daw, midi tracks and vsts = overwhelmed!

[JamesMac]

Looking for advice on getting started. My intention......

I am predominantly a rock/metal guitarist that writes riffs and transcribes into songs using guitar pro. Ultimately my goal is to get these into some form of finished production. As i only play one instrument my technique in the past has been to write all the instrument tracks on guitar pro and then export them to my DAW (Cubase 5) as midi files. I would then record the guitar parts as instruments and adjust the midi sounds of everything else to my pleasing. This worked but i was limited to midi sounds as I only had what was on the daw, no external vsts/plugins accept for the guitar.

A few years on I am now wanting to do more projects, but no longer have Cubase. What I want is a DAW that supports vsts that will enable me to import the midi information and make it sound more real. This is purely an experimental phase so I'm not looking to spend money on software ideally.

Where I am so far... I have bias fx 2 which will do for my guitar plugin at this stage

1.I have tried pro tools first which came with my interface, imported midi fine but couldn't figure how to insert the host vst. No clip view or compatibly with external plugins other than avid so gave up.
2. Next I'm trying Reaper, which seems a bit more user friendly, works with Bias.
3. Free vsts - I have tried Drummatic but the download had no install app, so that's as far as I got. I successfully installed ample bass which I can see on Reaper but again cant figure out how to insert into the imported midi information.

Needless to say I am somewhat overwhelmed by all this integration and seeking any helpful advice. I have watched many videos but cant find anything specific to my method. Any advice on VST use with DAWs or whats most user friendly? Anyone else tried guitar pro midi import to build songs?

Thanks

 

[rob aylestone]

I take it you didn't get on with Cubase, so as the current versions are very similar, just cleverer since 5, it's not a problem. Most of the DAWs will let you build up songs from loops, patterns and short sections. I can't speak for Reaper, but in Cubase, the only slightly tricky part is that snapping of parts to bars is complicated when your little bits are not at the same tempo. There are ways around it of course, but beginners and tempo mapping, time stretching and shrinking and that kind of thing is pushing it until you are comfy. If you buy anything - it will come with loads of sounds unless you penny pinch. I suspect you may have to modify your old method a bit to take advantage of the way moderns sequencers do things, but if you can find the right one, give them a go. Why not download trials and maybe the cut down versions once you have a steer? Cubase, for example has three different versions all upwards compatible - elements, artist and pro - they all work virtually the same. The other DAWs also have upgrade paths.