[Sherwood]

Man, not to double post, but i just spent a whole day playing with Reason and damn is it ever awesome.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're doing yourself a real disservice here. Every program has a vastly different interface, so in your attempts to get acclimated to making beats you might be locking yourself into a program. Each of them is like a foreign language, so it's best to just start learning the one you want to end up speaking, rather than going through a back door. I really can't recommend Reason 3.0 highly enough.

I use Reason too (version 1.0, yeah I know I need to update), but the guy asked for a program to "make beats," not produce multi-track recordings in a home studio.

You and I both know Reason isn't entry-level stuff, or cheap, or friendly on computers either - there's really no sense in recommending it to someone who's seeking something for a basic purpose.

Even my default recommendation for aspiring composers, FruityLoops, is probably more than the OP needs, but at least it's much more economical, and easier to use.

 

[Sherwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use Reason too (version 1.0, yeah I know I need to update), but the guy asked for a program to "make beats," not produce multi-track recordings in a home studio. You and I both know Reason isn't entry-level stuff, or cheap, or friendly on computers either - there's really no sense in recommending it to someone who's seeking something for a basic purpose. Even my default recommendation for aspiring composers, FruityLoops, is probably more than the OP needs, but at least it's much more economical, and easier to use.

Maybe so. Maybe I'm the guy who, when asked for a recommendation for a good first headphone, says "HD 650, and a good amp". Everything you said above is true. Reason is expensive, it devours memory, and it's not user friendly. I spent weeks getting to know it, and I'm not all the way comfortable with the mastering suite yet.

I just feel like I'm on a (misguided, self-aggrandizing, pompous) campaign to rid the world of bland beat making programs. Fruityloops beats just sound like fruityloops beats to me. Often, in the middle of making a beat, I think "Damn, this song needs a really stretched out sample of an electric can opener, phased and run through a vocoder with some tablas." If i were using Fruityloops, what would I do? Probably just make a boring beat instead.

So please, take what I say with a grain of salt here. I'm not even beginning to feign objectivity. I have a favorite, and I want you to spend tons of your money and use it. Or, to be fair, you can download a free demo and give it a shot. I personally find fruityloops limiting, perhaps because I never invested any time in it, and I like my music making to be unlimited.

But, just for you guys, I'm downloading fruityloops' trial and giving it a shot. I'll see if it's me or program that's limiting.

 

[sonick]

http://live.popforge.de/