Stillman Posted November 6, 2013 I know a few of you guys and girls make a bit of electronic music. I am interested in learning how. I have no idea whatsoever so just asking some beginners questions like whats a good program to start with,are there any free ones that can get me started or should I buy one. I have a basic lap and am a bit computer spazzy so super high powered programs probably won't be good for me. and I don't want to spend a fortune but happy to spend a bit. I'm only interested in having a bit of fun with it so yeah like I said I got no idea and any advice would be much appreciated. I want to do some stuff like Kraftwerks kinda dated 80s sounding stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tarenna Posted November 6, 2013 You could try using a cracked version of Ableton Live software (although it can be a bit technically challenging). A good place to start would be with some of Tom Cosm's free online tutorials - http://www.cosm.co.nz/ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stillman Posted November 6, 2013 damn straight bringing oldskool back 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullit Posted November 6, 2013 (edited) damn straight bringing oldskool back the spoons try this Edited November 6, 2013 by bullit 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swiper Posted November 6, 2013 As bullit said, fruity loops is a good program for starting out. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted November 6, 2013 Have a think about grabbing a midi keyboard if you think you might like tapping out tunes/beats. It can be easier than using a keyboard (the computer type) and they don't cost much for a basic one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stillman Posted November 6, 2013 Cool my little bro is in some bands and he's going to help sort me out with some equipment and a program. He told me I should just by an Atari and be done with it.. lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halif Posted November 6, 2013 As some of you know, I use a "tracker" - kind of software which is less common and seen by some as being kind of redundant now, but I'm biased towards trackers because I've been using them for so long. I think it be suitable for you, as they are retro by nature, there are numerous free-to-download ones - some of them are actually good, and some inexpensive ones like Renoise, which is what I use. I paid 80euros about 8 years ago for it, and it was pretty much a blank canvas. Didn't come with anything much except an uninspiring demo track. I'm still using the exact same software - only updated once - but with a huge library of plug-ins, VSTs, custom-made filters, etc. The reason I mention trackers, is that by their very retro nature, they lend themselves to a more 'inorganic' kind of electro sound: it's actually hard NOT to sound retro with trackers, which is why some people are surprised when they hear one of my tracks and I tell them it's completely tracker-based (to be fair though, I've hand crafted this DAW over nearly a decade and have some great plug-ins, so it's not like I'm just using the default settings). It's a lot of fun, and I think trackers are kind of easy to get to grips with in the beginning if you want to make some retro beats.... you can have a blast! In the meantime,have a listen to a new collaborative track between rapper/poet Mae Dali and Tepalom (me) if you feel like hearing something different. (warning: it's different) The original lyrics were performed by Mae Dali and the original music compsed by myself, so it's %100 original - for better or worse!! https://soundcloud.com/maedali/maealom-pt-3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ballzac Posted November 6, 2013 There are some good online java based sequencers, drum machines and synthesisers that can help you get to grips with the basics and help you decide what features you want before forking out cash and delving deeper into more technical software. I can't give you any names off the top of my head, but you should be able to find some with the help of google. The sequencers and drum machines are good because it helps you learn how to put together loops without having to know how to program a synth. The synthesisers are good because they are much simpler than some of the more complicated additive and FM VST synthesisers, so they allow you to experiment with amplitude and filter envelopes without having to know anything about the more complicated aspects of these synthesisers. After a fair bit of mucking around, you will find that there are things you would like to do that cannot be done with them, and then you know it's time to upgrade to a 'real' VST additive synth. It also depends on what you want to do. Ultimately, if you want to craft every sound, you will need a DAW and at least one good VST synth. If you want to use single hit samples, then a DAW using either an inbuilt, or better quality plugin, sampler. If you want to mix full loops and samples together, you may be able to do this with a DAW like ableton or flstudio, but there are programs better designed for this task. I haven't looked into it lately, but back in the day it was Sonic Foundry Acid Pro that was the software of choice for this type of work. As I personally do mostly the first option, that's what I can give the best advice on. Any decent DAW will do for this. I use ableton these days, but I used to use flstudio and I wouldn't necessarily say one is better than the other. They just have different interfaces that take getting used to, but the capabilities are mostly the same. As for a synth, NI Massive is well and truly my synth of choice because it's both user friendly and powerful. Absynth and FM8 are both also extremely powerful, but much harder to program. There are plenty of other good softsynths, but nothing I know of has the power of the NI synths, though there are some unique sounds that can only be obtained using certain synths. Plenty of my tracks use only Massive, even for drums and other percussion! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slybacon Posted November 7, 2013 I use Ableton. I just forked out $700 for the New Live Suite which I haven't set up yet. I use to use ableton with a lot of VSTs like the ones being mentioned but now I find I can get nearly all the sounds I need out of the onboard synths and they have a lot of other features which tie into the DAW itself so there is less fucking around and more time on the creative sections rather then the programming sections. Everyone will use this program differently and it really has been designed to be as open as possible in that regard. Its quite fun and intuitive to use.You may want to get the following if you get the bug ;) PC or Mac with 4G Ram plus Good Sound Card 24bit/96K minimum with Balanced Outs preferred Video Card with Two Outs 2 x Video Monitors Good Pair of Monitor Speaker (Tapco is a good place to start) Ableton Live Suite 9 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PsillyBean Posted November 9, 2013 I would definitely recommend Fruity loops as others have. Been using it for years and even though its easy to get started on, you can take it to some complex places if you want. Pretty cheap too! Oh yeah, it's not very CPU intensive either. not marketing my brand but this an example of all FL9 compositions https://soundcloud.com/a-sound-escapes. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xenodimensional Posted November 12, 2013 +1 for FL Studio. It does everything and uses hardly any resources on your pc. I'd try a few DAWs though and see which one suits you or takes your fancy. FL Studio, Ableton, Reason and Cubase are all pretty solid choices for making electro. Nanostudio is a new one and is free for mac/pc. There's plenty of forums and tutorials out there that you could also use to make a decision about which program to choose. Learn at least the basics of synthesis too. For the style you're interested in making you should start perving on hardware synths as well. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
