bitl3gs

nice one evktalo I just finished my rework of the Shrine music... https://soundcloud.com/bitlegs/shining-force-ii-shrine-bitlegs-vision-questing

no problem man. one other thing that might help, some midi controllers come with a Lite version of Live (that Novation controller I mentioned has this deal for example). from there you can get a cheaper upgrade to the full version of Ableton as opposed to buying it straight out. there might be similar deals with Bitwig floating around too, I don't know. You should definitely try out demo versions of each and see which one you feel more comfortable in.

I've been gigging with Ableton Live for almost 10 years, I think it can do pretty much everything you're looking for. Your current MacBook can also run it just fine I think, mine is about 5 years old and still does the trick for me. I've heard Bitwig is cool too, but I've never tried it. You're right that latency will be an issue with recording live bass. I would probably take that out of the setup anyway, it seems like you are taking on too many tasks at once. It's very important to keep the set interesting flowing smoothly and I think switching between a bunch of instruments is just prone to failure and slowdown when you're solo. If you're using the keyboard, I would just jam your basslines on that instead, or just use your own prerecorded bass loops. But don't let me stop you from trying As for recording within Ableton, it will work ok to a point but eventually it will likely bog down your software too much and possibly crash the software. I would not recommend doing this at a gig. Just use the external rec out on the mixer if possible into another recording device. I don't use many VSTs live other than some main channel mastering, so I can't help you there. As far as the hardware goes I think you could pull it off with what you have. You might want to get some kind of control surface controller with faders and knobs to better control your mixer channels. Novation just came out with the Launch Control XL which is pretty cheap and should do the job nicely. If you're curious about my live set, there's one here: https://soundcloud.com/revy/revy-live-pa-machine-language I have a different approach then what you're envisioning though. I have big library of my own stems that I mix together in different combinations each time I play.

Thor for iPad is 66% off until end of August ($5) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/thor-polysonic-synthesizer/id660195946?mt=8

the main benefit of 24 bit is headroom. if you want more precision and dynamics in your recording/mixing/mastering, it's the way to go, even if your end product is going to be converted down to 16 bit. if you have proper monitoring equipment I think you can notice a considerable difference. especially if you snort some fairy dust first http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun08/articles/qa0608_2.htm

nice. cavernous!

For any Reason users out there... https://shop.propellerheads.se/product/chip-64-synth/ I tried out the demo, this is pretty cool, good sound and lots of modular potential

I can dig it

There isn't one on hearthis from what I can tell...not yet anyways. I would guess if it gets more popular they'll be required to protect copyrights in some way.

legit killer job dude!

sounds cool. I might do a bitleg of Shrine Theme

My advice would be to not get too caught up in what other people are doing at first. Discover your own method of composing tracks and you'll eventually find your own unique sound signature and a workflow comfortable for you. Keep in mind that this could take years of dedicated practice as well. When you find yourself hitting a creative block or frustration, that's a good time to take a break, read the manual for your DAW, check out some articles or tutorials. Some basic books on sound design or music theory might be useful too. Sometimes Coursera will have some free online courses on the subject. But all that should take a backseat to actually sitting down and trying to make music, that's where you should spend most of your time. I would also highly recommend some kind of midi controller as well, to get more hands on with your software. There are plenty of affordable control surfaces floating around that will make the process a lot more enjoyable than clicking around virtual knobs and faders with a mouse. Regarding mastering, you should not even consider learning about it in depth until you are comfortable composing, and eventually mixing. If you need a track properly mastered for a label release, somebody else really should be taking care of it anyway so you can focus on the creative side.

hey timaeus, thanks for the feedback and taking the time to listen, I appreciate it. In response to that, I think the things you criticize go against the core aesthetic of my project: Deep and drawn out texture anaylsis with subtle and slowly evolving fx processing (often recorded live). I'm more interested in experimental sound design here than conventional remix construction. So in that regard I definitely don't expect it to appeal to everyone, and definitely have no intent to change anything. I'm not trying to be defensive here, just explaining my approach cheers

good look, thanks !

https://soundcloud.com/bitlegs/magician-title-screen-bitlegs Again changes to Hell Continue 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

https://soundcloud.com/bitlegs/abadox-title-screen-bitlegs indigestion IN SPACE

That pitiful wizard Lakmir was a fool to send a buffoon like you to stop me. You will surely regret it for the only thing here for you is a horrible death! https://soundcloud.com/bitlegs/shadowgate-subterranean-cavern

I just posted a quick video for BurstError on a nifty technique in Ableton Live, very useful when remixing with audio files as a sound source. enjoy!

totally agree with that too. unless you're married to it I would try some other options. The good software in this case is more expensive for a reason...

ah sorry, I thought you were working with an external VST. I would contact Magix tech support about it and let them know as much as you can about your sound card and PC specs, maybe an example project file where the distortion is occuring. Also, you could always buy an audio interface, and you usually have something like 30 days to return it in case it doesn't seem to fix anything or meet your exact needs. @G-Mixer - yes that interface would work fine with any kind of analog synth. any sound input device really.

Have you tried using the plugin in a different DAW? Maybe you could try installing a demo version of Ableton Live or something and see if you get the same results. Also how much RAM/cpu are you working with? I've seen crackly sounds occur when the machine is getting overloaded, usually a dense VST is at fault

If you're tired of running out of space on your Soundcloud page or paying $15/month for a pro account, this might be an interesting alternative. https://hearthis.at/ The platform looks a lot like classic soundcloud + some other nice features, and you get unlimited upload capabilities until a certain number of plays or downloads. After that it's only 2 euro/month for unlimited capabilities. Looks pretty cool, thought some of you might be into it!

yeah man I highly doubt it's the soundcard. That shouldn't affect how files are rendered. seems more like an issue within your DAW or the synth plugin. But if you're serious about making music you should get an external soundcard anyway. I like Presonus stuff, they're pretty affordable.

you're welcome! you should dig around Zophar's site also. I saw some PC applications there for converting stuff to midi files as well.