Your new music thread **formerly 'Music Production Thread'

[GaijinPunch]

What does Reason 5 do that Live doesn't? I heard the instruments are a bit richer. Surely there's more, no?

[Udderdude]

youtube musics

I finally got a chance to listen to these. I liked track 2 and 3 the most. You seemed to put a lot of effort into trying to confuse the listener in track 3, nice job :P

[emphatic]

What does Reason 5 do that Live doesn't?

It's Swedish.

Not sure about Reason 5, but for a very long time now, Reason users had to live without audio tracks and VST plugins, so it's been more of a one-in-all-with-no-external-stuff kinda deal. I never got over the fact that they did a huge overhaul on the 3.0 sequencer, so I've had a hard time moving on.

[jonny5]

Yeah, I'm just gonna start this and hope a mod moves the posts from "Awesome stuff you've just bought (+pics please)" to here.

Anyway, post stuff you've made, software/hardware used, photos of your awesome gigs, etc.

Here be some MP3s :O http://rydia.net/udder/mods/phantasm/

I'm only using MODPlug Tracker and FL Studio 8 w/ VOPM at the moment, possibly will buy some hardware in the future (maybe a mini keyboard? mixing stuff too).

FL seems pretty easy to use, however I'm lost as to how all the functions of the midi controller tie into the software. Namely the beat pads, rotary knobs, and sliders.

Hoping little-scale comes out with a good midi interface for the GEN/MD.

Edit: took a picture!

not familiar with FL, but if its like most DAW's, you just need to midi-map the controls to what you want them to control....like for ableton, you just click the midi-map button, hit the function you want to control, then hit the key/control on the axiom you want to use and voila....mapped

or if you have version 2 of the axiom(looks like you have the old one) you can download pre-mapped configs for most DAW's from m-audio

im using the version 2 axiom 25 with my mpc and the occasional VST and trackers

picking up an MC 303 tomorrow bit of a step back from the mpc, but ive been experimenting with putting major hardware limitations on myself and see what i can do with it....leads to more crativity for me, takes me out of my comfort zone

i will post some pics and links to some of my stuff this weekend if i remember

I make dumb futuristic/noise/synth hip-hop and I've been known to scratch a record or two.

id like to hear some of your stuff...sounds like its right up my alley....

i also make weird synthy hip hop

[cul]

What does Reason 5 do that Live doesn't? I heard the instruments are a bit richer. Surely there's more, no?

Like usual in music, it's more about "it's a different approach" than "it has better specs". It's a pretty nice all-in-on package and the synths are top notch, and the last version added nice drum synths modules. I use it in Rewire anyway, best of both.

youtube musics

I finally got a chance to listen to these. I liked track 2 and 3 the most. You seemed to put a lot of effort into trying to confuse the listener in track 3, nice job

Thanks, I also have another "artist name" for more "shitty" "random" "lol" music:

and I've just made a K-on remix.

[Udderdude]

and I've just made a K-on remix.

Oh god my ears. This has to be the worst thing ever.

[null1024]

Gahahaha, all of you with your piano-roll sequencers [used to be a fan of them, but after tracking for a few years, I can't seem to do anything with them...].

Using Renoise or MilkyTracker for any music creation here. I generally sample everything I need [you need to do that to get anything into Milky, you get more control in Renoise with samples than VSTis].
Different style of editing, generally lets me work much faster.

Been making nothing but chip recently [bleh, getting bored of it though], but I cycle through what I make in phases.

[Udderdude]

Gahahaha, all of you with your piano-roll sequencers (used to be a fan of them, but after tracking for a few years, I can't seem to do anything with them...).

As far as I can tell, I'm the only one here using trackers exclusively. Piano roll fo lyfe :P

Been making nothing but chip recently

Links plz.

[GaijinPunch]

Nobody else DJ's? It's requires less creativity but it's just fun as shit.

[emphatic]

Nobody else DJ's? It's requires less creativity but it's just fun as shit.

I DJ. Using 1x Technics 1210, 1x Numark TTX-1, Stanton 303 something mixer, laptop running FinalScratch 1.54. But mostly, costly 12"s. I've only gotten shit to my face once or twice when playing to an audience, mostly I get praise, so I guess my taste is OK.

[crithit5000]

Nobody else DJ's?

Current gear: 2 older black Technics 1200's (the pitch control has the old 0% notch still) and a pretty blah Vestax 06. Looking to get a Raine mixer with some sort of DVS system in the near future.

It's requires less creativity but it's just fun as shit.

Although I do enjoy listening to and playing electronic/dance music, it is a pain to get stupid creative with it unlike with hip-hop/turntablism..

[cools]

Last track I completed was back in 2002.

Used to experiment making different types of trance towards the end. Did a bunch of collabs with this guy before he started getting noticed. Still keep in touch I just kinda got involved with other things than music... Women mainly.

Anyway inspired by this thread I'm uploading what I was most pleased with to http://soundcloud.com/rogalian

Apologies for any crap mastering. Quite determined to produce a track or two again before 2011 but anything I do will almost certainly not be trance.

[emphatic]

Quite determined to produce a track or two again before 2011 but anything I do will almost certainly not be trance.

Sounds a bit like old Signum or Tidy Tracks (to me).


If anyone wants to hear my music production, checkout my remix of the Ketsui stage 2 music in the STG remix album made by forum members here: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20645

[cools]

Quite determined to produce a track or two again before 2011 but anything I do will almost certainly not be trance.

Sounds a bit like old Signum or Tidy Tracks (to me).

Some of the old Signum stuff I've kept on vinyl as it still gives me goosebumps

[jonny5]

Gahahaha, all of you with your piano-roll sequencers (used to be a fan of them, but after tracking for a few years, I can't seem to do anything with them...).

As far as I can tell, I'm the only one here using trackers exclusively. Piano roll fo lyfe

learn to play an instrument jokes

as much as i like trackers, its like programming music, rather than playing it....perhaps my point of view is different as i learned physical instruments and played live music long before i got into any kind of electronic production, but i would find it extremely limiting doing everything with trackers. You cant 'play' a tracker(well, you kind of can with famitracker)....again this is just my opinion....its just that i hear so much nutty stuff in chiptunes and tracker produced music, but i often wonder, could the composer actually 'play' any of it, or was it just a melody in their head and they managed to make the computer do it by feeding it some notes?

its still a feat of composition, dont get me wrong, but often a lot of what i appreciate in music is the ability of the people playing it, and with trackers you are basically inputting notes and pressing play and the computer plays your song for you. kinda takes some the fun out of it, for me anyways.

as for sampling stuff for chiptunes....sampling off original hardware is one thing, but for me, if you are just using lo-bit vst's and stuff and sampling them, its not really chiptunes. Just my opinion anyways; for me chiptunes = hardware

if you are going to use vst's, why sample them, when you can just sequence them using midi and actually physically play the parts of your songs, rather than just programming stuff with samples using trackers. At that point it just seems like you are letting the computer do too much of the work for you.

[louisg]

Gahahaha, all of you with your piano-roll sequencers (used to be a fan of them, but after tracking for a few years, I can't seem to do anything with them...).

As far as I can tell, I'm the only one here using trackers exclusively. Piano roll fo lyfe

learn to play an instrument jokes

as much as i like trackers, its like programming music, rather than playing it....perhaps my point of view is different as i learned physical instruments and played live music long before i got into any kind of electronic production, but i would find it extremely limiting doing everything with trackers. You cant 'play' a tracker(well, you kind of can with famitracker)....again this is just my opinion....its just that i hear so much nutty stuff in chiptunes and tracker produced music, but i often wonder, could the composer actually 'play' any of it, or was it just a melody in their head and they managed to make the computer do it by feeding it some notes?

its still a feat of composition, dont get me wrong, but often a lot of what i appreciate in music is the ability of the people playing it, and with trackers you are basically inputting notes and pressing play and the computer plays your song for you. kinda takes some the fun out of it, for me anyways.

as for sampling stuff for chiptunes....sampling off original hardware is one thing, but for me, if you are just using lo-bit vst's and stuff and sampling them, its not really chiptunes. Just my opinion anyways; for me chiptunes = hardware

if you are going to use vst's, why sample them, when you can just sequence them using midi and actually physically play the parts of your songs, rather than just programming stuff with samples using trackers. At that point it just seems like you are letting the computer do too much of the work for you.

What about.. both? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERRyz3YgLo (the tracker Renoise is the VST host)

chiptunes, afaik, started as an amiga MOD term to refer to c64ish modules.. that's my experience anyway. the meaning has just drifted over the years.

[jonny5]

What about.. both? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERRyz3YgLo (the tracker Renoise is the VST host)

chiptunes, afaik, started as an amiga MOD term to refer to c64ish modules.. that's my experience anyway. the meaning has just drifted over the years.

exactly my point....i like the idea of using trackers like an instrument, and incorporating it into a larger composition...

i just find it odd making music, without any actual instruments involved, as is the case with most tracker use

[louisg]

What about.. both? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERRyz3YgLo (the tracker Renoise is the VST host)

chiptunes, afaik, started as an amiga MOD term to refer to c64ish modules.. that's my experience anyway. the meaning has just drifted over the years.

exactly my point....i like the idea of using trackers like an instrument, and incorporating it into a larger composition...

i just find it odd making music, without any actual instruments involved, as is the case with most tracker use

I don't think there's anything odd about it actually, it's just a different method of music writing. Lots of tracked music is great, and the fact that it's not live doesn't mean it can't be soulful!

[cools]

Gahahaha, all of you with your piano-roll sequencers (used to be a fan of them, but after tracking for a few years, I can't seem to do anything with them...).

As far as I can tell, I'm the only one here using trackers exclusively. Piano roll fo lyfe

learn to play an instrument jokes

You record everything live? No sequencers, just a multitrack recorder?

[jonny5]

You record everything live? No sequencers, just a multitrack recorder?

im not sure what you mean cools?

i use an mpc and a keyboard....

[null1024]

Gahahaha, all of you with your piano-roll sequencers (used to be a fan of them, but after tracking for a few years, I can't seem to do anything with them...).

As far as I can tell, I'm the only one here using trackers exclusively. Piano roll fo lyfe

Been making nothing but chip recently

Links plz.

http://2a03.free.fr/?p=pub&dir=null1024
http://chipmusic.org/music#s=null1024
http://battleofthebits.org//arena/Entry ... .zip/4393/
http://battleofthebits.org//arena/Entry ... .nsf/4325/
http://trebledeathsystem.com/tracks/350 -- probably the best of the lot, collab with Syniphas.

and then nonchip+some chip mixed in:
http://trebledeathsystem.com/user/61/tracks

[KBZ]

if you are going to use vst's, why sample them, when you can just sequence them using midi and actually physically play the parts of your songs, rather than just programming stuff with samples using trackers. At that point it just seems like you are letting the computer do too much of the work for you.

That'd be ideal. Still new to midi in general but going about making a midi interface to consoles is just too out there for me atm.

And yeah its cool to use a piano roll now and then but I don't find it very intuitive. Much easier for me to play the part on the keys first and then maybe a piano roll of I quickly want to hear everything together in sync without doing multiple takes.

[ZacharyB]

What about.. both? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERRyz3YgLo (the tracker Renoise is the VST host)

chiptunes, afaik, started as an amiga MOD term to refer to c64ish modules.. that's my experience anyway. the meaning has just drifted over the years.

exactly my point....i like the idea of using trackers like an instrument, and incorporating it into a larger composition...

i just find it odd making music, without any actual instruments involved, as is the case with most tracker use

I don't think there's anything odd about it actually, it's just a different method of music writing. Lots of tracked music is great, and the fact that it's not live doesn't mean it can't be soulful!

He might mean the active communication aspect of it. My father used to practice playing jazz and said that the best part was the active communication between players.

As an artist, I prefer the final product over the process myself. I'm happy to just get something rendered into the real world, music or drawing.

[louisg]

exactly my point....i like the idea of using trackers like an instrument, and incorporating it into a larger composition...

i just find it odd making music, without any actual instruments involved, as is the case with most tracker use

I don't think there's anything odd about it actually, it's just a different method of music writing. Lots of tracked music is great, and the fact that it's not live doesn't mean it can't be soulful!

He might mean the active communication aspect of it. My father used to practice playing jazz and said that the best part was the active communication between players.

As an artist, I prefer the final product over the process myself. I'm happy to just get something rendered into the real world, music or drawing.

There are lots of genres though where communication between band members isn't an element or isn't much of one. Studio rock is a big one for example. In most styles, improvisation isn't a vital component.. jazz is one of the few exceptions.

(edit) btw in a good sequenced/tracked piece, I think there is a lot of interplay between the parts, which is going to be similar to improvisation or communication between musicians (I guess it's more like talking to yourself in this case )

[cools]

You record everything live? No sequencers, just a multitrack recorder?

im not sure what you mean cools?

i use an mpc and a keyboard....

A tracker is just a method of sequencing. The MPC has a sequencer in it. Any tracker that is MIDI capable (and the majority of the good ones are) can be hooked up to a keyboard for playing soft/hard synths live, or operating as a sampling keyboard/MIDI sequencer.

Your tools offer different features, but the core is identical to a tracker

[Lordstar]

Nobody else DJ's? It's requires less creativity but it's just fun as shit.

WORD! It also pays a more when it comes to production earnings vs DJ'n earnings. Not that it matters I been DJ'n for free these last few gigs I have done.

[jonny5]

You record everything live? No sequencers, just a multitrack recorder?

im not sure what you mean cools?

i use an mpc and a keyboard....

A tracker is just a method of sequencing. The MPC has a sequencer in it. Any tracker that is MIDI capable (and the majority of the good ones are) can be hooked up to a keyboard for playing soft/hard synths live, or operating as a sampling keyboard/MIDI sequencer.

Your tools offer different features, but the core is identical to a tracker

hmmm...other than famitracker ive not seen any non-hardware trackers that could sync with external midi...i just prefer being able to play my parts live as i sequence them, rather than entering notes on a screen

as for an mpc vs. a tracker...they are very different...for example, a tb-303 has a sequencer, but is it much like an mpc? not at all.....the end result might be similar sometimes, but the way you use it is completely different

sure, you are laying out sequences, but the action is very different

again, im not saying trackers are bad....i use them myself....im just saying for me they arent the best/preferable way to make music...i guess i like to play rather than 'compose'

[cools]

There are plenty of trackers that can utilise MIDI equipment whether for input or output (with varying quantisation). They started appearing 15-16 years ago on the Amiga and Atari STs

Whatever is used is cool if it suits the user. You're just very misinformed regarding them

[jonny5]

There are plenty of trackers that can utilise MIDI equipment whether for input or output (with varying quantisation). They started appearing 15-16 years ago on the Amiga and Atari STs

Whatever is used is cool if it suits the user. You're just very misinformed regarding them

ya but when i was referring to 'hardware trackers', thats what i meant....15-16 year old computers are in the same vein as working with consoles to me...you are utilizing the onboard sound synthesis hardware of those units, rather than emulating or sampling vst's and 'sequencing' on a windows box...

but aside from famitracker, are there other windows based trackers that can utilize midi? pretty much any of the windows based trackers ive messed with did not support midi of any kind

i definitely agree though, im no expert with trackers

i was looking at c64 tracking, but my g/f saw me looking at commodores online and said 'NO!!!!'...

hardware certainly takes up more space, thats for sure!

[louisg]

I don't know if I'd want to use a tracker by recording MIDI into it.. you end up having to adjust it anyway.

There are lots of ways to produce chippy sounds, if that's what you're referring to by sampling VSTs. One of the easier ways to do it is to just draw the wavecycles. And, if you have a wave cycle which is uninterpolated, you have a basic table-lookup oscillator similar to ones used in real hardware. Or, at the very least, you have a perfect (aliased) squarewave like the kind used by old "real" equipment.

You can also do a lot more with a tracker than just chiptunes; even with an older sample-based-only one. There are also trackers which work with dedicated synth hardware. Newer trackers also often support VSTs.