Best music making software (free)

[Ele'ill]

and not free.

What do you all use- what have you heard?

[thesadmafioso]

I use the free version of Sony Acid Xpress, which isn't bad but at the same time it isn't exactly the greatest. It doesn't have much for features but I sort of like it for its simplicity, as it makes the program rather accessible and easy to use. Though my recording demands are pretty minimal, and I can't speak for its effectiveness at recording anything beyond guitar or of its use for making music directly with the software.

[Meridian]

It depends a little on what you mean by "music making software", whether you plan to record a lot or whether you want to use samples or synth.

I've used Cubase quite a lot, it works really well for recording but I never used it with any synthesizers or such. ProTools is kind of similar, and probably the most used program in professional studios. I learned it a long time ago but as far as I remember it was a harder program to master than the other ones.

At the moment I use FL Studio 9 producer edition, plus a few plugins. It is kinda unprofessional, but I think it works all-round. It works for recording and sound editing, but I think it's mostly geared towards making electronic music. It ain't free but can of course be appropriated in other ways.

Another quite popular one is Reason, which I have heard and seen many make good sounds with. This is a good choice, especially if you're interested in making digital sounds. I'd probably recommend this program to be honest, no matter what level you're at with music production.

I can also recommend guitar pro if you are interested in just writing notes or tablature for guitar, it uses samples so you can hear a rendition of what you write.

[x371322]

Logic Pro. I've got Reason on here too, but I don't use it much anymore. It's known for being good for beginners, or for sequencing out quick ideas, but like Meridian said it's always a good choice, no matter your level.

BUT. Free options. Lets see, there's Ardour. I've not used it, but a lot of people do. It's fully featured and available on (I think) every major OS, including Linux. There's also one called Reaper that I used briefly a couple of years back. It's decent. Not great though, although I'm sure it's been much improved since I used it. Of course if you just need to do some simple audio editing there's the always reliable Audacity.

Here are some links you might find helpful.

http://www.ardour.org/
http://www.reaper.fm/
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Some free plugin sites:
http://www.kubton.com/freeplugins.html


http://kunz.corrupt.ch/ <--I cannot recommend these guys enough. The TAL (Togu Audio Line) puts out probably the BEST free plugins, effects, and synths on the web. I love these guys. This is top quality stuff, all free.

[EvilRedGuy]

FL Studio, Reason, Ableton Live, Audacity.

[Spawn of Stalin]

I don't know about free DAWs. Reaper is $50 for a personal license these days and it is an excellent full featured DAW, a good all-rounder for MIDI and audio. Same goes for Presonus Studio One, I don't know how much it costs exactly but it's cheaper than most DAWs and is very good for people just starting out, virtually no learning curve, you could learn the basics in a couple of hours, it even does mastering and red book CD burning. Neither of these come anywhere close to their more expensive counterparts (Logic, Cubase, Pro Tools), but they still do everything the casual user would want them to use, are you a casual user though? Or do you want something a little more pro?

Cubase and Pro Tools are the standard "do everything" DAWs, I wouldn't recommend them for anyone other than major label staff producers, especially Pro Tools, Cubase has some uses in home and project studios, but there are more viable alternatives. Expensive and difficult to learn, I've been doing computer-based music for 8 or 9 years, I still find Pro Tools unnecessarily difficult to use, you can put time and effort in to learn it but there are plenty of better routes you can take. I would say only use Pro Tools if you absolutely need the "Pro Tools sound", and you probably don't. In my opinion Pro Tools dehumanises music, because once you learn to use it well, you'll never produce a (technically) poor song again, every imperfection can be corrected easily.

Reason is good if you want virtually every piece of hardware ever built simulated in one computer programme, top it off with Record for tracking guitars, vocals, drums, etc. Reason has some great samplers and sequencers, if that's your bag, give it a go, it also does preliminary mastering, Record is more than capable and they integrate fairly seamlessly. A very good combination, but fairly expensive to buy both.

Ableton Live is ideal if you're making loop oriented music and want to make sounds using more of an instrument than a studio, personally I could never get into it but it is really good for digital DJs and for real time composing of dance music. Open it up, load some samples, and you're off.

Logic Studio, which is what I use 90% of the time, is in my opinion the best thing going, it does a lot of what Pro Tools does but is a lot less headache inducing. I use it for MIDI and audio and it's never done me wrong. Just like Cubase and Pro Tools, it is used in pro studios all over the world. Mac only.

But it really depends on what you want your computer to do. Do you want to record a full band? Do you want to trigger loops and samples in real time and use your software as a performance tool as opposed to a full featured studio? Do you want to be able to create every sound possible using only software?

Most of these have free trials you can download and decide which suits you best. If you decide not to go the free route and to actually spend money on a programme, I would recommend downloading trials of ALL of these first.


At the moment I use FL Studio 9 producer edition, plus a few plugins. It is kinda unprofessional

Disagree, it's very professional. It just isn't a complete studio in a box which will do everything and then some, but for what it is, and what it does do, it is second to none. Combine it with a MIDI controller and you are as well equipped for making beat oriented music as Scott Storch or Dr Dre. A hit song is produced together, either in part or in full, on FL Studio every day.

[Spawn of Stalin]

I use the free version of Sony Acid Xpress, which isn't bad but at the same time it isn't exactly the greatest. It doesn't have much for features but I sort of like it for its simplicity, as it makes the program rather accessible and easy to use. Though my recording demands are pretty minimal, and I can't speak for its effectiveness at recording anything beyond guitar or of its use for making music directly with the software.
When ACID first hit the market it was really revolutionary, arranging loops and timestretching them automatically was something that only the most advanced samplers could do before ACID, it would take hours of programming, ACID could do it in seconds, and with virtually no degradation in quality too. To a degree I still think it is an excellent program for putting songs together quickly, and since Sony took over from the previous developers it has been growing into something a little more full featured, it's absolutely useless when it comes to MIDI but if you're just recording and arranging source material it is well worth trying out.

[Meridian]

Disagree, it's very professional. It just isn't a complete studio in a box which will do everything and then some, but for what it is, and what it does do, it is second to none. Combine it with a MIDI controller and you are as well equipped for making beat oriented music as Scott Storch or Dr Dre. A hit song is produced together, either in part or in full, on FL Studio every day.
Yeah, maybe you're right, it works well. :)

[x371322]

Bottom line, there are a lot of good choices out there, and also a lot of not so good choices. My advice is to try several, and find one you're comfortable with. Then master it. Or master a bunch of them. I know it's cliche, but it's not the gear, it's the person at the controls.

Just jump in and have fun.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

Just to say that there are ways to aquire most music softwares for free. Just saying, not necessarily advocating or anything...

In fairness, no decent music softwares, whether for sequencing, programming, sampling or recording, are going to be free. Music software is expensive, music is an expensive hobby. I wish there was decent free software but I think its a case of buy or steal to be honest.

If you use Linux, there are a few free sequencing programmes which aren't bad, but again, these do not compare to the commercial softwares.

In terms of paid-for software, Cubase, FL Studio and Reason have all been good to me. FL Studio is good for programming beats and Reason and Cubase are great for pretty much anything. Logic Pro is awesome, but its Mac only. Of course it all depends on what you need the software for, so you should try them accordingly.

[Bardo]

I've been through a few different free software programs (Mixcraft, Audacity, FL) and the most in depth and precise program I've used so far is Fruity Loops by a mile.

[Rooster]

It depends on what I'm doing. Usually I use a four track. But if I need to use the computer I use Audacity. It's your basic sort of protools set up, I guess. I normally record my own drums or just substitute things for drums so I never use a drum machine. But yeah, if I can't use my four track then I just use Audacity and even if I do use my four track, I use Audacity to get it onto the computer. If anyone can recommend a decent (and easy to use) drum machine though, I'd certainly put the time in to read the posts.

[Ele'ill]

Thanks for every reply in this thread. I don't want to spend the decent amount of time required to master a piece of software just to have it not be adequate.

I really like 'Burial'. It's a mix of dubstep and 'Windy and Carl'.

[Steve_j]

For recording id go with protools. For electronic composition and performance, ableton live and max msp* (my weapons of choice) and for a middle ground its a tight call between cubase and logic, though i now use neither.

* or pure data for a freeware alternative

[Steve_j]

If anyone can recommend a decent (and easy to use) drum machine though, I'd certainly put the time in to read the posts.

Have a look at Native instruments Battery, reasonably easy to use and very flexible. (edit, assuming you mean virtual instrument?)

[x371322]

Have a look at Native instruments Battery, reasonably easy to use and very flexible. (edit, assuming you mean virtual instrument?)

Yeah you can't really go wrong with Battery. It's not just for drums either. It can be used as a great all around sampler. Really good for FX.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

I used FL Studio for years. A few complaints here and there, but if you really look around, you can make FL very diverse. I was always downloading new synths and plug-in's.

http://www.buzzmachines.com/
Highly recommended if you're always looking for new effects :)

[Manic Impressive]

wow I'm a little surprised people still use reason and cubase I was using them like at least ten years ago. I haven't done it in a long time but I would have thought they would have been outdated by now.

[gorillafuck]

I use fruity loops to make beats and little synthy sounding loops sometimes, it's alright.

[nickbrise5]

This is an interesting discussion. thank you for sharing
I used FL Studio for years.

[totally81]

hello, just found this thread from google.
Any recommendations on BEST and easy-to-use while still highly professional piece of software to make some good music, considered I have a digital piano connected to my audigy2 breakoutbox via MIDI.
Would like to create some nice laid back music with some high quailty virtual soundfonts, maybe record live a piano track, a bass track, maybe some synth, and add a drum loop on top. Is this doable?
I use kontakt 4 for the sounds.
THANKS in advance for any replies relevant to my setup.