mastering
Esoteric sound for the discerning ear

im testing a friends version. I dont plan on spending that sort of money until i know i can use it. Theres a few books for getting started with it advertised on amazon. is it worth buying one or are there free guides online just as good?

+1 to Raphie's post.

You need to put months of practise and study in to get to grips with the basics assuming you're a complete beginner.

Cubase is one of the easiest to get to grips with imo (having tried them all) so stick with it.

You can get an excellent Cubase video tutorial here for peanuts :-

http://www.music-production-videos.com/

It's for Cubase 4, but most features will be exactly the same or very similar.

As for buying it, you could easily get away with a MUCH cheaper version like Cubase Studio 4 (which I use). It'll have more features than you'll ever need and only really lacks a couple of the full versions (not particularly good) plugins.

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Thanks for that.

Will i need an external MIDI controller or will i be able to compose the whole track using cubase?

also if i have a vocalist, will cubase allow me to plug a microfone in and record some verses?

if oyur soundcard has a line in, cubase can record it, and you can slice and dice it anyway you like afterwards

a midi controller is highly recommended unless you want ot draw everything iwth your mouse

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Analogue Mastering
Esoteric sound for the discerning ear

quote:

Originally posted by djxposure Thanks for that. Will i need an external MIDI controller or will i be able to compose the whole track using cubase? also if i have a vocalist, will cubase allow me to plug a microfone in and record some verses?

It does all of that. Order today and get a free Sham Wow! For 3 payments of $99.99. Order now and get free analogue.

Last edited by J.L. on Jan-13-2011 at 15:17

You can program notes into Cubase with a mouse although it's fairly laborious. Even a basic 25 key controller will speed things up immensely.

You'll also do better with a proper ASIO audio interface for recording vocals or you'll potentially run into latency issues. Something like an M-Audio Fastrack will do fine, as well as having a proper XLR mic input. As for mics, a Behringer XM5800 is probably the cheapest way to get an acceptable sounding vocal into your computer.

Also budget for at least some kind of monitoring. Mixing on hifi gear almost always gives shite results.

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Cubase is easy really, its just those little things in the beginning you have to get your head around.

Check youtube its all there.

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