getting started making music

Pointsman · Post by **Pointsman** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:54 am

So far I've only recorded acoustic music, toyed around with guitar rig abit, but that's really it and now I'd like to get going abit more. But I have no idea what stuff I need in terms of sounds/vsts/ and so on/how to make and change sounds and so on. I feel somewhat comfortable using cubase, I've got a toneport UX with no midi/a few guitars/a midi paino. In the end I'd like a warm organic sound ala cilocub and boc of course, but I just need a platform to learn and build from. Any tips of a good setup for me? Help is greatly appreciated =)

saurus · Post by **saurus** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:17 pm

Ableton Live is pretty great for sampling, and I do lots with running through tapes and shit. Other than that, I've actually reverted back to messing around on guitar and tape recorders instead of MIDI music!

Beacon · Post by **Beacon** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:46 pm

Sounds like you're on the right track. Although there is actually no "right" way to do things, you just need to figure out what is comfortable for you. I recommend trying Reason re-wired into Ableton Live. Reason will give you access to some great soft-synths, samplers and a drum machine. Ableton is great for recording and manipulation of your recordings. It is also a VST host (Reason is not).

Manipulation of sounds like your guitar is incredibly important if you are going for an organic sound. I think a lot of people are surprised by how many sounds are created using samplers, not synthesizers, when they first get into production. BoC have mentioned that a lot of their sounds come from instruments like guitars, recorders and flutes. I think that creatively cutting up drum loops can often be a lot better than using a drum machine when wanting an organic sound as well.

vonarx · Post by **vonarx** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:53 pm

fl studio is real easy to get into. i've been using it for 5 or 6 years. tried using other programs but it's too hard once you've used something for so long. it does what i need it to do.

The Voice of Reason · Post by **The Voice of Reason** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 2:59 am

Get good monitors. That is key. (Or good monitor headphones if your space is a low noise zone)

They are personal pref. though.

Neurotangent · Post by **Neurotangent** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 9:14 am

vonarx wrote:fl studio is real easy to get into. i've been using it for 5 or 6 years. tried using other programs but it's too hard once you've used something for so long. it does what i need it to do.

I'm in the same exact boat. All of the DAWs can pretty much reach the same end result, it's all in what's comfortable to you. I'm a fan of FL Studio's incredibly intuitive interface.

Cupz · Post by **Cupz** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:16 am

Neurotangent wrote:
vonarx wrote:fl studio is real easy to get into. i've been using it for 5 or 6 years. tried using other programs but it's too hard once you've used something for so long. it does what i need it to do.
I'm in the same exact boat. All of the DAWs can pretty much reach the same end result, it's all in what's comfortable to you. I'm a fan of FL Studio's incredibly intuitive interface.

Same here. I don't know why there are so many people that hate fl.

Pointsman · Post by **Pointsman** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:11 pm

Thanks for all the answers =) I've got a legal copy of ableton 5 tucked away somewhere so I might give that a go, guess I'll have to buy the sampler add-on though? synths in reason sounds nice too. FL seems kind of difficult to me, though my cousin says its nice for making beats easily. Any particular vsts you can recommend? I'm definitely in a low-noise zone =P got good but not great headphones as it is now.