DAWs, Virtual Instruments, MIDI Controllers, Audio Interfaces, Monitor Speakers and Headphones?

[(Name To Be Changed)]

Well, I spent a couple of days reading about all of this and I would like someone to sum it up thoughtfully for someone with these intentions/preferences/whatsoever:

♦I wanna make instrumental music using a MIDI controller or a computer keyboard only. No vocal or instrumental recordings. Everything using the PC.
♦I don't want dubstep or electronica or whatsoever. I want to make music that ranges from rock to metal, and maybe some J-pop music as well.
♦I use headphones and I'm sticking to them as much as possible. No speakers and so on would be much more better for me.
♦DAW price doesn't matter that much to me, I would simply pay as much as possible for the best.
♦I prefer not paying more for a MIDI controller, but I would consider buying one if it had really good features. My favourite MIDI, and what I would probably go for, is the keyboard.
♦I would not like to pay anything for an audio interface, as they are pretty useless for my preferences. The problem is that I don't totally get them, but I will mention that later.

With that said, I would like to ask some questions:

1-What does an audio interface do exactly? Does it only record your vocals, instrumentals and so on with better quality? Is there any other feature that would help me to create music with my preferences?
2-If I don't want to record any vocals or real instruments, do I still need an audio interface?
3-Does an audio interface interrupt or do anything to my headphones quality and so on? Does a better audio interface mean better headphones or speakers quality?
4-Headphones vs Speakers. Which is the best? What do the speakers have better than the headphones and vise vera?
5-Do you recommend that I use headphones or do you recommend I use speakers, based on my preferences?
6-What are the features of a MIDI controller? Do you recommend it? Can a MIDI controller do everything that a computer keyboard can do?
7-Is it true that the best MIDI controller for multi-instruments controlling is the keyboard? Is there anything better and more 'multi' than it?
8-What's the best DAW for rock/metal music?
9-What's the best DAW, overly?
10-Are there any other software or hardware you recommend for music production? Any additional softwares to DAWs (e.g. Audio Editors and/or Converters)? Any other hardware that would give me better control over my music production and so on (e.g. MIDI controller <Keyboard>)?
11-What are your personal recommendations for me? Do you recommend I buy a (A) MIDI controller, (B) audio interface and/or (C) monitor speakers?
12-Last and not least, how long will it take me to learn how to use a DAW? How long will it take me to learn how to operate a MIDI controller? Virtual instrument(s)? And how much time and effort should I spend into doing that everyday? Bear in mind that I would like to know how to operate a DAW and so on exactly (Know what I'm doing), not just typing random keys and whatever sounds good stays.

That's pretty much it for me. I do have some other questions I would really like if you could answer, but it's OK if you don't. Thanks in advance.

Additional stuff:

I know a little bit about music theory, not enough to get me composing my own music with a keyboard instrument, but I am planing to read more about that in the next two months or so. I know how to play the keyboard (Not much. But, meh), and I would like to learn more about playing it. I plan to do that while learning about music theory, and I have a couple of questions concerning that:

1-What is the best real instrument do you recommend for me? Right now, I have the keyboard and the electric guitar in mind. I heard those are the best for beginners, and I like them by nature. Which is better, easier, and more compatible?
2-Is there a keyboard that is, at the same time, a MIDI controller. Like, I would like to play typical and normal electronic piano or whatever audio a normal keyboard is capable of, and at the same time, I would like to use that instrument as a MIDI controller (Not record my playing and such. I just wanna inter the data so that the DAW or whatever software can process it and convert it into whatever virtual instrument I set. Y'know, that typical MIDI controller stuff). Will this reduce the quality of the MIDI controller (The quality of the real keyboard is not that big of a concern of mine. I would simply like to know how to play a real instrument that I like and at the same time play virtual instruments)? Is there anything that such a keyboard will lake? What are the cons and pros of this, and does such a thing exist?
5-Do you recommend I learn how to play the keyboard or that I study music theory? Why? Why not?
4-How long will it take to learn how to play a keyboard in a GOOD way (Or the guitar)? How long will it take to learn the fundamentals of music theory and pretty much learn music theory as a whole?

I'm really sorry if this was long, I tried to make this as short as possible. I have this problem of making everything literature long. Sorry again, and thanks in advance.

[Morgaxx]

Gosh! you are asking for a summary of all that the getting started forum is about . However, I will attempt to give you some help here.

First off, as to how much time it takes to learn any software/playing an instrument etc, who knows. It would take as long as you take. Some may take years and give up. Some will progress slowly but persevere. Some may catch on quickly, whatever that is. Only you will find that answer for yourself.

With regard to the more technical, quantifiable answers you seek I offer this.
- A midi controller is preferred over your typing keyboard for many reasons such as expressive playing, feel and logical layout of notes etc. Typing keyboards would allow notes to be triggered only.
- Head phones are great to a point but do not easily recreate a real world listening environment such as those people hearing your music would be in. Some speakers would help here.
- A sound card is not needed to start you off. However, be sure to learn about buffers, latency and asio drivers for best results with your on-board sound chip.
- Software wise select something basic to start (probably free will be fine to learn what you would like). DAW software all do the basics and folk choose based on workflow, ease of use and any advanced features needed after getting the basic recording/editing down. I would say all you need is the DAW software and some plugin instruments to play with inside that.

So, demo some DAW software to see what you find easiest/useful for your needs. Invest in some sort of midi keyboard (yes most Yamaha etc pianos can be used as simple midi keyboards) for playability and to learn your theory on. Look at both headphones and some speakers (even regular pc speakers are better than nothing). Don't try to master all this at once, be patient and learn the basics. Don't give up unless you come to hate it all.

Good luck!

[V0RT3X]

Ok first of all i don't want to sound rude because I am really not trying to be, but this is not something your going to probably get a lot of replies for. Why? Well it takes a lot of time to reply to these things. I'll point you in the right direction but I am not going to spend an hour writing stuff you can find already written better in other places. One thing about learning this stuff, is that there is no "quick and easy way".. you are going to have to put some time in and learn.

Kudos to what the guy above me said btw

Anyhow here are a bunch of guides and videos i suggest you look at.

http://www.rachel.worldpossible.org/mus ... index.html

Music theory online
http://www.musictheoryvideos.com/music- ... nline.html

Crash course on digital audio
http://www.xiph.org/video/

I would highly recommend you do some reading. The sound on sound guides are free and cover alot of basic information on the different kinds of audio gear.
http://www.sos-smartguides.com/mhpp

[rpm]

I don't have an answer for all your questions, but here's some additional info for you:

For an intuitive DAW that won't require much learning, check Tracktion. For something more powerful but also a bit more difficult, check out REAPER. Another one that is similar to these but more expensive is Presonus Studio One. There is no best overall DAW or even best DAW for a specific genre but if you're going to make loop-based music for instance, most people would tell you to look into Ableton Live or Sony ACID. Many electronic musicians seem to use Propellerhead Reason or FL Studio. Other popular DAWs are Sonar, Cubase, Logic, and ProTools. I would say demo Tracktion first.

For any other software, I recommend the entire line of products (more or less) from Native Instruments (look at the bundle called Komplete 9). It will give you the ability to make any sound you want, more or less, whether it be realistic, sampled instruments (like a real piano) or totally artificial, out there stuff.

As for an audio interface, my opinion is that you MUST get one. You can make music without one but it's going to be much more difficult and primitive. I recommend Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB. If you're going to use a desktop computer, then look into PCI-E type of soundcards that are installed inside the tower, as these integrate better with your computer and are more efficient (however, you may have to get a "preamp" separately, whereas pretty much all external audio interfaces (USB, firewire) already have a preamp).

If money is not an issue, look at RME brand interfaces.

As for MIDI controller, just get a MIDI keyboard of your desired size (usually 25, 49, 61, or 88 keys). Make sure the keys are velocity sensitive. There are other features like weightedness and aftertouch that you might wanna learn about. Check out M-Audio, CME, Korg, AKAI.

One piece of advice: Learn as you go. It never ends. Don't deliberate too much. Don't spend too much time on the forums. This takes a lot of trial and error and you learn as you buy, use, and sell gear. So, accept that you will arrive at a comfortable setup and workflow only gradually.

[ras.s]

Indeed you're asking for quite a lot.

First understand that every piece of software you get - whatever it's the sequencer, instruments or effects - when it comes to making music, they are all instruments (of composing). And with all instruments, you form a personal relationship with them. Either they 'click' with you and you fall in love with them, or you hate them and you hate yourself for getting them. So it easily takes quite a lot of testing to find the perfect combination that matches with you and your skill level and ambitions.

That said, if money really isn't a object, then get Cubase for your sequencer and Native Instruments Komplete for your instrument and effect rig. They cover all the bases, even ones you can't imagine yet, and they'll last years. They've got several years of development behind them and provide high sound quality that can sonically do anything from contemporary, to vintage, to experimental sonic mayhem.

And yes, you'll need a keyboard for an input device. You can do a whole lot with just the computer keyboard or mouse alone, but eventually you'll find yourself wanting to play. For example, playing a keyboard, the velocity of notes come 'naturally', instead of you having to decide exclusively for each one. While you're at it, look for a keyboard that has a pedal input; it will come handy when you want to control guitar effects.

Regarding composing guitar parts.. I don't really know much about that, I rarely record guitars and I don't mimic guitar parts with synthesizers/samplers. One thing I do understand about that is that yes, if you plan to mimic it, you will need an understanding of the guitar as an instrument. It plays differently from a keyboard because of the "interface" is very different. For example, with a keyboard you can play several notes simultaneously, but with a guitar, there's a tiny tiny distance in timing between the notes when you strum it and it's important part of how that instrument works. And even then, it's different whatever you stroke up or down: the notes come in different order. (Generally, when mimicing real instruments, you have to have an understanding how the instrument are played -- for instance, a drummer has four limbs, and can't play five parts of the kit at the same time.)

If you set out to learn to play both the keyboard and a guitar, understand it will take twice as long. The theory is applicable to both, but the actual playing is a different thing.

You will need all sorts of understanding and music theory is one of the most important, if not the most important. Prepare yourself for a lifetime of learning. Grasping basic theory concepts and learning to apply them is important, because they give you a reference, certain limits, and ultimately, they make music sound good. If you don't study it, you'll have to make the rules yourself, and it's one hell of a road. Music theory and composition tricks are one thing, you'll need to have an understanding of different instruments, what their roles are in the music you make, how to think like a collective band, how to mix and engineer the end result.

Audio interfaces; I suppose it is not a necessity if you indeed don't plan to record instruments and you can deal with just listening on headphones. They do have a effect on the quality of sound that goes in or out, but when mixing with a computer, all the summing is done inside the computer. And even if you think you don't need a interface, you might still enjoy having a real knob to turn for adjusting the volume of the output.

And while headphones are good to have, you might want to consider getting some sort of monitors/loudspeakers if not for anything else, then for the composing/tracking part of music making. Hearing the music loud has an effect on how you "feel" the music -- that's part of why musicians build up their amp armoury. And listening to headphones for hours can be very weary on your ears.

And as this is all very personal, a lot of people will disagree with all or some parts of what I just wrote. One thing we can probably all agree on is that you are setting yourself on a journey that at best takes a lifetime, and even then, you're not half close to being ready.

Here's some reading that I can recommend:

Music theory: The guide formerly known as Ravenspiral Guide: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5220863/Raven ... sic-Theory (discussion here http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 9&t=162135)
Production/music making: Kim Lajoie's blog as PDF: http://www.errepici.it/web/download/KLBD.asp (actual blog here http://blog.kimlajoie.com/)

[RunBeerRun]

What? You'll pay anything for DAW software, but refuse to pay for an audio card or nearly anything hardware related.

[amyhughes]

♦I wanna make instrumental music using a MIDI controller or a computer keyboard only. No vocal or instrumental recordings. Everything using the PC.
♦I don't want dubstep or electronica or whatsoever. I want to make music that ranges from rock to metal, and maybe some J-pop music as well.
...
♦I would not like to pay anything for an audio interface, as they are pretty useless for my preferences.
...
8-What's the best DAW for rock/metal music?

Do you play guitar?

If yes, then if you're going to write rock/metal, you're going to want to be able to record guitar, because there are no software instruments that are awesome at guitar. You can get good guitar tones, but making it sound like a guitar player is playing it is difficult.

If you don't play guitar, you'll have the above-mentioned challenges without the benefit of knowing how a guitar performance creates the sounds you hear in rock music. That is, it'll be harder to use the software instruments that have the articulations you'll need for a realistic performance.

Rock/metal is like an advanced topic for the keyboard-only player.

If you really want to play rock/metal on a keyboard, plan on having to buy instruments based on Native Instruments' Kontakt. They aren't cheap and they aren't easy to master.

I'm so anxious to get better results with guitar that I'm learning how to play guitar

[(Name To Be Changed)]

Gosh! you are asking for a summary of all that the getting started forum is about . However, I will attempt to give you some help here.

First off, as to how much time it takes to learn any software/playing an instrument etc, who knows. It would take as long as you take. Some may take years and give up. Some will progress slowly but persevere. Some may catch on quickly, whatever that is. Only you will find that answer for yourself.

With regard to the more technical, quantifiable answers you seek I offer this.
- A midi controller is preferred over your typing keyboard for many reasons such as expressive playing, feel and logical layout of notes etc. Typing keyboards would allow notes to be triggered only.
- Head phones are great to a point but do not easily recreate a real world listening environment such as those people hearing your music would be in. Some speakers would help here.
- A sound card is not needed to start you off. However, be sure to learn about buffers, latency and asio drivers for best results with your on-board sound chip.
- Software wise select something basic to start (probably free will be fine to learn what you would like). DAW software all do the basics and folk choose based on workflow, ease of use and any advanced features needed after getting the basic recording/editing down. I would say all you need is the DAW software and some plugin instruments to play with inside that.

So, demo some DAW software to see what you find easiest/useful for your needs. Invest in some sort of midi keyboard (yes most Yamaha etc pianos can be used as simple midi keyboards) for playability and to learn your theory on. Look at both headphones and some speakers (even regular pc speakers are better than nothing). Don't try to master all this at once, be patient and learn the basics. Don't give up unless you come to hate it all.

Good luck!

I live in a quite calm neighborhood with my family so I wouldn't like to leak any sound outside of my room, that's why I am sticking to headphones as much as possible. If you say that speakers are better than headphones, why is that so? Can't I buy good quality headphones that can 'mimic' speakers and give out the same impression I would get in a real world listening invironment? Also, what does an audio interface do EXACTLY. Is it only used for high-quality recording? Does it interfer with the way the audio is presented via headphones or speakers? And what are other uses of it? Plus, I am not interested in electronic musin in any way. Yes, I know that DAWs and home studios are designed for electronica, dubstep and whatsoever, but that is not what I am interested in. I am interested in rock/metal, blues, some types of pop, folk music, ska-punk maybe and stuff like that. So, what is the best DAW for that usage? And please bear in mind I wanna know the best here, I am concerned about price and such, but that comes after my understanding of the best and the worst. Thanks a lot for replying to me, nevertheless.

Ok first of all i don't want to sound rude because I am really not trying to be, but this is not something your going to probably get a lot of replies for. Why? Well it takes a lot of time to reply to these things. I'll point you in the right direction but I am not going to spend an hour writing stuff you can find already written better in other places. One thing about learning this stuff, is that there is no "quick and easy way".. you are going to have to put some time in and learn.

Kudos to what the guy above me said btw

Anyhow here are a bunch of guides and videos i suggest you look at.

http://www.rachel.worldpossible.org/mus ... index.html

Music theory online
http://www.musictheoryvideos.com/music- ... nline.html

Crash course on digital audio
http://www.xiph.org/video/

I would highly recommend you do some reading. The sound on sound guides are free and cover alot of basic information on the different kinds of audio gear.
http://www.sos-smartguides.com/mhpp

I just wanted to make sure I got all of my info correctly. I read lots of articles and such and yet didn't find an answer to some of my questions, a couple of those are mentioned in my reply to Morgaxx. I will sure check those links and will read more, but I prefer peer to peer answers better, as I can interact with whoever knows the answer to my questions and ask him to clarify it more if I didn't get it. Thanks for replying anyways, and the book in your last link is not available. Tried to search for it but found nothing.

I don't have an answer for all your questions, but here's some additional info for you:

For an intuitive DAW that won't require much learning, check Tracktion. For something more powerful but also a bit more difficult, check out REAPER. Another one that is similar to these but more expensive is Presonus Studio One. There is no best overall DAW or even best DAW for a specific genre but if you're going to make loop-based music for instance, most people would tell you to look into Ableton Live or Sony ACID. Many electronic musicians seem to use Propellerhead Reason or FL Studio. Other popular DAWs are Sonar, Cubase, Logic, and ProTools. I would say demo Tracktion first.

For any other software, I recommend the entire line of products (more or less) from Native Instruments (look at the bundle called Komplete 9). It will give you the ability to make any sound you want, more or less, whether it be realistic, sampled instruments (like a real piano) or totally artificial, out there stuff.

As for an audio interface, my opinion is that you MUST get one. You can make music without one but it's going to be much more difficult and primitive. I recommend Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB. If you're going to use a desktop computer, then look into PCI-E type of soundcards that are installed inside the tower, as these integrate better with your computer and are more efficient (however, you may have to get a "preamp" separately, whereas pretty much all external audio interfaces (USB, firewire) already have a preamp).

If money is not an issue, look at RME brand interfaces.

As for MIDI controller, just get a MIDI keyboard of your desired size (usually 25, 49, 61, or 88 keys). Make sure the keys are velocity sensitive. There are other features like weightedness and aftertouch that you might wanna learn about. Check out M-Audio, CME, Korg, AKAI.

One piece of advice: Learn as you go. It never ends. Don't deliberate too much. Don't spend too much time on the forums. This takes a lot of trial and error and you learn as you buy, use, and sell gear. So, accept that you will arrive at a comfortable setup and workflow only gradually.

Everyone says that I have to get an audio interface but I'm yet to understand what an audio interface does exactly. That is what I wanna know. Chosing one will be such a pain if I neededone, but I will take care of that later. As for now, what does an audio interface do? What are the ins and outs of it? Is it only used for recording vocals and instruments and external, real life sounds, or does it actually help with the software itself if the only external hardware you will use will be a MIDI controller? Does it help in outputing sound from your speakers or headphones in a better way? As for the MIDI controller, I am definitely getting a 61/88-keys keyboard and maybe drum pads. About that, what's the best number of drum pads that does not limit you (Note that size is not a big matter, but I would not like literal drum-like MIDI conroller.)? About DAWs, I would like to creat and compose my own music. I would not like an electronica or dubstep based DAW, as that is not what I want. I would prefer a DAW capable of creating all of the guitar, keyboard, drums and those [non]mainstream instruments used to creat rock/metal music, pop music, blues, ska/jazz and so on. I simply want a DAW for composing realistic sounding music (It would be good if it contained some electronic sounds and such), loop-based music is not my thing, so that does not really matter (But if the DAW contains it, that makes it better. Still, I don't want the DAW's lake of that feature to excute it or lower it's 'rating'), and I would like the DAW to be able to creat [non]mainstream instrumental sounds/music and for it to work well with drum pads and keyboard MIDI controllers. AS I won't be recording anything externally, the DAW should be able to do everything within the software and with the help of MIDI controllers only. Thanks a lot for replying to me, and reading my long reply to you. Sorry if I'm asking for a lot from you, but I am in need of this. Thanks for everything, again.

[(Name To Be Changed)]

Indeed you're asking for quite a lot.

First understand that every piece of software you get - whatever it's the sequencer, instruments or effects - when it comes to making music, they are all instruments (of composing). And with all instruments, you form a personal relationship with them. Either they 'click' with you and you fall in love with them, or you hate them and you hate yourself for getting them. So it easily takes quite a lot of testing to find the perfect combination that matches with you and your skill level and ambitions.

That said, if money really isn't a object, then get Cubase for your sequencer and Native Instruments Komplete for your instrument and effect rig. They cover all the bases, even ones you can't imagine yet, and they'll last years. They've got several years of development behind them and provide high sound quality that can sonically do anything from contemporary, to vintage, to experimental sonic mayhem.

And yes, you'll need a keyboard for an input device. You can do a whole lot with just the computer keyboard or mouse alone, but eventually you'll find yourself wanting to play. For example, playing a keyboard, the velocity of notes come 'naturally', instead of you having to decide exclusively for each one. While you're at it, look for a keyboard that has a pedal input; it will come handy when you want to control guitar effects.

Regarding composing guitar parts.. I don't really know much about that, I rarely record guitars and I don't mimic guitar parts with synthesizers/samplers. One thing I do understand about that is that yes, if you plan to mimic it, you will need an understanding of the guitar as an instrument. It plays differently from a keyboard because of the "interface" is very different. For example, with a keyboard you can play several notes simultaneously, but with a guitar, there's a tiny tiny distance in timing between the notes when you strum it and it's important part of how that instrument works. And even then, it's different whatever you stroke up or down: the notes come in different order. (Generally, when mimicing real instruments, you have to have an understanding how the instrument are played -- for instance, a drummer has four limbs, and can't play five parts of the kit at the same time.)

If you set out to learn to play both the keyboard and a guitar, understand it will take twice as long. The theory is applicable to both, but the actual playing is a different thing.

You will need all sorts of understanding and music theory is one of the most important, if not the most important. Prepare yourself for a lifetime of learning. Grasping basic theory concepts and learning to apply them is important, because they give you a reference, certain limits, and ultimately, they make music sound good. If you don't study it, you'll have to make the rules yourself, and it's one hell of a road. Music theory and composition tricks are one thing, you'll need to have an understanding of different instruments, what their roles are in the music you make, how to think like a collective band, how to mix and engineer the end result.

Audio interfaces; I suppose it is not a necessity if you indeed don't plan to record instruments and you can deal with just listening on headphones. They do have a effect on the quality of sound that goes in or out, but when mixing with a computer, all the summing is done inside the computer. And even if you think you don't need a interface, you might still enjoy having a real knob to turn for adjusting the volume of the output.

And while headphones are good to have, you might want to consider getting some sort of monitors/loudspeakers if not for anything else, then for the composing/tracking part of music making. Hearing the music loud has an effect on how you "feel" the music -- that's part of why musicians build up their amp armoury. And listening to headphones for hours can be very weary on your ears.

And as this is all very personal, a lot of people will disagree with all or some parts of what I just wrote. One thing we can probably all agree on is that you are setting yourself on a journey that at best takes a lifetime, and even then, you're not half close to being ready.

Here's some reading that I can recommend:

Music theory: The guide formerly known as Ravenspiral Guide: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5220863/Raven ... sic-Theory (discussion here http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 9&t=162135)
Production/music making: Kim Lajoie's blog as PDF: http://www.errepici.it/web/download/KLBD.asp (actual blog here http://blog.kimlajoie.com/)

Thanks a lot, dude. Your answer has pretty much summed everything up for me. Just some simple questions are left with me, does aftertouch matter that much? And do you know any good MIDI keyboards with pedal inputs and such? And are drum pads a piece of hardware you would recommend I get along the way or even at the beginning? Also, is there anything I can do to enhance the quality of my headphones or speakers, other than buying an audio interface? Like, is there any other piece of hardware that would only work on getting the audio out in a better quality and such? Regardless of that, thanks a lot for taking some of your time and replying to me. I will spend a couple more hours looking this up. Thanks for everything again, and hope you have a nice day.

What? You'll pay anything for DAW software, but refuse to pay for an audio card or nearly anything hardware related.

I can try a software without buying it but I can't do the same to a hardware. Plus, as I said before, I didn't understand what an audio interface was exactly, and I also didn't find it useful, I still don't find it that useful and worth it.

[(Name To Be Changed)]

Do you play guitar?

If yes, then if you're going to write rock/metal, you're going to want to be able to record guitar, because there are no software instruments that are awesome at guitar. You can get good guitar tones, but making it sound like a guitar player is playing it is difficult.

If you don't play guitar, you'll have the above-mentioned challenges without the benefit of knowing how a guitar performance creates the sounds you hear in rock music. That is, it'll be harder to use the software instruments that have the articulations you'll need for a realistic performance.

Rock/metal is like an advanced topic for the keyboard-only player.

If you really want to play rock/metal on a keyboard, plan on having to buy instruments based on Native Instruments' Kontakt. They aren't cheap and they aren't easy to master.

I'm so anxious to get better results with guitar that I'm learning how to play guitar

No, I cannot play a guitar. I do understand what a guitar is and I do understand the fundamentals of one. I will read and learn more about that in the upcoming weeks, but that is not the matter now. And as ras.s suggested befpre, I might try some of Native Instrument's plug-ins and such, and I will make sure to include a guitar(s) in the list of the products I will try. But my question here is, is it possible to make realistic guitar sounds or whatsoever using a DAW and a MIDI controller (Assuming that I'm the best guitarist in the whole world, and that know how to deal with DAWs and such)? Also, what is the best DAW for such music production?

[ras.s]

There are two types of pedal inputs, a sustain pedal and expression pedal. A sustain pedal works like the one in a real piano, with the exception that in a MIDI environment you can assign that action to pretty much anything you can imagine (for instance turning effects on and off). An expression pedal sends a control change value to change something you assign it to change, for instance volume or wah-effect or filter cutoff or the intensity of an effect. I was more thinking of the latter when I wrote about considering having one, but obviously it's not necessary. (There are also special pedal boards that have a slew of buttons you can trigger with your foot, for the purpose of acting like real stomp boxes - they won't plug in to a pedal input, though.)

What you can do with aftertouch is change a specific tonal option in the instrument that is at the receiving end, for instance creating vibrato. It's nice to have but adds to things to learn. And with an expression pedal, you can do what you can do with regular channel aftertouch (though obviously doing it with your foot).

There's probably hundreds of keyboard instruments to choose from and I won't go into recomming one, it's a jungle out there. Best thing to do is to go to a music shop and try things out, talk with the personnel there (and if you decide to buy something based on your experience there, I think it's fair to go and buy it from there instead of hunting for bargains on the Internet).

Drum pads are nice to have, but even they aren't necessary, especially not in the beginning. You can do the same thing with just banging on the keys on the keyboard or like a lot of people do, 'program' the drum patters in the sequencer. And quite a lot of keyboards today come with drumpads, so consider them if you like the idea of having dedicated pads. You'll be fingertapping though, which is quite different from beating with sticks (there are larger drum pads for that purpose, too).

Regarding MIDI controllers, since you plan on doing a lot of guitar based stuff, perhaps a MIDI guitar would be an option to consider? Over learning to play an actual guitar, it has the benefit of the fretboard approach combined with infinite range of sounds and the fact that you don't have to worry about the audio interface hassle. I have no experience with those though, but there's wide variety available, from expensive ones you bolt into a real guitar to cheap ones that have no strings at all. If you have a Guitar Hero guitar, you can plug that in and play it (http://miditarhero.wordpress.com/) and there's something called You Rock Guitar as well - might be interesting.



Why would you enhance the quality of the output if you have no intention of recording that? The mixing of the instruments and tweaking their sound is done within the computer and most likely when you save a tune, you'll be sticking with that sound anyway. Putting stuff like equalizers or any sort of enhancers on the output will just fool you into thinking that the sound is just right now and then when you play the track in your car it sounds all thin and raspy.

Is it possible to create realistic guitar tones with software? I think yes, and the makers of such software think yes, and millions guitarists will disagree. It's a very subjective question.

[(Name To Be Changed)]

There are two types of pedal inputs, a sustain pedal and expression pedal. A sustain pedal works like the one in a real piano, with the exception that in a MIDI environment you can assign that action to pretty much anything you can imagine (for instance turning effects on and off). An expression pedal sends a control change value to change something you assign it to change, for instance volume or wah-effect or filter cutoff or the intensity of an effect. I was more thinking of the latter when I wrote about considering having one, but obviously it's not necessary. (There are also special pedal boards that have a slew of buttons you can trigger with your foot, for the purpose of acting like real stomp boxes - they won't plug in to a pedal input, though.)

What you can do with aftertouch is change a specific tonal option in the instrument that is at the receiving end, for instance creating vibrato. It's nice to have but adds to things to learn. And with an expression pedal, you can do what you can do with regular channel aftertouch (though obviously doing it with your foot).

There's probably hundreds of keyboard instruments to choose from and I won't go into recomming one, it's a jungle out there. Best thing to do is to go to a music shop and try things out, talk with the personnel there (and if you decide to buy something based on your experience there, I think it's fair to go and buy it from there instead of hunting for bargains on the Internet).

Drum pads are nice to have, but even they aren't necessary, especially not in the beginning. You can do the same thing with just banging on the keys on the keyboard or like a lot of people do, 'program' the drum patters in the sequencer. And quite a lot of keyboards today come with drumpads, so consider them if you like the idea of having dedicated pads. You'll be fingertapping though, which is quite different from beating with sticks (there are larger drum pads for that purpose, too).

Regarding MIDI controllers, since you plan on doing a lot of guitar based stuff, perhaps a MIDI guitar would be an option to consider? Over learning to play an actual guitar, it has the benefit of the fretboard approach combined with infinite range of sounds and the fact that you don't have to worry about the audio interface hassle. I have no experience with those though, but there's wide variety available, from expensive ones you bolt into a real guitar to cheap ones that have no strings at all. If you have a Guitar Hero guitar, you can plug that in and play it (http://miditarhero.wordpress.com/) and there's something called You Rock Guitar as well - might be interesting.



Why would you enhance the quality of the output if you have no intention of recording that? The mixing of the instruments and tweaking their sound is done within the computer and most likely when you save a tune, you'll be sticking with that sound anyway. Putting stuff like equalizers or any sort of enhancers on the output will just fool you into thinking that the sound is just right now and then when you play the track in your car it sounds all thin and raspy.

Is it possible to create realistic guitar tones with software? I think yes, and the makers of such software think yes, and millions guitarists will disagree. It's a very subjective question.

Regarding the pedal inputs, can you give me an example of a keyboard MIDI controller with that feature. An article or something about that would be nice, too. Price and stuff don't matter as this is just an example.

About aftertouch, I just wonder if it's a must have feature cause I got some pretty good keyboard MIDI controller in mind, it is pretty good and well, above my budget by a dozen of bucks, but it doesn't have aftertouch (This is the MIDI controller: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Oxygen61.html). Also, from what I know, you can what aftertouch allows you to do by manipulating certain features in your DAW, is that correct?

Also, can you rate my keyboard MIDI controller of choice (Linked it before)? Is it good or not? What does it lack and what does it have that is special? Your personal opinion about it, in short. As a finall note about this, if a keyboard doesn't have drum pads (Which, I believe, applies to my MIDI controller of choice), does that show that it is not 'good'?

And about that guitar MIDI controller thingy, I don't think I would like one. I would like to learn about guitars and such, but not actually play on one. That is what I have in mind for now, at least. I prefer a keyboard MIDI controller as I am already familiar with keyboards, it has the biggest variety of features and can play a wide range of instuments, and it's probably the best instrument I can ever 'master'. So, it's a no for the guitar MIDI controller. Thanks for the suggestion nevertheless.

About the output quality, why is it not a good idea to enhance the quality of that? I want to hear my music just as it is, without any change or stuff. Isn't that why high-quality speakers/headphones are recommended?

Also, I have found this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh_KEwGd6r0). I think that the quality of the audio is pretty realistic and good. What do you think?

Thanks for everything you have did to me till now. You really helped me clear some misconceptions and such. Thanks a lot for everything, dude.

[ras.s]

Sorry that I'm unable to make these posts any shorter. ;)


I honestly can't say an opinion of that keyboard without having tested it myself. Looking at the specs, it does look good, but specs say nothing of the build quality or the feel of the keys. It has program change, MIDI channel switch, transport controls and a number of knobs of and faders (they are used for mixing or for controlling instrument parameters) -- all of which are good to have. It doesn't have keyboard split, expression pedal or a dedicated MIDI output and I wouldn't buy it because it doesn't have those. But that's me and my needs -- I could still find it nice for a second keyboard. Specwise, it does look like a good keyboard for starting out.

Buying gear off the Internet is a trial-and-error kind of thing, sometimes you just end up with stuff that technically looks good but is crap none-the-less. And listening to some random Internet guy like me rambling isn't exactly wise thing to base your final purchase-decision on, anyway.

It not having drumpads doesn't say if it's good or bad, it just means it doesn't have drumpads. You can still use the keys to beat in the drumtrack.

Don't get too stuck with the idea of an expression pedal. You'll want to learn to play the keyboard first anyway -- it's only additional to the actual performance. And you can do the kind of control changes it does with your mouse, adjusting the automation by hand after you've recorded your playing (the pedal is about recording automation, essentially). Here's a link to a shop page, you can read the product descriptions for more details: http://www.sweetwater.com/c520--Keyboard_Pedals


Well you were asking about if there is any hardware to enhance the output sound and to me it doesn't make sense if you are not going to record that output. I understood 'enhance' as doing something extra to the sound. By getting a good quality audio interface, headphones and monitors and all that jazz isn't really about enhancing the sound, but trying to get a sound that is as neutral as possible. If you have bass-heavy speakers, or an equalizer boosting bass, it's going to fool you to think that you got a lot of bass in the mix. All hardware is bound to have their own "character" due to the components they are made of.


That video doesn't sound bad per se, it's someone noodling around. The person seems to know what they are doing, that's why they're quick. I don't really know metal music that well.

Here's a Google search that brings up KVR threads about making metal music with the computer: https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+m ... raudio.com (the Music Cafe part of the search refers to the sub-forum we have here where people post their music -- the search brings out other results as well)

For example this thread showcases some very good metal tracks made by local forum-ites. Some have real guitars, but then some don't.

Using site:kvraudio.com at the end of a Google search will bring results from the collective hive-mind of this forum, there's a lot of knowledge, nitpicking, information-sharing, high quality music and usual forum fighting within these vaults, collected for almost 15 years now. Try searching for that MIDI keyboard and you'll find opinions from people who actually have it, comparing it to other similar keyboards.



Best thing to do really is just dive in the deep end, head first, and hope there aren't any big rocks there.

[(Name To Be Changed)]

Sorry that I'm unable to make these posts any shorter.


I honestly can't say an opinion of that keyboard without having tested it myself. Looking at the specs, it does look good, but specs say nothing of the build quality or the feel of the keys. It has program change, MIDI channel switch, transport controls and a number of knobs of and faders (they are used for mixing or for controlling instrument parameters) -- all of which are good to have. It doesn't have keyboard split, expression pedal or a dedicated MIDI output and I wouldn't buy it because it doesn't have those. But that's me and my needs -- I could still find it nice for a second keyboard. Specwise, it does look like a good keyboard for starting out.

Buying gear off the Internet is a trial-and-error kind of thing, sometimes you just end up with stuff that technically looks good but is crap none-the-less. And listening to some random Internet guy like me rambling isn't exactly wise thing to base your final purchase-decision on, anyway.

It not having drumpads doesn't say if it's good or bad, it just means it doesn't have drumpads. You can still use the keys to beat in the drumtrack.

Don't get too stuck with the idea of an expression pedal. You'll want to learn to play the keyboard first anyway -- it's only additional to the actual performance. And you can do the kind of control changes it does with your mouse, adjusting the automation by hand after you've recorded your playing (the pedal is about recording automation, essentially). Here's a link to a shop page, you can read the product descriptions for more details: http://www.sweetwater.com/c520--Keyboard_Pedals


Well you were asking about if there is any hardware to enhance the output sound and to me it doesn't make sense if you are not going to record that output. I understood 'enhance' as doing something extra to the sound. By getting a good quality audio interface, headphones and monitors and all that jazz isn't really about enhancing the sound, but trying to get a sound that is as neutral as possible. If you have bass-heavy speakers, or an equalizer boosting bass, it's going to fool you to think that you got a lot of bass in the mix. All hardware is bound to have their own "character" due to the components they are made of.


That video doesn't sound bad per se, it's someone noodling around. The person seems to know what they are doing, that's why they're quick. I don't really know metal music that well.

Here's a Google search that brings up KVR threads about making metal music with the computer: https://www.google.com/search?q=metal+m ... raudio.com (the Music Cafe part of the search refers to the sub-forum we have here where people post their music -- the search brings out other results as well)

For example this thread showcases some very good metal tracks made by local forum-ites. Some have real guitars, but then some don't.

Using site:kvraudio.com at the end of a Google search will bring results from the collective hive-mind of this forum, there's a lot of knowledge, nitpicking, information-sharing, high quality music and usual forum fighting within these vaults, collected for almost 15 years now. Try searching for that MIDI keyboard and you'll find opinions from people who actually have it, comparing it to other similar keyboards.



Best thing to do really is just dive in the deep end, head first, and hope there aren't any big rocks there.

As far as I know, you can split the keyboard into half or whatsoever my modifying the program. Am I correct? Same thing goes for the expression pedal, you can edit that in the software itself after you have finished playing and such, right? But what does a dedicated MIDI output do? Is that that important of a feature?

And I will make sure to check the gear out in real life before I but it. I'm just listing my options now.

I will put drumpads out of my list for now, as they mean more money and I can essentially do the same with the keyboard.

About the hardware, so you do not recommend I buy anything to enhance the sound output because I will not do any recording, is that right? Does that mean I should stick to my typical $20 headphones and some other speakers that are about the same price? Or should I get better, neutral ones so that I can hear what I'm doing exactly? And why do you think that a better, neutral system is not a must or needed?

Anyways, thanks a lot for your support. You really helped me in this thing. Tell me if you ever need anything. Thanks again, dude.

EDIT: It's okay. I find longer answers more satisfying and better.

[ras.s]

Some software allow splitting the keyboard, while in others you have to take extra steps to make it happen. Generally I find it easier if it happens on the keyboard side. And a dedicated MIDI output is used for external sound sources and it's not something you have to worry about, since you are interested in composing entirely inside the computer.

Generally, yes, it's a good idea to get a good audio interface and headphones and monitors, but it's not a necessity when you are starting out. There's no reason for you to have everything when you begin and that's why I think you don't need to worry about it now. You might end up just wasting a lot of money in gear you don't know how to use and when you know how to use them, you have no use for them.

In fact, that Oxygen keyboard has the extra bonus that it comes with a small host software. So the only thing you need is that keyboard to get started, really.



Also about that video you posted, notice that the host software there is FL Studio. It's generally pictured as something used for techno, trance, etc -- but clearly, it's not so, as it's used for metal music in that video. There really is no such thing as a "DAW for electronica" or "DAW for rock music" as you worried about earlier. It all comes down to what you make of it.

A good thing about FL Studio is that the upgrades are free-for-life. So either you die or the software company dies, but you'll get free updates until whichever comes first (unless of course they change their policy).

There are however a few different paradigms/workflows that host software usually focus on. You should try different hosts to see which workflow suits you the best. FL Studio is very much pattern based, but music in general can be seen more or less as pattern based (intros, verses, choruses, breaks, etc). From my point of view, others that focus on patterns are Ableton Live and Bitwig Studio, but they do it differently from FL (they also focus more on live performance).

I suggested earlier to get Cubase, but there are a number of other hosts that have similar approach. That approach is probably the most common, sort of "industry standard". There's the mixer and there's the recording area and not much more. Studio One is also a good example of this and so are Reaper and Samplitude. You can get a slightly limited but free edition of Samplitude by searching for "Samplitude silver edition".

Other hosts have more unique workflows, like a tracker interface, a modular interface, or just stand-alone software for live performance.


And another thing I noticed when I checked out some of those metal music threads here at KVR is that people seem to like Electri6ity for their guitar sound. Perhaps check that out.