Production software. Need help.

[Preach]

I use reason for my music production, and pretty much only that. I've attempted to sit down and learn how to operate fruityloops maybe four or five times, but every time i give up because i hate it. i hate the whole loop thing where you have to make loops. bah, i cant figure out how to make a long track. and some times fl adds like two bars at the end of my loop. the result is that i can never make a beat in that piece of shit program which i by the way would like to h4x and ruin forever.

undeniably, i need to broaden my specter though, so to speak. i've heard a great deal about garageband, and i guess it's worth trying. beforehand, any pointers or tips? is it any good at all? hymnz, in another thread you mentioned some other program for orchestral shit but i forgot the name. are either of them particularly hard to get into?

 

[Preach]

also, i have heard about a prog called kompakt, kontrakt, or something like that. i do think it was like a REALLY advanced synth. and supposedly a bitch to get into. is it even worth a shot?

lately i've been messing around with the subtractor in reason, creating my own basses and synths from pretty much scratch. although messing around with the oscilliators, envelope amp and filter is not exactly "creating" a synth per se. or well it is, but.. this kompakt or kontrakt thing is supposed to be far more advanced.

 

[Preach]

oh, and can anyone suggest any others? lol.

 

[Hymnz]

i think the program you are talking about is Reaktor. it is a very advanced program that lets you synthesize some mad stuff but has a steep learning curve. if you are only into hiphop production, i suggest you leave it alone because the very advanced programs simply have more filters and ways to modify the wave form and create 'evolving' sounds. hip hop is not about that. most rap productions are just plain sounds (though not plain in the sound quality and eliquence) that stay strong and maybe tweak a little during the course of its sonic presence.
FL producers support FL because they have not used Reason or anything else for that matter. They bring up 9th Wonder, who has had one big hit and many mediocre ones, and who has discarded FL from his arsenal in favour of bigger (and better) things now.
Reason is the most advanced self-contained production system.
I think you want to learn more programs and expand because you are getting tired of Reason's sounds. This happened to me. Yes, i know Reason has more refills than you can ever get, but there is something about working with Reason after a while that deters you from it. I cant put my finger on it...
I mentioned Garittan in an earlier post. Garittan makes one of the best orchestral libraries in the world, with option for real expression and superb sound that makes you think you are truly there in front of real violin players. The violin program requires kontakt 2 however, and thats about the only good thing Garittan makes. If you have thousands of dollars you can go for the best East West libraries. they are very nice and probably the best in the world.
For piano, GigaStudio has the best in the world. With the best edition you get GigaPiano 2 (i think its called that) and with the cheapest you get version 1 i think. i dont have this but have seen it at my guitar store and its fucking magnifico. i cant even explain it. every sound is recorded on 7 velocities in a world-class hall and it is recorded for like 30 seconds on EACH key. with samplers and synths, you get maybe half a second and then the rest is synthesized to represent the decay of a real piano, but never sounds close to this. i thought the Fantom x8 had a good piano (i dont have that either by the way, listened in store) but when the guy showed me this on the computer i was amazed.
anyway, i think its time for you to get into some hardware, it will be much more fun . get a workstation if you can afford it, and then you dont even need a fucking screen (not considering the workstation screen :thumb: )in front of you to make beats. the creativity will flow much better.
dont get garageband, reason kills it man. stick with it til you can afford hardware.

 

[Preach]

yeah that's some good advice. i am gonna get some hardware some time but with me going in the army in not a month, that's gonna be hard. its not really that im sick of reason that makes me want to expand, but yeah, most of the sounds that i have been able to even use as is or after i tweaked them, that actually sounded good, i have used. so all that's left is a bunch of shitty sounds that no matter what i use them for, doesn't come out tight. maybe that's my creativity proving short, or maybe it's because the sounds actually do suck for hiphop production. i just want more sounds, something i assume that other software sequencers/samplers might provide.

i'll look into some of those progs you mentioned. and yeah, reaktor is the one. i basically wanted to check it out because the subtractor doesn't create the sounds i want really. also, i wanted to mess around with sweeping pads and shit that you'll find in near every westcoast track.

 

[Hymnz]

yeah you will be able to create those, no problem.
if you want to get on another level though, buy a product from the Nord Modular series. the micromodular products just hook up to the PC as you cant really tweak sounds on the unit itself, but instead of 2 oscillators for the subtractor in Reason, you can have like 50 here, all with different filters and shit. you can create pads you have never heard before. its crazy. you can find some cheap ones on eBay sometimes (not the keyboard versions because they are expensive as fuck), then get yourself an interface.
good luck in the army, hopefully you wont need to serve outside Norway.