Yoozer

The polite answer: before you go off spending your money, put it in your piggy bank. Download the trial versions of every piece of software or visit a local music store and have it demonstrated to you. Then, choose what you can work best with. The impolite answer: This question is stupid. Or well, at least very thoughtless. It's like running into a dealership, shouting that you have money and you want to buy a car. Great, says the salesman, do you want to do groceries, take kids to school, drive offroad or compensate for disappointing dimensions of reproductive organs? If you don't tell him, you're not going to make an informed choice. Choosing software like this is based on: - what can you spend (you didn't tell anyone how much money you have) - what other things do you need to spend money on (you may buy program X, if you still have to work with some on-board soundcard your choice is useless) - what kind of computer do you have? If you have a Mac, FL Studio is a stupid choice. If you have a PC, you can't buy Logic or Digital performer. - what are you using at the moment and what are you used to? So, you're not going to get an answer unless you tell us. Now.

Eventually your ears and brain will work together to hide the difference for you. Yes, you can tune it into chords, and yes, that'd be additive synthesis, but it's not that useful (and equal to a 3-oscillator synth having 3 sinewaves tuned that way). You'll get more out of it if you use the Fourier series (which not only rises in tone but has its rising tones decreasing in volume).

Well, good news if you want Logic Pro 7.2 for cheap - eBay is littered with it now.

No. Multiples are (I think) specific to DX7-style FM synthesizers which benefit from the "ratio" idea since it leads to harmonious combinations with more ease. There are a lot of exciting sounds in the inharmonious domain, but they're just not that frequently used. Yeah, that's the FM synth. There's 2 buttons; one called "coarse" that should show you the ratio in multiples, and there should be one called "fine" that allows you to adjust in non-multiples. "Additive" is generally seen as different from regular FM synths . Additive is about stacking sinewaves; FM is about creating sidebands with modulation.

Welcome to making music with the computer, where you'll be spending money like water and learning rocket surgery . Actually, be glad that it's only $150. You don't really want to know what that'd buy you 10 years ago (or worse, 20). It'd get you Jack and Shit. Plus, with FL it's an initial investment; afterwards you can coast off the free plugin archives.

For Reason, not so much; for other software, it may be. There's several software synthesizers that may bring it down to its knees. It's something the audio interface has to support. That's what you have to look for if you plan on getting one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_stream_input_output gives a more detailed explanation, but you don't have to bother with the details. Well, you could try to upgrade; put in more memory. Thing is, you are going to need someone (preferably near you) who can help you with this; if you're even allowed to do it (if it's not your computer) in the first place. In the ideal situation, you have your own computer and it's not used for games, internet, etc. But, that'd cost a lot more than simply adding 256 MB (or replacing the memory with a single 1GB) and buying a secondhand audio interface (you can get an E-mu 0404 or M-Audio Audiophile 2496 for $not much). However, once you have that as a basis, adding software synthesizers won't cost much. Just see it as an initial investment.

STEP ONE You have a computer. First, let's find out what's in there. When in Windows, do the following: hold the Windows-key on your keyboard and press the key called "Pause/Break". A window will pop up. On the bottom it says what kind of computer you have, it usually lists the processor speed (recommended: higher than 1.8 Ghz) and the amount of internal memory you have (recommended : 1 GB of RAM or more). If you have more, good. If you have less, tell us. STEP TWO As everyone here sort of already has said, you need software; a program to make music with. Go to http://www.propellerheads.se//download/index.cfm?fuseaction=download_reason_demo Download the Windows version of the program. This is a zip file. Double-click on the file on the desktop. A new window appears, and you'll see "Install Reason Demo.exe". Double-click on that, follow the instructions (basically, say Next > Next > Next > Install, then click Finish). Reason opens. Again, click Next, Next, Next, No Master Keyboard. Now you'll see the screen in front of you; it's got lots of stuff on it. Forget this, we'll make something new first. STEP THREE Go to File > New. Another window opens. You may close the previous one with all the stuff in there. On top, you see something with lots of knobs and sliders; this is called a Mixer. If sound is a piece of rope, a mixer will be like a loom; it weaves sounds together. First, let's get some rope. Go to Create (top menu in the window) and choose "SubTractor Analog Synthesizer". A green-gray box appears with again lots of knobs. Since I assume you have no music keyboard attached to your computer, this doesn't do much. Go to "Create" again, and choose "Matrix Pattern Sequencer". Don't worry about the terminology, you'll get to that eventually. There's a little black button on the Matrix that has "Run" written beneath it. Click on it. You should now hear sound. If you don't, check your speakers/headphones/etc. If you do, congratulations, but it sounds sort of boring. Right-click on the red screen, and choose "Randomize pattern". This sounds like a broken computer. Go to the Subtractor and see if you can spot "Filter 1" (right corner, top). Move the "Freq" slider down, move the "Res" (they're right next to eachother) slider up to halfway. Congratulations, you're now halfway to making acid house music . Also, see - this guy does the same, only more complicated.SO, WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT The combination of a computer and a piece of software like this is called a DAW - Digital Audio Workstation. You need a soundcard geared towards music production (which is known as an "audio interface") because it has a better way of working with programs like these than whatever is on-board (built-in on the motherboard). That "better way" is thanks to the software that's supplied with it; it tells your computer to give a higher priority to the sounds. Without this priority, the sound may crackle and stutter. If you look at the back of the computer and you see a blue, a green and a pink input for the speakers - well, those are rather small. Microphones and mixers are bigger, so an audio interface can solve that. The quality of the inputs is usually also better on an audio interface; less noise. Since you don't have any cash at all, the "free" solution is to go to www.asio4all.com and download and install that. Reason's not free either, but it's probably good for you to try so you can learn a little bit about what everything is and how it works. Use the demo, try to find out what the knobs do. See if you can change the demo song, delete stuff, put it in a different order, etc. I don't think I can explain it in a more simple way than that, unless you start watching tutorial videos.

The super good one. http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid=28&langid=100& Start here, first hit when I punched in ProTools M-Powered in Google. Short: M-Powered works with M-Audio interfaces. ReCycle loads up a sample that is usually a drumloop. It then tries to chop it in separate instruments. So if your drum loop goes like this (let's take a breakbeat as example) Boom-Boom-Chack-ChickaChicka-Boom-Chack ReCycle will turn it into Boom1 Boom2 Chack1 ChickaChicak Boom3 Chack2 as separate samples. Which allows you to play it back in a different order (remix), replacing certain instruments - like, if you don't want the Boom, you just cut it out and the snare (chack) and shaker/hihat (chickachicka) are just left. Or, you can turn a loop into a drum kit really fast. This also allows you to speed up or slow down the tempo without changing the pitch - slowing down will simply introduce silences, speeding up will cut off the drums earlier. It's coarse - but for drum loops it's awfully effective. ReCycle was the first app to do this in the mainstream, and the idea has been copied by others. Reason's Dr.Rex uses the ReCycle files. ReWire is a way to use a DAW in another sequencer in its entirety - as a plugin. I can load up Reason in Ableton and therefore use Reason's instruments in Ableton. There's a performance penalty and using it might be a bit awkward, but it's possible. oh snap oh snap

If you would get all of my gear (or any musician here on the forum) you still won't be able to use it to the fullest and you wouldn't make the same things. Your sequencer is an instrument and it's something you have to grow into. Nobody can decide for you what you like or should buy- but since you're almost always bound by budget constraints, we can make suggestions. Get a DAW. This means a piece of software you can sequence with. Then, (if necessary), get the plugins (see the Mixing for Free tutorial to find a starting point). Don't ask; just start. Download the trial versions if they're available of FL Studio, Sonar, Ableton Live, Reason - if you need urls for anything of this, use the mighty Google and type in the words. You're going to have to search more than once while using it - for tutorials for example. If you expect to make remixes you have to start somewhere; there's a time to ask for help and there's a time to cast off the training wheels and let go of mommy's hand. The sooner you can do this, the better.

That's the point of a factory reset, yes. The sounds in ROM will be kept, those in the User banks will be wiped, and MIDI channels (transmit, receive) will be set to 1.

I've got an XP-30; the expansion cards for it are called SR-JV80 (product number) cards. The sound engine's the same, I just get 64 voices of polyphony instead of 28. The relevant page of the manual - if you open the PDF file in the browser - is page 70 (6-1) - "Patch editing mode" - but the real stuff actually starts at 72. Press EDIT. You see Patch: Common - use the cursor to go to "Tone", because that's the part you have to edit. See if you can find either "Pitch" or "Coarse" (the latter refers to coarse tuning in semitones and if it's off an octave, it says -12 while it should say 0). If all else fails, see if you can do a factory reset .

If you need the actual manual, register at RolandUS.com and download it there (under Support). And yes, you can edit it. Each preset (patch) has 4 parts (tones) with their individual tuning and filters.

ProTools comes in 2 flavors: - regular - LE or M-Powered You won't find the first because it's tied to expensive hardware. The second; it's not so much tied to hardware but there's hardware made for it that plays nice and gives you quite a bit of power. You get some really nice effects with it. You need a wrapper to work with regular VST stuff since PT uses RTAS. Your best option would be to watch this here: http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=141&navid=159&itemid=23396&ref=PTAV-F Yamaha bought Steinberg and they still released 4 with bugs and no DXi support, and they didn't fix 3. That's the only thing that sucks. Reason's big, big advantage is that it has several sensible choices pre-packaged.

Yeah, they quickly changed the price for some reason. Native Instruments offer their plugins in almost all formats, though.

Yes. No. Bananas. Question does not take into account budget, target, workflow. zircon: http://newecho.typepad.com/blog/2007/08/fl-studio-7-tip.html - but I can assume you've tried this already .

Seconding both suggestions of a Motif and Fusion 6HD. Alternatively, Roland Fantom S (6) secondhand or Xa (but the keys on the Xa aren't that great). The Motif has optional plug-in boards so you can add half an AN1x which is very good for electronic stuff. The Fusion has this built in, sort of. This is vague . It's got MIDI (regular and via USB), it's got audio outputs, and SCSI. Then forget about the X50 and even the TR, albeit that this could differ because of taste. Possible with the stuff mentioned above; the TR uses SD cards if I recall correctly. All keyboards have this; it's how easy it is to reach that is usually the challenge .

There was a nice article about Madonna's album in this month's Sound On Sound that showed a good example. Processing can be done during recording - e.g. using multiple microphones to get a certain ambience, using the equalizers and compressors to change the sound. They'd also use guitar amps with a microphone in front of it as effects or bathrooms and stairwells (yes, that's what you have to do without convolution). That's processing .

Try EnergyXT? Or otherwise, look in the "mixing for free" tutorial here: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1468

That's the entire idea of it . Your Pod is just seen by the computer as an "USB Audio interface" with ASIO drivers. It is a soundcard - just not an internal one. Guitar Rig or whatever software you use only has to know which drivers you want to use - ASIO, WDM - basically if you have the Pod and your on-board soundcard you can choose between these. When you choose the Pod, it'll show you that it has 1 audio input - and that's where your guitar is plugged in. The sound of the input is turned into an audiostream, and that audiostream can be changed by the software.

A) If you can get a .wav file out of it finding a .wav to .mp3 converter is probably much easier. Try this: http://www.panic.com/audion/download.html (read further, it's finalized so it's free now). The quality will only get worse that way. What you're looking for is called "transcoding". C) Steinberg Sequel, Ableton Live LE. Adobe Audition is Windows-only (because it's basically CoolEdit), and so is Sony's ACID. Garageband is made so you'll be enticed to buy Logic Express .

Your understanding is correct. 3 peaks = 2 holes, 2 peaks = 3 holes, but given only the possibility to make 2 peaks or 2 holes, you'll end up with something volume can't transform. But, again; if your guitar doesn't use the peaks but uses a highpass and lowpass (which is a simpler circuit), then 1 peak = 1 hole.

Let me first tell you why it does make sense. You've got a garden. Specifically, your part of the garden is 5 x 5 yards. Right now it's just barren earth, and it's perfectly flat. You want to have a little hill in the middle of the garden - 1 by 1 yard, 1 foot high. Straight edges. You have now two choices: you either add one foot of earth at that place, creating the little hill. Or - it's more work - you dig away all the earth surrounding the flat plot of land, to a depth of 1 foot. So, what has happened now? In both cases you end up with a little hill; it's only the ground level that is 1 foot lower in the latter case. Different example: you start with the flat garden again (the hill wasn't much of a success), and you want to create a hole of 3 x 3 yards, 2 foot deep, for a pond. You have again the choice: either you dig away the 2 feet in the middle, or you move the ground level 2 feet up and leave the 3 x 3 yard patch in the middle on the same level. Again, it didn't matter: the result was a hole, it's just the ground level that moved. With EQ it's the same. The volume is the ground level (and by increasing the overall volume you move the EQ line up). Each band of the EQ means you're either creating a hill (boost) or a hole (cut). Your example specifically uses 2 bands, but once you make 2 bumps with 2 bands, it's the same as creating 3 holes with 3 bands and increasing the volume. That your guitar doesn't have these 3 "holes" has little to do with the concept of the equalizer. In fact, you can't even be sure that the knobs are bandpass filters - if they're lowpass and highpass, then the hole story still holds up .

Panning: controlling the volume per speaker to give the listener the idea that the instrument's coming from the left or the right. Up/down EQ: I guess that's just a term for boosting and cutting, respectively. Fader level: uh, that's the position of that slider (fader) which is equal to the overall volume. but really, some context would help (e.g where have you read this).

Read this part about the filters: http://braincleaner.net/?q=articles/synthesis Then, read this: http://braincleaner.net/?q=node/9 about equalizers. An equalizer is nothing but a bunch of band-pass/band-reject filters that have a fixed cutoff frequency (unless they're "sweepable" - then you can move the cutoff frequency around). If the frequency spectrum is the horizontal orange line you see in the pictures, then an equalizer causes this line to dip or rise at certain places. You do this to cut and boost; to shape the "local" volume of an instrument in such a way that it does not clash with another instrument that's in the same range, because if you'd overlap those two, you'd get some kind of peak, and you don't want that (well, not too much). How a filter works is material for Electronics 101. Yeah, but that's because those are (in that case) the cheapest solutions (and they don't require batteries to operate). That depends; cutting and boosting is not that different. If you have an EQ and boost everything - well, that should be theoretically the same as just cranking the volume up. If you just boost the high frequencies, it's the same as just cutting the low ones and again cranking the volume up. See if the manufacturer has specifications for this. But really, for guitars it doesn't matter that much because you're not dealing with a hyper-complex equalizer with 8 sweepable bands and adjustable Qs (the "sharpness" of the peaks or dips). Approaching this the analytical way is something you should leave to the guy behind the mixing desk, because his EQ is generally a dozen times more accurate than whatever's on the guitar. The EQ of a guitar just has as an advantage that it kicks in before the sound goes into a stompbox; you can leave that to an engineer, too, but it's a matter of who does what and control over your tone (everyone's got a "sweet spot" in the guitar tone that they prefer.)

They've invented this just for you, and actually, it sounds pretty good (this from another guy who uses it and has enough other hardware). The only gripe is that once you run out of expansions, nothing else is going to help, and of course, you're never the only one who's purchased this. http://refx.de/?page=Nexus