Creating electronica

scop

I'm only interested in this from an amatuer perspective. How would you go about creating loop-based tracks using your computer. I know the software is expensive, but I'll probably just toy around with them in the trial versons. Its just an interesting area, and was wondering if anyone had any tips.

Anima

Give FLstudio a try. Its loop based, has a few samples/synths/various effects and thats pretty much all you need to get started.

Obviously it won't sound very professional but thats where hard work and skill (and money!) comes in

jimi_t

scop wrote:

I'm only interested in this from an amatuer perspective. How would you go about creating loop-based tracks using your computer. I know the software is expensive, but I'll probably just toy around with them in the trial versons. Its just an interesting area, and was wondering if anyone had any tips.

Well for instant gratification purposes, I'd go with eJay. It's not really "making music" though.

I think that Fruity Loops isn't a bad idea, but Sony ACID or Ableton Live Lite might be a better option.

Executive Steve

Reason is worth getting your hands on...

avoid ejay like the plague - it's just a toy.

The learning curve with reason is less steep than with the likes of acid etc because it's quite intuitive and the way you can wire stuff up internally can lead to some quite interesting sounds... if you get really into making music you can wire it into cubase for better sound quality and more accurate editing / vst support etc...

the grid on dogsonacid is a GREAT place to pick up tips ranging from basic stuff to very advanced stuff... the main focus is on drum and bass production but there's people there making pretty much everything under the sun and swapping information and samples remarkably freely - established producers are always popping in and explaining stuff... just avoid the "what sequencer is the best" threads because it always degenerates into an e-penis contest...

http://www.dogsonacid.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=4

oh, you might want to check out Buzz - it's complete freeware, has vst support [google vst] and is a very powerful tool if you get the hang of using it....

scop

Thanks for all the help. I've been messing with a free of these programs, and will come back with some results hopefully.

cornbb

I recommend Ableton Live Lite, or a demo of FL Studio. They often come bundled free with loads of inexpensive keyboards/MIDI controllers, it'd be worth getting one of those. After that, there are tons of excellent free synths, effects etc you can download for free. If you want to use samples/loops to create music they're cheap and fairly easy to come by. Try asking for more advice over at the Recording/Mixing/Collaborating forum. Have fun playing around!

jimi_t

I think the ultimate (and cheap) thing to do would be to buy an m-audio 2 octave controller - these come bundled with Ableton Live Lite - and then download some free VST/VSTi's from KVR-Audio such as "Crystal" or "Synth1". The learning curve is very good and it's "real" software as opposed to fecking about with pre-packed loops and presets. The controller has USB built-in so you won't need to worry about MIDI issues as well.

SoundKlash

"Computer Music" magazine costs about E10.50 in easons & has loads of free Full software on the Cover DVD.Theres a brand new issue out right now !!
Not a bad place to start if you dont want to spend serious wedge.