Any Advice for Making Pony Music?

[Zach TheDane 234]

So I am an aspiring musician, and joining the fandom here has really given me an incentive to start creating my own music (pony related and otherwise).  Are there any musicians here who have advice on where to start, what programs are best for editing, etc?  I have a Yamaha DGX 640 for a lot of my instrumental composition, so keep that in mind if you would.  Thanks!

[Gay Bird 420]

That's one great keyboard you've got there! All you really need is a digital audio workstation (DAW). On the low end, there's FL studio and mixcraft. I don't really like fl studio but that's just my opinion. Sometimes mixcraft crashes when you're trying to start it up but it usually isn't a problem. I find I can get some very good results with it. Ableton live, avid pro tools, and apple's logic pro are some good higher end Daws that are more expensive, but more reliable and fully featured. For the rock style music that I do, I find mixcraft to be perfect. For electronic music though, it would be best to go for Ableton. There are a lot more Daws out there, I'm just telling you about the ones I'm familiar with. Get to know your daw, whichever one you choose, and be patient with with your first songs.

[Zach TheDane 234]

That's one great keyboard you've got there! All you really need is a digital audio workstation (DAW). On the low end, there's FL studio and mixcraft. I don't really like fl studio but that's just my opinion. Sometimes mixcraft crashes when you're trying to start it up but it usually isn't a problem. I find I can get some very good results with it. Ableton live, avid pro tools, and apple's logic pro are some good higher end Daws that are more expensive, but more reliable and fully featured. For the rock style music that I do, I find mixcraft to be perfect. For electronic music though, it would be best to go for Ableton. There are a lot more Daws out there, I'm just telling you about the ones I'm familiar with. Get to know your daw, whichever one you choose, and be patient with with your first songs.

Thanks, this is REALLY helpful!  I'm kinda going into this blind, seeing as I'm used to doing all my music on basic, non-electronic instruments.   Personally, I'm probably going to lean more towards rock and orchestral, maybe some ballad type stuff.  What's the best way to do vocal work? Do you know of any good mics and such for that?  

 

All I know is I'm ready to throw Audacity out the window... *shudder*

[Gay Bird 420]

Ok if you want to get a good mic, first ask yourself this; will I be recording electric guitar and bass? Will I be recording anything else that uses XLR or 1/4 inch cable? If so, I highly recommend an audio interface. This lovely little device will plug right in to your usb port and basically replace your sound card. Most audio interfaces have 2 XLR and 1/4 inch jacks in the front to plug in your stuff without the noise you get from adapters and also outputs much better sound quality than your sound card. If you can't afford one, then you can just get a usb mic, But if you can then get an XLR one. As for the microphone, you want a condenser that can be mounted on a shock mount and with a pop filter. Your price range should be around 100 for real quality mics but you can go as high as you want. If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to ask, I'm not going anywhere.

[Zach TheDane 234]

Ok if you want to get a good mic, first ask yourself this; will I be recording electric guitar and bass? Will I be recording anything else that uses XLR or 1/4 inch cable? If so, I highly recommend an audio interface. This lovely little device will plug right in to your usb port and basically replace your sound card. Most audio interfaces have 2 XLR and 1/4 inch jacks in the front to plug in your stuff without the noise you get from adapters and also outputs much better sound quality than your sound card. If you can't afford one, then you can just get a usb mic, But if you can then get an XLR one. As for the microphone, you want a condenser that can be mounted on a shock mount and with a pop filter. Your price range should be around 100 for real quality mics but you can go as high as you want. If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to ask, I'm not going anywhere.

So let me get this straight:

I am indeed recording guitar, so I'm going to need an XLR audio interface.

I will need a condenser mic too, and herein lie the questions.  Do I need both the shock mount and the pop filter, or are they optional?  Secondly, what brands do you recommend? I found a few on Amazon that have great reviews, but I'd like firsthand advice more.

 

Oh, another thing: is mixcraft paid? they have a download link, but it looks like it may be a trial version.  

Edited April 22, 2013 by Zach TheDane

[Gay Bird 420]

You don't absolutely need an audio interface, but they are very useful and I recommend it. You could always use an adapter to plug it in to your microphone jack which you can get for cheap, but not all of them are very good.

The shock mount and pop filter aren't required, but can help get better sound from your mic. The pop filter is a mesh that goes right in front of the mic that eliminates the harsh wind noise from your p's t's and s's. The shock mount keeps the mic suspended on rubberbands to eliminate any noise from the floor or stand vibrating.

Good brands for condensers are MXL, Audio-Technica, and blue. Rode also makes great microphones, but I haven't used one of their condensers yet.

 

Your local music store (sam ash, guitar center, ect) will have all these things and people there to help you out.

[DusK 1,264]

Big post incoming.

 

1. Learn music production. This is not something that can be skipped. Music is both a science and an art. Don't skip the science. I posted some guides last month covering a wide range of musical styles, and I'll be adding as I go. Give some of those a read, especially if they pertain to the style(s) of music you're looking to do. There are way too many brony musicians who grab a DAW and mix terribly, stick some pony samples in it, then put out their badly produced music to the Internet expecting boundless praise. Don't be one of those people.

 

2. Try before you buy. Anyone who tells you "FL Studio is just for electronica" or "Pro Tools is just for recorded music" doesn't know what they're talking about. The differences between commercial full-featured DAWs are mostly found in workflow. Give the trials a shot, and decide for yourself which DAW fits your workflow. Some DAWs have specific perks that may sweeten the deal for you, and some may have hindrances. Learn your DAWs carefully before you decide, because it's a big investment. And speaking of big investments...

 

3. Don't pirate. I know a lot of musicians break this rule. I used to break this rule myself. But as you grow in notoriety and skill, piracy becomes riskier. At any point in time, if a software developer finds out you've been using one of their products to make your music, they can ask you for your licensing information. If you made your music with pirated software, they can sue for damages even if you released your music for free. Don't take the risk. I know some libraries and stuff are expensive, but any serious musician would bite the bullet and shell out.

 

To address some of your specific questions:

 

I definitely recommend a USB audio interface, but make sure you're running at least USB 2.0. Some older musicians are still stuck in their ways, reminiscent of the days when PCI audio cards were the way to go due to their decreased latency, but that hasn't been an issue since USB 2.0, so don't pay them any heed when they say "internal or nothin'". USB 3.0's even faster, and I'm sure that USB interfaces that make use of it are well on their way. My personal recommendation is to go with something in the TonePort/POD Studio families of Line 6 products. Solid, reliable, and they get great amp sim tones with their included software.I myself use a POD Studio UX1. M Audio makes some great USB interfaces as well from what I've heard.

 

As far as mic choices, unless you're capable of effectively treating your sound environment either DIY or through more commercial means, a dynamic mic will do. The Shure SM 57's a studio powerhouse; you can record anything with it and it'll turn out fantastic even without bothering with sound treatment (though it's still better to at least get yourself a cheap reflection shield or something). Condenser mics sound better, but only in the right environment; without the right sound treated environment, they'll end up sounding terrible.

 

For orchestral, be sure to give that orchestral guide in the thread I just posted a careful read. Orchestral's extremely hard to do digitally, and if you don't take careful consideration of all the nuances that make orchestral music so organic, your tracks are gonna sound like rips from an SNES game. Look into some commercial VSTs for orchestral as well, because although Squifont's great, it'll only get you so far. East West Symphonic is a popular (albeit expensive) choice. My personal favorite is Miroslav Philharmonik; kinda hard to beat its value per dollar.

Edited April 22, 2013 by DusK

[Zach TheDane 234]

Big post incoming.

 

1. Learn music production. This is not something that can be skipped. Music is both a science and an art. Don't skip the science. I posted some guides last month covering a wide range of musical styles, and I'll be adding as I go. Give some of those a read, especially if they pertain to the style(s) of music you're looking to do. There are way too many brony musicians who grab a DAW and mix terribly, stick some pony samples in it, then put out their badly produced music to the Internet expecting boundless praise. Don't be one of those people.

 

2. Try before you buy. Anyone who tells you "FL Studio is just for electronica" or "Pro Tools is just for recorded music" doesn't know what they're talking about. The differences between commercial full-featured DAWs are mostly found in workflow. Give the trials a shot, and decide for yourself which DAW fits your workflow. Some DAWs have specific perks that may sweeten the deal for you, and some may have hindrances. Learn your DAWs carefully before you decide, because it's a big investment. And speaking of big investments...

 

3. Don't pirate. I know a lot of musicians break this rule. I used to break this rule myself. But as you grow in notoriety and skill, piracy becomes riskier. At any point in time, if a software developer finds out you've been using one of their products to make your music, they can ask you for your licensing information. If you made your music with pirated software, they can sue for damages even if you released your music for free. Don't take the risk. I know some libraries and stuff are expensive, but any serious musician would bite the bullet and shell out.

 

To address some of your specific questions:

 

I definitely recommend a USB audio interface, but make sure you're running at least USB 2.0. Some older musicians are still stuck in their ways, reminiscent of the days when PCI audio cards were the way to go due to their decreased latency, but that hasn't been an issue since USB 2.0, so don't pay them any heed when they say "internal or nothin'". USB 3.0's even faster, and I'm sure that USB interfaces that make use of it are well on their way. My personal recommendation is to go with something in the TonePort/POD Studio families of Line 6 products. Solid, reliable, and they get great amp sim tones with their included software.I myself use a POD Studio UX1. M Audio makes some great USB interfaces as well from what I've heard.

 

As far as mic choices, unless you're capable of effectively treating your sound environment either DIY or through more commercial means, a dynamic mic will do. The Shure SM 57's a studio powerhouse; you can record anything with it and it'll turn out fantastic even without bothering with sound treatment (though it's still better to at least get yourself a cheap reflection shield or something). Condenser mics sound better, but only in the right environment; without the right sound treated environment, they'll end up sounding terrible.

 

For orchestral, be sure to give that orchestral guide in the thread I just posted a careful read. Orchestral's extremely hard to do digitally, and if you don't take careful consideration of all the nuances that make orchestral music so organic, your tracks are gonna sound like rips from an SNES game. Look into some commercial VSTs for orchestral as well, because although Squifont's great, it'll only get you so far. East West Symphonic is a popular (albeit expensive) choice. My personal favorite is Miroslav Philharmonik; kinda hard to beat its value per dollar.

Um, wow. Thanks.  This is waaaay more intimidating than I would have liked, but it's about what I expected.  I'll be sure to check out some of  your guides, seeing as I was looking for them anyway!  Like I said, the whole recording aspect is a new thing to me; I'm so used to using raw instruments, the science is going to be hard to learn.  But I must be diligent!

 

 

 

I myself use a POD Studio UX1.

So I found this interface online, and it looks good, but here's my question: I also found a Behringer UCA202 for a lot cheaper.  This also seems to be a good interface, but I don't see a difference between the two, save for the better features of the POD Studio.  Can I get by with a cheaper one, or is it necessary to go expensive?

[DusK 1,264]

So I found this interface online, and it looks good, but here's my question: I also found a Behringer UCA202 for a lot cheaper.  This also seems to be a good interface, but I don't see a difference between the two, save for the better features of the POD Studio.  Can I get by with a cheaper one, or is it necessary to go expensive?

 

A Behringer UCA202 is definitely not what you're looking for. All of its inputs are RCA; no 1/4 jacks, and just as importantly, no XLR jacks. It's built for sound enhancement of existing systems and recording from or outputting to devices that use RCA cables, like DJ setups and whatnot. It's not made for tracking music.

Edited April 23, 2013 by DusK