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HCO SF 87
10/18/08, 08:59 PM
Hey, I want to get into using software like pro tools, mostly to make samples and other sounds. I don't know much about it, but how hard is it to use? Also, do you have to have a high-end PC for it to work well? Thanks for any help.
Tristan Needler
10/19/08, 12:05 AM
It depends how many tracks you want to record at the same time, etc. How powerful is your PC?

It takes some learning. Sequencers are very in-depth programs, but they're not too hard to learn. It just takes time.
acor
10/19/08, 08:31 AM
Pro tools is amazing and has loads of stuff you will probably never get around to using. If you would like the feeling of having things that you might like to use down the road its great.
acor
10/19/08, 08:32 AM
on the other hand if you like making samples Reason might be better
HCO SF 87
10/19/08, 01:43 PM
It depends how many tracks you want to record at the same time, etc. How powerful is your PC?

It takes some learning. Sequencers are very in-depth programs, but they're not too hard to learn. It just takes time.

just a basic PC. HP Pavillion a510n. AMD Athlon, 512 MB, 120 GB.

So assuming I know nothing about this stuff, as long as I take the time to learn you don't think It'll be over my head? Thanks
Tristan Needler
10/19/08, 01:47 PM
just a basic PC. HP Pavillion a510n. AMD Athlon, 512 MB, 120 GB.

So assuming I know nothing about this stuff, as long as I take the time to learn you don't think It'll be over my head? Thanks
No one knows anything about it when they first start out. As long as you have the drive and the patience, you can learn it. And you'll learn new things all the time with it too, when you come up against situations.


What exactly do you plan to do music-wise? Do you want to record audio or pretty much only make samples? I'm sure you could make samples with Pro Tools, but it's not a sampler so you wouldn't be able to play them back in the way you would with a sampling keyboard, that is with different pitches and whatnot.
Tristan Needler
10/19/08, 01:48 PM
on the other hand if you like making samples Reason might be better
I don't know if you can make samples with Reason. It doesn't have any audio recording capabilities.
HCO SF 87
10/19/08, 05:34 PM
No one knows anything about it when they first start out. As long as you have the drive and the patience, you can learn it. And you'll learn new things all the time with it too, when you come up against situations.


What exactly do you plan to do music-wise? Do you want to record audio or pretty much only make samples? I'm sure you could make samples with Pro Tools, but it's not a sampler so you wouldn't be able to play them back in the way you would with a sampling keyboard, that is with different pitches and whatnot.

I want to record guitar tracks and put samples into them. Then I might add bass, drums, etc. I eventually want to start a band and have samples in the music, like many bands do nowadays.
stendhal
10/19/08, 09:27 PM
you'll want at least 2g's of ram to prevent latency.

pro tools is relitively easy to use, but to be able to use it well, it may take a few months.
Tristan Needler
10/19/08, 09:42 PM
I have no problems with latency and I use a laptop, a USB interface, and I have 512 MB ram. There is a limit to how many plugins I can use though, that's the only drawback.
brandnew741
10/20/08, 12:14 AM
It might be a good idea to start off with some cheaper software such as Adobe Audition or something, to get the hang of DAWs. On the otherhand, if you have the money, get an Mbox and start learning Pro Tools. It'll cover just about all your needs.

To be able to use pro tools well, it'd probably take a year or two. Its such a vast program and just like anything else, it takes a lot of practice.
acor
10/20/08, 07:54 PM
I don't know if you can make samples with Reason. It doesn't have any audio recording capabilities.

i was thinking beat-wise, unless hes just going to use straight samples...
acor
10/20/08, 07:56 PM
Adobe Audition might be a good one for ripping samples, its pretty versitile and has a lot of options and presets for beginners
fullofdust
10/21/08, 05:41 PM
Pro Tools is great for recording and midi sequencing. It also has a fairly steep learning curve if you haven't done much recording before.

You'll probably want Pro Tools eventually, but I'd recommend looking into Ableton Live. It's very cool for creating sample based music and programming drum parts. And unlike Reason, which others have mentioned, you can record and sequence audio like you would in Pro Tools as well.
Tristan Needler
10/21/08, 05:49 PM
Pro Tools is great for recording and midi sequencing. It also has a fairly steep learning curve if you haven't done much recording before.

You'll probably want Pro Tools eventually, but I'd recommend looking into Ableton Live. It's very cool for creating sample based music and programming drum parts. And unlike Reason, which others have mentioned, you can record and sequence audio like you would in Pro Tools as well.
That's probably a good idea actually. I don't know much about that program, but I've heard only good things.
drumerish
10/21/08, 06:55 PM
It depends how many tracks you want to record at the same time, etc. How powerful is your PC?

It takes some learning. Sequencers are very in-depth programs, but they're not too hard to learn. It just takes time.

The awesomeness in your avatar, it's too much.



Well, it depends Pro Tools is quite expensive.
acor
10/22/08, 05:47 PM
Adobe audition is $350, and you don't have to use a "didgidesign" product to use it.

So it's relatively cheap, works with everything, has pre-sets for beginners, and is versatile in the different forms of files you want to rip.
thefollowthroug
10/23/08, 12:35 PM
Here's my take on it. Pro Tools is really good as a mixing or audio editing tool but it definitely does not have very intuitive or handy commands for importing, looping, and tempo-matching samples. If you are recording audio and then cutting it up and rearranging it then Pro Tools can be very good at something like that (I use it this way all the time), but I would most definitely steer away from it if what you want to do is maybe more electronic or sample based. I have a somewhat electronic project at http://www.virb.com/idolfactory and I used Steinberg Cubase for this. Cubase made it easy for me to import drum loops and other sounds, slice them up and move them around, time stretch them to the tempo of the particular song, loop them, etc. It also has excellent MIDI support. On top of all that, it supports VST plug-ins which are the most freely available plug-ins. You can google "free vst plug-ins" and find tons upon tons of plug-ins.

I would also vote for Ableton Live. I have a friend who is even more electronic based than me and that's what he uses and he loves it to no end.
brandnew741
10/23/08, 10:09 PM
Yeah Ableton Live is really sweet if you want to do a lot of loop-based music.