Returning hobbyist needs quick advice.

[flyingsod]

I composed some stuff in the 90's with a gravis ultrasound. I would like to return to it. I assume sampled sound patches are the norm now? I know digital audio workstation but what are the other TLA's, like VST and AAX? What is the modern software type that would allow midi composing in a piano roll style format? Would any DAW allow that or am I looking for something more specific?
Thanks for your time everyone.

[BertKoor]

Sampled sound is the norm? Only if you are looking for acoustical real-world sounds, like you're emulating an orchestra. Commercial sample libraries are often for Kontakt (by Native Instruments, there is a "free" player)
For free sampled stuff I'd look for the .sfz format.
Electronic sounds (including organs & electric pianos) can be generated/synthesized without using samples.

VST is VirtualStudioTechnology by Steinberg who made the Cubase sequencer (which now is a full DAW). This plugin standard dominated the audio market for decades. There are instrument plugins which generate audio, and effects which alter audio: equaliser, reverb, delay, compressor, etc etc.

AAX is Avid Audio eXtension: a plugin format for ProTools exclusively. So you can quickly forget that.

My advice: start with some free stuff. The choice is overwhelming and the quality ain't bad. Only buy what you really need to buy. Otherwise this can become an expensive hobby.

[zerocrossing]

Well, things have come quite a way since the Gravis Ultrasound. There are a lot of ways to skin that cat. There are software instruments that come in “plugin” form. Depending on your DAW (digital audio workstation software) and computer operating system, you might use VST or AU plugins. AAX only works on Protools systems. These plugins cover all known forms of synthesis except for actual analog subtractive, of course, but many do a very good impersonation of it. There are also many sample based plugins, though oddly few actually sample, so you’ll need a recording utility like Audacity (free) to make the sample and then bring it into your sampler, or you can do what I do and buy sample libraries.

So here’s what you’ll need:

Computer. Get the fastest thing you can afford and load it up with a big SSD hard drive and at least 32 gig of RAM. I like to have a local place build on to my specs.

Audio interface. These vary in cost based on features and quality, but most stuff is pretty good. Just buy one that has enough analog inputs for you, if you plan on using hardware instruments, and mics.

DAW. Everything has great piano roll editing, so it’s really up to what you want to do. Cubase, Live and Bitwig are very popular. I use Bitwig for my personal stuff because it’s almost like an instrument in itself. Live is like that too. I’m switching to Cubase for my work DAW.

Plugins. Like I said, there’s something to cover basically everything, from FM, Wavetable, additive, subtractive, and even Swiss Army knife style monsters like Pigments, Halion 7, Omnisphere and Falcon, that have multiple synthesis types in one plugin. You could probably stick with whatever plugins come with your DAW software for a bit, and then later start looking around for more specialized instruments.

Good luck. It’s a wide wide world.

[Saffran]

Start with Reaper. You get 60 days of evaluation free to learn about a Daw. It handles the new plugin format "Clap" plus Vst2 and Vst3. It doesn't come with Vst instruments but there are good free ones like Surge, Vital and Odin2.
There are people that say FL Studio has the best piano roll.

[Aloysius]

Stay away from Reaper. Get Ableton Live.

[Daimonicon]

Stay away from Reaper. Get Ableton Live.

Why stay away from Reaper?

[Daimonicon]

Cakewalk is a free daw and been for a couple of years. For midi, cubase is the best.

[WackyZoundz]

I would recommend Ableton Live or FL Studio.

[flyingsod]

Wow ok. Cakewalk is free. Last I looked it could only be justified by pros and afforded by lawyers. Weird world.
Its great that piano roll editing is ubiquitous. Weird that sampled sound isnt but when I messed with some software synths 20 years ago they were pretty good. Im sure they are great now.
I like the advice to start free because as was also said its a wide world and overwhelming.

Thankyou all, for sharing your knowledge.

[zerocrossing]

Wow ok. Cakewalk is free. Last I looked it could only be justified by pros and afforded by lawyers. Weird world.
Its great that piano roll editing is ubiquitous. Weird that sampled sound isnt but when I messed with some software synths 20 years ago they were pretty good. Im sure they are great now.
I like the advice to start free because as was also said its a wide world and overwhelming.

Thankyou all, for sharing your knowledge.

Oh, sampled sound is also ubiquitous, it’s just one of many popular techniques. A lot of people still use samples, maybe almost exclusively. It just depends on how you want to work. I use samples for realistic drums and other instruments that don’t own/can’t play. Some people still like to find samples and chop them up for beats, or whatever.

[PebbleInAStream]

Start with Reaper.

Hobbyist here, I saw someone above also recommended not to start with Reaper and I am going to second that-- no offense meant to Saffran at all-- Reaper is an amazing DAW, but its interface can be very tricky to decipher for a newbie... it took me months of frustration in Reaper to get comfortable doing relatively 'normal' things.
I use Studio One now, which I think is great-- it was very quick to learn, however, this was of course after I had already learned Reaper, so I can't really comment on it as a 'first DAW'.
I would (again, as a hobbyist) recommend trying demos of the big ones-- Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, Live, they all have demos, as well as 'cut-down' versions that are cheaper for hobbyists. As far as I know, they also all allow customers to transfer their licenses (sometimes for a fee), so you can often find them for cheaper second-hand here on KVR (in the 'Sell & Buy' forum) or Knobcloud.

[WackyZoundz]

I use Studio One now

Forgot about that. Also a good recommendation!

[Saffran]

I recommended Reaper because it is sort of free, if you don't mind the reminder that tells you the 60 days are gone and it's now in demo mode. The demo mode is fully functional. It appears every start except only once per day. And it is very competent and low on cpu.
Personally i don't really understand its reputation of "hard to get to grips with". I did a project setup, and my own trackheader buttons that puts a general midi plugin with a number of miditracks ready for drag/drop of a type 1 midifile. Took me two days, 1 for the button graphics and one for the setup in Reaper and testing with some midis that it worked.
...
I use the free Cakewalk which is called CbB (Cakewalk by Bandlab).
It's awesome but there's uncertainty about the continuation of CbB. Probably good for a year or two but then?
...
Cakewalk now have 3 daws on the market. The aforementioned free CbB, "Next" which is like a desktop version of Bandlab online Studio and SONAR which is an evolution of CbB.
CbB no longer get any support and development, just fixes of existing problems and security issues.
Sonar and Next is now subscription only. Next also works with MAC.
...
Added after a minute or so.
You'll probably need a rompler. I recommend Xpand!2 and Purity.
...
I always come up with things a bit to late. Same with those golden responses that would floor my opponent if he hadn't left already.
Put an extra day for Reaper. I forget that i always start anything new with going thru guides, quick starts and manuals. Goes for both digital and real life.

[mixyguy2]

Stay away from Reaper. Get Ableton Live.

Why stay away from Reaper?

Because HE doesn't like it. Frankly I would ignore anyone saying "don't use _____" for the most part (esp when no reasons are given) as it's all subjective. The best move is try different DAWs (most have trial versions) and see for yourself what you like.

[mixyguy2]

Sampled sound is the norm? Only if you are looking for acoustical real-world sounds, like you're emulating an orchestra. Commercial sample libraries are often for Kontakt (by Native Instruments, there is a "free" player)
For free sampled stuff I'd look for the .sfz format.
Electronic sounds (including organs & electric pianos) can be generated/synthesized without using samples.

VST is VirtualStudioTechnology by Steinberg who made the Cubase sequencer (which now is a full DAW). This plugin standard dominated the audio market for decades. There are instrument plugins which generate audio, and effects which alter audio: equaliser, reverb, delay, compressor, etc etc.

AAX is Avid Audio eXtension: a plugin format for ProTools exclusively. So you can quickly forget that.

My advice: start with some free stuff. The choice is overwhelming and the quality ain't bad. Only buy what you really need to buy. Otherwise this can become an expensive hobby.

Great opening/summary post.

Basically VST is the "PC format" for plugins and AU is the "Mac format," though I think there is Mac VST stuff now as well. VST3 is the new version of VST, but offers only minor/obscure advantages over VST2 and has given some plugins problems, don't worry about going there (in fact, I avoid it).

Definitely check the freebie world as stated earlier. There is a ton of REALLY GOOD stuff there in terms of instruments, effects, etc. This first of all won't cost you anything and second helps you get familiar with different things before considering pay stuff. You may surprised how little of that you need. In fact, many DAWs come with "built in" plugins which are very good.

Speaking of DAWs, GarageBand (Mac) and Mixcraft (PC) are known for being easy to learn, so might want to start there...but again I'd try as many as possible.