Best Production Software to start on

[mattburns]

cheers lads. I'm just having trouble getting into it. Perhaps i was being lazy and thinking that Ableton or Reason would be an easier road to go down. I hear of people using these other daws and they seem to be knockin out tracks in no time. I think it's maybe just a question of being more dedicated to it on my part.

Thanks for the advice all

[::BLM::]

Yep.... You have been making music for a year, give it time. I have been doing it for 10 years and I learn new things each day. You have to be in it for life...

[TechnoMusic]

Its not a DAW but I'm currently loving Native instruments Maschine, it gives you a very "hands on" way of producing beats and its a great sampler right out of the box.

[Phase Ghost]

I started on fruity loops and then moved on to Logic. What part of Logic are you having trouble with? There are sh!t tons of beginner Logic tutorials out there. Just google it.

[lem]

+1 sticking with Logic. I got it before summer, thinking that I would be producing great music all summer. Not the case... I used to get really pissed off that I couldn't do all the things that I did in cubase. I even considered switching to Ableton after seeing a mate use it.
Im glad I didn't! If you get another DAW you will quite possibly find that hard to learn aswell.
You are probably better off just sticking to one thing. There is everything you need to produce good music within logic. Don't get bogged down with third party plugins or anything yet. Just look on youtube. Follow the tutorials....and good luck!

[tone-def]

if you find logic boring and uninspiring then try something else.

i've gone from Logic > Reason > Logic > Pro Tools > mostly Reason with Pro Tools.

it doesn't matter what you use as long as you enjoy it and it works for you.

[Casanova808]

Have you considered using hardware instead?

I am not trying to start a flamewar, but you might find working with an MPC, a mixing board, an effects processor, and a simple stereo recorder a better way to get into making music.

I am not saying one is better than the other, just different.

I have a copy of Logic 9 and I have spent some time working with it, and I just keep going back to hardware. Logic has a million great features, but I find myself spinning my wheels with option paralysis when I use it. When sit with a drum machine, I spend 30 minutes writing a track. When I try to do the same thing in logic, I find myself spending 30 minutes choosing a sound and then EQ'ing and processing that sound.

That being said, the three main pieces of software I have used over the years are Fruityloops, Abelton, and Logic. I have also used Reason, and various flavors of Cubase over the last 15 years, and I think Logic and Abelton are the two best programs in terms of workflow.

I think the older versions of Ableton is more of a performance sequencer with DAW features added on. I found I could get songs done fairly quickly, but I was never entirely pleased with the results. For a DAW, Logic is the nicest one I have worked with. There is absolutely no reason why you couldn't make an entire record in Logic. If you are going to stay ITB, you might as well just suck it up and fight past the learning curve.

The other thing I am curious about is if you have any music experience outside of messing around with Logic and a controller?

If you don't have any musical background, you might seriously want to consider picking up a keyboard and learning to play it. It is a lot easier to understand and know when to use all these tools if you have some background in writing and playing music.

(I am just trying to give honest advice, no snark is intended)

[oblioblioblio]

i think the hardware method is beautiful. really inspiring.

but for me, i got a lot of good use out of a DAW when I was first starting out before I got sucked into the timeline and obsessive detail black hole.