I've recently gotten into making music (a month or so ago) which has gotten me into the world of music software and synthesis quite a bit and I love it for most part.

What I need:
Synths (preferably ones that are excellent at doing multiple things)
Sampler
FX
Something for Drums (if the sampler can do drums really well, even better)
(any other recs in general are appreciated)

Thanks in advance for the help

N.I Komplete

You get so much and so many bases covered for the money its ridiculous. Excellent advice IMO

This, maybe another set of effects like D16 Silverline.

What DAW do you have? Depending on which DAW you use, you may need more or less than what you think.

+1 Ni komplete. All of the major components are top notch, you get 3 of the best synths on the market, reaktor (many more synths and effects, samlpers even, free user made instruments from the NI website), an excellent drum sampler in battery, the "industry standard" sampler Kontakt, and guitar rig which is an amazing effects suite for more than just guitars. Other bells and whistles as well such as a convo reverb, transient effect (a good one), etc.

There are lots of instruments and effects that some would consider better than the NI fare, such as the U-he synths/effects, amplitube for guitar effects, ez drummer, etc. However in the bang-for-buck category, for someone just starting out who needs a set of tools, imo Komplete is the best way to go.

Make sure you check out the demos for some of the products and look at what the package comes with. You may decide that it is not what you need after all.

Also I would not suggest 'ultimate', it is overkill (unless you really want the extra stuff I guess).

Renoise.

I'm already looking at Komplete to be my all in one solution. Still would like to explore more of what's out there; here's a little insight if it helps:
looking to make chill-out/ambient/illbient/trip-hop

Also I'm really digging Absynth so looking for similar synths.

Ableton Live Suite

I agree that Komplete is the best all-in-one solution for all of your synth/sampler/drums needs, but possibly/probably not for FX. What kind of FX are you looking for? Creative FX, essential mixing/mastering FX (e.g., EQ, compressor, limiter, reverb, delay)? It would be good to know which DAW you are using, because some DAWs come bundled with very good effects, use specific formats (e.g., VST, AU, RTAS), etc., so it's easier to make recommendations when we know what your existing assets, needs, and limitations are.

Also, what's your budget?

Renoise comes with some decent filters and such but most of them are pretty basic, also supports VST(i) and AU plugins.
Budget isn't much of an issue here- but I enjoy getting the most bang for my buck and spending wisely which is why I bought Renoise.



I'm looking for both creative and mixing/mastering fx. Nothing in particular jumps out at me so I'll be looking around a lot.[/u]

http://www.meldaproduction.com/plugins/product.php?id=MCreat iveBundle

http://www.meldaproduction.com/plugins/product.php?id=MMaste ringBundle

http://www.meldaproduction.com/plugins/product.php?id=MMixin gBundle

Oops, missed that! I'm not familiar with Renoise, so I can't comment on its FX, but I do like thecontrolcentre's Melda recommendations, and with the sale prices that we've been seeing pretty frequently on the Waves Gold bundle, I'd give that one some consideration as well - a ton of bang for you buck in that bundle.

You could do worse than buying a copy of ComputerMusic and starting with the offerings on their monthly DVD. They've just revamped their approach to focus on PC/Mac cross-platform offerings, and there's some very good stuff there.