Hi guys,
I am looking a bit of advice on how to push my music on using the likes of FL studio. I play the piano and have wrote quite a few songs which I want to add beats, instruments and alter vocals… I don’t really have a genre… just try to make it sound good! lol
also I have a few songs which I have ideas off adding extra verses into the song but I don’t know how to edit the songs, and what software to use. for example, one of the songs is Coldplay - the scientist… I have a couple of rap verses which I want to add into the song, whilst deleting the existing verses… sounds crap but surprisingly it would work! lol
I need to buy some equipment like a keyboard with MIDI outs and ins, decent mic, possibly a new computer with a good soundcard… but this is scary as I know very little about whats hot and whats not!
Also, mac or PC? FL Studio garageband or ableton?
I really haven’t a baldy and any advice is welcome!
Live in magherafelt if anyone has a decent setup locally, I’d love to call in and check it out!
Cheers guys! 
I’ve never heard of magherafelt before, where the hell is it?
Well your a subscriber here so it would make sense to get ableton for a start. I would stay away from FL Studio if I where you.
PC or Mac?? Well both run ableton so which are you more comfortable with? A Mac will cost you bags more.
What kinda of music are you doing? Whats your budget?
It’s defiantly down to personal preference which program you go with. Some people get on better with logic (i’m one of them) others love ableton, some i know swear by FL and make amazing tunes (Afrojack for one is an FL user). Reason is defiantly another to look at although limits you with the lack of vst support.
Set yourself a budget as mentioned above and that will help you to work out what you can buy and which route to take
Ok first of you can just get a midi keyboard that connects via usb you dont need to worry about midi ins and outs. As for sound card you dont need to worry too much untill you start wanting to get a pair of studio monitors/synths/mics etc. id reccomend the m audio saphire pro or if you just want something fast for a pair of monitors grt the m audio fast track usb. As for mac vs PC then well if you can afford it MAC everytime… Ableton vs Logic? If your on a pc get Ableton if your on a Mac get logic its that simple… You also dont need to worry too much that alot of the stuff on here is on ableton as it can be transferred pretty easily to whatever DAW your using. Id stay well clear of FL studio/Cubase, if you want something simple and fast and a good program to learn on check out,Reason/record, it has alot of loops and samples and suites songwriters very well.
Hope this helps…
Serious question, ie not just trying to cause an argument…
Why not Ableton if you have a Mac? I have a Mac and use Ableton and I bloody love it, I’ve not inclination to go to Logic at all.
I’ve heard people say that Logic is better for audio, and know one or two that work in Ableton then just bounce the master out through logic once for this reason, but am always interested in other reasons why its better in case I decide to consider it once more.
Mate it pains me to say that im the biggest Ableton freak ever but like ive been using it alot because I simply couldnt afford a Mac. But if your,starting out on a mac… Its probably more advisable to get Logic as it was designed for a Mac and tbh its probably the best DAW out, its not for nothing that pretty much all the big guys use it. Even big producers that used ablein like Chris Lake and Deadmau5 now only use Ableton a little and have been coverted to Logic…
[quote]jjdejong0 (25/03/2011)[hr]Mate it pains me to say that im the biggest Ableton freak ever but like ive been using it alot because I simply couldnt afford a Mac. But if your,starting out on a mac… Its probably more advisable to get Logic as it was designed for a Mac and tbh its probably the best DAW out, its not for nothing that pretty much all the big guys use it. Even big producers that used ablein like Chris Lake and Deadmau5 now only use Ableton a little and have been coverted to Logic…[/quote]
Thats fair enough but whats the reason that Logic is the best DAW apart from lots off the big producers use it - lots of people watch Ant and Dec doesn’t mean its any good
I am interested in the answer even as a stubborn PC user 
Fair enough, basically as said before the audio is better, first of all anything ableton can do logic can do so as a standard DAW they pretty much tie. Logics standard synths like Es2 etc piss all over the the operator etc. Next logics sampler is way better than Abletons simpler/sampler. The way logic deals with external stuff is better and more geared towards it. Also Logic has a better EQ and a much better reverb. It also gives you more variations of the same sorta plugins like different reverbs, delays, distortions, etc etc I know you get like a ping pong delay and a simple delay in ableton but logic will give you variations on what is just a delay, kinda hard to explain. Also logics time stretching is very good, even though this is probably whate Ableton is most famous for Logic does its job.
That along with more options for audio, more in depth options etc etc its like jist better out of the box, remember when someone is,starting out asking for DAW advice you have to consider they dont even know what a vst is
I’ve not used logic so I can only speak from my perspective, and I can beleive that reverb might be better in Logic (Ableton’s isn’t that great) but I think your statement about Operator is a bit sweeping. Operator is a heavily rated synth.
Anway small details aside, my main concern as a music tech journalist was that I might be missing something. I frequently have to check with Logic users that what I am writing about is possible in Logic - for example creating grouped instruments or routing midi random through a scale type plug-in, so intuitive is Ableton for these thing.
I’ve been fortunate enough to interview lots of artists and never has anyone told me one DAW was outright better than the other.
So when you said it was as simple as that I need to make sure I aint missed an important meeting when everyone decided Logic was better!
Interestingly some of the artists I respect the most - Hank Shocklee from Public Enemy, Tom Middleton and A Guy called Gerald all use Reason.
Back OT I believe that a DAW chooses you, not the other way round. Reason for the old skool peeps that like a virtual studio, Ableton for the ideas people, logic for the linear minded & back end focused and Pro Tools for the Sound on Sound readers 
Well logic doesnt have group channels it has what ableton was trying to achieve bus channels. Its also smaller things like automation curves and I think you can export to mp3. Reason is a great piece of kit and tbh a DAW is much like a car one mans porsche is another mans suzuki swift…
I meant instrument racks sorry, like having a nexus and a massive in a chain treated as one.
But out of interest what do Logic’s bus channels do that you can’t do with routing in Ableton?
Automation curves is cool.
Oh right I though you were talking about group tracks. I suppose buses are the same I think the only thing is that its a bit more straight forward. The EQ is better for one simple reason as well, it shows a graphic spectrum behind it to show you the frequencies. You could argue you can do the same in ableton by just putting the spectrum next to the eq but its still different. Once again its just a little bit extra.
Operator might be a well regarded synth but when your completely new to this which do you think is easier to program or get sounds out of, this or the Ns? Even if you just go by graphic visuals the logic plugs are a bit more eye appealing and user friendly.
I see where your coming from Jan but the logic users I know do get frustrated with their chosen DAW as I do with Live
I just not convinced to change even if i was a mac lad
But to the OP - download demos before you buy as we all work differently
Yeah… even Fruity Loops has it’s dedicated following. Big in the Dubstep scene apparently, for whatever that’s worth.
Yeah but thats just human nature, people complain about everything…
If I boaght a mac tommorow I also wouldnt get logic but thTs because im probably too used to ableton. But this guy is just starting out so everything is new to him and it might be a good idea if he buys a mac to buy the daw made for a mac, Logic.
Every daw will have its followings and fanboys but when you put Ableton and Logic next to each other which was a question I got asked here on why its better etc you can credit logic on the few smaller things that it just does and has that ableton cant do. Im not saying Logic is 10000000000 times better im just giving you some FACTS on why its slightly better and why if using a mac and starting out its probably a better idea.
As for the secret meeting to determine which is better I wouldnt sweat it mate you didnt miss it you just werent invited…
Fair enough, I gotta admire your confidence in your own opinion at least.
I’m still not convinced in any way that it’s outright ‘better’ though despite any so say ‘facts’.
Ok everyone is entitled to their oppinion but u gotta understand I love ableton more than some members of my family lol so its very hard for me to say this. But facts are facts and,preference is personal…
[quote]Conor McSorley (23/03/2011)[hr]
I need to buy some equipment like a keyboard with MIDI outs and ins, decent mic, possibly a new computer with a good soundcard… but this is scary as I know very little about whats hot and whats not!
Also, mac or PC? FL Studio garageband or ableton?
[/quote]
Well, I think you opened up Pandora’s Box with your question 
Of course everyone has their preference, but it sounds like you are just beginning to transition to the world of computer music–if so, some of the stuff people are talking about like EQ, VSTs, etc may not mean much to you yet.
I’ll share my experience when I first got into modern music production software, and maybe some of it helps.
First I have both PCs and Macs because I work with computers a lot. Digital audio workstations (DAW) like FL require a certain amount of computer processor power (e.g duo core/2.4Ghz) and a certain amount of computer memory (e.g. 4G ram). The higher those numbers are the more instruments and effects you can run in realtime.
Personally I want to be able to produce both in my home studio and offsite so I got a laptop; for me when I compared a PC tricked out with a good sound card, a fast CPU, lots of ram, a fast hard drive, and decent graphics support I found the PC laptops (like Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony) and the small MacBook Pro were roughly within a couple hundred bucks of each other. There are definitely cheaper PC laptops out there, like ACER and ASUS, but they don’t usually have the same quality of audio support that the higher end ones do.
When I got the Mac I got Garageband for free (because it came bundled). For me it was a great introduction into what you can do in a DAW. In fact my first track was entirely done in Garageband.
Crimson by lattetown
However, the more I began to play with it and compare what I was hearing other people produce he more I wanted to find a higher quality program. Apple’s marketing got to me and I bought Logic believing it would be just as easy as Garageband but with more powerful features. That didn’t turn out to be true–all the keyboard commands were different, the way things are buried in nested menus, even just finding the “piano roll” was completely different. After a couple of months reading manuals and help books I found out that Logic is really a different program (originally called Emagic) and created in Germany–not by Apple. It is also geared towards people who like working like a traditional sound engineer. When I came across Ableton Live at first I wasn’t impressed because the UI looked very simple–I thought it was just a another flavor of Garageband which I already had. However, when I started to play with it (and watch the videos on this site) I realized I was making music more than I had done for months with Logic.
As far as keyboards, etc, I check out reviews on MusicRadar.com. Some people like MAudio’s stuff, some like Novation–I tried both and found I like Akai’s stuff (but that’s totally personal based on the synth feel I like).
BTW, starting out I’d get the basic version of Ableton and see if you like it–you’ll save money that way. Also I’d buy a third party instrument like Sylenth1 because it sounds great and you can use it on whatever DAW you find you like to work in.
Anyway, my two cents
The best two cents in the thread an all!
More important than what platform is best, what VSTs to get etc I found was just getting in there and doing it. I was lucky in that I knew fairly well what DAW appealed to me so I just got it and ran with it.
After that it was just a case of meddling about, trying everything out and absolutely devouring information. Books, magazines, videos, forums etc, I just went to town on it (and still do).
Since then I have learnt that certain themes keep coming up and people have very strong opinions on them, but the best (and possibly only) way to really know is just ‘do’ and ‘try’.
Things like mastering… people soon get into the mind that this is what they need to make their tracks sound ‘pro’ but 9 times out of 10 its really that they are still developing and just don’t have pro skills yet. Forget mastering, just do and try, make, experiment and make some more.
Over time you will start to understand what everything does and start carving out your own path which will be the right one for you, not anyone else.
So more specifically for your question:
I started out on a crappy old PC with a demo of Ableton and just got stuck in. No fancy soundcard, nothing. I bought an Axiom 25 midi keyboard based on the price and that it had what I felt I needed (knobs, pads and keys) and I don’t regret buying it and haven’t bought anything else.
I’ve tried Cubase, Sonar and Reason in my time, but Ableton just leapt out at me, it might be different for you. Watch tutorial videos etc for all of them and see which appeals to your style of working - they all do the same thing basically, and pro results can be achieved with all of them.
Do and try… Yoda was wrong there is a try… but only when its more of an ‘experiment’
[quote]bangthedj (26/03/2011)[hr]I’ve not used logic so I can only speak from my perspective, and I can beleive that reverb might be better in Logic (Ableton’s isn’t that great) but I think your statement about Operator is a bit sweeping. Operator is a heavily rated synth.
Anway small details aside, my main concern as a music tech journalist was that I might be missing something. I frequently have to check with Logic users that what I am writing about is possible in Logic - for example creating grouped instruments or routing midi random through a scale type plug-in, so intuitive is Ableton for these thing.
I’ve been fortunate enough to interview lots of artists and never has anyone told me one DAW was outright better than the other.
So when you said it was as simple as that I need to make sure I aint missed an important meeting when everyone decided Logic was better!
Interestingly some of the artists I respect the most - Hank Shocklee from Public Enemy, Tom Middleton and A Guy called Gerald all use Reason.
Back OT I believe that a DAW chooses you, not the other way round. Reason for the old skool peeps that like a virtual studio, Ableton for the ideas people, logic for the linear minded & back end focused and Pro Tools for the Sound on Sound readers :P[/quote]
you forgot Cubase