Music making on PC

[hotrod4]

Just curious to find out what others are using to make music on your PC.
At the moment I am using Band in a box.Guitar Pro 5,Soundforge,Acoustica beatcraft and mixcraft.
Have tried Cakewalk,cubase etc but found them too technical so stick to the easy stuff.
Relatively new to using the PC for music so interested to find out whats hot and whats not!!!!

[The Pepsi Challenge]

In the main, I use Cubase and Reason. However, I've been getting to grips with Sibelius recently - try it; it's great.

[Jeid]

I use Cubase SX3 for mixing demos. Pro Tools for recording.

[Jeemag_USA]

I have used everything going including protools, cakewalk, cubase, bandinabox you name it I tried it but still have never found anything as appealing to me as Fruity Loops. Currently I am using FL Studio Pro XXL, and I also used Sony's Sound Forge to master and create loops and effects for arrangements, Sound Forge is great for recording snippets of your guitar vocals ect. You can record with FL Studio also, most people will tell you you can't but its not true, it just takes a little practice and some figuring out as the manual is not very forthcoming in explaining how to do it. I also use a simple M-Audio USB midi interface which allows input of guitar and microphone at the same time.

But when it comes to music software I find its each to his own as what appeals to one person may not appeal to the next, I have seen countless arguments on audio forums about which is the best, Fruity Loops fans usually get hooked and use nothing else and users of protools etc become elitist and look down their nose at FL because they never took time to see just how great it is :P

[Cazaa]

At the moment I'm using Diphone Studio for sonic morphing and Modalys for creating virtual instruments for use in LogicPro. During performance, I also use Spat for real-time sound spatialization.

Which version of Sibelius are you using PepsiChallenge? It is some program.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

At the moment I'm using Diphone Studio for sonic morphing and Modalys for creating virtual instruments for use in LogicPro. During performance, I also use Spat for real-time sound spatialization.

Which version of Sibelius are you using PepsiChallenge? It is some program.

I only have Sibelius 3 at the moment, but I hope to get it upgraded fairly soon. It's a great program for hearing how your notation sounds - yes I can read music - and especially if you're using midi. Expect a String Quartet from yours gruesome in a couple of years or so.

[Jeid]

Should also mention that I'm using EZDrummer for creating drum tracks. It's pretty good

[Deemac]

My current main audio weapon of choice is Protools LE (V7.3 via a Digi002 surface controller). All audio and MIDI is multitracked and edited here. For stereo editing/mastering I use Sony Soundforge V8. CD architect is then used to compile/output CD audio/albums etc.

Before Protools I was a fairly avid Cakewalk/sonar sequencer user.

Before that it was a Yamaha hardware MIDI sequencer (QX3), and a Ensoniq ESQ1 workstation keyboard started it all off (many, many years ago!!)

Actually a Roland SH101 was the first (100 note step time only sequencer, in mono) followed by a Roland JX3P (6 note polyphonic realtime sequencer!!)

I recently came accross a CD of my old MIDI only tracks and put up a Bebo page. Visit: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=4881912517 for a listen if your interested!!!

[The Pepsi Challenge]

My current main audio weapon of choice is Protools LE (V7.3 via a Digi002 surface controller). All audio and MIDI is multitracked and edited here. For stereo editing/mastering I use Sony Soundforge V8. CD architect is then used to compile/output CD audio/albums etc.

Before Protools I was a fairly avid Cakewalk/sonar sequencer user.

Before that it was a Yamaha hardware MIDI sequencer (QX3), and a Ensoniq ESQ1 workstation keyboard started it all off (many, many years ago!!)

Actually a Roland SH101 was the first (100 note step time only sequencer, in mono) followed by a Roland JX3P (6 note polyphonic realtime sequencer!!)

I recently came accross a CD of my old MIDI only tracks and put up a Bebo page. Visit: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=4881912517 for a listen if your interested!!!

Genuinely like some of those midi tracks, Deemac. I can hear Depeche Mode, New Order and the Yellow Magic Orchestra in there. Maybe even a smidgen of Chick Corea, too. A then-future classic may have finally arrived

[hotrod4]

My current main audio weapon of choice is Protools LE (V7.3 via a Digi002 surface controller). All audio and MIDI is multitracked and edited here. For stereo editing/mastering I use Sony Soundforge V8. CD architect is then used to compile/output CD audio/albums etc.

Before Protools I was a fairly avid Cakewalk/sonar sequencer user.

Before that it was a Yamaha hardware MIDI sequencer (QX3), and a Ensoniq ESQ1 workstation keyboard started it all off (many, many years ago!!)

Actually a Roland SH101 was the first (100 note step time only sequencer, in mono) followed by a Roland JX3P (6 note polyphonic realtime sequencer!!)

I recently came accross a CD of my old MIDI only tracks and put up a Bebo page. Visit: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=4881912517 for a listen if your interested!!!:

Some nice wicked toons on there bud.Hard to believe they are that old!
Some of them remind me of Tangerine dream.
BUT.................please can you remove "rap king" as soon as I heard that beat I started spinning on my head and body popping Not a good look for a 37 year old!!

[Deemac]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Miles away from my present musical energies but good fun at the time no less.

One point worth making is that, the more advanced and facility that my various setups have had over the years, the LESS music I have seemed to personally produce!!

I think this is due to a greater expectation on my part for the end result to hold up against the best out there (and it very rarely did to my ever more critical ear). An unfortunate side effect of getting older (I think they call this jaded).

And computer based music can make this scenario a lot worse by giving you an almost unlimited choice. It's so easy to just NOT commit to a decision and ride with it when you can save 20 variations of everything!! Unlimited tracks, plugins, processors etc can easily lead to a song bogging down in finite detail and end up missing the point of that initial simple 3 chord trick that got you going in the first place. "I'll fix it in the mix."

Don't get me wrong, wonderful stuff can also be had from all this new shiny power, but it takes a determined vision to see it to the end and finally put something out into the public domain. Here the internet is a fabulous tool that just did not feature when I produced these early MIDI tracks.

I feel the next step is for like-minded individuals to collaborate more in all this virtual PC music land that now appears to exists.

[fred]

Just a mention for those who, like me, don't have a lot of money and, like me, sometimes gets the urge to sit down and play with themselves there is an open source sound recorder and editor, audacity available for free.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

fred, that's a nifty wee program you've found there. It's so easy to use; am diggin' it.

[davem]

Its great for vinyl or cassette to digital with all the different filters.
It can even tidy up live recording if the balance isnt as you prefer.

[fred]

fred, that's a nifty wee program you've found there. It's so easy to use; am diggin' it.

I also have Hammerhead rhythm station, which once again is freeware. Save the drum track as a .wav file and open it in audacity.

I have a demo version of a midi sequencer running on a separate computer, an old Apple iBook. It's a limited version which doesn't let you save to disk but that doesn't bother me, I have Audacity on the PC. I have the freeware version of Anvil Studio on the PC but it's nowhere near as good a synthesizer as the one on the Mac, might be better on a faster computer.

[Flyermonkey]

I love Garageband... so simple and pleasing to use - unfortunately only available (though free) on a Mac. I also use Reason, ReCycle and sometimes Audacity.

I have been slowly converting PC user to Apple thanks to Garageband.... great for recording on.

[fred]

I have been slowly converting PC user to Apple thanks to Garageband.... great for recording on.

The apple certainly seems better for audio...if only my iBook had a line input socket.

[Flyermonkey]

Hi Fred,

You can buy a Griffin iMic USB Audio Interface for about £15 which takes your audio input via USB. I know a couple of people that use then with their iBooks and they are supposed to be good. Its definitely worth if it means you can use Garageband!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Griffin-Technology-iMic-USB-Audio-Interface-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ330182171342QQihZ014QQcategoryZ31492Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Deemac]

If you wish an excellent PC based platform, I recommend:

http://www.carillondirect.com

Though expensive, has to be the quietest and most reliable PC I've ever used.

I may add that I disable any network link (it's only switched on for window updates etc). It also has no antivirus software, typical office/graphic suite or any other applications other than the pure audio stuff. (No games or internet access/use either . . . )

This keeps the machine very clean and reliable (and I feel this is the fundamental difference between the typical PC user and the Apple brigade - i.e. the typical Apple user doesn't tend to load all the free trial games and junk that the PC user does!! - they also tend not to modify their hardware).

[fred]

Hi Fred,

You can buy a Griffin iMic USB Audio Interface for about £15 which takes your audio input via USB. I know a couple of people that use then with their iBooks and they are supposed to be good. Its definitely worth if it means you can use Garageband!

Fifteen quid?????? That's a bottle and a half of whisky.

I'm very new to this computerised music lark, I'll just mess about with what I have. In my youth we made some nice sounding music with just a tea chest base, washboard and the old piano in the parlour. If I can't manage with what I have now it's time to give up.

Anyhow how much would it have cost them to stick a line input in? Line input as an optional extra on a computer designed for audio and graphics is like having the steering wheel as an optional extra on a car.