marți, 12 iulie 2011

Is a Home Studio Worth It?

12:59
Is a Home Studio Worth It? Knowing if it's time and money well-spent.
(Part 1 - The software)
So you've heard all the buzz about having a home studio, be it from youtube, myspace music, soundclick.net, or the slew of other music-based sites on the internet today. Music production in the 21st century is moving out of the cold studio offices of the commercial district into the warm, and perhaps slightly messy, bedrooms and closets of the modern student, worker, musician, or just average joe. The question is for all of us average joes is that will my music making capabilities (be it for hobby or profit) be able to be contained in around a $600 or less budget (the average price of a home PC) The answer is resounding 'Yes, and you'll probably have enough left over for a new DVD and a double whopper with some super-sized fries, which ever suits your fancy'
The first step in making your new home studio is knowing what you need based on the genre of music you're playing, but that will come in a minute, for now we can assume 1:you have a decently-running PC in working order(nothing super fast needed here), for you mac music producers this can still apply to you, but minus a few pieces of software. 2: You're willing to learn. I cant stress #2 enough as making music on your computer or merely using it can SEEM like a learning curve at times, but in reality it's much simpler once you know how it all connects together. Okay, first things first, you have a PC, but no music making software, based on how much you're willing to spend you can obtain them for reasonable amounts, many going for prices $200 or under. The ones I'll recommend fall into that category.
Reason 3.0 - $200 - http://www.propellerheads.se/
For around 200 dollars you can buy one of what is in my opinion one of the most innovative pieces of music creation software one can have. Reason 3.0 attempts to emulate (copy) the look, feel, and function of real music making equipment. Reason comes to complete with 2 synthesizers, 2 samplers (one advanced and one more simplistic depending on use), a drum machine, a vocoder (ever hear Eifell 65 or Daft Punk? they used vocoders), a SLEW of effects including reverb, distortion, advanced reverb and distortion (for more intricate sounds), Spider (which allows you to combine the sounds from various devices into one) and a tracker and main mixing boards to actually compose and piece together your sounds. Not only are the devices individually pristine in the sound-making capabilities they have, but also can combined in an infinite amount of ways to one another to create totally NEW sounds, all this and of course, much more 
If you like to put together music from pre-made sounds, or make music primarily from external instruments in your home studio (ie. Guitar, drums, external synths/keyboards etc... ) and don't need to necessarily make the music ON the machine but still want recording capability, Sony Acid is the way to go. It does come with a decent sound library that you can use to pull sounds from to make your own music, but where Sony Acid really shines is it's capabilities in taking what you have recorded and putting it all together the way YOU want to hear it. For example you can change the BPM (beats per minute, or how fast it sounds) through acid itself as well as use the formidable amount of effects it comes with. Sorry mac users, this one's only for PC. For you guitarists / metal bands who want to get your material recorded but don't want to have to pay for studio time then Sony Acid should be among the first additions for your new home studio
FL Studio - $100-$150 - http://www.flstudio.com/
If you'd like to still have many abilities of putting together your own music yet without as much price, the next choice would have to be FL Studio (formally known as Fruity Loops) which is essentially another very worthwhile program which includes many effects, sampers, and even a fun DJ Scratch effect that I cant help but get sidetracked on. If you're a future baller on a budget for your home studio, FL Studio is the way to go.
I could go into the HUNDREDS of other music programs out there but either they are not as full-featured or MUCH more expensive than the above.For the middle-class music makers range, these three programs would have to be among the best for the price. Check in next week for the next installment in the affordable home studio series where we'll cover the methods and equipment used to hook various instruments up to your new power-box of music creation. Until then, good luck and keep the rhythm going!

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