Chosing sound modules

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lyricist

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Hey there, I am glad I found this place.
I hope someone is willing to help me...
I am in somewhat of a newbie-chaotic situation.

I have been using FLstudio for awhile to make beats,
but it is totally limiting me now.. It has good bass sounds whic i am well pleased cus I like guitars in my music, but other than that..i need more.
I looked around at synths/workstations BUT
since I am a computer type person.. and..
also like to press keyboard keys-
I was taught what a sound module/midi was..
It sounded great to me.

So now I am totally leaning toward the idea of buying a sound module and hooking it up to my computer and/or the midi plugs in the back of my keyboard. However, i was just told..you cant do any vocal recording with these sound modules.

Sooo do any of you more experienced members care to input on my situation?

My goal is to make a few beats, get my voice on there..and have it sound pretty decent if you know what I mean.

If I do go ahead and get a sound module, how am I going to do the vocal recording?

Also, what do you suggest a good sound module is that has premade loops and stuff? I have trouble at times started DIRECTLY from scratch!

Any help is appreciated- I need to hurry and start on my much anticipated project. Thanks in advance.
 
Hey Lyricist, welcome to HR.

For recording audio, you need an audio recorder like Sound Forge or Wavelab etc..to record the audio directly into your pc and then use it in FL. The other way is to get a sampler and record into that but that will limit the amount of audio you can record as ram is the issue here. You have a pc, get a decent sound card and pre amp or s/card with builtin pre amp and record into the pc.

Sound modules, there are a load of good ones there with pre written beat and arpeggiator templates. Emu command stations or modules spring to mind, but there are load of others out there. I like the Emus because they have loads of arp templates, beats mode for drums, a great mod matrix for edittin etc.., and filters to dies for, they are also cheap and easily expandable.

These are very basic suggestions and I'm sure others will chip in here.
All the best.
 
Hey thanks.
I am understanding the mic part..
So Basically I would just play my track on the comp and then add on the vocals while recording?

I guess I have that down..
I just don't want to make a mistake getting a peice of crap module.
I am In hawaii- we have next to nothing here so I wouldnt be able to go test anything basically.

When I am buying a sound module though, how do I know if it already has prerecorded melodies to use? What in the system specs do I look for? Sometimes it seems like another language to me..
 
Usually the synths will have an arpeggiator that will play a sequence of notes etc..Others will have more refined arps (arpeggiators) and might include many measures of a sequence. Emu sound modules have BTS mode, which is specifically for drums and you can select a drum kit and use any of the many patterns they have , built in. You can even edit and create your own. When you go to a music shop and check synths out to buy, always have a look at what arps or patterns are included in the menu options, that gives you an indication if they are edittable etc..A lot of other modules have sequenced patterns and these can be editted and triggered by the built in sequencer. I know that certain sequencers come with a load of pattern sequences, Yamaha QY700, Roland MC80 etc..
 
lyricist said:
Oh alright. thanks

Someone recommended to me the Roland U-220, do you guys have any input on that? Is it junk?
Click to expand...

Very anchient - circa 1989. If you're looking for contemporary sounds, you will not find it there.

I would look at something a little newer, maybe a Roland JV1080/2080 or XV5050.
 
Thanks brxzilian.

I have one more question I am hoping someone can answer-
If I am making beats on a sound module and I mess up one of the layers...
How Do I go about fixing it?
I was told on workstations you have to redo the WHOLE layer from scratch..
Is this the same with sound modules?
Is there something you can do to just redo the little note you messed up on..
NOT the whole layer??

Thanks..
 
I have gotten friendly with Tracktion --- it is an audio and midi sequencing package and only set me back $80.00. It's available directly from Mackie -

http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion/

They've got a downloadable demo that makes a little hissing noise and won't let you save anything, but other than that it's fully functional. Then when you've got a suitable audio/midi interface --- I use a Tascam US-122 --- go here to get some FREE soft synths!

http://www.kvr-vst.com/

It's kind of a jump, but once you've made it into soft-land there's no going back --- especially if your aim is to compose original songs/music.
 
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