DAWs don't seem to be especially demanding on most current CPUs. RAM and soundcard/interface are more important. Ableton 8 doesn't even put my XP machine to work most of the time, unless I'm being really reckless with VSTs.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
NEOGAF's Official Music Production Thread: calling all producers
- Thread starter Tr4nce
- Start date
DAWs don't seem to be especially demanding on most current CPUs. RAM and soundcard/interface are more important. Ableton 8 doesn't even put my XP machine to work most of the time, unless I'm being really reckless with VSTs.
The Ozone 6 UI is such an amazing improvement over the previous versions that that alone would be worth the price.
The Advanced version, however, lets you use the individual modules as separate plugins.
But the Advanced version costs a thousand fucking dollars.
So, now I'm trying to figure out how many weeks I can go without lunch and dinner.
I'm showing my age... I remember having to do lots of research around good mobo's/cpu combinations. 16gb Ram should be more then enough, and I have a few soundcards, plus plenty of hardware that I don't hit VST's all that much anyway.
But the Advanced version costs a thousand fucking dollars.
Get an Eventide, be all
Chris Metal
Member
I normally use
https://www.jrrshop.com/
http://audiodeluxe.com/
http://plugindiscounts.com/
for my shopping needs, decent pricing.
If you're looking at channel strips, Eventide Ultra channel or Metric Halo are decent alternatives to Ozone 6 at a much lower price point. Any missing features you could probably achieve with additional plugin's if desired for example Acon Equalize is one of the best EQ plugins I've tried, and M/S processing Brainworx BX_Digital V2.
ElectricThunder
Member
Aly James continues to magnify the power and prestige of his crazy VLINN project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFK6yp9GTgo For your random pleasure, an MSX audio upgrade initiative of sorts featuring BIOS sound patching: http://www.msx.org/news/software/en/nandemoscc-v22-released
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR4wSd4Y_jg for the Aly James goodness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFK6yp9GTgo For your random pleasure, an MSX audio upgrade initiative of sorts featuring BIOS sound patching: http://www.msx.org/news/software/en/nandemoscc-v22-released
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR4wSd4Y_jg for the Aly James goodness
vLinn 2.0 VST is actually 99% done and is now compatible with x86 x64 VST2 VST3 AU for Windows and OSX.
If you do not know about the vLinn VST (Legendary Linn LM-1 drum machine accurate emulation) check out the website
V2.0 also earned some new features and improvements like:
- Individual Panning
- Global tuning offset via MIDI PitchBend
- MIDI OUT (through)
- Exponential Velocity Curve (full mode only)
- ALL voices (12+1) are now replaceable by compatible imported EPROM images (original .bin files) no more need to set the size of the EPROM memory manually ( vLinn does it for you)
-The Additional Custom Voice can now be triggered from the GUI
- Overall GUI improvement
Yeah, I don't actually need Ozone 6 or any of the modules. I just want it. And I use Alloy2 as a channel strip currently. I really like iZotope's stuff in general. Next thing I buy from them would be Nectar.
I think you posted the wrong link.
ElectricThunder
Member
Heh, oops...well, that's a nifty musical bit of a different sort, here's the right link/gonna fix the original post...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR4wSd4Y_jg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR4wSd4Y_jg
It's a nice effort, but the LinnDrum samples (and every other drum machine's samples) have been available on the internet for years and I'm just going to distort them beyond recognition when I use them anyway. Back in the early 2000's when I used to subscribe to HollowSun's newsletter they'd attach a sample pack from one of the old machines each week.
Speaking of which, you can find samples from over 200 drum machines here. There are more than 7,000 sounds altogether. 300MB.
The MPC collection therein is weak though. I have all the original stock Akai drum libraries if anyone wants them. MPC 60/2000/3000.
Speaking of which, you can find samples from over 200 drum machines here. There are more than 7,000 sounds altogether. 300MB.
The MPC collection therein is weak though. I have all the original stock Akai drum libraries if anyone wants them. MPC 60/2000/3000.
ElectricThunder
Member
That's the thing though, while the samples for the lot of it have been out there since it was feasible to do so, his VLinn bit isn't actually based on the samples as opposed to the minute technical details that generally beget what would become the samples---in theory, this allows you do tinker a fair bit and come up with different results than the old combinations. Just about all of the man's projects involve wringing new vitality and vigor from vintage machines in a sense that it is both telling and a damn shame that there's slim to no others chasing after the dragons with such an approach. The gist of the whole of it mainly comes in about the 3rd paragraph, and even in that context as it hasn't been updated at all yet to reflect this v2.0 stuff, though somebody like LazyGecko is far more capable than the likes of me to expound on any and all of it:
http://www.alyjameslab.com/alyjameslabvlinn.html
http://www.alyjameslab.com/alyjameslabvlinn.html
Sooo James Holden just released this Max4Live patch: https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/james-holden-human-timing/
Very interesting to say the least.
I wouldn't say I really have any desire to automate timing like that. A few years ago I started to fine-tune the timing of audio tracks and MIDI notes very precisely. Especially on drums, although this is all intertwined with any overlapping sounds that have sharp transients. Nudging things around in that miniscule timeframe where the initial transients are has a profound effect on the feel of the transients as they play together, and I really value having that precise control over it.
That kind of perfect machine-like quantizations is one of the most common arguments held against programmed music, but in reality you really have way more control over these things via programming than what humans can feasibly achieve through playing. It's just a matter of wanting to do so and seeing (hearing) the possibilities.
That kind of perfect machine-like quantizations is one of the most common arguments held against programmed music, but in reality you really have way more control over these things via programming than what humans can feasibly achieve through playing. It's just a matter of wanting to do so and seeing (hearing) the possibilities.
FloatingDivider
Member
I also think it depends heavily on which genre of music you're trying to do. Some genres are just very much on the grid and will never have much "swing" or "soul" to it. I always feel like trying to do off the grid music by programming it off the grid is a backwards way of thinking. If you want something to feel human just have a human play it in? I also don't think shifting a bassline or a snare a few milliseconds should count as adding a human swing to your music, that's a change that I find virtually imperceptible unless I'm really trying to listen for transients, and even then it's more hit than miss. But I have shitty ears so what do I know /D
You don't really "notice" it so much as you "feel" it. Listen to this Linndrum loop here and how the snare drags in the second half:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/timing.mp3
I maintain that nuanced timing is very important tool for any music that has some kind of rhythm to it. The "human playing" argument is largely a non-factor to me. What's important is the effect this has on the sound, and how you get there I don't really care.
Here's another one where in the first half I sequenced everything but with grid snapping off, and then the second half has been quantized with a typical machine swing algorithm
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/timing2.mp3
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/timing.mp3
I maintain that nuanced timing is very important tool for any music that has some kind of rhythm to it. The "human playing" argument is largely a non-factor to me. What's important is the effect this has on the sound, and how you get there I don't really care.
Here's another one where in the first half I sequenced everything but with grid snapping off, and then the second half has been quantized with a typical machine swing algorithm
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66640537/timing2.mp3
I think making computer instruments sound like band members playing with each other is an amazing idea and could make it sound more lively. 'let humans play' is not always a possibility I think and as Holden says in the article: if it's played in separate you don't get the same effect.
He uses it to make the computer adjust to his drummer in a live setting. Very, very cool.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
So when I'm making music, I have some pretty loose reference.
I have Swan M200 MkIIIs, Grado 325is with quarter cut softies, Mad Dogs with alpha pads, and Vsonic GR02 bass editions with foam tips.
The music sounds completely different on all of them. The closest thing to parity is between the speakers and Mad Dogs, so I think I'll try to produce for them, but it is shockingly different on my Grados, and weirdly often a lot more fun-sounding.
While on the one hand it could be concerning in terms of accuracy, on the other hand it feels like a reminder that different people will all be listening on vastly different shit, so you should make something that sounds good on anything rather than obsessing over a particular sound feel.
I have Swan M200 MkIIIs, Grado 325is with quarter cut softies, Mad Dogs with alpha pads, and Vsonic GR02 bass editions with foam tips.
The music sounds completely different on all of them. The closest thing to parity is between the speakers and Mad Dogs, so I think I'll try to produce for them, but it is shockingly different on my Grados, and weirdly often a lot more fun-sounding.
While on the one hand it could be concerning in terms of accuracy, on the other hand it feels like a reminder that different people will all be listening on vastly different shit, so you should make something that sounds good on anything rather than obsessing over a particular sound feel.
That's the way I do it, I produce on monitors but then I play it back on every device I can get my hands on for mixdown, once it sounds good on everything it'll sound good on everything. My soundcard has some virtual room shit going on too which is an easy way to cycle through a bunch of various emulated sources.
In other news, I'm thinking of ditching my MacBook Pro for a Surface Pro 3. Anyone using a Surface for music production? Any thought so far?
My last couple of tunes:
Housey kind of tune mucking around with delays:
https://soundcloud.com/kaarma/pan-pongs
Drum'n'bass kind of tune rinsin the M1 house piano and some classic breaks.
https://soundcloud.com/kaarma/steal-the-vibe-wip-march
Hey folks, just thought I'd drop off a link to my soundcloud account. I picked up making music again about a year ago and here are a couple tracks I've been working on. Lots more to come soon hopefully, but if anyone has production suggestions for what's here I'd like to hear from ya.
Thanks and enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/etherleaks
Thanks and enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/etherleaks
Chris Metal
Member
This might do it for you (I haven't got round to buying it yet, but used serato for TCE elements on audio clip editing in Pro Tools, and I think they have a trial version of the serato DJ software.
http://serato.com/dj-intro
BlueBadger
Banned
I finally put one of my ballads up on Soundcloud o__o.. Although I'm not 100% sure if ballads are much of a thing in this community? It's sort of more of a vocal showcase than a production showcase... X_X I'm sorry!
Your voice sounds really nice! Have you ever collaborated with other producers to do the vocals for them?
We have a general "music maker" community too btw.
BlueBadger
Banned
Oh! i didn't know about that thread!! Thank you so much! :') Maybe I'll say hello in there as well :3.
I've never done vocals for other producers! I've always wanted to, though! Definitely something I'm interested in
And thank you so much for the compliment ^///^!!
Hip Hop
Member
Thanks for this. I will check it out.
https://soundcloud.com/airtime-music-nl/demand
Got a new track with what I think of as a funky bass line.
Got a new track with what I think of as a funky bass line.
Kenshin001
Member
I uploaded a progressive house track if anyone into that style or similar wants to have a listen. Any feedback would be appreciated. It hasn't been mastered.
https://soundcloud.com/kenshin_tracks/autobahn
https://soundcloud.com/kenshin_tracks/autobahn
Too much latency in the touch screen for any kind of real time performance.
AAS released their new guitar synthesizer Strum GS-2. I got an e-mail about this cause I bought one of their previous ones years ago.
https://www.applied-acoustics.com/strum-gs-2/
Pondering whether to take the upgrade offer. I got the old one mainly cause I was fascinated by the technology, but I never actually used it for anything...
https://www.applied-acoustics.com/strum-gs-2/
Pondering whether to take the upgrade offer. I got the old one mainly cause I was fascinated by the technology, but I never actually used it for anything...
Sooo... If I understand correctly - they've made a multitrack format, and it's lossy?
That's surprising, but not worrying. I'm not interested in performing, I just want to use it for production.
Anyone fired up their DAW on a Surface yet? There's a guy on youtube trying different DAWs on a Surface but the guy doesn't seem to know anything about DAWs or making music so it's a waste of a watch.
Jesus, DJs have it easier and better every year. We've come so far since a milk crate of vinyl and a couple of decks.
https://soundcloud.com/fronts/work-in-progress
First time doing some classical Techno - some feedback would be appreciated. Made with Logic Pro (yeah pretty uncommon for this genre)
You'll find a singer/songwriter track on my SC channel too.
First time doing some classical Techno - some feedback would be appreciated. Made with Logic Pro (yeah pretty uncommon for this genre)
You'll find a singer/songwriter track on my SC channel too.
Kenshin001
Member
Nice track, I like it a lot. One thing though, the kick sounds really mushy and not centered.
I'll post it in this thread too... if anybody is interested in taking part, the deadline for The GAF Tape 2 has been moved to April 15th and we are still accepting more submissions. Collaborations are encouraged but not required, and you can submit something you have already made if you don't have time to make a new track.
I deliberately went for a more analog sound. The Kick is centered though. Maybe the ghosting/delay is causing it sounding not centered. I played the song very loud in a club at the weekend (before it opened) and it sounded great to me there.
So apparently they're trying their darndest to hide the Team AiR crack watermark on Sylenth in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spjECncnLcM
Not the first time this is happening during Future Music video interviews either. This kind of casual attitude towards piracy seems really endemic to this new generation of successful bedroom producers.
What angers me about this is not so much that stuff is getting pirated, but rather that it's feeding into a larger attitude problem where people will just flock to the biggest product names with the biggest price tags, and this leaves the smaller companies and plugin makers out of the spotlight, and they won't be taken nearly as seriously as they deserve to be, which in is holding back the independant businesses from really blossoming out.
You end up with a status quo where a hobbyist producer is more likely to just download a cracked Waves suite because they can't afford the legit thing, rather than purchasing a MeldaProduction plugin equivalent which is much cheaper but just as good IMO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spjECncnLcM
Not the first time this is happening during Future Music video interviews either. This kind of casual attitude towards piracy seems really endemic to this new generation of successful bedroom producers.
What angers me about this is not so much that stuff is getting pirated, but rather that it's feeding into a larger attitude problem where people will just flock to the biggest product names with the biggest price tags, and this leaves the smaller companies and plugin makers out of the spotlight, and they won't be taken nearly as seriously as they deserve to be, which in is holding back the independant businesses from really blossoming out.
You end up with a status quo where a hobbyist producer is more likely to just download a cracked Waves suite because they can't afford the legit thing, rather than purchasing a MeldaProduction plugin equivalent which is much cheaper but just as good IMO.
Yeah it's pretty annoying and frustrating, if I can pay for my vsts to feed my hobby then these motherfuckers can pay for their vsts to make their retail releases.
It's also frustrating that I need a USB dongle to run my waves plugs on my laptop and these fuckers don't have to worry about that. But at least I can use a tiny dongle for waves licensing, I've got a big goofy-ass ilok for my steven slate stuff which is so annoying I basically don't load any slate plugs anymore even though they sound amazing.
I've gone pretty minimal with my setup these days anyway, I've got the entire Komplete 9 suite for example but I haven't loaded on a single plug from it, same with my korg suite and my waves stuff. At the moment I can do 90% of my production only using about 5% of the vsts I own:
The Kick for kicks
The Glue for comp
The Drop for filter
S1 Pro EQ for eq'ing
S1 Impact for percussion
Satson for channel strip
Valhalla Room for reverb
Valhalla Ubermod for chorus and delay
Kickstart for sidechain
Serum, Dune 2 and Spire for synthesis
Ozone 6 for mastering
It's also frustrating that I need a USB dongle to run my waves plugs on my laptop and these fuckers don't have to worry about that. But at least I can use a tiny dongle for waves licensing, I've got a big goofy-ass ilok for my steven slate stuff which is so annoying I basically don't load any slate plugs anymore even though they sound amazing.
I've gone pretty minimal with my setup these days anyway, I've got the entire Komplete 9 suite for example but I haven't loaded on a single plug from it, same with my korg suite and my waves stuff. At the moment I can do 90% of my production only using about 5% of the vsts I own:
The Kick for kicks
The Glue for comp
The Drop for filter
S1 Pro EQ for eq'ing
S1 Impact for percussion
Satson for channel strip
Valhalla Room for reverb
Valhalla Ubermod for chorus and delay
Kickstart for sidechain
Serum, Dune 2 and Spire for synthesis
Ozone 6 for mastering
I believe it. I've read many horror stories about license transfer issues with Waves and NI plugins costing people time and money. Some of their anti-piracy measures end up doing more to piss off paying customers than prevent piracy.
Kwansu Dudes
Member
Serum and Dune sound great.
Yeah I'd believe it. Although I still use my Waves dongle when I need it my mate has bought over $2k of Waves plugs but just uses the cracked suite because it's so much more convenient.
Kick needs some work, or replacing entirely. Can hear it doubling (did you combine two?), less reverb might be preferable too. Reductive EQ those so nothing clashes and you get one clear hit then send to mono bus. Expand later in mix down phase if you feel it needs doing then.
Hats sound a little messy so add some velocity changes, maybe some subtle pitch shifts of open/closed/ride, and EQ. Smidge less bright perhaps?
I'd like to hear more of the percussion going on in the background. Get tricky with some FX by all means, don't be shy there.
For that synth line running through, perhaps add aggressive sidechain compression from the kick and ease up on the cutoff so it sounds a little less wet.
Seems like a fair start, I'm interested to see how it progresses. Good stuff.
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked