Guitarist Looking for good looping software

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Spotcheckbilly

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So, some of you may know me from my other thread, "Guitarist looking for the right Laptop PC (or MAC?)." I figure taking the approach of figuring out my best software will help with my laptop decision (PC or Mac).

So, here's what I'm looking for:

1) A looping program that preferrably also does the tracking. I want to record my guitar by miking my amplifier as well as record vocals throug a vocal mic, create loops, and do midi stuff, and all have it be on one easy to use platform
2) A looping program with "authentic" loops. I'm not looking to do techno/trance/etc. I want get authentic jazz/rock/country/strings/etc.

3) drum loops as well as the ability of a drum machine to create my own drum loops. I'm not sure if you can use all loop libraries with just any looping software, so this may be a "non-issue."

4) EASY TO USE....I'm a guitarist who doesn have much of any experience with recording

5) Room to grow into...I don't want something that I will get sick of...

6) Midi capability (I'd like to get a midi keyboard and get the Moog plugins to do snythesizer work). Anybody hear that band Ween? That kinda stuff.

7) Good effects/ability to use plugins/etc.

So, here's what I've found that people suggest:

1) Powertracks (I know manning, you're always pulling for that. It seems like a good deal, and might just be the right choice for me. But, I've heard band in the box stuff before and it sounded like shit to me. I admit that's a initial fear, but easily overcome if I download a demo I guess).

2) Acid (do I need the Pro version?)

3) Sonar 4

4) Ableton Live (I heard Looping is not the "forte" of this program).

5) Reason (for both Mac and PC?)

6) anything else?

Also, if you guys might be so kind as to let me know which looping software is available on PC, Mac, or both.

Is it really better to use recording software that gives you looping capabilites rather than soley relying on looping software?

I guess right now I'm leaning in the PC direction more so than Mac b/c it seems PC has really become superior in terms of processing power.

Lots of questions. Sorry to bombard you. Thanks.
 
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Tracktion has everything you need. Go here to get a copy for free.

Not sure how long this is going to last so get it now while the gettings good. Even after the free deal is over it's only $80 to buy a copy --- in my humble opinion a true bargain...
 
Spotcheckbilly said:
GodWeenSatan is one of my all time favorite albums. If you don't have it, find it. It's their first and IMHO best.

And Ableton Live is ALL ABOUT looping! Download the demo here and see for yourself. It's pretty 'spensitive though...
 
ssscientist said:
Tracktion has everything you need. Go here to get a copy for free.

ssscientist, I tried out tracktion & I couldn't figure out how to split a track.

In Cakewalk if I want to create some loops, I'll split a track at 2 points, then copy the peice that's been split, paste and loop. How do you do this in Tracktion?
 
spot. let me address a couple of points.
1. band in a box songs. if youve heard bad songs its because people are playing back using poor synth sounds. for example pc on board sound chips are terrible. when writing a biab song if you take the midi out from the pc
into a very good midi sound module with excellent sound/synthesis engine - the difference is night and day. then what you do is take the audio out of the midi module and record as an audio track. remermber - midi is just data.
its the midi sound module that produces the sounds. the sound is only as good as the midi module used. i suggest you learn about this a bit more.
superb biab songs have been done in the right hands.
2. several people have already compared traktion vs powertracks on the pg forum. and concluded that in the midi realm (go read the results yourself)
and editing, powertracks is superior. and these are people with a lot of experience using traktion. the problem is a lot of newbies dont understand midi in depth so they dont yet have the education to understand why powertracks midi features are superior. from the forums you will see its the experienced midi user who understands .
 
as far as midi sound modules, one does not have to use something external right? For example, I could buy some Moog analog synth software to use as the sound module, right?

Powertracks looks like a good option. I will look into it more. Does it work on both PC and Mac?

Another thing I thought of last night is that I'd possibly like to mic my amplifier with two mikes at times. In this case, the looping software would need to support the ability to record more than one track at a time. Also, I might want to record two guitars at once. Or, guitars and vocals at once. These are important things to consider.

I'm interested in Cakewalk as well, people seem to say that is very user friendly as well.

I assume Powertracks and Cakewalk will allow someone to record multiple tracks at a time?

Thanks.
 
spot. to do midi right you need to look at whats called a midi multi timbral sound module there are plenty of used ones cheap.
on the pg site there is also a virtual sound canvas.
i really think you need to read up on this stuff a lot and maybe get yourself a good midi book. this will explain a lot to you.
also - on the pg site are numerous faq's you can read and tutorials.
i suggest you spend some time taking them in.
they are very usefull. powertracks will let you record multiple
tracks at a time provided you have a multiple input sound card solution.
the limit is 48 tracks. but actually its unlimited , because you can mix s tracks down to stereo , reimport the mix into a new session.
then add 47 more tracks.
i'll answer further questions once youve done some work for yourself, read the FAQ's and tutorials as it will save a lot of time for you and me posting wise.
 
Yeah, I think from now on I'll chill in the newbies forum/just read posts from now on. I appreciate your honesty, although it's a little cutting, manning.
 
just trying to save you time.
the best teacher is if you get the demo of what i use and load it on a pc .
it comes with all sorts of simple help for newbies.
and if you buy it a full video cd to learn from. just the video is worth the money. really - i'm not being cutting. but youll learn far more in a shorter time actually getting hands on experience. really - i'm just trying to save you a bunch of time. hands on is the best teacher.
 
Bulls Hit said:
ssscientist, I tried out tracktion & I couldn't figure out how to split a track.

In Cakewalk if I want to create some loops, I'll split a track at 2 points, then copy the peice that's been split, paste and loop. How do you do this in Tracktion?

Select the clip - either midi or audio - so that the edges turn red. To split it, use the / key with the cursor positioned @ the point at which you want to split it. Then just cut and paste.

To size the clip without moving the contents, use the empty triangles. This is one of the things I like best because I'm kind of a sloppy keyboard player and this feature let's me pick the best 4 bars out of everything I played, isolate it and paste it as many times as I need to...
 
I downloaded the Power Tracks demo and watched the demo. I'm sorry, but the look of that program made me want to puke. I realize it may have some great features, but whatever software I use, I want to also be somewhat impressed by the layout/look of it.

The Cakewalk stuff has been intriuging me latley. The Home Studio package seems like it will fit my bill nicely as I can do midi, record audio, and use plugins. Cakewalk stuff also doesn't seem to have to high of a learning curve. If anyone has a better option besides Powertracks, I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.

Manning, I don't think I was far off in my understanding of midi. I mentioned I want to use the Moog Software produced by Aurtaria (spelling?). I can simply buy this, buy a midi keyboard interface (M Audio makes one), and connect via USB. Then I have a standalone Moog Synth, as well as being able to record it on the Home Studio stuff. I could also use any other soft synth that I choose as well as use the midi keyboard to play drums if I choose. Home Studio comes with drum creation tools (as I'm sure a lot of software does). At this time, that's all the midi applications I plan to use....one keyboard controlling one more softsynths at separate times.

Peace.

spot.
 
spot. puke eh ? well thousands of powertracks users would disagree with you.
ive never ever heard that comment ever. you should go and post that on the user forums. asnd see what other users say. most people on here ive mentioned it to on trying it have used words like amazing.
but - personal preference i guess.
so - go try a lot of others. all the demoes are at hitsquad.com.
if you read the customer reviews at pg they are absolutely glowing. so you surprise me. its a shame you will be missing so many features.
particularly on the midi side.
but if not for you - go try others. peace.
 
the other thing i should say...its been my experience that a lot of pretty looking programs on the surface sometimes dont have the building blocks underneath.
 
Manning I hear ya. This may be something to get past. But, I'm trying to figure out if it's just me. I mean seriously, that software looks like a kid's toy. I'm not trying to be rude, but every other recording software program I've seen (Cubase, Nuendo, Guitar Tracks, Home Studio, ACID, etc.) looked somewhat classy. Again, I'm not trying to be rude, but even the sight looks toyish.

And the demo. The guys voice about made me nutz. He did a good job explaining things, but I almost had to turn it off b/c I couldn't stand the guy's voice. Again, not trying to be rude. Just being me.

Anyway, I'm aware that other programs may look nice but lack features. But, the Home Studio package by Cakewalk seems to offer me what I'm looking for. I'm not sold on it just yet, but it seems to be the leader.

Peace.

spot.
 
spot. i dont care one whit.
just use what makes you happy.
if you read the pg customer reviews on the site you will see many folks have moved from more expensive programs to powertracks.
what ive found - and the powertracks user forums are evidence of this...
its normally very hard core experienced recording people who use powertracks.
and if you read the forums youll see that. whereas many newbies who dont know often what to look for beneath the pretty stuff often go with powertracks competitors until they reach a level of maturity in recording . then they come back once educated.
are you sure you downloaded the latest version 9 ?
how long did you work with it ?
did you actually spend time with it ? and do things like actually edit tracks ? record midi ? do midi notation editing ?
 
Hiya.

If you are looking for live looping, whereby you can record what you do in realtime and loop what you play, then check out the following links. All three packages are free, are midi controllable (I use a FCB1010 quite happily with them) and all emulate many features of the EDP with LoopIV software.

AMBILOOP (PC) - http://www.evenfall.com/ambiloop/
MOBIUS (PC) - http://www.zonemobius.com/
AMBILOOP (OSX/Linux) - http://www.essej.com/sooperlooper/

I know that Mobius and I believe Ambiloop all have midi sync (in/out) so that you can use something like AbletonLive for pre-programmed loops. I'm still getting to grips with these packages, so I dont think I can help you further. It might be worth checking the archives at LoopersDelight (http://loopersdelight.com/) to see what other loopers think of the packages.

Cheers

Stuart Wyatt - Looping Fiddler - http://swyatt.com

[EDIT] I'm confused... I saw this thread in the box at the bottom of the page, and its from 2004... didn't realise threads automatically search for similar threads... SORRY FOR BUMPING!
 
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