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Old 11-30-2015, 12:09 AM   #1
ACCC
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Default I want to make music, plz give me advice...

So im completely new to the producing scene, yeah i like listening to music but creating it is a different world.

A old coworker told me to take a look into reaper and i bought a license since 60 dollars seems quite cheap compared to other daw's, i also got a soundcard, a pair of headphones and a midi keyboard, so i should be almost ready to take my first steps shouldnt i?

My Equipment:
Xonar Essence STX
Beyerdynamic DT770 & Sennheiser HD598SE
Nektar Impact LX61

So i got reaper installed and watched some tutorials, that showed me some of the very basics like navigation, preferences etc.

I downloaded kontakt and got quite confused... but i think i got the hang of it now... atleast a bit

Then i played around a bit using some other free sample libraries/vst's like sfz + sonatia symphonic orchestra and similar stuff

And i finally got some sounds that actually wouldnt be bad if i could manage to create the right arrange of instruments and tracks.

Oh and i also set up my keyboard reaper implementation

so yeah i guess im at the point where i could use some professional advice
on where to start, which sample libraries to download/buy and how to manage reaper in general

i also noticed something: is there a way to turn off the velocity when u play on the keyboard or press a pad? so that the input is always on 127?


thx for your patience ;d
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Old 11-30-2015, 12:41 AM   #2
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I would recommend watching the not very expensive Groove 3 tutorials made by Kenny Gioia https://www.groove3.com/reaper-train...er-4-explained

Also these explain a lot useful stuff https://www.youtube.com/user/audiogeekzine/videos

Which sample libraries to get depends entirely on what kind of music are you making, kvraudio.com forums have a lot of discussion about the "best" plugins and sample libraries. There are also some great free synth plugins, U-He Tyrell N6 for example.

A simple way to turn off velocity on individual tracks is to use the .js Midi Tool v2 plugin (place it before Kontakt or any other sound making plugin), in there you can just raise the output velocity as high as you want, I would also recommend making presets within the plugin for a couple of velocity settings and for raising and lowering the MIDI by an octave, it's a quick way to test different pitches while browsing patches.
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Old 11-30-2015, 01:07 AM   #3
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Yes,
if you have the endurance for it,
- watch most of the basic video tutorials for Reaper.
- read the manual (at least get familiar with the table of content
- watch other basic tutorials for the things you are interested in
- ask for specific info here on the forum

and, most important:
Mess around, make some sounds, and see if you can get them fit together.

Good luck!
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Old 11-30-2015, 02:32 AM   #4
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Cool.

Its always nice to have another join the party. My advise......dont get caught up in downloading all the free vsts. Your music making will cease and you will spend your time demoing and solving crash problems. Do your research by using this forum and others before deciding to download and install.
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Old 11-30-2015, 03:36 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ACCC View Post
I downloaded kontakt and got quite confused...
Yep Kontakt licensing is confusing.

Kontakt player is free and lots of (payed) Sound libraries by NI and others will need Kontakt (player).

You can d/l Kontakt Player for free, but it does not come with any decent sounds.

The so-called "free libraries for Kontakt" will not work with Kontakt Player, as the library provider needs to pay to NI for providing Kontakt-Player support.

You can buy the full Kontakt version from NI that will support any third party libraries (free and payed) and allows for creating (recording/scripting) your own libraries.

You can buy one of the multiple "Komplete" versions from NI that comes with Kontakt and/or several sound libraries.

You can buy a a keyboard from NI that comes with a Komplete version.

You can buy the Audio6 USB interface from NI that comes with a Komplete version. (This is an especially low latency interface that is excellent for live use.)

Michael (happily using Audio 6 and multiple kontakt based libraries by NI in a Reaper live setup.)
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Old 11-30-2015, 04:09 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ACCC View Post

so yeah i guess im at the point where i could use some professional advice
on where to start, which sample libraries to download/buy and how to manage reaper in general
One of the most important questions would be in which direction you want to got in terms of musical style.
Most of all if you ask for advice when buying libraries etc.
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Old 11-30-2015, 05:09 AM   #7
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Hello and welcome,

you will find a lot of answers here in this forum by searching topics.

You will need a lot of patience in the beginning, but every day you will
learn more...and more and the day you would´t have any questions or the will to experiment and find out any more, would be a boring day, so keep on learning by asking or reading or watching or doing !

Maybe also read the follwing threads to find some great free plugins !

http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=563

http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=52382
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Old 11-30-2015, 07:56 AM   #8
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So the kind of music i want to create probably would be orchestral and classic instrumentals aswell as hiphop and funky instrumentals.

So yeah any vst/samples in that direction would help

Regarding kontakt, theres the kontakt elements on sale for about 20 bucks, worth it?
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Old 11-30-2015, 08:56 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ACCC View Post
So the kind of music i want to create probably would be orchestral and classic instrumentals aswell as hiphop and funky instrumentals.

So yeah any vst/samples in that direction would help

Regarding kontakt, theres the kontakt elements on sale for about 20 bucks, worth it?

Yes it is. Thanks by the way, you just turned me on to something I am very much interested in ....expanding GTR rig. Elements actually has the three amps I wished they sold seperately. $20.00 is really a no brainer for quality and scope of this package. Given this package only, the average bedroom producer could stay occupied for years making music in a variety of different styles.
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Old 11-30-2015, 09:30 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ACCC View Post
So the kind of music i want to create probably would be orchestral and classic instrumentals aswell as hiphop and funky instrumentals.

So yeah any vst/samples in that direction would help

Regarding kontakt, theres the kontakt elements on sale for about 20 bucks, worth it?
So you are just starting out with a new hobby?

Don´t spend a lot of money for libraries until you know this will last and you will be using it for at least a couple of years.
There is so much good freeware around.

Orchestral:
Use sonatina samples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc5k0k0BEMY
http://sso.mattiaswestlund.net/download.html

along with sforzando player which I found an introducion for
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaugIsEPwbc

These will help you at least until the point, at which you can decide if really want to spend money.


For the funky/hip hop thing:

Drums:
Grab yourself a copy of DrumMic´a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2TuymOIBBE
Very good virtual DrumKit by Sennheiser (german microphone manufacturer)

Synth:
Tyrell by Uhe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCJ_Fxgw3UM

Samples of a real Bass:
This could be a hard task in the freeware world.
Maybe Komplete Elements will help you out here.
There are some free samples for sforzando, though.
If you use some kind of freeware amp-sim these can also sound convincing.


If you have any practical questions on how to create a specific sound, feel free to ask.
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Old 11-30-2015, 12:49 PM   #11
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Suggestion:

Make some music with what you've got. Just record, and then record some more, and then record some more......

This will sharpen your focus on what you really want and need to get to your ultimate goal.

I second the aforementioned advice about not buying sounds just yet. Get busy and make music and ask questions when you hit a wall and need advice on a specific thing.
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Old 11-30-2015, 02:09 PM   #12
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And btw... the free Kontakt Player comes with plenty of "decent" sounds - "decent" being a huge understatement.

I, too, could not agree more withthe others who've opined that there exists an untold number of excellent freeware VST's and VSTi's. Save your dollars until you have either, A.) Used them all up (that'll never happen) or B.) Know exactly what you want. And then wait a couple of weeks more, because you'll probably change your mind by then.

Now go have fun with all the free schtuff out there. This is a magical time.
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Old 11-30-2015, 05:00 PM   #13
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Some good advice above. I will add this:

Making music today, with a computer, means composition and engineering is interleaved. That is very confusing for anyone who doesn't know/understand why things works the way things do.

To remedy that, look into history. Look at how music was made and recorded 30-40 years ago, and onward towards today. You will start to see, that what you see on your screen is a digital imitation of the recording/production methods that were established decades ago. The digital era has produced just a few completely new things, but 98% is based on the old analog recording- and production techniques of yesteryear.

If you wish to get past all the tech stuff you don't understand, look into how things were done before, and the progress towards today. Possibly take a course or two if you find the opportunity. This will answer lots of what you see on your screen today.

This suggestion, is a suggestion that will make you get into the technical/musical side of things on a deeper level, which may take some time to get comfortable with. But when you do ... oh boy

If you don't have the patience, get out on youtube, and watch how other people do what they do, and put the puzzle together yourself.
Seen in the larger perspective - if you plan to stick to your interest - you'll gain sooo much more learning things from the ground up.

Welcome to the music community, and good luck!
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Old 12-01-2015, 05:14 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ReaperMadness View Post
Now go have fun with all the free schtuff out there. This is a magical time.
Sometimes I would wish I could go back there........magical indeed
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