confused about recording software

U

UNIQNESS

New member
ok.. i've been doing search on different sites for hours and i really cannot make a decision about which software to buy..

let me just list what i have first so you guys can have a better idea what i'd need:

1. p4 desktop computer
2. an m-audio midi controller keyboard
3. turntable & DJ mixer
(4). planning to purchase an m-audio 1010LT sound card in a few months.
(5). planning to purchase a microphone in a few months.

what i want to do is to produce hip hop music (make beats, record vocal, record DJ scratching, etc). from my research, i read that reason, fruity loops, sonic acid, and ableton are the best hip hop music making software out there. i also read that reason doesn't have the capability of recording vocal which made me think twice about getting reason even though i was almost certain that i was going to get it. i originally wanted to get something like sonar or cubase and do everything with one software. my question is, what would be the best option in terms of choosing a software with the budget of $200-300? is there one software that does recording and beat making perfectly? do hip hop producers usually use several programs for producing songs?

also, would i really need an m-audio 1010LT just for turntables, mixer, microphone, and a midi controller keyboard? would it be a better choice to get something else? the reason i wanted the 1010LT was because it comes with a mic pre-amp integrated so i don't have to buy a seperate one..

i had a chance to take a look at cakewalk kinetic.. does it have a capability of producing songs professionally using what i have?

thanks in advance..
 
You can go into any Barnes&Noble or Borders and find books on Cubase and Sonar; grab a cuppa java in the cafe and READ to find their capabilties/differences.

www.hitsquad.com has links to timed demos (legit) of both programs. Try them out for yourself to see what works for YOU (that's how I chose between them...)
 
Thanks for the replies. So Cubase and Sonar would be the best software out of all the software I mentioned in my first post? Would they do a good job making beats and recording vocals? I will try to stop by barnes and noble today and check out the books.
 
I was once in the same boat. Started getting into software to record mixes and am now getting into beats. Check out n-track at www.fasoft.com for a solid and relatively easy to use multi-tracking software. And it's cheap for what you get.

I recently picked up Ableton Live to start working on beats, though I am still very new to it. I was able to get a great deal on the bundle with the O2 midi controller (cheaper than Ableton as a stand-alone package).

As suggested earlier try out the demos. Just look for software that you think you'll be able to use. One of the things that swayed me toward Live was the existence of a book and a CD on using Live (search on amazon.com). Also, take you're time browsing and searching through the forums. As has been said by many, there's no "best" software for making "hip hop" beats. You'll be able to use "hip hop" sounds in any of the software programs, so you should just pick software with which you are comfortable and to which you can commit to learning.

Best of luck!
 
Hmm, so how is Live working out. I've been thinking about trying it out just to get a feel with it, but I tend to keep myself busy with Cubase and Nuendo. I think the more versatile I can get with different software and hardware, the better off I'll be.
 
Fieva said:
Hmm, so how is Live working out. I've been thinking about trying it out just to get a feel with it, but I tend to keep myself busy with Cubase and Nuendo. I think the more versatile I can get with different software and hardware, the better off I'll be.
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Fieva. It really depends on if you are planning on mostly making beats or recording. If you plan to do both but you have to make beats first consider something like fruity that can get you started making beats. Sonar is more of a recording platform although you can use it for sequencing it's not ideal if your into making hip hop beats.

After you get a program and get some beats together and want to record then something like cubase or sonar can help you more in that area.
maybe someone else can fill in on what I'm saying as far as music production vs recording and which one would be best for you.
 
Preci$e said:
Fieva. It really depends on if you are planning on mostly making beats or recording. If you plan to do both but you have to make beats first consider something like fruity that can get you started making beats. Sonar is more of a recording platform although you can use it for sequencing it's not ideal if your into making hip hop beats.

After you get a program and get some beats together and want to record then something like cubase or sonar can help you more in that area.
maybe someone else can fill in on what I'm saying as far as music production vs recording and which one would be best for you.
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I hear you. I wrote that earlier when I was multitasking. As for me, I'm using Reason 3.0 with a helluva lot of refills and custom sounds and drumkits for my beats. I was just focused on the vocals at the time when I was talking about Cubase and Nuendo vs. Live. I got my beats covered. I have about 200 that I'm working on remixing because I noticed a flaw in them from my old setup that my new setup is catching so I've been correcting those and adding new stuff to some of those older beats. I just don't know much about Live, that's all.

As for music production and recording, I do both actually.
 
i use hardware for making beats(XL-7) and record it into Cubase...then let the artist come and lace the tracks...

you can use a lot of programs to record music, Cubase, Sonar, Adobe Audition, N-Track(yeah it does a good clean job if you know what you doin).and a few others..

for beat wise like everyone said, FL, Reasons are to biggest 2 right now..and friend on mines (DJ KGB) use Sonar for his recordings..and his mixes comes out banging..

you can get FL, Reasons or Sonor in the price range you lookin for..
 
Fieva said:
I hear you. I wrote that earlier when I was multitasking. As for me, I'm using Reason 3.0 with a helluva lot of refills and custom sounds and drumkits for my beats. I was just focused on the vocals at the time when I was talking about Cubase and Nuendo vs. Live. I got my beats covered. I have about 200 that I'm working on remixing because I noticed a flaw in them from my old setup that my new setup is catching so I've been correcting those and adding new stuff to some of those older beats. I just don't know much about Live, that's all.

As for music production and recording, I do both actually.
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Cool. Sonar is nice ( i use it ) i have heard some good things about cubase as well. If you into loops though SOnar is very very easy to work with. usually when I am transferring my music from hard to soft i only have to move 4 bars of each track into sonar and with the click of a button I can create a perfectly timed loop and streatch it as far as I want.
 
Preci$e said:
Cool. Sonar is nice ( i use it ) i have heard some good things about cubase as well. If you into loops though SOnar is very very easy to work with. usually when I am transferring my music from hard to soft i only have to move 4 bars of each track into sonar and with the click of a button I can create a perfectly timed loop and streatch it as far as I want.
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I usually just make the full beat in Reason and then import the wav file into Cubase. I tend to know what I want when I make the beat and then add things to it as I go along.
 
so i should get two software for beat making and recording? btw, after doing some research, i noticed that there are many versions of sonar and cubase and some of there were as expensive as $700.. which version would be suitable for me? i'm only looking into spending $200-300 but i figured reason is around $300.. so i guess i have to spend like $600 total? i just quit my job not too long ago and i don't know if i can really afford these software.. :(
 
UNIQNESS said:
so i should get two software for beat making and recording? btw, after doing some research, i noticed that there are many versions of sonar and cubase and some of there were as expensive as $700.. which version would be suitable for me? i'm only looking into spending $200-300 but i figured reason is around $300.. so i guess i have to spend like $600 total? i just quit my job not too long ago and i don't know if i can really afford these software.. :(
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Go with what you can afford man, it's software.

Cubase and Sonar and Ntrack all do the same thing.

The only differance is how they do it.

The differances in prices (usually) mean you'll lose a feature here and there but chances are if your just starting out your not gonna need them.
 
bigwillz24 said:
Go with what you can afford man, it's software.

Cubase and Sonar and Ntrack all do the same thing.

The only differance is how they do it.

The differances in prices (usually) mean you'll lose a feature here and there but chances are if your just starting out your not gonna need them.
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thanks for the reply.. i think imma go with the cubase SE or sonar 4 studio edition..
 
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Willz has a damn good point. Cubase SE or Sonar can help you get a good start and determine if you want to go into more expensive software later down the line when your finances are looking better. I remember starting out with Cakewalk and Cubase 5 and a demo copy of Cool Edit. I took to Cubase so I became a " 'base head"
 
Pro tools makes an M-audio compatible version now. If you are recording for other people MOST rappers see the words pro tools and They're hooked. Also I would recommend using a combination of reason/recycle/MPC. If you look for one you can get an mpc 1000 for around $600.
 
i keep hearing everyone say that you can pick up mpc's for $600 bucks...where? all the ones ive seen on e-bay or anywhere else are at least $700-800.
 
pcp said:
i keep hearing everyone say that you can pick up mpc's for $600 bucks...where? all the ones ive seen on e-bay or anywhere else are at least $700-800.
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No shit I bought mine when it first came out for 800.
 
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