advice on music creation

wiredtothemoon

can anyone give me any advice on creating my own tunes? (techno/minimal techno mostly).

i'm on a tight budget so tons of hardware is not really an option. I've been messing around with rebirth and reason but everything sounds terribly unpolished and amateurish, or is it just me?

what i need to know is what would be a decent setup of hardware/software to start with and where the money has to be spent.... something like "you need a, b and c , perhaps you could buy x and y if you turn out to be any good"

havok*

on what to get i'd have no idea.
However, my friends brother managed to get a **** load of gear on ebay and ebid, basically waiting till the last few seconds and posting a slightly higher bid. He only spend a few hundred on thousands of pounds of equipment.

Cake Fiend

Get some VST software, Cubase VST for preference - very handy.
Reason is a seriously powerful app if you get good with it (ever heard of Ron's Mobile Disco? Pair of iBooks running Reason).

Check out Computer Music mag for reviews of software and hardware (keyboards, mixers, etc.)

A MIDI keyboard is pretty much essential, personally I'm also planning to get some electronic percussion pads (knocking out a beat on a keyboard is really just not the same).

Giblet

MusicDraw is a great MIDI creation Program. The drums are excellent.
+ don't use a 4/4 beat

Greenbean

If you get cubase, get Halion as well - its a sampler thingy - so you can stick different samples for each key on your midi keyboard. Then if you use something like soundforge you can change the pitch properly (without it slowing down or speeding up) - and add those notes into the appropriate slots; helping you make some decent tunes.

Ruu_Old

Magix Music Maker is funky for midis

ReefBreak

Cheapish way of starting up assuming you have a PC at home:
- M-Audio Audiophile 2496 soundcard. Good price, good converters, solid latency. Stay away from the SB Live Platinum or Audigy cards - the latency on these are terrible.
- Evolution mk-149 keyboard. Or if you have the cash, get the Mk-249C keyboard as it comes with controller pots. Very handy for...
- Propellerheads Reason. Top class piece of software. You could also try Fruity Loops 3 - some people prefer this one, I prefer Reason. However, FL3 supports the use of VST intruments which can be dead handy. Plus it's cheaper than Reason.

wiredtothemoon

hmmm plenty of food for thought... thx all

only a matter of time before im famous now...

Ruu_Old

jus remember who we are when ur famous eh

_CreeD_

Sonar 2.0 has just been released, with seamless Reason integration. The Xl version also includes the amazing FxPansion Dr-008 Drum Synthesizer and sampler. This thing is fantastic, with many 3rd party (and cheap) dance kits available from Kenfen. I'm only just getting into music on the PC myself, I used to write on the C64 and Amiga many moons ago.
Sonar uses DXI format for virtual synths (Much more versatile and of higher quality than samples/soundfonts), and you can get a VST to DXI converter for ~$35 so you get the best of both wolds).
DXI's are mostly software models of analog synths, so instead of using samples it generates the sounds from scratch. If done correctly there should be no difference between the DXI format of a Synth and the real thing...except it's a LOT cheaper. Most DXI's Ive seen so far are aimed at the dance/ambient market and are really an excellent source of user-adjustable sound.
As for the tunes sounding amateurish, this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the actual content. The polish is in the final mix, so you need a decent EQ package for a start (Ozone is great, and Sonar 2 XL has an excellent one built in). Proper use of a quality EQ package can make a HUGE difference to the quality of the final mix.
I found BBE Sonic Maximiser to be very good too for adding some life to instruments, mainly accoustics and some vocals.

My setup (again improvement/addition advice appreciated)

Hardware:
Audigy (handy for harwdare Soundfont support and quickly doing basic midi work)
Echo Gina24

Keyboard:
Terratec Midi Pro Controller kbd.
Evolution Mk-125 (have it in work, fits nicely under the table )

Editors
Sonar 1.0 (2 just ordered)
GigaStudio 96
SoundForge 5

Mix PLugins:
Izotope Ozone mixer (Brilliant)
BBE Sonic Maximiser (very neat for quick instrument adjustments)

DXI's:
Dr-008 (Drum machine)
Triangle II
DreamStation
Tassman
LiveSynth Pro (For soundfont playback on the Gina24)

lazer

gat a boom box? i dont no much about em, but i no the do some mad sound effects:D

_CreeD_

Ive been playing around with those DXis s for the last few days. Some of them are absolutely brilliant. Especially for dance/trance/ambient styles, just so far ahead of soundfonts/samples you wouldn't believe they were from the same hardware. Triangle II is free from rgcaudio.com . And their main product, Pentagon, is better again (and a steal for $99).