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Home Studio Electronica

kuranes

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A friend of mine just got this Roland 404 the other day, and was trying to describe it to me on the phone last night. I saw this Youtube vid on it just now, and it looks like it might be a blast to mess around with.

YouTube - SP404 + Guitar - SLOW GROOVE Demo Tutorial

I have a project that I would like to do if I can ever get myself a real nice portable recorder, which involves weaving spoken word and environmental captured sounds into one another, and possibly inviting some people who are more musical than I am to be adding some guitar and percussion etc., too.

The portable recorder that I want is too much $ right now. Hoping it will come down over time.

Anyone else into this stuff ?
 

spirilis

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I'm learning drums mostly on an electric drumset (Yamaha DD65), although I grew tired of the cymbal sounds so I'm supplementing it with some real cymbals (hihat & ride). One thing I keep meaning to try is making the PC produce the drumset's voices with custom soundfonts instead of relying on the internal synthesizer (which, while it's decent... it could always be better :D )
 

ajblaise

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Right now, my studio consists of nice Roland drum kit and a lot of software. I want to get a nice midi controller and then I'll be pretty set.

In a year or two I'd like to have one room just decked out in equipment and hardware. All Roland and Korg.
 

proteanmix

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LOL, thank you Kanye West.

I was listening to a few tracks from his 808 and Heartbreak CD and was like, what's the deal with this whole 808 thing? So I went on a research frenzy and found out about the Roland TR-808. So ignorant in my hip-hop history.

Not a 404 but interesting nonetheless:

[YOUTUBE=wreP8FMupyM]Beat Balls[/YOUTUBE]
 

ajblaise

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I plan on buying one of those Korg Kaosillators.

I wonder if this Roland 404, is the best in its "class", if that question makes any sense ? ( I have to educate myself - it seems the word "sampler" can be used to describe all kinds of things. )

The Roland 404 sounds like a good way to go if you want a good sampler workstation, looks real fun. I probably won't be buying a sampler any time soon, I'm trying to go the software route for the most part, but that's just me.
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

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I used to use Fruity Loops, but for the past 5-6 years I've been playing with Reason. Reason + USB keyboard will take you very far in any project. I've probably written over 1000 loops. Shit, I should put out a CD. Some of it is actually nice to listen to. Heh.
 

ajblaise

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I used to use Fruity Loops, but for the past 5-6 years I've been playing with Reason. Reason + USB keyboard will take you very far in any project. I've probably written over 1000 loops. Shit, I should put out a CD. Some of it is actually nice to listen to. Heh.

Yeah I keep hearing about pros who use nothing but Reason and a midi controller. It's very encouraging.
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

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Yeah I keep hearing about pros who use nothing but Reason and a midi controller. It's very encouraging.

Reason is a really powerful program.

More powerful than communism, aj. More powerful than communism.
 

kuranes

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I'll eventually get into the software side of things. I've heard about several different DAW options. I don't want to get something that is so complicated to architect properly that I end up leaving it sitting in a corner/not using it on my computer . I have an Apple computer, and I guess there are some DAW's made to make the best use of that.
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

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I'll eventually get into the software side of things. I've heard about several different DAW options. I don't want to get something that is so complicated to architect properly that I end up leaving it sitting in a corner/not using it on my computer . I have an Apple computer, and I guess there are some DAW's made to make the best use of that.

Honestly, why not just download Reason 3.0? Hardware, imo, is a waste of time, especially if you're a beginner. Not to mention expensive.
 

kuranes

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Honestly, why not just download Reason 3.0? Hardware, imo, is a waste of time, especially if you're a beginner. Not to mention expensive.
I remember looking at Reason a few years ago, and I can't recall what made me put it on the back burner. Maybe I'll take another look at it. Is the download free ? ( Not likely. )
 

ajblaise

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I remember looking at Reason a few years ago, and I can't recall what made me put it on the back burner. Maybe I'll take another look at it. Is the download free ? ( Not likely. )

Do you use torrents or p2p? You can get it for free that way.

And since you have an Apple, you might want to check out Logic. My friend just got it and the interface is awesome, 10x easier to use and learn than Reason.
 

kuranes

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Do you use torrents or p2p? You can get it for free that way.

And since you have an Apple, you might want to check out Logic. My friend just got it and the interface is awesome, 10x easier to use and learn than Reason.
I haven't fooled with Torrents and p2p much, as I'm not the sharpest guy when it comes to security and there are supposed to be viruses or other problems associated with those some of the time. ( The "over 50" crowd's hesitations/misgivings, I know. )

Yeah, Logic was the one that the guy at Guitar Center specifically recommended for me. Some of these things are not actual full blown DAW's but just software synthesizers, I think. I get them mixed up. There's one called Ableton, too. I will want one with an extremely short learning curve when I make the move into software, for the reasons that I mentioned earlier.

I've had some others between the sites recommending I get more into Logic, too. Or get Trainwreck amps.
 

Martoon

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Reason is a really powerful program.

More powerful than communism, aj. More powerful than communism.
Honestly, why not just download Reason 3.0? Hardware, imo, is a waste of time, especially if you're a beginner. Not to mention expensive.
I agree. Anymore, it almost never makes sense to do anything in hardware, whether it's synth, recording, production, whatever. Software does so much more, and does it better. And the SubTractor and Thor synths in Reason have a really amazing, warm, organic sound that's better than any other software synth. Plus they're completely parametric, not sampled, so you can do lots of nice sweep/variation effects with them. Check this out (especially the vocal synth that starts about 0:45 in).

FWIW, though, the general consensus is that FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops) is easier to use for sequencing, but Reason has better sounding synths. Of course, you can always use Rewire to control the Reason synths from FL Studio.

You'll also want to make sure you have a decent low-latency ASIO sound device (your typical consumer soundcard won't cut it - the latency will drive you crazy). I really like the Edirol UA-EX1. It's about $90 (last I checked - probably cheaper now), has good sound quality and about 2ms latency. Plus it's an external USB device, so it's easy to switch it over to your laptop when you want portability. Works great for realtime effects processing for things like guitar, too (e.g., with Guitar Rig 3).

Well, my copy of Reason was pirated and shared. So, communism ftw.
LOL!
 

kuranes

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And the SubTractor and Thor synths in Reason have a really amazing, warm, organic sound that's better than any other software synth. Plus they're completely parametric, not sampled, so you can do lots of nice sweep/variation effects with them.
.......................................................................................................
You'll also want to make sure you have a decent low-latency ASIO sound device (your typical consumer soundcard won't cut it - the latency will drive you crazy). I really like the Edirol UA-EX1. It's about $90 (last I checked - probably cheaper now), has good sound quality and about 2ms latency. Plus it's an external USB device, so it's easy to switch it over to your laptop when you want portability. Works great for realtime effects processing for things like guitar, too (e.g., with Guitar Rig 3).
( 1. ) How are the synths in Logic ? Any opinions ?
(2. ) Thanks for the advice about the ASIO device, as I wouldn't have known I needed that. That's probably part of the reason I haven't gone with software in the past, in addition to whatever the cost was ( price itself plus lessons from people who actually know how to use the stuff ) , is the complexity factor. How easy or difficult is it to just start making music right away ? What factors are there that I don't know about, but need to ? The Kaosillator will even help you get into the right key !!! With some of these technologies you actually need to * gulp * know what the Hell you're doing in order to even get started.... "composing". It may make more sense for people who actually have more honest-to-goodness musicianship in their background.

There is a group of people ( they were painters first ) who formed a "band" of "non-musicians" called "Fat Belly God" back towards my old neighborhood, and I eventually started hanging out with them and joining in on their "jams". These guys obviously don't take themselves very seriously ( although we've started allowing real musicians to join lately :) ) and it's more about having fun with our noises, rhythms, and randomly worthwhile textures.
 

dga

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Apr 29, 2008
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Over the years ive built up a small studio of both hardware and software devices. I bought hardware when maintaining a computer and software was not practical for me. Hardware has the advantage of having a dedicated controller for each control function. This makes the device more fun to play with. Software is easier to organize multiple projects with and is more powerful. Midi controllers are a powerful way to control software functions to make the process more fun, but isnt quite the same as a dedicated controller. Compromises, compromises. These days I mess around with my hardware synthesizer a bit, but mostly record stuff (synths, noise machines, mics, etc) through a mixer and then mess around with it in software. I don#t know if it is due to my entp nature, but i finish almost nothing. The process is however relaxing for me, so while i have invested a considerable amount into my setup, the meditation it provides is worth it to me.

The software I use is ableton live. I paid for it. Stolen tools are bad karma, and the better programs have antipiracy tricks that force any serious user to want to purchase them anyway. Ableton has a very easy learning curve and I imagine a majority of the electronic music released is produced with it. All have their pluses and minuses. Many are available at reduced prices with student discounts.

There is good news that you dont have to bootleg software to get into the game. Reaper and audacity are great pieces of software that are freely distributed. KVR is a great portal for free plugins.
 
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