Message 8/25
Date: 26-Nov-03 @ 07:51 PM -
RE: Total amateur! Help me setup!
Cubase is probably a bit more than you need.. Look, the best advice I can give you is to read, read, read. Read all the info on the net. It's gonna take a lot of time, but it's worth it in the end in that you'll not waste your time trying to learn things you don't need, or waste money buying things you don't need.
For now I would concentrate on software. Read all you can about the software that's available. There are many classes of software music applications. Something like Kontact or Pro-52 is a plug-in software synth, which require host sequencers to use. Fruity Loops and Acid are compositional tools that are fairly easy to work with for building songs out of loops or hosting plug-in synths. Stuff like Reason or Project-5 are kind of all-in-one sequencing and synth apps, a step up from Fruity and Acid. Sonar, Cubase, and Logic are big packages. They have features for doing things like recording guitar bands and the like.
You should read enough about all the stuff above until you can identify what kind of software a particular package is, how it fits into the picture, and whether or not you have a use for enough of the features it provides to know if you need it or not.
I'm not trying to turn you off like "You gotta know all this shit"! I'm trying to help you find the knowlege to make informed decisions so you don't waste money or give up trying because you bought something too complex.
-Craig
PS - If I were to take the extreme easy way and just recommend something to you, I would advise you to look at Project-5 or Reason.