It would be great, but this section looks pretty dead. :P If there is anyone here who knows stuff about this, it would be nice if I could get some advice on what programs to use and stuff like that ^^

Cubase SX 1 - Cheaper than SX 2 for obvious reasons and to be honest has virtually everything you'll need. If the budget doesn't stretch that far Cubase VST24 is very very cheap on ebay and still produces good results. The main diferences are in the user interface, and the file saving. SX1 upwards has non destructive editing. The original sound files are kept in a project folder and a record is made of all the changes mad along the way but the original file remains untouched. The downside is that nothing gets deleted unless you actively hunt down the file. For example, if you recorded 90 mins of DAT into the cmputer then chopped it up, you'd still have that 90mins 24bit/96K file sitting on your computer taking up valuable hard drive space. Personally I would say there are 3 main tools you need to concern yourself with. In order of priority they are : Sequencer - Cubase Editor - E.g - Soundforge Sampler - E.g. - Kontakt The criteria for your own selection is, can you get on with it. I hated using logic because setting it up (for my computer with a DSP factory) was illogical whereas Cubase was a breeze. That's how I made my decision. Personally, I also believe if you have to read the manual for most of the basic functions then the user interface is crap. Although Cubase SX can edit just as well as Soundforge, Soundforge just makes it a doddle to see what is going on. I think the pitch processing sounds better with soundforge too. It is a great device for mastering and trying to get as much gain from a sample. Again, if money is an issue, you can dispense with Soundforge for now. Samplers help you get the job done faster with a couple of basic functions, especially if you have a triggering device like a keyboard (preferably non weighted for FX for a fast response and with a pitch shifting facility on board) Example : - You have a series of thunderclaps and are not quite sure which one to use. You can use the keyboard to run through these samples by going from left to right you trigger Sample 1, 2, 3 etc or, you take 1 sample sound and play it up and down the range to get a different sound quickly. Thunder dropped don by 2 octaves suddenly becomes distant artillery impacts. A sainsburys shopping bag being crinkled becomes fire or even lower ice breaking underwater in the arctic and so on... An example of this is the cavalry charges in 'Total War'. Heavy cavalry, sample played low, Light cavalry, sample played high but in either case it's the same sound being used. The keyboard is a bonus when it comes to reviewing all the sounds you want to use and triggering them at the right placement points quickly. You can always fine tune later. Once again, if cash is a problem, cubase also allows you to review the sound files by clicking on each in turn. It's slower but the you get there in the end. I did a sound demo on my website using Cubase SX1, Soundforge 6.0, A laptop, Portable DAT and Rode NT4 mic. Theres about 300 Plus individual soundsamples with about 20-30 of being repeated sound the other 270 are heard only once. So, I did it all the long way without my keyboard or kontakt by physically clicking all the samples to review them and placing them in position by mouse. Todays sequencers can do most of it for you but, some specialized software just helps you do it a lot faster. Hope that's of some use.

Tnx! Feels like that's just what I needed! I'll be checking what of all that I'll use, and report back. I do have a keyboard, but I don't know if it'll work... it's not very advanced, but not from the stone age either... just for home usage. My big sis has Logic, but I never found it very appealing. Tnx once again! edit: um, maybe you meant a keyboard like... keyboard... I thought you meant a synthesizer... I'm still not sure, but I'm sure it'll be clear soon enough.

Any keyboard really that has a midi out socket at the back. You'll of course need someway of getting the midi signal into you computer. There are 2 basic ways : 1 - Get a soundcard with MIDI on it - I have the yamaha SW1000XG. It's a very caable card and has built in sounds like strings and brass but because I have Kontakt and use real life sample orchestra sounds I only use the card for Midi. Kind of an insult to the card really. 2 - Midiman make a little boxes that are Midi to USB, you could do it that way. The boxes are available in different sizes 2in, 4in etc... Alongside your sequncer, your other important choice is your Soundcard. The important bit is the D/A (digital audio) convertor. The better it is the cleaner the sound. The standard today is 24 bits/96 Khz or to put it another way it's like the resolution in a computer game. If you imagine an arc being drawn on the screen a low resolution results in what looks like a series of steps maing up the line. However, a higher resolution will still have those steps but they will be smaller and closer together to the point of being invisible and all you see is a smooth line. No need to go for the best because there are plenty avalable second hand. I am still using a yamaha DSP FACTORY card myself which is ooooooold technology but still sounds good and has a S/PDIF (digital in/out). This means I can ransfer samples I have recorded with my portable DAT straight to the card with no loss in quality. It also has two REV500 reverb processors and it's own compressors wich means the card does all the work and takes nothing from your computers processor. I'm sure there a lot better stuff out there these days but one thing I do know is that when I was on a production course everone kept complaining of problems with their respective setups and mine was steady as a rock. Personally, if I could aford it I would go with something that has lexicon reverbs on board. I've used the outboard devices when I was playing in bands and it has 'that sound'. It's always remins me of the reverb at the start of Blade Runner. Computer - Here's an interesting thing. My P4 1.4Mhz 1126 Gb Ram tower runs waaaay faster than my P4 2.6 Mhz 1Gb Ram Laptop. Fast isn't everything. It need to be good a good all rounder. Reverb is the real killer for processing power becuase it involved complex maths for a good sound so make sure it is he audio card and not the computer doing the bulk of the work. For most home use I'm guessing you'll be tracking (recording the sounds) in stereo. If you need more imputs this means more A/D convertors which is gona cost money. If you must go down that route I suggest the neatest option is a Motu 896 with a firewire cable. No D/A convertors required on your soundcard ust a firewire port or card. IT will also save you spending money on an 8 channel mixer which you'll need coz it ain't cheap but then, you haven't spent money on a soundcard either. Swings and roundabouts really. Just to give you an idea of how it fits together, my setup uses a very small mixer but does quite a bit : A Mackie 1202VLV Mixer (Very high quality mic preamps) Into this I Plug in - Channel 1 - Rode NT2 Microphone Channel 2 - Line 6 Pod L Channel 3 - Line 6 Pod R Channel 4 - Bass (or via pod) Channel 5-6 - Line level - CD Player (so I don't have to turn on the computer to listen to music) Channel 7-8 - Line level - Tape Deck Channel 9-10 - Line level - VCR Audio Channel 11-12 - Output from DSP Factory Soundcard Aux 1 out - Tape Deck L Aux 2 out - Tape Deck R Main Out Stereo - Dsp Factory Soundcard Inputs Control Room Out - Genelec Monitors Sony TCD-D8 Portable Dat - Dsp Factory S/Dif In/Outputs Fatar Studiologic 990 Keyboard - SW1000XG Soundcard Midi input. The mixer has a switchable input/output buss meaning I can keep the two sets of signals separate, thus avoiding feedback. All the sound comes in on channels 1-10 (remembering to turn down the gain on the channels not being used) and are routed to channel A - sent to the computer - come back into the mixer on channels 11-12 - Routed to channel B then sent to the control room speakers or headphones. As you can see, small mixer, high quality, does a lot. No need for an enormo desk that fills the room. When you start to automate things and want hands on control of the fader you see on the screen thats when you might want to start looking at things like the Kenton Control Freak. Again, it depends on budget. For now though. Soundcard and Sequencer Bear in mind how and what type of sounds you will want to record. Planning in advance can save buying things you don't need but can also enable you to think ahead to what you might have a use for. The DSP Factory and SW1000XG was way more than I really needed when I started but I now use all of the DSP Factory but not so the SW1000XG but only because of Kontakt.

Alright, I think I'm beginning to understand what we're talking about here... quite a lot of stuff, and I don't have high expectiations really, but if it doesn't cost a lot I might as well get something like what you describe. And if I will I'll get what you've recommended, at minimum price. Btw, I love that.. whatever it's called... the ending thing. It really makes

Sure it's a lot of stuff but thats really to give an idea of expandability or potential options. My demo was done on a laptop using cheap earphones or the laptop speakers (both crap) and the laptop soundcard was just a standard one so nothing special there either. If cash is the priority, go for Cubase VST24. I've seen the full producer packs going for as little as 25 quid on ebay (used to cost 600 quid). Bargain !! For tracking why pay more for the SX range when VST24 can do it just as well. I know anally retentive purists will go on about improved algorithms making the sound quality better or something but they need to get a life. I know I said something similar about reverbs but the difference here is that this will not have an impact on the performance of your computer. VST24 works fine. I have both programs so I am talking from personal experience. Small mixer - Spirit folio notepad 80 quid new I think. Second hand on ebay, surely must be 50 quid. http://www.turnkey.co.uk/tkweb/stockdetail.jsp?sku=SCRA-FOLNOTE&context=WEB Midi Keyboards can be picked up for as little as 40 quid but I would recommend the Edirol range. You only need a 32 or 49 key range but becuase they are so cheap its a better economy to get one with assignable knobs and sliders for about 30 quid more on ebay. http://www.turnkey.co.uk/tkweb/stockdetail.jsp?sku=EDIR-PCR30&context=WEB Never EVER master with earphones. The volume goes, up and up and up as you pummel your hearing. Trust me on that one. Whenever possible, use speakers, even crap ones to record but bear in mind if they are bass light you will over compensate and when you play it back on decent speakers it will sound crap. So, record your sounds, fiddle about with them (this can be done on earphones at reasonable but low volumes too) balance the levels. When you get to mastering i.e making sure everything is at it's loudest level without being distorted and that no one frequency range is dominant (muddy = too much bass, nasal = too much midrange, harsh = too much top end and so on) you will want to use the best speakers you can get your hands on. When conpensating for any of the above problems it is almost always better to subtract rather than add Eq. Where 2 sounds conflict in the same area (eg Bass and Drums) you can punch a hole on the sound spectrum by removing a narrow band of frequency from one of the sounds at the fundamental (the place that defines the character of a sound - there is often more than one) of the other. You can find the fundamentals of a sound with a parametric Eq by narrowing the width of the frequency you will use then increasing the gain (not forgetting to turn the overall volume down a bit as some frequenies are very harsh) and sweeping up and down the area you think the sound is in. You know you've hit it when it becomes a lot louder, although, that is an over simplification because you are also looking for the most defined sound that will cut through. The all you have to do is make a note of that range, create the same Eq on the conflicting sound but with negative gain. When you do this, make sure you are not removing the character from sound number 2 either. Make sure you return the Eq gain of sound number 1 you just checked to zero otherwise it will sound unnatural. And, each time time you remove EQ it will affect the overall gain of a sound so you general have to adust it to bring it back to the same level. Budget wise, these will most likely be your Hi-Fi speakers. Don't put them too cose to your monitor as they are not magneticly sheiled and will cause the screen to bleed colours. The louder and longer you master, the quicker your ears will get tired. Don't master right after mixing. If possible leave it for a few days so you can approach your work with fresh ears. The more you zone in on frequencies, the more detail you can pick out. I found myself listening to my favourite albums and hearing the recording process rather than the music. To get a general feel of the final result, listening outside the door of your room works rather well. anything that gets you away from the sweet spot. I lie on my bed with a pillow over my head :-)

Tnx for all the tips! And I'll definitely try the one with the pillow

heil i compose and mix music too. i m also a sound engeneer. for my aprt , i work on protools, an excellent sequencer but you need to have a specific type of soundcard. i saw that u have a key master, so you can use it to control midi msg on ur computer. you can also use expander or sampler to compose your music. of course, best way is to use real isntruments you can also use programs like Absynth2 (Nativ Isnturment) to make your own sounds -generally for electronic music-. if you wanna compose orchestra music u should beter use expanders and samplers. there s a good sequenceur with many machines inside called Reason 2.5. u got drummachines, expanders, samplers, effects etc... and a sequencer. i think it s the best thing if you wanna make music. i advice u to First, work on the samples u wanna use, than use them wiht your keyboard and recording yourself with the sequencer. after that, you can add some effects, make autoamtions etc... for each isntrruments you want. enjoy