Music Creating/Editing/Manipulating Software

[gweedodogg69]

Anyone know of any software where you can basically create your own beat and manipulate your own music? My friend is in a band and he wants to edit some of their songs and add stuff in that they can't (expensive equipment). But I told him I know there is software that will let him accomplish this but I can't remember the name of it. There is a Sony one, are there any other popular ones?

 

[Stigmata]

There's Pro Tools, but most versions, as far as I know, require one or more pieces of external mixing hardware.

You could also check out Ableton Live, no idea how good it is though.

And if you have a Mac, try Garageband.

 

[CrazyHarij]

sony's program is acid 6, and it ****ing sucks.

i've tried most out there and Ableton Live is the best one imho (extremely quick and easy to do what you want)

as for the Mac, garageband is a joke, logic is really popular however

 

[Asus]

my brother is into recording using a digital audio workspace that is his personal computer. He got the pro tools software and his mbox2 on ebay (used) for a good price. here's what he said about it:

First of all - garageband is actually quite respectable. It comes on your apple computer (only apple, no windows) for free, and you can record pretty good sounding stuff using just the $15 mic that is built-in your mac. Garageband is the virtually most inexpensive way to record decent sounding demos. if you have a mac. My friend who is a trumpet player used his iBook in Garageband one afternoon that you can listen to here. Link to garageband sample

Otherwise, most of the free versions of recording software on pc's are very limiting and restrictive. sometimes they wont even let you finalize what you have been working on.

If you are looking for an easy, user-friendly, semi-cheap ($450 including the external audio interface) way to actually record, or have the potential to record, import audio files, or create beats and loops or use samples - protools is definitely a good way to go. it's basically the industry standard for home musicians and professional studios alike. (I bought a new, unregistered versoin of protools with the MBox 2 on Ebay for just $300.)

with protools software you do need a digidesign interface that goes along with though. the good thing about that is that the interface is designed specifically to work with protools, and protools is created specifically to work with it. so in this case you have optimal compatability and effeciency without the hassle of changing so many settings in windows and with your audio drivers. protools also comes equipped with the ASIO audio drivers configured for recording in protools. ASIO is the best driver to use in most cases - especially that it has the lowest latency.

i haven't used acid before, but have heard good things.

fruityloops is a software that you can find for rather little expense. you can import recorded audio files with this software while creating beats and loops around it. it has a multitude of instrument samples and digital sounds you can use. if you want to easily create digital sounds like what you hear in The Postal Service, then fruityloops is probably the budget-conscious way to go.

adobe audition is another fairly inexpensive ($300) program that can do a lot. adobe is always quick to catch on to creative ventures, and it rivals some of the better recording software - especially considering it's price. it can be compared to protools, only you can configure to a variety of interfaces or rather a sound card if you wish.

i personally stray from sound cards to do the recording and i prefer mixer interfaces more because there are less configuration changes. with sound cards there can be a lot of tweaking and reconfiguring just to ensure it is compatable with your setup. sometimes they just wont work at all. once you have those configured to your pc, you then have to configure your software to respond to your sound card as your 'audio device.' (not to mention find out if you have a driver that works well with your software.)

 

[Dekstar]

Agree with Harij. Acid totally wasn't worth the illegal download I did of it .

However, I think Garageband is a solid deal if you own a Mac. No idea about Ableton Live, but it's worth a shot, because Harij rocks, so you should listen to his every word.

 

[Reaktor4]

Theres nothing wrong with acid.
What you need depends on exactly what you want to do to their songs really. They might be better just renting a studio for a day.

 

[nofx]

true renting a studio out, but it would cost just as much just to get the software.
im surprised no one has mentioned reason but its obvious that you cant put in vocals unless you use audacity to bind them together

 

[gweedodogg69]

Thanks, I knew I could count on the halflife2.net ppl.

 

[Reaktor4]

You cant record audio in reason... or do other stuff that imo is essential for a sequencer but theres no point getting into that now.
Studios arent as expensive as you might think. I mean it might cost a couple of hundred quid but when you consider that youre likely getting professional quality recording, everything done by pro mixing and mastering engineers with very good monitors, recording gear, sound treated rooms etc (which probably means that the finished mix will turn out a lot better than you could do by yourself) it can be great value for money.
Anyway gweedodogg still hasnt really said what capabilities the software needs.. Do they want to record each instrument to a seperate track and mix and manipulate them, do they need to add synths or do they just want to edit or add some stuff (effects, more percs or whatever) on top of a mix etc etc.. it could be that all they need is a free wave editor.

 

[theotherguy]

I use FL studio. It's really simple, but if you want true power you should go for something like cubase or reason, but they are slightly more difficult to use.

 

[Reaktor4]

Fls is more powerful than reason.
And the more advanced sequencers really arent harder to use. I use logic and its actually easier to use than any of the 'lesser' sequencers ive used. The thing is you have to spend a little more time at the start learning how to use them (which isnt long, a couple of days at the most and youll be able to do most of what you need to).