Cubase

[tiedye]

so my buddy hooked me up with a free copy of cubase. it came with his X-Fi soundcard. anyone know where I can find some good in-depth tutorials? or have any Cubase-related advice for someone just starting out in the production game?

and more importantly, can you create beats, synth riffs, and basslines with cubase?

[esoter1c]

Originally Posted by tiedye

so my buddy hooked me up with a free copy of cubase. it came with his X-Fi soundcard. anyone know where I can find some good in-depth tutorials? or have any Cubase-related advice for someone just starting out in the production game?

Master reason b4 cubase.

Cubase is a fuckin bitch.

[tiedye]

Originally Posted by 3507321C

Master reason b4 cubase.

Cubase is a fuckin bitch.

got a free copy of reason I can scoop then? I'm on a budget

[project.one]

I may have an older copy of reason I think on a disc. IF i can find it! Come get it haha!

Talk to VanTek, hes pretty solid with the cubase! Kinda a dweeb though! lol

(edit add: tiedye, when are we gunna chill again? grab some wendys and your welcome to come pick my music files and beat samples! I knwo you said you wanted to when I got the compter working again!!!!)

[sh4un]

dont master reason 1rst
its a waste of time
if u want a novice program @least use FLStudio or even Ableton Live isnt 2 hard

reason is just ghetto it wont teach u much its far 2 limited.
i have the 1rst 3/4 ask cubase tutorial DVD's and a PDF course

[tiedye]

Originally Posted by projectone

(edit add: tiedye, when are we gunna chill again? grab some wendys and your welcome to come pick my music files and beat samples! I knwo you said you wanted to when I got the compter working again!!!!)

sounds good man. As soon as I don't live 22+ hours of solid driving away from you, we'll grab some grub and make sweet sweet computer-generated music. I'll be back in the mainland at the end of summer, I'm hoping.



anyways, basically I'm not interested in novice programs, or really care if something will be easier to learn. I've got Cubase, and since I didn't pay for it, that's just money I can spend on plug-ins, sample packs, and even more software once I get the hang of producing. Plus I'll enjoy and benefit more from a challenge than I will from taking the easy road!

That being said, where is the best (and cheapest) site to purchase sample packs and other sound packs for Cubase?

[scue]

Originally Posted by sh4un

dont master reason 1rst
its a waste of time
if u want a novice program @least use FLStudio or even Ableton Live isnt 2 hard

reason is just ghetto it wont teach u much its far 2 limited.

care to expand? are you talkin v2 or what?

I don't know what sort of music you're speaking of making but that does not make sense from my view.

Reason is pretty in depth when it comes to simulating real equipment and i've learned alot more about sequencing using this than trying to bugger around with FruityBloodOverdrive, FruitySqueeze and FruitySp.. ah you get it.

Reason can also re-wire with alot of the other technologies out there too so it wouldn't hurt

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by sh4un

reason is just ghetto it wont teach u much its far 2 limited.
i have the 1rst 3/4 ask cubase tutorial DVD's and a PDF course

WOW!!!! i have a hard time agreeing with that. im with scue. you must eloaborate.

[Hero.Skye]

dude, if u want to learn cubase, dont start off with something like reason/fruity loops, eventually ur going to move onto cubase anyway. www.futureproducers.com is pretty good for tutorials and such.

have fun with it.

[project.one]

Not everyone is the same with programs though!

[sh4un]

the reason i hate reason so much lol
is the lack of vst support
yes FL's builtin plugins suck heh but the fact is u can use vst's
reason just looks user friendly... but in reality 2 do more technical things it only makes life harder in the end with its shit interface.

but yah u can rewire reason... but whats the point lol. just use more cpu? wen u can do it all in the other program of choice heh

seems useless

[Goodfellow]

Yeah I dno why you people would tell him to master another program, THEN move onto Cubase?!?! I don't find cubase all that hard to use. To start I just kept asking people questions until I got the gist, then been playin around ever since.

It would be a waste of time IMO Why learn another program, then have to throw all that out and learn cubase?

Anyway, you don't really have to spend any money.. just start by downloading VST instruments for it like , Junglist, absynth 2, etc.. theres a bunch just search for them

then download some plugins (I like ohm's force for drums and waves for morphing shit)

then learn how to use the mixer, its pretty easy.. play around with all the different FX's it has and trip out your samples.

[(val)Liam]

Originally Posted by sh4un

the reason i hate reason so much lol
is the lack of vst support
yes FL's builtin plugins suck heh but the fact is u can use vst's
reason just looks user friendly... but in reality 2 do more technical things it only makes life harder in the end with its shit interface.

but yah u can rewire reason... but whats the point lol. just use more cpu? wen u can do it all in the other program of choice heh

seems useless

the lack of vst support is what makes reason such a good program to learn on because you aren't bogged down with trying to learn several different 3rd party programs at once... learning on reason gives you a lot more focus on the learning curves of producing because you only have to deal with the devices they give you, which gives you a much quicker idea of the functions and processes of producing than trying to learn so many programs at once, because essentially cubase isn't much at all without all the vsts running through it... and with that said reason, being a closed off studio, is a much more efficient, reliable, and stable program... and with reason v3, with its combinator and new mastering suite, it'll offer a lot more to learn now than v2.5 and with some very good quality patches and samples... and yes, you'll probably move into cubase eventually but reason is very good as a rewire program and through the gambit of vsts I've acquired there are still things I do that I look to reason for... and thats only going to be improved by some of the new features on v3...

but take note as well that its a producing program and offers very little as far as actual audio editing is concerned... also, if you're going to start out with a program, ableton live is on the rise (which offers vst support and better audio editting capibilities) and thats something really good to start with because learning on that system first trains you for non-linear production, which will be a really good idea if you plan on doing live shows... and if you want to can also rewire that into cubase as well :P

but if what I said doesn't really mean anything, check out Reaktor 5 when you get cubase... loads of stuff with that program that fit for almost any occassion...

Reason is ok to start out with.. especially if you're just fucking around and have a really slow computer. Like valium said, because it doesn't support VST's, the built in instruments and fx are very cpu friendly. Reason does have a sampler, so if your music is mostly sample-based you're in the clear. Synthesis is alright but gets boring and can have a generic "Reason" sound to it. It has a fairly decent set of mastering tools as of v3 for the post production side of things.

Once you move to cubase, it opens so many doors however.. So many synths, processing vsts etc etc. It really improves your sound a lot. It also has really good support for audio... + has a really sweet midi sequencing interface. One of the downsides to cubase + vsts is that they hog a lot of system resources. You're going to find your self constantly bouncing down to wave and reimporting. It kind of gets in the way of creativity.

There is nothing wrong with starting out on reason IMO.. It only took me about 2 weeks to move to cubase from reason and get comfortable. Reason teaches you a lot of the background theory related to sampling, synthesis, basic effects, song structure and mastering.. but if you really want to start pushing the envelope, cubase is a must.

Edit:

Valium mentioned Reaktor 5 in his post. this is one crazy synth!! you program your own synths and fx from scratch. It's amazingly powerful! apparently the programmers at Native Instruments always create all of their VSTs in Reaktor as a proof of concept before coding them from scratch. The possibilities are endless with Reaktor

[tiedye]

thanks guys. I'm getting the hang of it more and more every day. Starting out with a groovin' breaks track, and then I'll give some dnb a shot.

much appreciated!

[Code]

Cubase.net

watch your questions as you can get alot of "RTFM" and "what color is your dongle?" answers, but it has lots of good reading

Originally Posted by tiedye

thanks guys. I'm getting the hang of it more and more every day. Starting out with a groovin' breaks track, and then I'll give some dnb a shot.

much appreciated!

When you decide to move on to D'n'b here are some suggestions:

Get yourself a "breaks" pack. The term "breaks" refers to little 1 or 2 bar drum riffs in either rex (recycle) or wav form. Don't worry if they're slow breaks, with recycle you can speed em up to dnbish tempos.

Recommended dnb software:

- Recycle (Used for slicing beats)

Recommended dnb VSTi's (instruments):

- Kontakt (software sampler)
- A flexible synth. The following are quite popular amongst dnb producers:
- z3ta
- Albino 1,2
- Novation vStation

Recommended vst effects:

- The Waves Diamond Bundle (contains EQ's, analyzers, spreaders, limiters)
- OtiumFX Compadre Compressor (my favorite)
- PSP Vintage Warmer (can really dirty stuff up)
- BBE Sonic Maximizer (brightens stuff up)
- Classic Reverb, Phaser, Flanger, etc (all freeware)
- The built in cubase distortion plugs are pretty sweet IMO

That should be enuff to get you started.

[jprime]

Originally Posted by sh4un

dont master reason 1rst
its a waste of time
if u want a novice program @least use FLStudio or even Ableton Live isnt 2 hard

reason is just ghetto it wont teach u much its far 2 limited.
i have the 1rst 3/4 ask cubase tutorial DVD's and a PDF course

Reason 3.0 rocks. Rewire Cubase and Reason.

[mikefasssy]

yea i was gonna say, just rewire reason from cubase if you really want. i prefer cubase for anumber of reasons, mainly because im a very visual person, so having the ability to look at each individual sample AS IT IS not a blip or box you drag is very handy for me. also for the vst support. mind boggling the neat lil things you can find. check out www.kvraudio.com for endless free vsts.

id also suggest buzz (http://www.buzzmachines.com )if you areon a budget, its free. kind of like reason in that you can't use vst's, but they do have apps that let you write your own machines, so there are a large number and variety of them out there. its slightly strange though, but can churn out some amazing sounds.

[P.A.R.T.Y]

Big thumbs up to CUBASE. It is very user friendly and I consider it a very worthwhile tool. The interface is exceptional, it's programming has been around for over 15 years! It is so important to learn to use the hot keys!!!
Reason doesn't even compare. The algorhythms in Reason are inferior, the fx are inferior, and the sequencer is crap.
VST or RECRAP?
OK, I've written a couple nice sounding Reason tracks, but don't think they are the masterpeices I've created in Cubase, they are not.
Reason looks great, nice!and pretty, tab buttom takes you around to the back, sequencer is fully automated per quarter beat.
CUBASE SX IS MY GOD!
Cubase is so beautiful, so true. I can say no more, read the manual until memorized and write some wicked trax. SUPERSTAR!

[jprime]

Originally Posted by P.A.R.T.Y

OK, I've written a couple nice sounding Reason tracks, but don't think they are the masterpeices I've created in Cubase, they are not.

Hey bro, to each his own :) I just started in with Cubase, so I am excited to learn how the two will operate together since I am super familiar with reason already.

[P.A.R.T.Y]

That's fine, live in the dark.
MUX! Yeh, I was lookin at the planeterium set on your profile. It was a great show and the breakdowns and drum patterns were awesome.
I have a suggestion; I thought you might like to play a little melody during a breakdown with the Polysix. It would be such a great contrast and bring a new element to the table. You know the Polysix is very newwave sounding a la Tell Me Why, so it's not a bad idea?

[jprime]

Originally Posted by P.A.R.T.Y

That's fine, live in the dark.

Getting into cubase is living in the dark?

[jprime]

This guy has been putting out some cool stuff using just Reason.

http://www.myspace.com/thabisnit

[project.one]

I just realized. When you move in with me, we can hook the comps up togeather! Uber Programs ;)