Well, since you asked so nicely:
Again, not the usual electronic sound - it’s probably closer to world music or jazz (fusion?) in its cadence, and it’s more a stream of experimentation with the sound. Maybe it will be a complete song one day. ;)
Where’s the like button? ;)
Similarly, this thread inspired me to dust off my APK Mini and sign up for some online Ableton classes.
With regards to modern DAWs, what are y’all’s takes on Ableton vs Logic Pro? I’ve been looking at Logic Pro, mainly because I’m primarily a Mac user. For a beginner in this space, I’m assuming it’s far more than adequate?
I use FL Studio, so can’t vouch for either of those.
I’m going with Reaper for a variety of reasons, limited funds being one of them (along with DRM-free license and Linux support). Reaper has improved quite a bit since the last time I tried it, but I wouldn’t call it exactly beginner-friendly.
Most DAWs have demos, limited in time and/or features. I’d say try a few of them to see what clicks with you. And there are a few free, full-featured options like Tracktion 7 and Cakewalk by Bandlab that might be worth checking out.
Yeah I demoed Bitwig which is by some old Ableton folks and it was pretty good but I prefer the workflow of FL Studio.
On that note, here are all the DAWs I checked recently:
Paid:
- Ableton Live
- Bitwig Studio
- FL Studio
- GarageBand (Mac only)
- Logic Pro X (Mac only)
- Reaper
- Reason
- Renoise
- Studio One
- Waveform
Free:
It’s possible I forgot something, so let me know and I’ll edit the list.
Oh, awesome, I hadn’t noticed this thread before. I definitely have some stuff to add. Here’s a shot of my studio:
The main gear is:
- Roland MC-202
- Roland SH-01A
- Roland Alpha Juno
- Roland TB-3
- DSI Mopho
- Din Sync RE-303
- Korg MS-20 Mini
- Korg Minilogue
- Korg Monologue
- Korg Volca Beats
- Korg Volca Keys
- Akai MPC 2500
- A bunch of eurorack modules
I like a warmer ‘Boards of Canada’ type sound, so the synths are on the older/analog side of things.
The 202 and 303 are my pride and joy. The 202 is an original from 1983(which I had restored and modded), and the RE-303 is a circuit accurate replica of the classic TB-303.
And naturally I have a SoundCloud. :)
With regards to DAWs, I started out awhile ago with a freeware tracker called Jeskola Buzz. From there I moved on to Fruity Loops, then Ableton. I used Logic for a little while, but wound up returning to Ableton, which I find it a bunch more user-friendly.
Me too! After some stuff with mods and IT, I used Jeskola Buzz for a bit. It was super neat.
Yeah it is(was, i guess?) pretty awesome, and the modular style is great practice for eurorack. I haven’t made a track with it since the early 2000s, but from time to time I’ll fire it up to run stuff through the “Raverb” plugin. The closest I’ve come to replicating that sound is with the Vahalla Shimmer, but it really is an amazing little plugin.
Between this thread and the recent Art of the Score episodes on Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, I’ve got a bit of an itch to try out some electronic music. What would I actually need to get started, beyond my PC?
Nothing. A PC is plenty. All hardware is optional.
Just go get a DAW (look up the thread for that list) and start making music.
If you have a smartphone or a tablet, there are some cool apps to try, too!
Yeah, FL Studio Mobile is pretty cheap and quite capable. It could be a good start if you want to try the water before diving in.
Wow. Stuff of my dreams right there. That’s awesome!
The obvious free one for MacOS folks is Garage Band.
Yeah, well, I don’t have a Mac, so I didn’t go looking for Mac-exclusive options like Logic and GarageBand.
EDIT: but added to the list anyway. Thanks!
My kids love it, too. Here are a few shots from Moogfest a few weeks ago. It was only 15 min from here, which is awesome.
