What is the best music editor?

Best · Tue 16/09/2003 16:30:05

Can someone advise me a good and free music composer please?

Is there also non-midi one?

Thanks

Ishmael · Tue 16/09/2003 16:39:36

First of all: WRONG FORUM! Not AGS technical related. The moderators will sure move this... but there is the same thead up somewhere... I belive it was moved to the Chit Chat forum too...

And the best would be some Logic or WhaterverSoundStudio or something... NoteWorthy Composer is quite good for midis.

Best · Tue 16/09/2003 18:55:35

Thanks very much! And I heard theres gon be the Longest Journey 2!!!

Gregjazz · Tue 16/09/2003 22:38:01

A word of advice: stay away from anything Cubase. The interface is terrible.

A very good sequencer is Winjammer Pro. It's a couple of years old, but still very good.

Personally, I use Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.

loominous · Tue 16/09/2003 23:56:03

I d stay away from notationprograms such as Noteworthy composer n the likes unless you re writing for reallife ensembles. Traditional notewriting is ment to be interpreted by musicians and if you let your soundcard do it you re bound to come up with a lifeless result. In addition they re really timeconsuming to work with.

I m not familiar with freeware programs of the kind but I d recommend getting a pre-Sonar Cakewalk program such as Cakewalk 9. It s old by now so it ought to be cheap, and is, in my opinion, the best sequencerprogram out there if you re focusing on midi.

If you wanna avoid midi you could use trackerprograms such as Fasttracker.

Adamski · Wed 17/09/2003 00:14:27

QuoteA word of advice: stay away from anything Cubase. The interface is terrible.

Eek, that's not right at all, I find Cubase's interface productive and easy to use.

Of course, that may just be down to many years of conditioning.

Pessi · Wed 17/09/2003 13:40:08

I think the problem with Cubase is indeed the fact that it's really hard to get used to, but once you do... It's as fast as that huge an application can be.

Kind of like the same thing with Photoshop, except to a greater degree.

Minimi · Wed 17/09/2003 14:18:22

I'm a fruityloops diehard, and I can't think personally of anything better, though it's not freeware.

But i guess, for midi's you might be better of with cakewalk

DinghyDog · Wed 17/09/2003 14:24:27

if you're into more professional music, try Finale. It's amazing. Note by note entry on staves, but it's got so many little tricks to it...and you can make really professional sheet music. Heh.

But Cakewalk roxorz. I had a really old old version once. It was cool.

-DD

Moresco · Wed 17/09/2003 16:47:35

Heh, well I have Cakewalk SonorXL but never installed it. I currently like using Cakewalk Guitar Studio.

Well it works for me, one day I will install CSXL and review it.

Gregjazz · Wed 17/09/2003 22:38:04

You know, Finale is great, but it's meant for music notation and printing.

I used to use Fasttracker like six years ago. I recently tried to get it working again, and it is incompatible. A good, free windows-friendly tracker is MadTracker.

Ben · Wed 17/09/2003 22:49:16

Geof: You mignt want to try Skale Tracker.. It's only in beta right now, but it has an interface that's almost identical to Fast Tracker 2.

auhsor · Thu 18/09/2003 14:21:10

There's a Cakewalk Guitar Studio? I gotta check that out... I use Guitar pro, its good for tabbing guitars, funilly enough.

EldKatt · Thu 18/09/2003 17:54:58

If you like trackers, you might want to try Buzz. (http://www.buzzmachines)

It's a tracker, and a modular soft synth, sorta. Yay.

Meself, I use Sibelius (because real music notation makes so much more sense to me) and Cakewalk 9 for fiddly MIDIy stuff.

EDIT: And I do use Buzz at times for more experimental toying with noise that usually doesn't end up being good.

Gregjazz · Thu 18/09/2003 22:57:40

Try AXS v3.00. It's a free tracker/sampler/synthesizer. Heck, it can do anything!

Adamski · Thu 18/09/2003 23:23:13

* Dark Stalkey also activly endorses the use of Buzz. IT IS TEH BESYETS!1one

Moresco · Sat 20/09/2003 03:05:03

Quote from: Auhsor on Thu 18/09/2003 14:21:10
There's a Cakewalk Guitar Studio? I gotta check that out... I use Guitar pro, its good for tabbing guitars, funilly enough.

I think it's probably old. I'm not sure you can buy it anymore, but if you can it'll be on their webpage.

If you can't find it there, maybe look for an old review of it somewhere else.

Pau · Fri 10/10/2003 18:16:41

I'm using the free version of Tuareg2 http://www.brambos.com this has some extra functions deshabilited, but it's fully functional.
And Soundfoundry Acid Expresshttp://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com which is limited to export to WMA at 64kbps (which is not professiona quality but could be enough for an amateur graphic adventure).
I've also installed the AnvilStudio http://www.anvilstudio.com but I only used (at the moment) to open some midi files I downloaded, it seems a good program.

I think all the material (songs) that you make with these programs could be used (probabli only for non comercial use) but I'm nost sure as I didn't readed/understood completely their licences. If someone has more info don't hesitate to correct me.

InCreator · Sun 12/10/2003 08:45:29

Hmmm.. for everone who is not statisfied with MIDI but ain't able to use difficult trackers, such a MODplug Tracker or Impulse Tracker, I'd suggest Sound Club.
It's a 'piano roll'- type tracker and its strong super-user-friendly is the best I've ever seen. And It's small & free! Just get it... and I don't think you're going to be disappointed...Supports its own format (.sn2 but also MOD and S3M)

www.bluemoon.ee

I make all my music with that and later add advanced effects, such as reverb and chorus with MODplug.

EldKatt · Sun 12/10/2003 10:05:37

A word of advice for people who aren't familiar with any type of interface: Lots of people may tell you to stay away from trackers because they are hard to use. They aren't harder to use than the more encouraged piano roll, if you're not used to any of them. The reason some people recommend piano rolls is that they're familiar with them. I've used trackers since I was a kid, and I find them extremely easy to understand and use, whereas I really hate piano rolls. (For more serious MIDI work I use a combination Sibelius, which has traditional staff notation--with which I'm even more familiar than with trackers--and Cakewalk, which also has a less advanced version of the same type of notation.)

So if you're not used to piano rolls or trackers, I'd say learn the program that seems best in other respects. Of course, for non-MIDI work I recommend the half-tracker, half modular softsynth Buzz, which is just as powerful as any combination of hardware or software synths and effects, and fully modular, and completely free and with a very nice community (which also, and this is unique for a music application, tends to stick to a single place--#buzz on EFnet). http://www.buzzmachines.com is the place to get it, along with pretty much all of the so-called 'machines' (synths, samplers and effects) in existence. Yay. The interface might seem quite difficult at first, but it's highly worth the time it takes to get comfortable considering how powerful it is. In my opinion the only 'all-in-one' type music application that really is what it claims to be, or rather doesn't quite claim to be.

Well, that's enough advertising for one post.
Byeee.