Necrotic Obsession

your personal preference for all your music writing needs and what programs do you get off on?

i love macs so there's no guessing which I chose on that one. Software= running reason and logic together. Mmmmmmm snappy!

i do Reason and Cubase on PC

sometimes FruityLoops too, if i really wanna put something out in a pinch

PC only for lack of funds at the moment.

The PC has caught up with the Mac in terms of audio app capabilities though. All the better or worse arguments are really outdated now.

I'd still prefer to be running all of the recording with Pro Tools on a Mac and a Digi 16 I/O module.....and tons of outboard hardware. Or Nuendo at the least.

For now though I do most of my wave and loop creation in FL Studio with all the VST's I have. When I'm feeling more adventurous, some of the synth stuff gets done in Reason/Rewire. Any wave editing or extreme DSP layering is done in the new Wavelab. I'm a little stubborn for the arrangement and comping though. I still use Acid. I hate the blocky, unintuitive interface in Reason and Cubase, and I get easily frustrated if I have to screw around with clustered drop down menus just to get a particular track rerouted. I find Acid gives me more control over editing the waveforms (because you can actually see them!), and the speed it provides makes it feel more like I'm working off an actual board.

I do my own mastering for listening purposes with some of the different Dx compressors I have, but if it's going to vinyl or any commercial format, that is really best left to experienced people with actual mastering equipment.

PC because Mac's can't play most of the games today, and you can modifiy the Mac like you can a PC

Reason and cubase via rewire is definately the way forward. If a PC breaks down you only need to go to the local store to pick up a graphics card or something, but with a mac you have to send it away, wait ages and pay through the nose just for the most basic of repairs.

Pro Tools just isn't as intuative as cubase by far. Although maybe I'd change my mind if I was hardware instead of software?

I think it's the other way around.

Protools is 10x the program that Cubase is...although there are certain things you'd use one for over another.

Admitedly I haven't used protool indepth but I guess people will always prefer what they're used to.

So why is it pro tools is 10x better? (not being snide, just curious)

Well for one, Protools allows you to to actually edit or arrange the waveform internally and view it in realtime, as opposed to Cubase's blocky loop-based sequencing. That alone accounts for 5x. Protools allows more compatibilitt with digital or analogue recording equipment, and is better suited for use with timecode, if you're doing anything with video. There are better DSPs available for Protools as well. If you've ever worked on a professional grade Protools workstation, you'd know what the differences are. Cubase is more for low-end consumer home studios. There have been consumer orineted Protools setups marketed in the last few years that are comparable to Cubase, but if you're going for professional grade stuff, a fully licensed getup with a Digi 16 I/O module and some sort of external recording console is the way to go.

The CubaseSX is used by many pro's in top studios but I guess I was comparing them in a home studio situation. Pro tools is not going to be available to everyone but I see your point

i use all hardware for making music, but for recording i use protools. it about the only software i use for music. i do use recycle for sampling and slicing on occasion.

recycle is a wicked program for samples and loops.

I still vote for the mac. It's just way too sexy for itself.

my housemate has his Mac with logic on hand for all the mastering etc....
But my PC gets used for all the sequencing etc. Mainly reason as i like just dragging n dropping sounds that i have imported from my A3000 yamaha sampler....
To be honest tho...I prefer hardware to CPUs..

Tis all about the synths