Hmm maybe i should do a sticky about this sometime. Could cover starting out in music as well as how to record dj sets.
Anyways back on topic;
This is a bit of a biggie so i can only skim over it at the mo. Firstly there's your choice of sequencer:
Fruityloops - great for beginners and there's a lot of tutorials and guides out there. To get a 'good' sound out of it you will need some extra bits but to start with you can get away with using it on its own. This is considered as an amatuer sequencer.
Reason - another good one for beginners with a lot of tutorials available. This one is more suited for someone who wants the more traditional approach of a more studio feel to it. This program is literally a studio in one program, allbeit not a fantastic one. The sequencer lets it down a bit but its still a really powerful program straight from the box if you wanna do electronic music.
Cubase sx / Logic - Both of these apps are similar in design and are both very competent in a studio situation. Unfortunately logic was bought out by mac so u cant get updates for the pc anymore. For this reason i would opt for cubase if you are going to take this route. If you go with one of these apps you're jumping in at the deepend. This isnt necessarily a bad idea. If you have a curious/intuitive nature then i doubt it will be long before you can start making the basics of a song. Straight out of the box these apps are ok but with some additions they are fantastic. Sx is my weapon of choice at the moment.
Protools - Like it says on the tin, this is a tool for a pro. IMO not a good idea to start with this one. Not only does it require an expensive workstation/mixing desk to run the full version but it hasnt got the nice learning curve of the other apps. The sound that can be achieved from it is fantastic but i would demand that if i spent 3grand on it....
There are of course many different apps you can use but these are the most common.
So what next?
Once you've decided what app to get then its time to get some additions. If your using reason then u can skip this step for the time being.
Samples: Some people like to use loops as a basis for their track. For example a sampled disco loop or a nice drum loop. When your starting out, this is quite a good option just so u can get the basics down before attempting your own stuff. Choose a genre you want to start off with and get hold of a good sample cd for it. For house i would recommend 'nu directions house essentials'. This has a good selection of loops and sounds which can be used in your tracks. I try to have as little sample content as possible now but it took me about 5 years to be able to do everything properly myself! These sample cds are still useful though, when u come round to programming your own percussion you will need to use samples of kick drums / snares / hi-hats etc. These are all obtained from sample cds.
Virtual instruments (VSTi / DXi / RTAS): Unfortunately we dont all have 2grand to spend on a nice vintage analog synth so we have to make do with their software counterparts. These days software synths are coming from strength to strength and are immensely powerful. The majority of my tracks are done all on the pc. Its also more convenient in some ways because you dont have to worry about using an external mixer and all the wiring and noise. To start off with i would get hold of a few small synths rather than getting hold of the massive ones. Try these:
Novation v-station
Korg legacy
Z3ta+
Absynth 2
Effects (VST / DX / RTAS )
All of the apps mentioned before have bundled effects which will do fine for a while. Its only when u become more serious that u need to expand. For a good allround package then my recommendation would be the waves series of plugins. You get a lot of plugins that are well designed and reliable. I use the compressors/limiters/eq/reverbs alot as well as many other producers. For a more affordable option, ultrafunk fx is a great package too. I used to use this for all the above functions and i couldnt really fault it. For filtering i like using GRM tools bandpass as it has a lot of control. You also get comb filters and other fx in the same bundle.
One thing to note here; reason does NOT allow u to use virtual instrument and effect plugins. You have to use the ones supplied. However, reason has 'refills' instead which are extra sounds for the supplied synths/samplers so it kinda makes up for it. This is still something that really lets reason down in terms of its flexibility IMO. However, you can use reason rewired which means you can run cubase and reason together and use reason as your synth in cubase. Its a bit too much to think about for a beginner though so i wont go into details!
Tutorials / Information
Here's a few sites that might come in handy:
http://www.futuremusic.co.uk Tutorials/advice
http://www.digidesign.com/digizine/ Tutorials/advice
I will add to that list later when i'm on my main computer.
hmm..
In the perfect world you would buy all the software i suggested and test them all to see which one u liked best. Unfortunately i know thats not gunna happen. All of the software i mentioned is available on the internet. However my advice is, 'obtain' the software of your choice and test it out. If you like it and want to take it more seriously then buy the software. I dont condone the use of pirate software but if its used for trial purposes then i dont see as much of a problem. Its your call.
Hope this helps you in your quest. It took me ages to type this out!
