My tiny brain hurts

[fumps]

Well.....where do I start ?
Since spring last year I have been building an outdoor studio to use as a kind of hobby room/recording studio. I'm very happy to say it's now close to completion so I am looking at putting toys in it to make music with, if you think of it like I'm more making a rough sketch than a highly polished track, the reason for this is that I have free studio time any time I want it so I am planning to make rough sketches in my shack & then go to my mates studio & make something good......if that makes sense ?

As I'm still spending cash hand over fist to finish off the building, I have got myself an old version of Reason (Old because I have a crap PC & low budget). All I really want to do is put together some basic tracks to record on my trusty 4 track that sounds ok & shows what I'm trying to achieve.

So last night like a space explorer I installed Reason....... ..........I have no idea what I am doing. I was hoping that I could make some drum loops etc & then sequence them together like the old E-jay packages but this is way too deep for my tiny little mind !
So I looked on-line for beginners guides, but unfortunately most seem to not be for the version I have or they automatically assume that I have knowledge of pooter music software.

So what I really need to know is this :
Is there any good music software that is easy to use (Well easier than Reason) ?
And if so what type of controller will I need ?

[danthevan]

Reaper seems to be the one everyone goes on about although never used it or seen it.
I use Sonar X1 and took me a good few weeks of messing around in the evenings and watching youtube tutorials to get my head round that

[charic]

Reason is actually pretty easy to use in comparison to most music software. Once you get over that first hurdle you'll be flying.

What version are you using and what are you trying to do at the moment?

[fumps]

Cheers mate will have a look at this, As soon as I opened Reason I realised that I'd bitten off I can chew.......gulp !

[danthevan]

Don't give up. It does take a while to work out all the lingo used in these programs and once you have done a couple of tracks it is relatively easy to do stuff.
Hard bit is making sure what sounds good in your ears also works with other peoples ears. Decent(ish) pair of monitors is a must. PC speakers and cans (well, my setup anyway) are awful. Sound good on what your mixing them on, but then play it on something else and sounds rubbish.

[charic]

Decent monitors are nowhere near as important as knowing your environment though. Some people can make amazing mixes on theoretically crap monitors just because they know them so well. Horses for courses and all that.

Problem at hand though is software. Luckily we have a few Reason bods on here and I've used it enough to help so this could end up quite a good resource on the forum.

Fire away fumpinator!

[fumps]

[quote name='danthevan' timestamp='1365584919' post='2041278']
Don't give up. It does take a while to work out all the lingo used in these programs and once you have done a couple of tracks it is relatively easy to do stuff.
Hard bit is making sure what sounds good in your ears also works with other peoples ears. Decent(ish) pair of monitors is a must. PC speakers and cans (well, my setup anyway) are awful. Sound good on what your mixing them on, but then play it on something else and sounds rubbish.
[/quote]
I do have some old wharfdale speakers that will kind of do the basic job......As I say it's just a basic studio to mix down some rough Ideas So I can play them to my mate & we can then do something more professional.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1365585132' post='2041285']
Fire away fumpinator!
[/quote]
Right then ....here we go !

First off I thought the best way of learning to use the software/kit I have, would be to do a cover version of a song. My way of thinking is that if I go through the process of actually doing a full tune then I will learn all the different process' that you will use......if this makes sense ? My idea was to do the drums first then add my own live bass line, then build up the song learning as I went.

So last night I installed it & chose a song at random that was simple & basic. So I chose The Black Keys-Lonely boy. I was putting the drums together & then.....well how the hell do I sequence the different drum patterns ?
As a matter of fact how do I get any loops, sounds.....well anything onto the sequencer ?

I can make great loops but cannot even work out how to create a sequenced track.....I'm just lost

[BigRedX]

Reason and Reaper are two entirely different programs for doing entirely different things.

What is it you actually want to do? Use the computer like a multitrack tape machine and mixing desk, or as a composition tool?

[charic]

If you can get back to me on program version I should be able to drum something up. Also it might be worth dropping Skol303 a line as he's a reason veteran.

I don't have any experience of live recording into reason though. I stopped at Reason 4 (I think) before you could do this

[fumps]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1365587549' post='2041335']
What is it you actually want to do? Use the computer like a multi-track tape machine and mixing desk, or as a composition tool?
[/quote]
Hi mate
I wanted to make drum tracks, play over them on bass while recording them on my 4-track.
Once I have done this maybe import the drum & bass mix that I have recorded & add things to it via Reason again. I hope i'm making some sense here ?

Edited April 10, 2013 by fumps

[charic]

To create drum tracks check out : [url="http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/composition/make-a-punchy-rock-drum-beat-using-reasons-redrum/"]http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/composition/make-a-punchy-rock-drum-beat-using-reasons-redrum/[/url]

[fumps]

cheers dude I'm creating a study booklet now.

[Skol303]

I'm very familiar with Reason and happy to help out here.

Reason started out life as essentially being a gigantic modular synth, rather than a digital audio workstation (DAW) in the true sense. A separate product - called Record - was developed by the software company behind it to cater for people who want to record audio, which is what you describe as being your goal.

Reason and Record merged into a single product around a year ago, forming a fully fledge DAW in the form of Reason 6 (now on version 6.5.3). It contains everything you need - and a lot more - to record audio and make music. The interface is actually very easy to use once you get the hang of it, especially if you're familiar with using analogue hardware. Reason uses a very intuitive 'patch cable' system that allows you to seamlessly connect devices together (and use geeky stuff like control voltage routing, if that floats your boat) as though you were playing with real hardware.

[b]But ... check what version of Reason you have and let us know. If it's an old version (pre version 6) then you [u]won't[/u] be able to record audio - so it'll be useless for what you want to do.[/b]

I'm a big advocate of Reason, but there are much cheaper alternatives out there if you just want something for audio recording. You can pick up Reaper for around £50 as mentioned; you can also get hold of Logic (Mac only) for around £120 - both of which offer a lot of bang for your buck$.

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to PM me if you want help using Reason.

Paul

[BigRedX]

It sounds like a DAW is going to be better for you than an old version of reason.

All the good DAWs come with enough software instruments for you to be able to create a drum track and then let you record external instruments in sync with them like a tape recorder.

Reaper gets a lot of love on here and is essentially free. However I don't know what extra plugin and software instruments you get with it.

Personally I'd go for a Mac which will come with Garageband included that has everything you could need to get you started with composing and recording on a DAW. You can upgrade to Logic later on if you feel the need.

[charic]

Through a PM conversation I think we may have a solution for Sir Fumps III and his way of wanting to work

Reason (v2) : Create Drum Track
Zoom : Import Stereo Drum Audio
Zoom : Record bass tracks
Reason : Playback recorded bass tracks using NN19 sampler
Reason : Right additional Parts
Fridge : Grab a beer

[fumps]

Charic kow the cut of my jibb lol

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1365591904' post='2041412']
It sounds like a DAW is going to be better for you than an old version of reason.

All the good DAWs come with enough software instruments for you to be able to create a drum track and then let you record external instruments in sync with them like a tape recorder.

Reaper gets a lot of love on here and is essentially free. However I don't know what extra plugin and software instruments you get with it.

Personally I'd go for a Mac which will come with Garageband included that has everything you could need to get you started with composing and recording on a DAW. You can upgrade to Logic later on if you feel the need.
[/quote]

Yes,I go along with the last paragraph

[fumps]

lol no chance I can afford a mac. I have looked, priced up & laughed at that idea.
Wish I did but if I had that kind of cash the priority would be a car as mine is fubar (One of the reasons for the none existent budget)

Edited April 10, 2013 by fumps

[discreet]

Whichever you decide on, don't get despondent if you don't get spiffy results straight off - IMHO it takes a good while to learn a DAW - the possibilities are literally endless, so the nature of the beast is complex. I'm still learning new things about mine after six years.

Having said that, you should be able to progress well at a basic level - just don't be overawed by it all and proceed logically. All the facilities are there for when you think, 'hey, could I do this..?' and the answer will be 'yes'... the DAW will always be able to accommodate you as your ability increases and your ideas become more adventurous, as they will.

It's well worth persevering with it - the rewards can be great! The tutorial files are your friend! Hope this helps, Gav!

[fumps]

Cheers Sir Discreet & cheers to all who have given advice here it's all good stuff.

I'm hoping that I will get to grips with it. I can see it's a great thing to learn but my giddy aunt innit in-depth ? I was making some ace sounds with it last night but then when I decided to sequence a track ......erm.....it actually took me about 10 mins to realise where the sequencer was.....then the rest of the fruitless night trying to work out how you actually sequence the pretty noises I'd made. I was puzzled to say the least
Reason won the first round but i will be back to kick it's but crack

[discreet]

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1365597262' post='2041551']
Reason won the first round but i will be back to kick it's but crack
[/quote]

That's it, Gav!

[fumps]

lol

Or at least use these on line tutorials, that might be less nasty

[Dave Vader]

Yep, you can happily pop in to the studio with the intent of putting in a bit of bass/drums/whatever, and spend a whole day fiddling about with something you had no idea existed, with the result that you have got nothing down.
Fun though.

[fumps]

lol
No my mate unfortunately wont let me play with his toys as I'd get too distracted.

He will be my erm sound guru & all round advisor. All I have to do is tell him what I want......I'm very giddy as I have been bursting to work with him for years, and because I'm coming up with all the concepts & writing all the music myself he's excited about what will come out my nut.

I've already started writing lyrics & building ideas that I am very giddy about.

[Skol303]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1365592082' post='2041417']
Through a PM conversation I think we may have a solution for Sir Fumps III and his way of wanting to work

Reason (v2) : Create Drum Track
Zoom : Import Stereo Drum Audio
Zoom : Record bass tracks
Reason : Playback recorded bass tracks using NN19 sampler
Reason : Right additional Parts
Fridge : Grab a beer
[/quote]

^ That'll work! Where there's a will there's a way... and plenty of swearing... but a way nonetheless.

I used to use similarly long workarounds myself in the past.

Reason 2 is a bit of dinosaur by today's standards, but it works - and it's rock solid stable (come the apocalpyse there'll be cockroaches and a computer somewhere running Reason ).

Fumps: don't hesitate to ask if you need any help. The Propellerhead website (www.propellerheads.se) also has lots of [url="http://www.propellerheads.se/substance/"]tutorials[/url] and the forum itself is generally friendly (if you have registered copy you can access the User Forum which is by far the friendliest).