XiaoXiaoNeo Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Hello! I am very interested in making music on my computer via MIDI and all that good stuff. However, I'm very new to this process. My only real experience with music on my computer is using Sony Acid Music Studio to play with loops and record. And as you know, loops and bad recording quality simply won't cut it. So I decided to look into what a beginner should buy when starting brand new. And where else to ask but my favorite website? So here's the thing. I've been looking at either FL studio or Kontakt 3. This all seems really professional, but since I'm a beginner, I don't know if I'd be able to effectively work around in these programs. Is FL studio easier to navigate around in? Can you even record things in Kontakt, or is it just a big sample library? I'm also looking for a keyboard. Nothing fancy really, just a good, modestly priced, solid keyboard that I can use with a Dell computer. Speaking of, do I need some kind of output jack installed to be able to plug in a midi keyboard? My budget is around $500 by the way. Well, thanks for helping! If you have any suggestions, lemme know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoozer Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 So here's the thing. I've been looking at either FL studio or Kontakt 3. If you would've said "FL Studio and Kontakt 3", I could've understood, but you're comparing apples and rhinos. Is FL studio easier to navigate around in? Can you even record things in Kontakt, or is it just a big sample library? Both have a demo. Try these first. In short: FL Studio is a complete environment where you can compose songs. Kontakt is not a library, but a software sampler. The fact that it comes with a bunch of DVDs stuffed to the brim does not mean anything. It won't record what you make, it won't do things with audio tracks. If you want to play burps or farts or dog barking like on toy keyboards, you first have to record this sound, then save it as a .wav file (using a program such as Audacity), and after that you can load it into Kontakt. That's it. I'm also looking for a keyboard. Nothing fancy really, just a good, modestly priced, solid keyboard that I can use with a Dell computer. Keyboards do not care what kind of computer you have, as long as (in the case of those with USB) there are drivers (for either Windows or OS X). Keyboards which only have MIDI on the back do not know anything about your computer at all - there's no drivers to install them, and whatever you're going to use will have no idea what you just hooked up to it. Speaking of, do I need some kind of output jack installed to be able to plug in a midi keyboard? MIDI is not audio. MIDI is to audio as sheet music is to a CD - MIDI will tell you what to play, but does not dictate what it should sound like. A CD tells you what it sounds like, but not how you should play it. Keyboards like these here: http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOAXIOM61 do not have any sounds built in. They connect using USB. All this does is that it tells your computer that you've played a certain note - it's up to the software on the computer (for instance, FL Studio or the shell around Kontakt 3 when it's run in standalone mode) to do anything with this. Keyboards like these here: http://www.zzounds.com/item--YAMPSRE213 do have sounds built in; they don't have USB, so you need something extra like this: http://www.zzounds.com/item--EMUXMIDI1X1 that connects them to the computer. This little box here is already built inside the Axiom. The sounds of that Yamaha PSR by the way can not be "uploaded" to your computer - neither can you "download" sounds from your computer in there. In fact, it's safe to forget terms like that for pretty much any synthesizer. My budget is around $500 by the way. For everything? Have you read all the FAQs and sticky threads? If not, do so first. Get the demo versions of FL Studio and Kontakt 3 and you'll find out really fast what the difference is between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XiaoXiaoNeo Posted August 31, 2008 Author Share Posted August 31, 2008 Thanks for all the helpful info! I'll definitely check those demos out. Yeah, my budget is $500 for everything. Thanks again- you really helped to clear up multiple questions I had! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 ACID Music is probably a lot more functional than you think it is. The last two versions have vsti support, record fine, have some of the best audio manipulation tools available, etc. Upgrading to ACID Pro (which is also pretty kickass) only gets you a bunch of much more advanced features you probably don't have use for yet. I'm just saying you may want to look further into learning ACID a bit before you spend money on a new host. You could spend your money on new plugins that will work in ACID or any new host you may upgrade to in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XiaoXiaoNeo Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 Woah, SGX! Nice to hear from you! Great advice- I'll be exploring ACID for different functions I've never used before. I might have a guy who can hook me up with FL studio XXL edition, so that'd be pretty cool if I can get my hands on it. I hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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