Music Production Software

[BBC 08]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a decent computer program that would allow me to mix and record some music. I've looked at FL Studio, Cakewalk and Acid Music Studio but I wanted to ask here for suggestions before I went off and bought something.

Any help is appreciated and will be rewarded with reps. Thanks in advance.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a decent computer program that would allow me to mix and record some music. I've looked at FL Studio, Cakewalk and Acid Music Studio but I wanted to ask here for suggestions before I went off and bought something.

Any help is appreciated and will be rewarded with reps. Thanks in advance.

My brother does a lot of that stuff. We have a mac in our basement that no one ever uses but him and he only uses it for that purpose. We arent really mac people but he loves it for that purpose. Their program is called garage band. Not sure if that is exclusive to the mac or not. FL Studio is one of the best from what I have heard.

[Espe]

If your album sales aren't doing to good who's the doctor you think you should see?

[blobfan]

Garageband is exclusively for Mac. I've never used it but have heard good things about it.

[sirthought]

BBC 08,

I do a fair bit of this. I use Cubase and like it just fine. There are several products out there. These all cost about the same and they all do basically the same thing, just doing it in slightly different ways and with different strengths. Most full blow Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software will cost around $500, but you can spend a lot less and still record music. It's more about how well you play and record the music (mics, preamps).

I almost bought Cakewalk Sonar, but decided Cubase was better for me long term. Sonar is cool. I have also used a really nice, affordable product called Reaper. That's cheaper than most, as they allow non-professionals to pay a much lower price.

One software that's very new and getting a lot of attention is called Studio One by the hardware company Presonsus. I want to try this. I do not recommend getting into Pro Tools. It offers no real advantage over all the other software mentioned here and costs a ton more in the long run.

If you are on a Mac, Garage Band is easy to mess with, but once you get deep into it, you'll want a full blown version of Logic. (Garage Band is basically Logic Extra Lite.)

If you need really cheap there is a FREE software call Audacity that works well. Does all the basic stuff. There are a few other free DAWs out there, but Audacity is highly used and even bundled with other products in the audio world.

Acid is more for making loop-based music, using multiple samples. You can record sounds with it, but it's strength is arranging pre-recorded stuff. I guess FL Studio is similar in that regard. Ableton Live is in between something like Acid and Cubase, and several people I know love it because it's nice for recording and later performing with those tracks on a laptop or a sampler, etc.

So, basically it's all good. :D Seriously, you can't really go too wrong with any of it. You just have to suck it up for about two weeks to a month and really read the manual to know what you are doing.

I like Cubase, but I bet I'd feel fine working with many of the other things out there. If I was on a Mac, I'd go with either Cubase or Logic. Sonar and Acid is PC only.

[Man 4 Muskies]

I completely agree with what sirthought has laid out. My last band DIY recorded a full-length album with Cubase, and got really fantastic results. I had some high quality mics, and I felt that it let them really do their work.

I used a really cheap version of Cakewalk years ago...it got the job done, but nothing special. I can't speak to their more premium offerings.

I use GarageBand on my Mac for my day to day recording. It's simple and more than gets the job done. I use a basic M-Audio FastTrack input, and it gets surprisingly good quality (USB input to computer, can take 1/4 inch or XLR). I would never use this setup to record anything I would want to "release" or show off, but I find it works great for putting ideas down, demos, messing around, etc.

I haven't been around this stuff much lately, though, so I'm sure there's other great stuff out there. This is just what I've had experience with.

Happy recording!