Hello everyone, I am looking into purchasing music production software such as ableton, reason etc. Not sure which one to purchase. I have no experience at all in music production. I would appreciate anyone’s suggestions and advice. Thank you!
hey rich, just wanted to say welcome to the site. the topic you want info on has been discussed a lot here. i provided a link to shoot you in the right direction 
http://forums.sonicacademy.com/Topic11631-8-1.aspx?Highlight=music+software
i think everyones going to give you different answers depending on what they use themselves. i, for example, will say get cubase, because thats all ive ever used and love it. 
but saying that id like to try out logic. its seems to that its becoming THE daw to use. alot on here will say ableton i think.
Well the best advice I could give you is download the demos and see which one you prefer, don’t forget FL Studio and Cubase. They all have their pros and cons butfor me it is which one I felt more at ease with and find more creative.
Just make sure you feel happy before you make that purchase.
if i would start all over again to produce music with i would do it with ableton. most of the tutorials here are made in ableto wich is an awesome DAW
i use a pc that runs osx or windows 7 ultimate.so i use logic,cubase,nuendo and ableton live.i would say start with ableton live.
[quote]jpgetty2win (12/04/2010)[hr]alot on here will say ableton i think.[/quote]
This is because Ableton is the hottest DAW on the market and is revolutionizing the industry. More and more producers are turning to Live for all their production needs.
I use ableton as I just found it a bit more friendly for beginners than some of the others I had demo versions of (FL Studio, Cubase and Reason) Thats not to say that ableton is for beginners though - it’s an amazing tool and i’m learning new things every day.
If you are on a budget I would suggest that you try the demo of reaper as i have only ever heard good things about this DAW. I think its about £60 for a license whereas Ableton is around £300
[quote]howiegroove (13/04/2010)[hr][quote]jpgetty2win (12/04/2010)[hr]alot on here will say ableton i think.[/quote]
This is because Ableton is the hottest DAW on the market and is revolutionizing the industry. More and more producers are turning to Live for all their production needs.[/quote]not because this is a (for the most part) a dance music forum? i would say ableton is more of a dance music (loop based) DAW. if the guys into making say rock music i doubt ableton would be what hes in need of. thats why i said most on here will say ableton. i think logic is probably the hottest all round DAW.
I agree (reluctantly :P) I’m a big ableton fan (and user), but Logic is more sophisticated ‘all-rounder’ somewhere between abletons speed and cubase/nuendo functionality
as someone whos been using logic since 5,imo you really cant compare it to ableton live,ableton is its own thing,in its own league.its pretty far from just being a loop based daw,it can be whatever you want it to be and thats what its appeal is.if someone is working with rock more than likely they would be using protools,and actually quite a few of the bands that record where i work are incorporating live these days.
[quote]jpgetty2win (13/04/2010)[hr][quote]howiegroove (13/04/2010)[hr][quote]jpgetty2win (12/04/2010)[hr]alot on here will say ableton i think.[/quote]
This is because Ableton is the hottest DAW on the market and is revolutionizing the industry. More and more producers are turning to Live for all their production needs.[/quote]not because this is a (for the most part) a dance music forum? i would say ableton is more of a dance music (loop based) DAW. if the guys into making say rock music i doubt ableton would be what hes in need of. thats why i said most on here will say ableton. i think logic is probably the hottest all round DAW.[/quote]
Depeche Mode uses Ableton live during their concerts. Hiphop, pop, dance, and more modern music is made on Live. I think that Protools is the staple in the Rock world. Logic is amazing, but it hasn’t surpassed Protools, i think, in a major studio setting. I would say though that all major studios have both Protools and Logic.
[quote]RichNice (12/04/2010)[hr]Hello everyone, I am looking into purchasing music production software such as ableton, reason etc. Not sure which one to purchase. I have no experience at all in music production. I would appreciate anyone’s suggestions and advice. Thank you![/quote]
obiusly Ableton would be the best choice for you . and one of the reasons i tell you that because most tutorials are made in ableton Live . and it has mindblowing plug ins .
this is a battle that has been going on for years about wich is the best DAW in the market . but i think at the end you have to consider your DAW like a tool . if you know how to work with your tool it would be easier for you to express your artistic ways. there is producers who use Soundforge and Trackers software to make music . and their result might sound way better than someone who used cubase or ableton .
that means that the Producer experiece counts more than the software he uses
Like Aline says, to get great results, its more to do with the user who uses the software as appose to which software is the best. Theres countless professional producers who use older versions of software, for example - Nathan Fake. Think he uses a really old version of Cubase (As seen in his CM Masterclass) and he produces some of the most innovating stuff around.
People are always going to give you different answers as its what suits them best. Like already suggested, try the demo’s out and see what you think. I’m currently using Ableton, but i know for a fact i’d love to get my hands on Logic again as thats what i learnt to produce on, until it went MAC only.
Also, a very good tip is to not buy or download loads and loads of top range vsts, thinking your going to make the next big Sasha track as this wont happen. Pick one and stick to it, learn it inside out. I really cant strongly advise how important that is, but then that worked for me and is only my opinion.
this has been covered already but just to add, if your stating out get ableton for 3 reasons, its easy to learn to use, its easy to use and most of the videos on here are using ableton
[quote]howiegroove (13/04/2010)[hr][quote]jpgetty2win (13/04/2010)[hr][quote]howiegroove (13/04/2010)[hr][quote]jpgetty2win (12/04/2010)[hr]alot on here will say ableton i think.[/quote]
This is because Ableton is the hottest DAW on the market and is revolutionizing the industry. More and more producers are turning to Live for all their production needs.[/quote]not because this is a (for the most part) a dance music forum? i would say ableton is more of a dance music (loop based) DAW. if the guys into making say rock music i doubt ableton would be what hes in need of. thats why i said most on here will say ableton. i think logic is probably the hottest all round DAW.[/quote]
Depeche Mode uses Ableton live during their concerts. Hiphop, pop, dance, and more modern music is made on Live. I think that Protools is the staple in the Rock world. Logic is amazing, but it hasn’t surpassed Protools, i think, in a major studio setting. I would say though that all major studios have both Protools and Logic.[/quote]
logic surpassed pro-tools about 5 years ago as did cubase and Sonar, the pro-tools nuts don’t want you to know that though because they paid 10’s of thousands for their setups.
in recent updates pro-tools has been playing catch up with the midi side of things, but all said the only reason that many big studios continue to use pro-tools is because of the money they have invested into it.
as stated in the thread many pro’s (i personally know one) use software and machines that would be considered seriously out of date but its all about how well you get on with your software and machine.
the guy i know uses a PowerMac G3 450mhz machine with logic 5.5 and has no problems what so ever.
[quote]jon_fisher (14/04/2010)[hr]as stated in the thread many pro’s (i personally know one) use software and machines that would be considered seriously out of date but its all about how well you get on with your software and machine.
the guy i know uses a PowerMac G3 450mhz machine with logic 5.5 and has no problems what so ever.[/quote]
Correct, however, I personally dont think that Sonar and Cubase have surpassed Pro Tools. Although I really dislike Pro Tools, and its MIDI blows, I still think its better then the other two mentioned. Not to mention that it has the best time stretching algorithm out of any DAW, period. So, its way better for bands, rather then dance artists.
[quote]howiegroove (14/04/2010)[hr][quote]jon_fisher (14/04/2010)[hr]as stated in the thread many pro’s (i personally know one) use software and machines that would be considered seriously out of date but its all about how well you get on with your software and machine.
the guy i know uses a PowerMac G3 450mhz machine with logic 5.5 and has no problems what so ever.[/quote]
Correct, however, I personally dont think that Sonar and Cubase have surpassed Pro Tools. Although I really dislike Pro Tools, and its MIDI blows, I still think its better then the other two mentioned. Not to mention that it has the best time stretching algorithm out of any DAW, period. So, its way better for bands, rather then dance artists.[/quote]
having used pro-tools through uni i’ll have have to agree to differ with you on that bro.
ummmm…oh wait im on an internet forum about production.