The best software...

wanna begin with this quotes:

is sorprendent/amazing what you can do with this waste software...

i dont like it very much, i like more the other songs, but sounds good, nice quality

i think that if you get better software (or hardware!!!) you can do better things.

and

that software is excellent, to edit audio, filters, EQs, etc..... maybe your just used to the "hardware" but Cool Edit/Adobe Audition is one of the best of it's kind.

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Now. Generally, windows is waste for musicians, and all his software is to. I dont have hardware (just a kaoss pad 2 and a yamaha piano...) for this reason i use software, and i can say that adobe is NOT the best, maby is nice, but no more that just good, because there is a lot of software much better that this, adobe is super limitate, now the discusion begin...

Maybe you can write here what software you use and why you use it, and we all can be benificiated.

Cool Edit 95 was the first editor I ever worked with. 1995 I was 12 years old and my best friend had a friend that composed abstract jungle at age 13. We loved his music and he liked that. He gave me Cool Edit 95 and Sound Forge. At home I played around with that. His music he did with early arranger software. Not sure if it was music maker 1 or something like that. We were children anyway and not grown people, so we just did it for fun. We played chess all day and at the house of my best friend we listened to Pink Floyd and talked about black holes and stuff like that. Suddenly I felt in love with manipulating sounds, because Cool Edit 95 had many possibilitys to do that. One year later, 1996, I had Technomaker and did very much Ambient. 1997 I mixed Trip Hop with Ambient and thought I was the only one doing this kind of music. One day I had the audioeditor "Red Roaster". This was an amazing tool for me, because it had a great eq that produced a very warm sound with pretty heavy dynamics. 1999 I did more experimental stuff. One song from 1999 I still have on my usb-stick. I recorded it trough my analogue cassette player, because it sounded more warm and better on all levels. Back then we just had Soundblaster Live and this sounded even more worse than this Ac

Best for what? Midi sequencing, mixing, cutting, mastering, general editing, live synthesis, non-realtime synthesis, algorithmic composition, score synthesis, effect plugins… there are so many different purposes that I think it's impossible to say what is the "best" software (for digital music creation, I assume).

Personally, I've mostly worked with Csound and Max/MSP. Csound for non-realtime synthesis of "tape" music, Max/MSP for live electronics. I've also dabbled a bit in Supercollider, which I find an awesome program, but I didn't have enough time yet to really get to the core of it.

Since most of what I do falls in the areas sound synthesis (often algorithmic) and live electronics, these programs are perfectly suited for my means and I don't generally need any audio editing software (Audition, Cool Edit etc.) or sequencing (for which I use Logic if I need something, but I rarely do), so I also don't have much experience in these areas (especially since I tend to avoid plugins/specific programmed effects and the like, but prefer to do sound synthesis from the core).

So really, the question is "best for what?". There are certain purposes for which any of these programs might be the absolute best there is.

I don't think this is really so much a discussion (Jose already believes Linux is the bomb) and everyone has their preferred way of working. For hosts, my favorites are Reaper and Sonar, but I also use Renoise, Reason and Podium. I have a lot of plug-ins that I like -- Reaktor, Absynth, Dimension Pro, Omnisphere, Alchemy, etc. For external sound processing I like Wavelab and Edison.

Edit: Gardener and I cross-posted. I agree -- a tool is only suited for how it is used. "Better," in most instances, means "better for the way I work." Reaper, for example, is my one of my favorite tools because I love the channel routing.

I don't think this is really so much a discussion (Jose already believes Linux is the bomb)

i use mac, linux is great because is free

and the best of all for Gardener

What does free have to do with "the best"? If you believe something, that's great. Doesn't mean it's true. The best, I'm arguing, is the tool that suits you best for making music. You stated at the outset, however, "windows is waste for musicians, and all his software is to" which is a load of crap. I think it's great that you're spirited and have opinions. But bullshit is bullshit is bullshit. If you really wanted an honest unbaised conversation you would have said "I'm interested in hearing what software you use to compose with". I'd argue that Windows is more beneficial for a musician just because of the ubiquity of software. But who cares? In the end, I'm more interested in process discussions than a pissing contest about what's better.

i know that for this reason i post this.

i want to know sofware, experiment, and use it, is not for a contest.

*sigh*

That sounds wonderful in retrospect, but there's no discounting what you said.

That quote from Daniel, as I pointed out in the original thread, is simply not correct. He was speaking about the host program. No host program sounds any better than any other. The only thing that makes host programs different is the UI, whether there are included effects, the workflow, and whether it is stable. People also think that getting a better sound card will result in better sound. Again, not true. It aids in getting better sound into the system if you are recording audio and it helps for a more defined playback, but it doesn't aid in the mixing or rendering process at all. Unless there's a discussion about what achieves what type of sound or effect or whatever, a simple comparison really does no good.

For non-traditional hosts, I like Renoise (it's a tracker) and Temper. But there are a lot of cool modular environments out there. Plogue, for example, allows you to custom create everything in the signal chain. I like Reaktor for the same reason -- you can build your own instruments and effects and stuff. I don't use Reaktor to its fullest potential simply because I don't like working that way. But I do like to string together various components and use the onboard recorder to record improvs. No matter what I use for generating, recording and manipulating sound, I always construct it in a DAW. 9 times out of 10 this is either Reaper or Sonar (and that's because I have a high comfort level with both programs).

Maybe this is for another thread, but I'd love to hear more sound design techniques discussed. I could really learn and be inspired by how other people work.

Best for what? Midi sequencing, mixing, cutting, mastering, general editing, live synthesis, non-realtime synthesis, algorithmic composition, score synthesis, effect plugins

Yeah, you have reason, i love to learn, for this reason i post this, i want to know what i can use, to expand my know

"Moved" .... I told you .....

I remember a cheap software for Editing Audio ,(years ago) ... something called "Ace Wave" ..... that, that was a waste ....

hahahaha Ace Wave

My first software of audio edition was "Free audio editor" is easy to use, and have the basic thinks for work, try it, is cool, with it i do "Star Symphony"

What I use:

Harmony Assistant: Finale knockoff. Decent sound samples built in, easy UI, cheap, but buggy as hell.

Logic Express: Arranger, AU host, file editing. Powerful, Mac-Native, and with a load more features than the similarly-priced ProTools.

Soundhack: Crazy powerful free soundfile editor. It's still beyond my reach, but I've used it for quick jobs.

Puredata: Digital awesome. And it's free. And -extended is finally mac-compatible.

Audacity: More quick and dirty jobs.

Sonicbirth: Make your own AUs, with a PD-like interface. Underpowered, though...

WireTap Pro: Wanna be a pirate? Crucial. It records what's going to your computer's speakers. Great for movie samples, as you can run the DVD* through your computer, recording the audio.

I have chuck and audicle too, but I don't really use them at all.

_____________________

What I use may not be the best. Probably isn't.

wow, thanks Ferkungamabooboo, I dindt know WireTap Pro, great contribution, now i use it and is too useful.

What I use:

Audacity: For hard and fast work (cut, select a fragment, fast reversal, etc)

Peak Pro: For advance sound effects

Logic Pro: Like sampler, and all that (edit, l-r move, volume, secuenciation, etc)

PureData: Sond maker, sound and events programing

vmpk: Like virtual midi controler

Rapture: For save sounds, and use its sounds (sintetizer)

Garage Band: hoho, for pop work

And now: WireTap Pro (thanks again Mr Fer...boo)

There is no "best music sequencer" out there. Questions like this are really flawed because they're just too broad, just too vague. It's like asking "what's the best color?" Depends on what your needs are and what the situation is.

Each has it's own pros and cons. It's alot like shoes actually. Thousands of different brands and made from all kinds of different materials but they all have the same core function. Some work better in different situations than others will. So the best approach for you to take is to inventory your entire situation:

*What type of music do you want to write? Does it involve realistic samples or synths or both?

*What type of computer will you have to work with? PC or Mac? What are the specs of that computer?

*What are you goals for your music? Just to pop on the web and have folks enjoy? To score a film? To be used for sketches for hopeful live performances later on?

*How much money do you have to spend on something like this?

*What type(s) of third party plug-ins do you want to use with this program?

*How serious about this are you? Is this just a passing curiosity or something you're willing to dive head first into? (This helps us assess your willingness to take on steeper learning curves.)

From there you'll have a better idea of what your needs are then start looking into each application and seeing how they measure up. This will give you MUCH better results than just hearing a bunch of folks proclaiming "program X is the bestest!" without any consideration to your situation and your goals.

Finally let's say the OP is throwing this question up just to debate. Well the same applies because the better you present and defend your stance in a debate the stronger your case. Instea of just saying "I think Logic Pro is the best!" I could say "I think Logic Pro is the best for those working with Macs because it's $500 for the full pro version, comes bundled with four other programs and a slew of VST instruments and signal processing plug-ins, has strong video-scoring capabilities and features a wide variety of MIDI input like Event List, Piano Roll, Notation View and Hyper Editor." This way folks know that my answer applies to those with Macs and that budget range and not folks on PC with billions of money to blow. In that case, I'd recommend something else. It's all about context.

Thanks,

Nate

Did you just copy/paste this from that other thread?:hmmm:

Yep, but added a few other points in so that it better applies to this discussion. :)

hahahaha

man... i think that really exist better software that others, yes in the things that you do, and out if it.

Example:

Audacity do sound efects, PeakPro too, and do the same efects -an others more-, but with better quality (Peak); is better independient the kind of music that you want.

Digidesign Protools is great for recording.

I use Fruity loops for midi sequencing and electronic music..

Ableton is good for live sets.