Need advice

R

rwbung

New member
Hello...I am wanting to start up a home studio..and am in desperate need of some direction. I’m thinking of buying an iMac, but don’t know what software to use. Do I need a kick ass synth or just any keyboard? Hard to define style of music, but some artists that I like are massive attack, thievery corporation, school of seven bells. Thanks
 
You can save money by using a pc instead of going Mac. A lot of studios are starting to get tired of apples way of doing things (constant updates with no backwards compatability, being one step behind in tech and being more expensive)

You can use reaper. There are a bunch of free vst instruments to use. All you really need is a keyboard with midi, to control the vat instruments.

You will need a usb audio interface and some monitors.
 
Rwbung, the three bands you mentioned all had pretty heavy bass lines (strong kick and/or bass g). This does not bode well for monitoring with speakers because loud bass AND quality repro C.O.S.TS! You would also need to spend an inordinate amount on room treatment unless you want to sound like 'Subaru Man', i.e. one note bass!

But all is not lost, you can do a lot with some good headphones and then use modestly priced speakers to check things like the stereo 'picture'.

Don't know jack about macs but I understand they 'lock you in' and the iMac more than most? What sort of computer are you talking to us on? Allied to a good interface (and I AM going to say "Native Instruments KA6!) almost anything younger than 4 yrs with Win 7 will do 10-20 tracks so long as you are smart about how many plugins you use at any one time.

Once you get the basics sorted out, especially the DAW (and the KA6 comes with Cubase, nowt better for MIDI ) THEN you can consider a much more powerful machine and a more comprehensive AI.

Dave.
 
Farview said:
You can save money by using a pc instead of going Mac. A lot of studios are starting to get tired of apples way of doing things (constant updates with no backwards compatability, being one step behind in tech and being more expensive). ...
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From someone that worked for a major PC OEM for over 20 years, and used PCs since the first x86 I owned back in 1986, but have owned Mac's since 2011, I have to say you've spouted some seriously misleading things here. (Kind of surprising since mostly your posts are specific and helpful. I can assure you that Windows 10 updates occur more frequently than Mac OSX updates, and in my own experience, are far more disruptive.)

To the OP, I will simply suggest that you ignore that kind of FUD, and acquire the kind of computer you are most familiar with and can afford, once you have settled on the key components that you'll need to connect, i.e., that audio interface and MIDI capable keyboard. It may be that you already own a computer that is adequate to get started, and that's probably the best option, so you don't sink a bunch of money in something that turns out to not be quite right! Starting with a familiar platform, and then learning what perhaps doesn't work well can really help insure your choices for the next computer are best suited to your own needs and workflow.

Good luck.
 
keith.rogers said:
From someone that worked for a major PC OEM for over 20 years, and used PCs since the first x86 I owned back in 1986, but have owned Mac's since 2011, I have to say you've spouted some seriously misleading things here. (Kind of surprising since mostly your posts are specific and helpful. I can assure you that Windows 10 updates occur more frequently than Mac OSX updates, and in my own experience, are far more disruptive.)

To the OP, I will simply suggest that you ignore that kind of FUD, and acquire the kind of computer you are most familiar with and can afford, once you have settled on the key components that you'll need to connect, i.e., that audio interface and MIDI capable keyboard. It may be that you already own a computer that is adequate to get started, and that's probably the best option, so you don't sink a bunch of money in something that turns out to not be quite right! Starting with a familiar platform, and then learning what perhaps doesn't work well can really help insure your choices for the next computer are best suited to your own needs and workflow.

Good luck.
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Yes W10 is a bit of a bind for audio peeps at the moment it seems. The forum at Sound on Sound is awash with posts where folks have had their systems 'reset' and drivers undone, but. Many others say that W10 is THE best OS Msoft have produced so far and they have had very little bother with it..Yer Pays Yer Money!

But I am glad Keith and I agree that you can do A LOT with a modern laptop. Might be as well to strip off anything not needed, games and such and I have only run Ms Security Essentials Free for years (with the occasional 'swipe' with MWarebytes) and never had a real problem. Defeat Win Sounds, those infernal bleeps and bloops AND On Board Sound before installing a 'proper' interface. Pull all those years of photos,vids, and MP3s off the hard drive and defrag it (NOT an SSD!). Like painting a door, it is ALL in the preparation!

Dave.
 
keith.rogers said:
From someone that worked for a major PC OEM for over 20 years, and used PCs since the first x86 I owned back in 1986, but have owned Mac's since 2011, I have to say you've spouted some seriously misleading things here.
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I get tired of being the only person calling this out. Thanks Keith. ;)

OP, if you're starting from scratch give Reaper a look. The support and community around it is great, regardless of platform.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I get tired of being the only person calling this out. Thanks Keith. ;)

Only took two posts to get on to the embarrassing list of things you have to do to make a PC work.
Yes yes..I know...you "don't have to"....It's preference, right?
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Well, yes but! We are suggesting that someone use an EXISTING machine for audio work rather than buying another, dedicated PC/MAC. My point was that such a machine would be clogged up with all sorts of 'personal' stuff and that it would be a good idea to have a spring clean before starting a fresh task?

As you know, I don't know macs S' but can I assume their hard drives are no more infinite than the ones in my PCs? I know macs were said to be pretty immune from attack but I think that has changed now?

I have no beef with macs. I would as easily tell a noob NOT to go out and buy an i9 weather forecasting number cruncher!

Dave.
 
I think what was stated was IMO pretty accurate in regards to PC/Mac comparison, historically speaking. I don't think it is as valid recently (last 5 years, except price).

I do agree with the consensus on Win10, frequent updates and they tend to be rather intrusive. I have fared rather well with the updates from interface perspective, but last update screwed up my network settings.

Overall, I think PC/Mac discussion makes little sense as they both mainly use the same hardware and it is a matter of OS preference. Go with what OS works best for the individual as hardware differentiation just isn't there.
 
The Mac updates tend to be a problem because they don't worry about backwards compatibility. Since studio work can take years, and sometimes need to be revisited a decade later, that becomes a problem.

But yes, you can probably use the computer you are posting here with. It kind of doesn't matter, since just about anything stronger than a chromebook will have enough horsepower to do most recording.
 
No, there is no point. But it is true that studios are starting to move away from the Mac platform.

Most of my Mac problems come from my real job, hotel A/V. Mostly the way that they handle hdcp, the hidden resolutions, the native 16:10 display (when everything else in the world is 16:9), the lack of audio automatically being sent to the headphone jack when something is plugged into it, and, since a lot of the controls for such things are hidden, the owners don't know how to make any of these things work on their own.

9 times out of 10, when someone shows up with a Mac and tries to plug it in, the presentation comes to a screeching halt while they call me to reconfigure the world for a powerpoint presentation.
 
Thanks for all the pointers! I’ve been watching a tutorial on Ableton Live... looks pretty sweet. I think km leaning that way. Otherwise I’ve been hearing a lot great things about logic.
 
rwbung said:
Thanks for all the pointers! I’ve been watching a tutorial on Ableton Live... looks pretty sweet. I think km leaning that way. Otherwise I’ve been hearing a lot great things about logic.
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I use Ableton Live, but I have the full version. I have had no problems on a Windows PC both 7 and 10. But let me give you a warning, the lite version is crippled pretty badly. The full version is ~$500+ (depending if you get the added plugins).

I think in certain situations, Ableton is better than any other DAW. But the situation really is playing in a live setting. It can do what all the other DAWs do (Arrangement View), but the Session View is what makes it totally different. Couple Ableton with Push or another controller like APC40 and you have a complete live package.

Now, if you don't intend to use that feature in Ableton, I do not think it is worth the money. Get something like Reaper (or reasonably priced DAW, spend some money on plugins and you will have a fine DAW.

Once again, I really like Ableton in its own right, but if you are not going to take advantage of the special functions it brings, then you might want to apply your money else where. Just a tip.
 
rwbung said:
Thanks for all the pointers! I’ve been watching a tutorial on Ableton Live... looks pretty sweet. I think km leaning that way. Otherwise I’ve been hearing a lot great things about logic.
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The current version of GarageBand (free) is essentially Logic with a simpler UI and less control over effects, plus more presets. Any GarageBand project you create will import directly into Logic Pro X (still $200). Both of course, only run on Mac OSX, though there is an iOS (iPhone/iPad) version of GB that creates projects which can be imported to the Mac DAW, but not vice versa, last I heard.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Bloody cheek! Unbelievable.

It's bad enough that their computers are four million pounds each and don't work ever, but I HAVE to have one to run their software that I hate?
Jesus. Sickening.
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So I am looking at your age, are you still just 32? Seems you were that old when I joined ;)
 
Steenamaroo said:
Bloody cheek! Unbelievable.

It's bad enough that their computers are four million pounds each and don't work ever, but I HAVE to have one to run their software that I hate?
Jesus. Sickening.
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So glad you agree! BTW, Whatever happened to Boot Camp and (and I KNOW I shall be ridiculed for this!) why did it not work the other way around?

Dave.
 
I'm not aware that anything happened to it, although I don't use it myself.

I expect the opposite was never offered because it would defeat the purpose.
Working within a limited set of hardware offers a certain predictability and stability.

I can pop my harddrive in to any model of mac that supports my OS and it will just work.
All the "drivers" that could possibly be needed are bundled with the OS.

Of course OSX can be made to run on more or less any computer but no official means was ever offered.
 
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