Computer Music Software for Minimalistic Music: Which Is the Best?

May 16, 2006 1:52 AM

I want to get into making electronic music on my PC. What software should I purchase for ambient moody pop stuff? Any help greatly appreciated!

I'm thinking about purchasing Reason, but I'm open to ideas. I'm thinking about purchasing Reason because I want it as self-contained on my laptop as possible (with the possible future addition of an external MIDI keyboard) but I'm open to ideas.

posted by mosspink to Media & Arts (19 answers total)

One alternative to Reason would be my favorite, FL Studio. There are various low-priced packages but if you buy the whole thing and a couple of instruments (Sytrus is excellent) it's still cheaper than Reason.

It's just as self-contained, although you can add any VST instrument. (I suspect you can do that with Reason too, but I'm unfamiliar with it.)
posted by mmoncur at 2:54 AM on May 16, 2006

Bearing in mind you're just starting off, Reason would probably be ideal.

The alternatives are Ableton Live or Fruityloops, both of which have the added benefits of allowing you to record your own audio into the computer and the ability to use VST Plugins, and both of which have demos available for download.

Out of all of these I find Ableton to be the most useful, but I use it in conjunction with Logic Audio, purely because I've used Logic for years and feel too comfortable with it to change.

If I was you I'd play with the demos of these 3 and pick whichever you feel to be the most intuitive, but I get the feeling Reason suits your needs the best - you'll get decent results pretty quickly, and it's self contained without feeling limited.

Word to the wise - don't get too involved in 'sequencer wars', or bogged down in the functionality of the wealth of audioapps out there, it'll only kill your enthusiasm for making music - and you'll spend more time installing new plugins than you will making tunes.
posted by chrissyboy at 3:05 AM on May 16, 2006

Reason is nice as a software synthesizer/sampler when used in conjunction with another program, but on its own it's quite limiting -- you can't record audio, bounce to a track, use external effects/synths, etc.

Ableton Live is a great sequencer/workstation software. It's especially geared towards improvisation and live performance, but that shouldn't prevent you from using it for other things. Ableton+Reason will net you a lot of bang for your buck. Those two programs together will cost less than a thousand and can do quite a lot with their powers combined.

One of Live's shortcomings is its rather inefficient engine: as you add tracks/instruments, you will notice a significant overhead when compared to other native DAWs like Cubase or Logic. This is less of a problem if you use Reason in ReWire mode, as described below. Another downfall is the less than robust sequencer and multitracking environment. It's a huge pain to work with long strings of MIDI data, and trying to do detailed controller automation is likely to drive you mad. Like I said, it's not geared for mixing and mastering tons of tracks, orchestration, or anything that requires complex MIDI work. But for what you're describing, it should be great.

Its best features are rock-solid stability and an awesome, awesome interface. It also comes with a bunch of nice effects.

If you decide to get both Reason and Live, what you'll be able to do is run Reason in ReWire mode. This lets you start up Live, then run Reason in ReWire slave mode. All audio produced by Reason will then end up being piped into Live. Likewise, you'll be able to control all of the Reason synths/samplers/effects from the Live interface. You won't be able to bus audio into and back out of Reason, though.

Since Live is also a full VST host, you can also scour kvr for gobs of plugins as a more powerful but less consolidated way of making noise. Word of caution: there is no magical plugin that will make your music awesome.

I would also like to steer you away from FL Studio. It has an atrociously broken interface when compared to any other DAW package. It's also maddeningly unintuitive if you've ever used any other sequencer. While Live is also very much unlike other sequencers, it remains intuitive and conductive to writing music, unlike FL Studio (to me.) You're also likely to get stuck with FL Studio after you've used it for a while -- it's so weird that many users have a hard time switching to less limiting software down the road.

I've seen encountered countless FL Studio users. I've only ever heard good music from one.

Of course, don't let that stop you if it floats your boat. You can make good music with any program. In the end, what matters is the user.
posted by tumult at 3:06 AM on May 16, 2006

I've seen encountered countless FL Studio users. I've only ever heard good music from one.

Heh... so true. Good point, well made =)

I have to say it can be really good for quickly programming up certain things (drum parts and the like) and then bouncing them down to import into your main sequencer of choice, but I've never fancied arranging a whole tune in it.

YMMV, as they say.
posted by chrissyboy at 3:14 AM on May 16, 2006

You're definitely right on that count. You can actually use FL in ReWire slave mode, you don't even need to bounce. In that context, its quirky semi-inflexible interface might even be useful.
posted by tumult at 3:18 AM on May 16, 2006

AudioMulch might be where you want to start. It's easy and simple to get started with but if you use it to its full capabilities it's extremely powerful. And it's very inexpensive. I find the interface more intuitive than other, more track-like programs.
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 4:16 AM on May 16, 2006

You might want to check out Max/MSP. I don't know that much about it; it's mostly knowledge trickled down from my brother. But I do know it is an extremely versatile editing program that is ideal for live performances.

It uses an alternative 'visual link' method to link different loops and sounds.

And I do know it is used by some big-name artists--ie Autechre.
posted by Lockeownzj00 at 5:07 AM on May 16, 2006

I've seen encountered countless FL Studio users. I've only ever heard good music from one.

Then you know a lot of shitty muscians. I know dozens of signed and successful FL users, and you'd never know they were using fruity.

There's a lot of shitty FL music because there's a lot of people who find FL's interface easy to use, not because there's anything wrong with the program. In the right hands, it's fucking amazing.
posted by Jairus at 5:31 AM on May 16, 2006

...to answer your question, though, I'd take a look at ACID Pro. It was the first program I used when I moved from trackers to 'professional' software, and it was exactly the right program to start with, for me.

I use Ableton Live now, but I'm glad I started with ACID.
posted by Jairus at 5:33 AM on May 16, 2006

I just wanted to put in a vote for Acid Pro. This is, perhaps, more than you need just starting out. But try a demo. They also have a few cheaper options in the same product famiily.

Acid is very intuitive and there's a huge library of loops out there if you want to start off that way. But it's also a fine DAW for recording/mixing audio and midi. Add a midi keyboard controller and you'll be in business.

As to FL Studio (formerly FruityLoops), I find it a lot of fun but I have a hard time creating something with it that doesn't sound cookie cutter. You can do great things with it, but I find it easier to do great things with Acid. However, as a drum machine, I love FL Studio and use it all the time (then I just export my drum loop as an "Acidized" wav and use it in Acid). So it's a good tool to have, but I don't base my studio around it, YMMV.

I'm thinking of ditching Acid for Ableton Live, though, as I ultimately want to migrate from XP to OS X.
posted by wheat at 5:53 AM on May 16, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for all the tips and opinions so far, everyone! I'll be checking back again in a few hours...
posted by mosspink at 6:47 AM on May 16, 2006

Something else to consider-

If you buy anything from M-Audio (like a better soundcard or a USB Midi controller), it will likely come with "lite" versions of both Ableton Live and Reason. From those, you can upgrade to the full product for cheaper than the purchase price.

I recently did that with Ableton Live, and upgraded to Live 5 for $199, still $50 below the price of the "educational" version. Nice if you're on a budget.
posted by p3t3 at 6:55 AM on May 16, 2006

I use Live, Reaktor, and a nord lead. I like the sounds from Reaktor more than Reason (no factory patches.) I think I can always tell when I'm hearing Reason, but Reaktor just seems to have more places to go with the sound.
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 7:17 AM on May 16, 2006

Two previous questions, and my answer in it. Alot of good advice in those threads.
posted by bigmusic at 8:34 AM on May 16, 2006

I use Reason, and find it very useful for composing and generating synth and drums. But I'm generally creating those as a portion of a recording that also involves recorded audio, and so it's really just a part of my workflow—I do all my multitracking and recording and mixing in Adobe Audition.

I have played with FL but found it very limiting from an open-ended sequencing/compositional point of view. It pushes a lot of happy FTII buttons, but nostalgia can't compete with usability, and I find Reason much more useful.
posted by cortex at 10:35 AM on May 16, 2006

Get Reason. Easy to get started, incredibly powerful once you get into it. Not to mention being incredibly processor efficient.

Sure, it doesn't do multitrack audio as such... but that's not what it's meant for. And anyway, you can always get a cheap version of Cubase or another multitrack audio sequencer down the line, and use Rewire to hook them up.

Audiomulch is a lot of fun, but really is geared more toward the abstract rather than the pop. My vote definitely goes to Reason in this instance.
posted by coach_mcguirk at 1:39 PM on May 16, 2006

All of the programs mentioned so far are great, but for the style you mentioned, i'd stay away from Audiomulch (more abstract/non-linear, lacks a traditional sequencer) and Max/MSP (waaaay in-depth for a beginner, more like a music programming environment than composing environment).

FL Studio is deseptively powerful and yes, lots of people make incredible music with it. Reason is OK, but always ends up sounding like Reason. Live is very popular, stable and versatile.

And I have to mention, one you get started, come on over to www.em411.com to ask questions. It's a very helpful community of electronic musicians of all styles and skill levels.
posted by cathodeheart at 2:39 PM on May 16, 2006

All great suggestions! I was also going to suggest Audiomulch as a relatively cheap and versatile piece of software to add to your toolkit (on preview: but not necessarily as a composing environment as cathodeheart explains)

I sometimes use the convolution function in Cool Edit/Audition (fabulous wave editor/fairly crappy multitrack editor) to create some nice ambient sounds to use (using a short 'impulse' file from a musical sample convolved with a drum or click track or other sample with a lot of dynamic range)
posted by TwoWordReview at 3:58 PM on May 16, 2006

If you're feeling particularly hardcore, you could always go with Nyquist. Very specific control over the sound. We're talking sample level. (warning: you better like Lisp). I use it for simple stuff, seems well suited for the minimalistic. Heavy learning curve, though.
posted by potch at 4:28 PM on May 16, 2006