I want to record and edit guitar and voice (audio), and keyboard (MIDI). I also want to have the option to compose tracks using a traditional 5-line score, as well as being able to look at my real-time-inputted keyboard stuff as 5-line score. A nice array of features for putting tracks together, and messing around with effects would be nice. A nifty easy-to-use drumkit would be cool, too. I’m a total newbie at this, so I don’t really know what else I would need.
I don’t know if my suggestion will help you in the traditional sense of music composition that you may be used to, but I recommend Renoise. I don’t know if you’re familiar with “trackers” but Renoise is the most robust tracking software to date. It is currently the only one that’s really in active, ongoing development, and for good reason: it’s an amazing piece of kit that has continued to grow nonstop ever since its inception.
Trackers date all the way back to the Commodore Amiga and 64 when the very first sequencing software started being developed for personal computers, and Renoise is the most mature, modern-day evolution of the tracker. It’s available for both Windows and OSX and uses a platform-neutral file format that will work with either operating system. It supports MIDI instrumentation, VST plugins, and just about anything else you can throw at it. You don’t compose the way you would with staff notation; it is much more “digital”, using a vertical-scrolling timeline with note data. I tend to think of it as being similar in concept to a player piano or the tines of a music box.
I’ve been using Renoise for years and I haven’t even scraped the surface of its potential. It’s a bit like chess in the sense that it takes a few minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. It has a slick and attractive interface that’s easy to navigate, and you can produce anything from electronic dance to rock ballads to orchestral pieces provided you have the instrument samples to do so. You can even record voice samples straight into the software and play them back next to your guitar tracks. Oh yeah, there’s also the fact that it’s all absolutely free. You can use it as long as you want, in any way you want. The only limitation is that you cannot export your creation to a final rendered WAV output file without a license, which is $50, which is probably the deal of the century considering what it’s capable of. That’s pocket change in the world of music software. It has a learning curve, but what music software doesn’t? All things considered, I think it’s substantially less complicated than most high-end production suites that cost hundreds of dollars, and there’s a thriving online community forum and abundant walkthroughs and tutorials that are absolute lifesavers as you’re getting to know the ins and outs of the program. I can’t possibly name it all here, but suffice it to say, there isn’t much it can’t do. Just try searching “renoise” on Youtube for some glimpses at how people use the software. A lot of what you’ll find tend to be guys doing freestyle breakbeat type stuff with experimental drumlines and what not, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. I strongly encourage you to give it a whirl before you decide to drop a couple C-notes (har har) on a huge piece of virtual studio software like Logic, Cubase, Reason, etc.
I used NoteWorthy Composer (midi score editor) and NTrack (Multitrack recorder) as a cheap studio alternative for many years, before shifting to Ableton Live as a DAW.
Or, pick up the latest copy of Computer Music magazine - their cover disk has a complete studio package to install for the price of the mag, and if you keep watching, you will get a decent free (limited but suitably functional) software package (Samplitude SE was on one cover disk), plus good tips and tools.
There are lots of free Multitrack studios to try. I would play with a few before dropping too much money. Look at kvraudio.com and search their database and read the forums.
Cubasis is (or was, I think it’s discontinued) a reduced-functionality taster of Cubase, intended to be shipped with audio hardware rather than sold separately, but there’s copies available cheaply. It would certainly give you most or all of what you need, plus a good idea of what you can expect from the more expensive packages.
For playing around with general audio editing/effects, there’s the open source program Audacity.
If you wanted to do the whole thing completely for free, it might be possible using the software that comes bundled with dyne:bolic - it’s a liveCD distribution of Linux that has an impressive range of open source music and media software - notably:
Ardour 2 - a multi-track recording studio
Audacity - a full-featured sound recorder and editor
ReZound - Sample editor
Rosegarden - Midi music editor/creator
Hydrogen - Drum machine
Plus loads of other stuff. You don’t need to install anything - it runs straight from the CD and it can save your work to a ‘nest’ on USB removable media.
It might not be the right fit here, but it’s certainly worth a mention in a thread on this topic area.
Like others have said, any music production software is going to entail a steep learning curve at first. But after that, it’s great, but a lot of your satisfaction will depend on your hardware. Most off the shelf systems these days satisfy the minimum requirements for the software, but this is a field where the more powerful your system is, the more stuff you can get the software to do - more effects, more tracks, better virtual synth performance and so on. A too-weak system can make the whole enterprise terribly frustrating.
Another thing is you should be open to different ways of looking at your music. For instance, piano scroll midi editing as well as notes. Drum machines are going to come in a variety of interfaces and setups so you’ll have to be ready for that. For instance, Propellerhead’s Reason has a drum machine with a traditional interface, but you can stack several drum machines playing different rhythms on different kits.
Anyway, between the system and the software there’s a lot to learn, but patience will pay off because a fully functioning DAW is a blast, can ease the creation of your music and offer up quite a bit you hadn’t thought of.
If you want to record audio you should get a digital audio interface, either PCI or external (USB, Firewire). Some of these come bundled with stripped-down production software (ProTools or Cubase LE versions), so that might be a good way to start.
I would suggest getting an M-Box from Digi-Design.
I have an Digi Design M-Box and love it. I am going to move up to a Digi 003 one of these days.
The M-Box will allow recording two simultaneous tracks at once and up to 32 tracks total IIRC. You can do Midi, though it doesn’t come with a way to do a 5-line score. I would bet there is a plug in for that.
The bonus with the M-Box is that the I/O is there and easy to use. It comes with tons of plugins (Sample Tank, Ableton Live, Reason Adapted, etc) and Protools which is one of the industry standard recording packages. Protools rocks. The learning curve isn’t too bad and it is pretty powerful.
Here is my latest thing that I haven’t finished yet: Da Groove
The drums are Ableton. The bass (what little there is) is Sample Tank. The guitar is my Paul through a B-52 amp, mic’ed with a 57.
I don’t know if it will do everything you want, but my SO does his composition mostly with Melody Assistant, which is free to try, and unbelievably cheap to buy($15 -$20) Their mission statement explains
I’ve been asking around about some of the programs y’all have mentioned and a non-musician friend somehow had the install disk for Logic Platinum 5.1.3! I’ve installed it; it seems comprehensive, but quite daunting, as even just trying to get my MIDI keyboard to work with it has been an exhausting process of fiddling around with the “Environment” section.
Is this a good base program to work with? If so, would anyone recommend any good supplements? I think it’s lacking in drum machine capability (or I can’t find it), so I guess I’ll try downloading Hydrogen next.