I need me a new host

[Z3R0T0N1N]

er... well, love is all you need, actually, but Energy XT is nice too.

[No name]

Actually the reason i'm leaving Acid in the first place is because soon i'll be getting a shitload of equipment, and i'll be dealing with midi. It seems strange to seem of you i'm sure, but I hgave yet to even purchase a midi keyboard. I did all my editing and programming just by the mouse. Acid doesn't handle it well, so that is why it is vital for me to have a host that handles midi like a dream, but has the logical set up when it comes to mixing (and hey, if it has some nice effects and all thrown in then that is all the better.) I'm starting my own studio, one that will have clients coming in, so I need something intuitive and good, with a good workflow. FL and Acid always worked like a champ for me in that way, but i'm ready to take it to a whole new level.

[dougsyo]

FLS is very capable, so consider keeping that. If you like Acid but want something different, I'd say take a look at Ableton Live. Make sure you work through the tutorials with the demo, though.

I just saw your followup post ... For serious MIDI work, I'd look at Sonar. I go back and forth between FLS and P5V2, but Sonar's always there for the hard stuff.

BTW, my Sonar 5P should be arriving this afternoon, yay!

Doug

[jens]

er... well, love is all you need, actually, but Energy XT is nice too.

it is indeed!

[butter]

Cubase has been a leader in the midi arena as well. Too bad they don't have a current demo of SX3. But, you can get SE 3 for like $100. I think they left most of the midi stuff intact.

Just my 2 cents though.

[LIMITAPROACHINGINFINITY]

Energy XT is all you need.

VERY true.. However.. For hip hop, and trip hop, and downdtempo, it is lacking in the timing area.. It is still very possible but takes longer than in cubase..

ONCE ext gets the sequencer destructive midi swing .. THEN ext will be THE PERFECT host.. But it allready is the best.. And i HAVE Sonar 4.. Ive used it maybe once in the last year due to having ext.

[No name]

I was at work on break last night, and I was thinking maybe Live fits the bill. I have yet to try it though, I need to.

[No name]

How many days is the limitation to Ableton Live? Anyone know? I can't find any info on the site.

[Distorted_Mastermind]

when making music i use 3 programs often, 4 if you count an audio editor. in order of use
1. Tracktion (all my audio recording and project sequencing)
2. FL Studio (very handy for getting ideas down, really nice midi)
3. Acid (what can mangle something into something completely different that fast)
Tracktion is rock solid when it comes to recording audio and the sound quality is nice
FL Studio has some real good features and is more than just a little tool to make loops when you know how to use it good.
Acid i make as many loops in it as i do fruity loops. i almost always get a nice long pattern going in acid which involves a lot of zooming to cut it up nice, then just play along in fruity loops for my key stuff
then throw it in tracktion and arrange it all, then master the beat
then when i'm done with all that i record the vox in tracktion (along with any odd instruments i have laying around), then master the vox track and beat in tracktion.

bottomline if you make hip hop you will probably bounce around from program to program as well as any other form of electronic music that involves many elements.
you probably just need something to record, sequence and master audio. tracktion is very much up to that task and will save you a lot of cash.
if you work different than me, then something else might be able to work as an all in one solution. the demos are your best bet because most will be biased including myself.

[loachm]

...another vote for live, just in case you might haven't decided yet. Its routing and recording capabilities are awesome, simpler and impulse are great tools and the general concept of it - well, you might already know. the only things I'm currently missing are the possibilities to show more than one midi automation of a clip/track and the ability to change the time signature within a song.

[advaya]

I've been messing around with the Live 5 demo for a few days now as well, and I gotta say, WOW! It's really great! The learning curve is quite low, and its workflow is pretty straight forward. Awsome interface too! (I like the expanding / closing pannel idea).

Most importantly, It puts the fun back into making music (for me anyway).

[No name]

I agree with a previous poster in that a lot of producers cannot stick to one host. That is why i've always had a combination of two. Acid and FL are two different beasts. I don't like the direction sony is taking it, it's never as good as it should be by now. I'm sticking with mny FL though, no doubt. I've been with FL since the beginning, literally. I can't see my letting go of it. I'm going to try live soon, but I don't want to use it yet if it only gives you so many days as I am waiting to purchase my keyboard.

[shmish]

I would highly recommend Sonar5 Producer. It's a great deal for many reasons. Firstly, it has a good feature set and capabilities. Secondly, the producer version comes with a lot of usefull plugins: v-vocal, pentagon, psynII, dimension, pure space convolution reverb, sonitus effects, etc. I love Dimension, it's a great product. Because Sonar is a very complete product, it can be overwhelming with all of its features. However, I think a person can tailor thier working environment for efficient use. Live5 is also a great product. It doesn't have the regular plugins like Sonar5 though, but does have two usefull instruments and some pretty cool non-standard effects. It's also fun to work with.

shmish

[Colonel Flashback]

no dimension in sonar 5 afaik...(it's in project 5)

[shmish]

OK. that could be, I also have Project5. Sorry about that. BTW, if a person is inclined to get Sampletank, I think the upcoming Dimension Pro will blow sampletank out of the water. I already prefer Dimension for many types of instruments/sounds.

Thanks,
Shmish