keyboards, synthesizers, and midi controllers..

[ChiefBongWater]

Anyone on here have a synth? Or likes to make beats or cool elctro music?

Im thinking about buying a korg. Any recommendations for good editing software. ive heard ableton is sick... and fruity loops

[mr.nobody]

and
FL Studio 9 work pretty gud for mee.

[al-Mu'akhkhir]

ya if i were you i'd start with FL9, it's pretty easy and intuitive to use. you'll be pulling your hair out trying to figure out all the basic functions of any other program (cubase, reason, whatever)

[Hooked]

ableton/live would be the industry standard these days, i imagine.

im starting to fuck around with virtual dj, same on my homie's CDN 90 and single functioning Numark pos deck. he's got a KAOS pad hooked into the CD decks/mixer that is definitely fun to mess with, but, like the decks, i'm barely getting the basics. he fixed his desktop and apparently has an output from the turntable into the computer, so I guess we can start recording shit soon, maybe. it's a weird set-up but all spread out it kinda works nicely w/ two people.

[herbinator45]

^ how are you liking that? i've been considering getting virtual dj and a behringer BCD2000.. kind of like your cd mix setup with the numark, but it mixes mp3/wav, up to 4 channels [can link up a turntable and cd player if you want, etc]..
Long & McQuade - Products - Behringer BCD2000 - B-Control DJ

but ya chief, if you're starting out i'd suggest just getting the entry level FL, get used to it and then see where you want to go from there [depending on the type of beats you're into making, how you want to record/perform and so on]. you might want a controller to make things easier, more intuitive and more interesting, but there's a hell of a lot you can do with just FL or other uber full-featured daw's like reason.
i've heard ableton is uber intuitive and easy to use and have recently considered going from FL to ableton live.

[Mafoo]

id say start learning on something thats difficult to use. youll suck bad at first obviously but youll save time not having to learn another program once you feel like youre making the music that you wanted to make. i use reason, its a pain in the ass and has a ton of features, but i like the set up.

[ChiefBongWater]

^interesting way to look at it lol
i cant use FL cause i got Mac, apparently its impossible for mac users?
ableton is a bit pricey... i heard audacity was an 'ok' free one. i gotta look into it more

i wish i had one of these though

[al-Mu'akhkhir]

audacity is more of like a waveform editor... something that you might use for chopping samples for instance, but afaik it doesn't have a sequencer which would be a problem.

try reaper, I believe that's the hottest free DAW right now. idk if there's a mac compatible version but google 'reaper DAW'

[m0rb1d]

try the small version of the alesis ion or the micro korg if you dont have much cash to spend(300 to 400). check out dave smith instruments mofo and tetra if you want some analog goodness for cheap too, but you will need a midi controller for those.

[al-Mu'akhkhir]

i would actually reccomend that you start with a cheaper midi controller and use software synths. if you know how to use the internets well enough you should be able to pirate some really expensive and killer software synths free... more possibilities than a hardware synth and you woould need a 1/4" jack into your computer somehow.. i know it's possible but there are more costs associated with getting hardware synths.


srsly look for a USB midi controller and get some shit started.

[ChiefBongWater]

i bought a microkorg xl today!!!
its pretty badass, just been messin around with it so far.
i still need to get a midi cable to get stuff on the computer. and im thinking about getting a nano pad or a kaossilator to go with it

[al-Mu'akhkhir]

midi does not transfer sound though.

[herbinator45]

reaper hasn't been free for like 2-3 years

[Waves]

i bought a microkorg xl today!!!
its pretty badass, just been messin around with it so far.
i still need to get a midi cable to get stuff on the computer. and im thinking about getting a nano pad or a kaossilator to go with it

good stuff man.

although why would you get a nano pad unless you are planning on playing live? are you?

kaossilators are fun. although i warn you the usage might be more limited in practice than the idea you have in your head of what it can do.

the next toy i plan to get is

Roland U.S. - SP-404: Sampling Workstation

[herbinator45]

noice waves.. that's basically the drum/sampling part of my old fantomS in module form.. p dope.

[Black]

get propellerheads reason.

[ChiefBongWater]

midi does not transfer sound though.

so midi wont get my sounds to my computer? i thought it would...

good stuff man.

although why would you get a nano pad unless you are planning on playing live? are you?

kaossilators are fun. although i warn you the usage might be more limited in practice than the idea you have in your head of what it can do.

the next toy i plan to get is

Roland U.S. - SP-404: Sampling Workstation

Nahh, im not gonna do anything live. this is all just for personal/fun use

i donno though, ive seen alot of cool stuff done with kaossilator. i was thinking the nanopad mainly for the quick drum beats i could get

[ChiefBongWater]

so from what i understand... if i get a midi to usb cable i can hook it up to the computer/software, but i wont get any sound... right? do you need to convert midi to mp3 before you can edit anything? im kinda confused lol

[herbinator45]

your daw will usually allow you to select a midi device, or multiple [it'll have like a list of ones it recognizes, and a lot of times will recognize other similar machines not listed]; what you do on your controller you can record into your daw as a track.