But i know a lot of people swear to the Reason + Cubase setup…or Live + Cubase (+Reason) if you want to go live.
I mainly use:
Supercollider (music programming language)
Gleetchlab
Reason
Live
and Audacity (It never fails…It’s just so simple and supports VST)
But mainly Cubase where i always make the final mixdown.
I guess for Rock/pop Cubase would be fine along with some nice VST instruments (and most important: a sampler) like Halion…OR just use Cubase + Reason like I said (reason has build-in samplers and instruments that suits most Rock/pop makers needs i guess). I’m pretty sure that’s what you should aim for playing that kind of music.
If you want to build your own instruments I can recommend
Synthedit (windows only)
Sonicbirth (mac alternative to synthedit - although the instruments doesn’t work in Cubase 4 but almost every other VST host.)
@GgglePlexer: Ok, uninstalled all old drivers, installed the update. Now the ‘audio hardwar fails to initialize’ at startup, and on the drivers tab in the Sonar Audio options, it shows up as some strange Japanese/chinese/mandarin text? Gonna check out those forums again, but if you have any ideas…
@Dukytime: True of course, all true. I was just wondering if anybody had had an easier time wiht Mac or not. I dont use compression as often as I should, but I tend to get by with a bit of EQ work, maybe a bit of reverb for body(or light chorus for the chorus). I can pm you the link to my new stuff if you’d like, and you can tell me if you think it up to industry standard(probably not), but its A) Much better than the old stuff you’ve listened to, and B) Much better than most other self produced stuff I come across.
Id love to get your professional opinion either way.
@morvan; Thanks for the tips, I havent gotten into Sampling/VSTi much, because I lack a midi controller. Sonar doesnt let you use your computer keyboard fro input, and Im nto having luck with any 3rd party fixes Ive tried.
I am going to follow your thread. I am not so much interested in MUSIC production as I am interested in general SOUND production to use in my blender animations and game engine projects. I have found and old program on the net called SoundFX. It only produces PCM 16 bit sounds, but I can then use something like Audacity to change it to what I want once I actually produce the sound. Unfortunately it is no longer supported and I cannot fine any information on the author using any search engine.The advantage for me is that it uses a flow chart like interface to let you know what you are making. That fits into the way my mind works much better then some of the products like Psycho.
In any case I will look at this thread with interest.
Well, not sure how much more you want to struggle with Sonar/Vista, but I have several more links/ideas - it’s obviously the cheapest option, although maybe not the best.
The following are from the M-Audio knowledge base - it might also be worth contact M-Audio tech support. I’ve had good dealings with them in the past.
It really sounds like a Vista/Driver issue - Sonar isn’t really at fault, I don’t think. Maybe if you do get a MacBook(Pro) you could dual-boot into XP and continue with Sonar.
As far as other topics - if your used to Producer Edition, don’t get Logic Express or a similar “entry” version - a crossgrade offer will probably bring you into a similar price range for a full edition. I’d also recommend going straight out for the full version of Logic 8, if you go that route - it’s cheap compared to other pro audio software (even Sonar) and (personally) the limits of the Express version wouldn’t be worth the little bit of saved money.
And expanding on another point, as I think was already said, the software (even hardware, to a degree) doesn’t matter - it’s the content that is being recorded that matters. If you can work in the software, the outputs will be very close across systems.
Thanks so much for all the help Googleplexer, Ive got no doubt those links will be very useful.
And yeah, I doubt Sonar is to blame at all(sound cards, drivers etc). I actualyl really like using Sonar, and may go for the multi OS when I get a mac.
Im defnitely getting a new system when I get a chance, Im very tired of all these problems. Till then, thanks again!
Where I work we outsource all our audio work to a studio and they use all Macs with digidesign Pro tools:
I’ve read about Macs being better for audio due to some zero-latency processing. Every music studio that appears on TV seems to have Macs - live gigs you see them with Macbook Pros.
They have more industry standard apps available for music production.
I wouldn’t buy one in the near future if you are considering it though, there should be an update in the next two weeks. If so, you can possibly get away with getting a refurbished model to save a bit of money. I would personally get a MB Pro though over a Macbook for the bigger screen and non-glossy. But you can use an external if you prefer.
Yeah, it’ll be a couple of months before I can afford anything(refurbished or otherwise). Im currently networking my butt off, trying to get some Graphic Design jobs(its been a few months).
Yeah, Id heard of pro-tools, but wasnt sure hwat kind of studio rig it required. I guess if it’s just a DAW(hardly just), then I’ll look into it for sure. Ha, I wish I was rich sometimes…
Not to discourage you from going the Mac route, but I just wanted to clear some things up.
It’s not true. If you process something in a computer, there will be latency - operating system, software, etc. is irrelevant. Second, there is nothing about the Mac platform that gives it lower latency than a PC based system. It’s all about the drivers for your interface and the power of your computer - you should be able to achieve equally low latency levels on a Mac or a PC.
Finally, I wouldn’t recommend ProTools - it is the industry standard, but that does not mean it’s the best. Everything I’ve read indicates that the MIDI implementation is lacking, although it is great for pure audio work. The more important factor, though, is that it is highly proprietary. I’m fairly sure that it doesn’t natively support VST plugins and you need some kind of approved hardware to run it. This means buying a Digidesign interface and ProTools LE (which which is expensive and limited in features), an M-Audio interface and ProTools M-Powered (which is less expensive, but still limited in features) or spending ~$5,000 (probably more) for ProTools HD with all the required cards and such.
If you don’t absolutely need ProTools compatibility, look other places - Cubase, Logic, Digital Performer, Traction, Samplilitude, etc. Almost anyplace else, you’ll get software that is more platform independent and a much greater value for your money. And there are plenty of people (studios) using these softwares in a professional environment with no problems - all are very capable DAWs.
Yeah, I dont think Id really use that much of pro Tools anyway(not to mention the hardware nightmare of setting it up) and the price…whew. Not for me.
And no, no progress. Ive tried more reinstalls, driver fixes, etc, nothing for it. My brother just got a quad core computer though(lucky kid), so I’ll probably be recording on it in the interum.
Thanks again for the help, ha, Sometimes computers are such a hassle!
Yeah, well, I’d use nothing other than Mac for that kind of creative stuff. If all you want with a computer is to send emails and type stuff, then it doesn’t matter, but if you want to extend your self in anyway, doing anything creative like photography, movie creation, and in your case, music production, then I’d definitely go Mac. No doubt about it.
and supports VST)
(think it’s mac only though)