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It's time for me to start producing music...how??
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| Stormbringer |
| OK, I've been DJing since 1994 and I have always wanted to make music but never really had any time. Never really knew anything about about making music. Just knew how to spin good music. Well, I'm getting out of the Air Force pretty soon and I'll be getting a nice severance package. I would like to use part of it to buy something that will help me make music. I want to make music that sounds more like on the hard trance side. I want to make a great hard beat and a great bass, too. And I want to make a great flowing melody, too(check my sig to see what I'm talking about, if you like). Can you do this with fruity loops? Are there anything else, out there, that is better? Is it better to use the hardware, instead? If so, what should I buy? Anything from the Roland brand? Or is it better just to use the software? If I go software, what type of laptop should I get? I think I could come up with some nice tunes. Been in the scene for a very long time and I think I know what sounds really good. |
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| RichieV |
not to be an ass but your question is kinda like,
how do i learn to play guitar ?
I'm pretty sure all your questions have already been answered. |
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| kitphillips |
If you knew what sounded really good you wouldn't be trying to produce hard dance. Whatever, maybe it means something different whre you come from. Something not crap.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and advise you to just stick around here for a few weeks and try and work out what your talking about. Don't buy anything until you understand what you need.
What is it with all these threads, is it because its christmas? Maybe people are all cashed up and drunk so think its a good idea to go "Oh HAI GUYZ, HOW DO I PRODUCER THE HARD TRANCE TECHNO MUSIK? LIKE BASSHUNTER OR CASCADA?" theres been 3 or 4 such posts in the last week:whip:
EDIT: I am being an ass and I know it. But seriously tired of these threads. |
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| MOK |
Read all the tutorials here, read through messageboards like these and KVR. Knowledge is what fuels practice, which is what fuels skill. Eventually you'll start feeling confident with your sound.
As for gear & software, I suggest staying 'in the box,' all software. Nowadays, PC's are powerful enough that there's no reason not to take advantage. If you want hardware, go for it. But software is more powerful, and cheaper. The simplified setup is also nice, giving better access to mobility.
The good thing about modern DAWs is that you can get pro results with pretty much anything. All it takes is lots of intimate knowledge and experience with your software. The new Reason is excellent, as is FL. Reaper is super cheap and very good. I use Cubase studio, and it's never let me down. Logic is the go-to choice for Mac.
One thing I'd warn against, however, is falling into the 'gear trap,' as I call it. This is the mindset where you become convinced that your results will be better if you can get This or That or whatever. Don't fall for that. You can make incredible things despite your gear, software, or set up. Aside from your primary DAW, you need absolutely nothing. Some things help... a midi controller, some good powered nearfields, a good audio interface, a good set of headphones, a fast computer... But none of those are necessary, certainly not needed to get started.
But I do suggest getting a solid set of headphones early on ($200+, not you $100 DJ headphones crap). This can help you forestall getting good speakers till later. I can just about guarantee that the speakers you have right now isn't good for production due to lack of accuracy. Rather than sinking a bunch into that problem now, and find out later "I shoulda bought those instead....," just get good set of headphones now. There's no buyers remorse there, much cheaper, and it's highly accurate(if you went for good ones).
As for computers, in a nutshell, any solid gaming computer will be good for it. While any pc or laptop WILL work, if you're going to buy a new one, look for something with tons of processing. Not much else matters. Fast processor is what you need. Laptops afford you mobility, and desktops afford you stability and security. Personally I favor desktop if you're serious about learning the craft. I've always ran into odd, unforeseeable trouble with laptops.
Do not buy computer store sound cards. What you want is a dedicated audio interface. Those will require research on your part. You'll find lots of info on that both here and on KVR. But no rush... I suggest waiting on this til when you're eventually ready to buy your shiny new powered near field reference monitors.
Once your DAW is up and running, download and use ASIO4ALL. This reduces your audio latency.
Go to a magazine/news store and look up magazines like Computer Music and Future Music and Electronic Musician. They often run special editions made for beginners, or have articles for beginners.
Read manuals. Consider reading books. Frequent the message boards. Make a folder in your bookmarks menu dedicated to audio pages.
This is a very in-depth craft, and it takes a ton of practice to get any good. Unlike other methods of making music, it requires you to first wade in and figure out a ton of technical stuff before you can even start making what's in your head audible. So have patience.
I wish you luck.
If you have more specific questions, fire away. But don't forget to browse around a little, and perhaps MAYBE use the search function to find the answer the question you're about to ask, which has inevitably already been asked a million times over. |
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| pwnage1 |
I wasn't going to respond to this but since everyone else is being an ass...
Alright so first you need a sequencer, Wikipedia will give you a good idea of what that is if you don't know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer. There are tons of sequencers out there the most popular being Reason, Fl studio, Sonar, Cubase, Ableton, and Logic if you are on a mac. Reaper as also pretty good so you may want to look into that. Try demo's of all of them, cubase doesn't have one.
Once you have chosen a sequencer it's time to talk about plugins. All those sequencers come with plug ins that create and effect audio. Read the wikipedia article for software synthesizers. You may want to buy some more right at the start but i think you should just learn what you have before you invest in more .
Now we'll talk about reason since it is a little different than the other sequencer. In reason it comes with everything software you need to start producing which is why it is a great buy for someone starting out. The downside is you cant use any software synths or effects other than the ones it comes with. Though it comes with everything you will need.
There are other things you will need later but for now that is a great start. |
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| MOK |
| quote: | | Originally posted by kitphillips Don't buy anything until you understand what you need. |
^ Large shining beacon of truthiness.
Buy your DAW, and nothing else for now... Don't buy anything else until you've experienced first-hand why you need x or y. Don't buy anything you assume you need. Be patient, buy later. Just one purchase, the DAW. NOTHING else.
| quote: | | Originally posted by pwnage1 Now we'll talk about reason since it is a little different than the other sequencer. In reason it comes with everything software you need to start producing which is why it is a great buy for someone starting out. |
False! Most DAW's will come with good soft synths and DSP's that work well even for pro's. Reason's presentation is different, but it still has about the same tools as everyone else.... |
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| EgosXII |
| quote: | Originally posted by kitphillips
EDIT: I am being an ass and I know it. But seriously tired of these threads. |
not at all: i've started a number of stupid 'n00b' help threads, but even i think there's been some really bad ones lately.. :eyes:
hence i've just been using tutorials, and the search function to find stuff instead of spammin the forumz (edit: with new threads, still spam it with pointless posts :p ) :D |
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| Beatflux |
| quote: | Originally posted by MOK
Read all the tutorials here, read through messageboards like these and KVR. Knowledge is what fuels practice, which is what fuels skill. Eventually you'll start feeling confident with your sound.
As for gear & software, I suggest staying 'in the box,' all software. Nowadays, PC's are powerful enough that there's no reason not to take advantage. If you want hardware, go for it. But software is more powerful, and cheaper. The simplified setup is also nice, giving better access to mobility.
The good thing about modern DAWs is that you can get pro results with pretty much anything. All it takes is lots of intimate knowledge and experience with your software. The new Reason is excellent, as is FL. Reaper is super cheap and very good. I use Cubase studio, and it's never let me down. Logic is the go-to choice for Mac.
One thing I'd warn against, however, is falling into the 'gear trap,' as I call it. This is the mindset where you become convinced that your results will be better if you can get This or That or whatever. Don't fall for that. You can make incredible things despite your gear, software, or set up. Aside from your primary DAW, you need absolutely nothing. Some things help... a midi controller, some good powered nearfields, a good audio interface, a good set of headphones, a fast computer... But none of those are necessary, certainly not needed to get started.
But I do suggest getting a solid set of headphones early on ($200+, not you $100 DJ headphones crap). This can help you forestall getting good speakers till later. I can just about guarantee that the speakers you have right now isn't good for production due to lack of accuracy. Rather than sinking a bunch into that problem now, and find out later "I shoulda bought those instead....," just get good set of headphones now. There's no buyers remorse there, much cheaper, and it's highly accurate(if you went for good ones).
As for computers, in a nutshell, any solid gaming computer will be good for it. While any pc or laptop WILL work, if you're going to buy a new one, look for something with tons of processing. Not much else matters. Fast processor is what you need. Laptops afford you mobility, and desktops afford you stability and security. Personally I favor desktop if you're serious about learning the craft. I've always ran into odd, unforeseeable trouble with laptops.
Do not buy computer store sound cards. What you want is a dedicated audio interface. Those will require research on your part. You'll find lots of info on that both here and on KVR. But no rush... I suggest waiting on this til when you're eventually ready to buy your shiny new powered near field reference monitors.
Once your DAW is up and running, download and use ASIO4ALL. This reduces your audio latency.
Go to a magazine/news store and look up magazines like Computer Music and Future Music and Electronic Musician. They often run special editions made for beginners, or have articles for beginners.
Read manuals. Consider reading books. Frequent the message boards. Make a folder in your bookmarks menu dedicated to audio pages.
This is a very in-depth craft, and it takes a ton of practice to get any good. Unlike other methods of making music, it requires you to first wade in and figure out a ton of technical stuff before you can even start making what's in your head audible. So have patience.
I wish you luck.
If you have more specific questions, fire away. But don't forget to browse around a little, and perhaps MAYBE use the search function to find the answer the question you're about to ask, which has inevitably already been asked a million times over. |
This is all complete bull. I'd recommend Hard Trance eJay for all of your hard trance needs. Cheap too.
Some of the awesomeness to be had by using Hard Trance eJay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQMy...feature=related
I swear this dude is the next Armin Van Buuren.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc2I...feature=related
Some guy syncs a Benassi song to eJay to make it look like he remade it. |
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| Jimb0b |
Dont listen to the guy above, obviously in another world.
Would you care to give us an example of a "Hard Trance" song, as this is quite open to interpretation and seems quite country specific, im just hoping its not something like basshunter / cascada \ dj sammy!
One thing I would suggest is, whatever DAW you choose, try to work within set limitations. For example if you use reason try and master say the SubTractor before something else.
Alot of people in EDM tend to try and jump in with all these funky instruments without even understanding them. Think of it another way, in days gone by, if you was trying to make a song you wouldnt try learning piano, guitar, flute, sax, trumbone, drums, bass, synth all in one go!!!, you would do it gradually as your knowledge grows, but unfortunately a lot of producers these days tend to do just that, load there DAW, then find they cant really get the sound they want so just download all the cracked VST's the can find to componstae for the lack of thier knowledge.
Try and learn things in series, ie, one after another, not all at the same time, and remember that the modern day EDM producer has to learn a lot more than your typical band member who specialises in one instrument, you have to learn a selection of instruments, drums as well as mixing, eq'ing, sound design and mastering, also some music theory knowledge will go a long way to make tracks that will have some direction. |
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