Question for musicians who use computers

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

AndyRM

XOXO
Location
North Shields
Stagelight is cracking and cheap ~£10. FL Studio (basically a replacement for Fruity Loops) is even better but more expensive ~£100.

There's also the free LMMS.

When you say "controller", what do you mean?
 

Ciar

Veteran
Location
London
Mac's are far better at running anything music related than PC's, i have GB i have also produced various EP's using Ableton and i find the Mac just runs so much smoother when it comes to set up.

as for PC's via Steam you can purchase Sonar which is made by Cakewalk, but it depends what your son is after as this is a DAW which might be slightly more advanced, you also have Reaper and Ableton again at 11 years old it's a bit more indepth than GB is, also what is he looking to do with GB precisely?

as for Controllers do you mean a DJ style controller like the native instruments Kontrol, or a controller to make music with, if you it's the second one you have various types, Akai are a good brand http://akaipro.com/akai/ and so are Novation.
 
Does he play any instruments that he may be interested in recording?

If so check out the Presonus AudioBox itwo studio. Comes with USB interface, software for windows and Mac, bit more complex than garageband but more than capable for a long time, microphone, headphones, and cables.

As for USB Midi Controllers, that's not my bag so I can't help with that sorry.
 
[QUOTE 4603342, member: 45"]He's getting a Roland FP-30 for Christmas. He has a cheap Casio keyboard. We have Roland electronic drums. He's just done his grade 1 piano. The other boy plays guitar. I just want something simple really to get him into it and so that he can find out how interested he is, so I'm on a budget. They don't need a Mac for this level of experimenting.

By controller I mean a USB keyboard controller. I'm not sure whether the FP30 will do this.[/QUOTE]

Apparently the FP30 will connect to various devices with bluetooth. Do you have an ipad available? Bluetooth to iPad and using Garageband there may be an option if so?
 
[QUOTE 4603342, member: 45"]He's getting a Roland FP-30 for Christmas. He has a cheap Casio keyboard. We have Roland electronic drums. He's just done his grade 1 piano. The other boy plays guitar. I just want something simple really to get him into it and so that he can find out how interested he is, so I'm on a budget. They don't need a Mac for this level of experimenting.

By controller I mean a USB keyboard controller. I'm not sure whether the FP30 will do this.[/QUOTE]
piano+back+connectors.jpg

Appears there's a USB to computer output, as well as being able to save directly onto a USB stick.
 
Back when I was in school, I had cubase for recording piano. It was (then) pretty much the entry level recording package. Not sure how that has progressed over the years, but it may be worth a look.
 

Ciar

Veteran
Location
London
Back when I was in school, I had cubase for recording piano. It was (then) pretty much the entry level recording package. Not sure how that has progressed over the years, but it may be worth a look.

ooh i recorded my first house tracks in Qubase :smile: back on an Atari those were the days many moons ago!
 

Ciar

Veteran
Location
London
[QUOTE 4603342, member: 45"]He's getting a Roland FP-30 for Christmas. He has a cheap Casio keyboard. We have Roland electronic drums. He's just done his grade 1 piano. The other boy plays guitar. I just want something simple really to get him into it and so that he can find out how interested he is, so I'm on a budget. They don't need a Mac for this level of experimenting.

By controller I mean a USB keyboard controller. I'm not sure whether the FP30 will do this.[/QUOTE]

Looking at the spec on the Roland it seems midi compatible so that's easy enough, as he is already using GB and your looking for an alternative, this link seems to mention various software's for PC might be worth a look at.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-garageband-alternatives-music-production-windows/

i have only really used Ableton myself for the last 5 years and i like it's simplicity and you can record guitars and import backing tracking with ease, as i have tested it and it worked fine.

i have also recently been testing out a DAW called Reaper, which has a 60 day valuation period and there are plenty of videos on how to use it, maybe that's another option, as to buy it if he likes it, only £60 or something so cheap in comparison to other daw's.

if you looking for another controller to run alongside the Roland maybe look at the Akai http://www.akaipro.com/product/apc-key-25 this has pads pots and keys, going to buy myself one soon as i have been doing everything via the keyboard and i fancy something new :smile: i know these can be picked up for £70 quid or so from various places.
 
Top Bottom