# Music Making/Recording Program Newbie



## Cooon (Feb 15, 2010)

Just calling it a "music making/recording program" makes me feel like a total newbie, I just don't know what else to call it. 

I'm taking a class from an awesome art program called Spyhop that teaches me how to record and make digital music. We learn to use protools, but me and my dad are experimenting with Logic at home. Which programs do you all use, so I can get some input from people with a little more experience.


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## Aden (Feb 15, 2010)

Logic Studio is my favorite thing to use ever
Also look into REAPER


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## Cooon (Feb 15, 2010)

Ok, good thing we've got logic, but i've never heard of REAPER

But i haven't been in the business for too long

My teacher also says Contact is a good program, especially from eletronic music. I'll be recording a lot of acoustic music, so i need something that does that well. I only have two condenser mics though, we're trying to find more.


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## Aden (Feb 15, 2010)

Your DAW isn't going to affect the quality of recording (unless you get a lesser version that can only do 44.1 recording or whatevs, but that shouldn't be a problem). For audio editing, my two previous suggestions remain. ProTools is good for it but I never recommend it because Digidesign are money-grubbing assholes. :V

Anyway, a Shure SM57 or two should do you great for instrument recording, or SM58 for vocal recording. Industry standard, cheap, indestructable.


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## Cooon (Feb 16, 2010)

Aden said:


> ProTools is good for it but I never recommend it because Digidesign are money-grubbing assholes. :V\.



My teacher said the exact same thing, and yes, my version can go over 44.1, so that should be no problem. 

I won't be doing much vocals, and my mics (I don't know specifically what model, and i don't want to disturb my family by going upstairs to find out) do just fine for the instruments that we're recording, except our recordings on the guitar (when it has an amp) are pretty inconsistent. 

Thanks for your help ^_^


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## Aden (Feb 16, 2010)

Cooon said:


> our recordings on the guitar (when it has an amp) are pretty inconsistent.



Do a ton of test recordings for amped guitars so you can get a feel for how different mic positions and orientations sound. Eventually sometime down the line you'll have your favorite mic position locked in (don't be afraid to try pushing it right near the mesh) and will be able to set it up perfectly in no time. Also get some masking tape and put a strip on the top of the amp so that when you lock in your favorite knob settings for recording you can write them down.


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## Eleziek (Feb 16, 2010)

This is copy and pasted from, "Good Recording Software?" thread, so if something seems out of place that's why

Mmk, there's a difference between recording tracks and creating them. There is no 'magic' program that does it all very, very well if you're looking to produce high quality music. In the end one must use a variety of tools to create a solid piece using only a computer... Hell, in my honest opinion, hardware is going to be the best way to go unless you're using things like Cubase, Audition, and samples like East West... And then you're almost better off buying hardware because it's going to cost you the same to buy a rather nice sequencer as it would be to invest in all of the software. 

Oh yes, I know you can pirate stuff, but if you want the best out there that's not going to happen. 

When it comes to recording/mixing/mastering on the software side of things I highly recommend audition. If money isn't an issue I'd suggest a move to hardware for the raw recording aspect. Stereo recorders and mics can get expensive but if you're recording acoustically that's pretty much the only way to go for a pro sound. 

Want soft-synths? There's a wealth of them out there for free and for reasonable prices. Reason has some great synths and other tools to play with. 

I would never recommend FL Studio to anyone these days. It's a toy meant to appeal to the eyes of novices and lacks a lot of more complex features found in other programs. I would also avoid using Reason as a sequencer if you have a better program (Logic, Cubase) to use.. It's better than FL, but there are much greater options. 

Want to step in to another level? Learn the wonderful art of notation and basic music theory. Music, like the visual arts, is not something someone can just make and have it be appealing. Many people think sitting down in front of FL and laying down 8 minutes of a four measure phrase with a beat behind it is making music. A lot of those same people also think playing the same four power chords over and over is music as well... I'm sorry to say, but those individuals are mistaken.

One can do a lot by learning notation and working in a program like Sibelius or Finale. Cubase can output scores as well but isn't a dedicated scoring program. If you should decide to take a step in this direction I recommend Sibelius over Finale. While they are both great programs Sibelius offers much more when you get in to the fun stuff. Finale may seem more approachable, but if we didn't have to suffer a bit to get a bigger reward then what fun is making music?


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## Shred Uhh Sore Us (Feb 16, 2010)

http://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=59823


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## Qoph (Feb 16, 2010)

Shred Uhh Sore Us said:


> htt,p://forums.furaffinity.net/showthread.php?t=59823



Same concept, but a bit different in that the older topic listed specifics for what the user was looking for.  Plus this topic seems to be going fine for now.


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## JMAA (Feb 17, 2010)

Personally I use Fruity Loops. I think it's a good starter.


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## Shred Uhh Sore Us (Feb 17, 2010)

Qoph said:


> Same concept, but a bit different in that the older topic listed specifics for what the user was looking for.  Plus this topic seems to be going fine for now.



oh no i was just meaning for a reference, as theres a lot of different softwares mentioned in there, along with posts by me that i was too lazy to retype xD


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## King Roach (Feb 17, 2010)

I believe the term you are searching for is "Digital audio workstation" or daw for short.

My recommendations if your just starting out.

M-Audio the 99$ audio interface forgot what it's called is good. It's blue and cheap great money for the bargain. 

krk rp5's. great starter monitors.

reason 3.0 - always a great addition to any arsenal. 

pirated vst's 

and last but not least Izotop Ozone! I'm a midi slut so my opinion is heavily biased. don't go wasting thousands of dollars if your just starting though.

i personally compose in Cubase; but if yuo on a mac you might want to use logic (garage band if just starting out) and FL or albelton, acid live, etc on pc (if just starting out).


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