I Need A Synth And Recorder!
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Other music related lounges
Forum Name: Tech Talk
Forum Description: Discuss musical instruments, equipment, hi-fi, speakers, vinyl, gadgets,etc.
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=111027
Printed Date: November 23 2024 at 09:09
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: I Need A Synth And Recorder!
Posted By: mlkpad14
Subject: I Need A Synth And Recorder!
Date Posted: April 30 2017 at 19:12
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I am young, and I am trying to experiment with music and its many possibilities. I have some interesting ideas and plans, and I have been at it for awhile with my guitar and my prog, hard rock, metal, blues, and underground (etc) interests. I need two things: A safe, free, and multi-use synthesizer or grouping of synthesizers to download onto my iMac. A well-versed synth would be of interest, but I can download at least a dozen themed/specialized ones - as long as they are safe and beneficial. I am not ready or willing to spend any money at this point. Synthesizers need to export as standard music files, I think (mp3, wav; but I don't know much in the technology and software area). A safe, free, and strong recording software. I want to be able to record my acoustic guitar and import synth files; it should be able to stack sounds/files on top of each other. I have used GarageBand before. If I sound lost, please correct me. If this is the wrong place, try and provide with me with a link to some helpful websites or a special forum for music production. Of course, I am regularly here, but this is, after all, a listeners' forum - for the most part. Of course, thanks a lot! ------------- https://gamecrazyprofessional.weebly.com/ |
Replies:
Posted By: ALotOfBottle
Date Posted: April 30 2017 at 19:48
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Because I record my stuff onto a tape deck, I am fine with using just GarageBand to run my virtual instruments. Therefore, I doubt I can recommend any free DAW at the moment. As to synth plugins, there are tons of great free options. I personally really like the sound of TAL's Juno 60 recreation, which I downloaded for free somewhere. There are many more and your best bet would be to download as many as you can and see which ones you like the most. In which case, Google is your best friend. I'll point at vst4free.com, many plugins I use were found there. Good luck! ------------- Categories strain, crack and sometimes break, under their burden - step out of the space provided. |
Posted By: mlkpad14
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 04:33
Thanks! But how do I figure out if the synthesizers are safe? ------------- https://gamecrazyprofessional.weebly.com/ |
ALotOfBottle wrote:Posted By: ALotOfBottle
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 07:02
I've downloaded tons of virtual instruments from various different sources and I've never come across anything that could qualify as "unsafe." But, if you want to be sure, always download instruments that have ratings and come from places that do deal with VSTs (like the aforementioned vst4free) and you'll be fine, I guess. Just avoid anything that seems smelly. I know that's not specific, but it's the best I am able to come up with. ------------- Categories strain, crack and sometimes break, under their burden - step out of the space provided. |
Posted By: mlkpad14
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 07:29
Will do! Thanks again! ------------- https://gamecrazyprofessional.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: Davesax1965
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 07:41
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I'm afraid that with music, you get what you pay for. For a free DAW, try Reaper. The learning curve is quite steep. Don't bother with the likes of Garageband, waste of time, in the long run. There are lots of free VST synths out there, and, with a MIDI keyboard (not free) you'll have some fun. However, without spending any money on software, you'll soon discover that most VST instruments are pretty much the same thing, they're written using a limited number of software programs, and they give you very little actual physical enjoyment compared to using the real thing. The market is awash with second hand synths - ones from a few years back go for very little. I'd suggest you take that route, to be honest. You will also need to spend some time learning how to set up MIDI instruments and to get VST ones running in a DAW. Although not massively necessary: think about a quality soundcard as well. Believe it or not, playing music costs in both time and investment. There is no cheap or easy way to attain a high standard of playing, or to produce quality results. ------------- |
Posted By: Davesax1965
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 08:11
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There are, of course, two schools of thought about VSTs. (1) VSTs are great. This is usually the position of people who can't afford the "real thing" or don't want to spend money on it. Now, that's fine, everyone dabbles. Theory says that a VST combined with a MIDI keyboard / control surface is going to give you something like a decent approximation of a real MiniMoog or Korg Polysix. (2) Second opinion. VSTs are rubbish. This most always comes from musical snobs who have "the real thing". I don't subscribe to either of those views entirely, as some VST plugins are pretty damn good. Usually, the effects plugins can be of a very high standard and it saves me from spending a fortune on rackmount or pedalboard kit. I just don't like the synths. If you play a real classic synth and compare it to a VST one, the VST invariably sounds flat and dead. Mind you, it hasn't cost you $12,000. Where I feel the problem lies is when companies like Arturia tell you that a $200 plugin sounds like a $35,000 classic Moog Modular. It frankly..... does not. Despite all the oscilloscope traces, nope. No chance. Some people believe the marketing and then label anyone who's gone off and bought a Moog 55 or 3C or Dot Com system as musical snobs, and they tend to earnestly believe that their $200 / free pirate torrent VST is "as good as, nearly", a real synth. That's where I have a problem. If you've been following my "The Mighty Modular Synth" thread in Tech Talk, or my home made synth one, you'll probably know that I built a modular synth (at component level) (ie using a soldering iron) - and this is about half of it below. The finished synth will turn goat pee into gasoline. I frankly had to build it as it was going to be ruinously expensive to buy pre-made modules. And this is the tip of the musical equipment iceberg. Not snobbery, honestly, just a point of view. Free VSTs. Thank God they're out there, ditto DAWs. Please do remember - in life, and especially in music, you get what you pay for. I can only give you every encouragement to continue, but I do hope you consider getting a second hand synth as soon as possible.  ------------- |
Posted By: Davesax1965
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 08:19
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As a PS, VST synths don't export in MP3 or WAV formats, your DAW does that, and you choose the file format. Reaper runs on MAC, I'm not sure about the VST support for it and it might be better to run the PC version under WINE. There may be a performance hit. Reaper lacks wave editing capabilities - find something called Audacity. That can be configured as an external library. Read the documentation. You'll need an ASIO soundcard - asynchronous input/output - and relevant drivers. ASIO4ALL works, you might find soundcard specific ones. MIDI keyboard is essential - USB or standard MIDI cable. And good luck, have fun ! ------------- |
Posted By: mlkpad14
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 16:09
The "time" part is covered, but I'm not so sure about the "money" part yet... Maybe in half a year when I know that I want to go serious. Of course, thank you... I'll check your thread out, and I'll educate myself on the matter. ------------- https://gamecrazyprofessional.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: hieronymous
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 16:30
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Glad you are getting some responses! I wish I could give some concrete advice, but I can't in the areas you are looking. I have been fortunate to be able to acquire some basic recording gear over the past 10 years - ProTools LE on a 10 year old Mac - mostly recording bass guitar and synths - drums almost always at a friend's studio, they're the hardest! Here's a bunch of stuff I've recorded, in case you want to check it out: https://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/sets/progonymous" rel="nofollow - https://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/sets/progonymous But yeah, there's a lot of potential expense. You can go deep either in the recording side or the instrument side. It is definitely rewarding though - I had left music for 5-6 years, and when I came back around 2001 now you could record at home! You could before on a crappy tape cassette but digital hard disk recording really opened up new worlds. Maybe the best thing is being able to work with other people and swap files, etc. I could record at my friend's studio in ProTools, then take the tracks back home with me and overdub more - it really changed everything for me. Best of luck and have fun!
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Posted By: mlkpad14
Date Posted: May 01 2017 at 20:12
I always forget to copy my posts, and of course I just lost mine cause of Captcha... Your compositions are definitely interesting. Also interesting is that I actually listened to them earlier today - quite a coincidence, right? As far as creating music goes, I guess it's way more expensive than I thought it would be. In addition to the recording software and online amplifiers, I need an electric guitar, an amplifier, better earphones, and a lot of time and practice and dedication. The practice and dedication part of it is obviously huge, but it should be simple because of the reward and the fun that I find in music. I guess it's a plus that I already have an acoustic, guitar tabs, backing tracks, GarageBand, a decent speaker, the archives, the computer, a notebook, and the sources to listen and sample existing pieces. Plus I've got some practice and a lot of understanding in the way of musical theory and creativity... Woah, this stuff is huge... Is it safe to say that music is, in itself, infinite? ------------- https://gamecrazyprofessional.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 02 2017 at 00:51
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The entry level Magix (Samplitude) Music Maker DAW is now free - but they stopped making a Mac version 5 years ago so it's PC Only. http://www.magix.com/us/music-maker/ " rel="nofollow - www.magix.com/us/music-maker/ ------------- What? |
Posted By: mlkpad14
Date Posted: May 02 2017 at 04:56
Shame, I would have probably got it. ------------- https://gamecrazyprofessional.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: Davesax1965
Date Posted: May 03 2017 at 06:07
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One point. Check the number of Mac based VSTs on the market - as opposed to the number of PC based VSTs - before deciding on how you're going to run your DAW. ------------- |
Posted By: hieronymous
Date Posted: June 09 2017 at 22:23
Any update? I didn't see that you had posted again - thanks for listening. I just love music - I'm very fortunate to have been forced to take piano lessons as a kid, and then later figure out the guitar to a certain extent and find the bass as my main instrument. I am fortunate in a way that my main audience is me - I don't have to worry about whether or not other people like it or not, or try and second guess what will be popular - though of course I miss playing in front of people. My advice is keep playing your guitar - I suggest playing along with music you like, whether you learn what they are playing or just make up your own stuff - you can even record it with an iPhone or into Garage Band just to hear how it sounds. Gradually acquire gear - you don't need it all at once. Sometimes limitations are a good thing - force you to figure out a way to find the sounds in your head. Playing with other people is good too, especially if they are better than you!
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