If you ever wanted some good sound programs ......

[GMF ™]

You have them here :

Finally, a software synth that's harder than hardware.
Software synths have been around for almost as long as the personal computer. But somehow, they’ve never really made the grade. Too demanding on computer resources. Too complex. Too limited. Indifferent sounding. Unplayable. Or simply not cool enough. But now, the first software synth to equal and surpass the power, glory and attitude of dedicated hardware has arrived. In fact, it’s a lot more than just a synth. It’s a complete music system.
The Age of Reason is finally here.


Analog synth, sampler, drum machine, ReCycle!-based loop player, mixer, effects, pattern sequencer, and more. As many of each as your computer can handle. Reason is an infinitely expandable MIDI studio on a CD-ROM, complete with its own realtime sequencer.

All the power of hardware, but without the hassle. Forget tripping on cables. Reason doesn’t need dusting. Picking up where you left off is as simple as turning the power on. When you save your work, your whole studio setup is stored along with your music. You can even include actual samples, loops and drum kits in the file, for easy web publishing or email distribution to other Reason users. For once, total recall is truly total.

And so is the sound. The audio quality is everything you would expect from the people behind ReCycle! and ReBirth. But more importantly, the instruments and effects are loaded with character and attitude. Reason will not just impress, but inspire you.

All the gear you need

Each unit in Reason’s virtual rack is edited from its own on-screen front panel. All the sliders, knobs, buttons and functions of the equivalent hardware are there. But more importantly, on several counts, Reason is better than hardware.

Need another piece of gear? Forget your overdraft and save yourself the bus fare to the music store. Choose what you need from the Create menu, and it appears in your rack, logically patched into the signal chain. If you ever wished you had eleven samplers, Reason is definitely for you.

Don’t like the routing? Press the Tab key, and the rack will turn over, revealing inputs, outputs, CV and Gate connections. Use the on-screen patch cords to set up complex routings and cross-device modulation patches. And if you run out of mixer channels, just create another mixer.

All the sounds you need. Reason ships with a large (500mb+) sound bank with all the sounds you need to get going. Hundreds of loops, drum kits and samples from e-LAB, hundreds of multisampled instruments from Dublab and hundreds of Synth patches will keep you busy for a while.


http://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/frame.html

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The stuff that techno dreams are made of. ReBirth 2.0.1 is nothing short of a stunningly accurate reproduction of the bare essentials of techno music making. Silver boxes, blinking LED's, a myriad of knobs - and a sound like nothing else on this planet.



click for larger view It's a well-known fact that the sounds of the TB-303, the TR-808 and the TR-909 - once combined - form the backbone in every techno musician's arsenal of sonic weaponry. Unfortunately, owning any of these machines still remains a dream for most of us. They stopped manufacturing those awkward, beautiful, great sounding boxes over fifteen years ago. The handful of these artifacts still in existence are collector's items and would cost you an arm and a leg.


Introduction - What is this thing?

ReBirth 2.0.1 is the software reincarnation of two analog bassline synths and two classic drum machines. We've also thrown in a digital delay, a quad-input distortion unit, a compressor and an analog filter emulation unit, the PCF (Pattern Controlled Filter). All the quirks and subtle qualities of analog, combined with the convenience of modern computers (a minimum of cables, integration with your sequencer software, complete front panel automation, real-time audio streaming and much more).

Does all this sound like a miracle? Here's how we did it: Instead of sampling the sound, we "sampled" the actual synth hardware. It was a question of analyzing the mysterious inner workings of the analog design, and then creating at mathematical model of it, incorporating practically every nuance. Then we converted this theoretical model into lightning fast computer code. So fast that it runs on the computer you already have. No customized cards, DSP chips or other expensive accessories are required.


http://www.propellerheads.se/product...one/frame.html
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ReCycle! is an audio processing tool for drum loops and grooves. It uses a technique called slicing to "atomize" the loops. Once a loop has been sliced, it is transmitted to your sampler and mapped to the keyboard. It can also be used in any REX-compatible software such as Reason or Steinberg Cubase VST.


Features

ReCycle! allows you to...

Make the tempo of any drum groove slave automatically to the tempo of the sequencer
Layer grooves that were originally recorded in different tempi
Quantize MIDI to audio, audio to MIDI and audio to audio
Groove quantize loops as fast and simple as with any MIDI recording
Send different sounds in the groove to different sampler outputs
Edit a drum groove as if it was programmed out of individual sounds
Remove and/or replace sounds without altering the feel
Transmit and receive samples from most popular samplers
Save ReCycled loops as SoundFonts or Mixman files
Want to hear what it sound like? Please go on the the Audio Samples. A more complete description of the ReCycle workflow can be found in the 'How to ReCycle' section.


http://www.propellerheads.se/product...cle/frame.html
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You are using software synths? You are using sequencer based hard disk recording? You want to use all the nice effects and mixer automation of your sequencer with your software synths? Until now, you couldn't do that. Introducing ReWire - the audio cable of the virtual studio.



Introduction – What is ReWire?

The idea for ReWire was born when Propellerhead Software and Steinberg Soft- & Hardware realized that a surprisingly important link was missing in the current concept of the software based music studio. Think about it; in order to connect a synthesizer to a mixer or recorder, you use a simple audio cable. How do you do the same in a software environment? The simple answer is: You can’t. Or at least, you couldn’t. With ReWire you can!

The ReWire Components
Generally, ReWire is a technology for transferring audio data between software applications – in real time - the software equivalent of a multi-channel audio cable. But it doesn’t end there. ReWire is built on three cornerstones:

- Realtime audio streaming between applications.
- Sample accurate synchronization
- Common transport functionality




The Functionality
A typical application supplying audio via ReWire would be a software synthesizer or a multimedia authoring application with audio output. Examples of an application receiving audio would be a software audio mixer, processor or recorder. The first two applications to implement ReWire were Propellerhead Software's ReBirth RB-338 and Steinberg Soft- & Hardware's Cubase VST. The ReWire enabled versions of these programs shipped in June 1998, and are hence used successfully in thousands of systems all over the world.

Audio Streaming
ReWire allows up to 64 channels of real-time audio to be transferred from one application to another. In the case of ReBirth and Cubase this allows you to separate practically all ReBirth instruments in VST. You can hence process instruments individually with effects, filters etc.

The audio in ReWire is of extremely high quality. The system can handle practically any sample rate and floating-point arithmetics provide extremely high bit resolution.

Sample Accurate Synchronization
ReWire handles all synchronization issues between the devices. Once the applications have detected each other (which happens automatically) they are in complete, sample accurate, glitch free sync. There are no settings to make and no parameters to worry about.

Common Transport Functionality
ReWire also provides common transport functionality for all ReWire applications in the system. This means that you can Play, Stop, Rewind etc. in any of the applications and they will all locate to the same position. Instantly and correctly. Again, there are no settings to worry about – it just works!

ReWire is Free Technology!
ReWire is a piece of technology that Propellerhead Software provides free of charge to software manufacturers all over the world. This is done in the faith that what is good for the industry as a whole is good for us as well.>

Anyone interested in creating a commercial ReWire application is welcome to apply, free of license fee barriers.

[Adam D]

Rewire is really only helpful for tying Rebirth, Reason, Recycle and Cubase up for MIDI syncing. Those are fairly expensive, but very good programs. I have rebirth and use it all the time (being a musician and all) but if you want REAL audio power, check out Reaktor. Reaktor is the god of softsynths.

[8r14n]

http://www.native-instruments.de/eng.../1_recent.html

Adam-
Reaktor. Is this what you are talking about? (You didn't include a URL) It's $500. Be aware v3 is slated to be released in April 2001.

.8r14n

[Adam D]

yeah, that's reaktor. sorry about not leaving a url, I was on my way out the door when I posted that. It's one hell of a program if you're super serious about making music. If people need background music or something like a beat let me know because I can always through something together.

[GMF ™]

Thanks for the link and info guys , will add it to the list

[GMF ™]

Sound Forge® 5.0 Homepage : http://www.soundforge.com

Sound Forge is Sonic Foundry's award-winning two-track digital audio editor. Sound Forge includes a powerful set of audio processes, tools, and effects for manipulating audio. This one-of-a-kind application is perfect for audio editing, audio recording, effects processing and media encoding. Combine Sound Forge with any Windows-compatible sound card to create, record, and edit audio files. The clean and familiar Windows interface makes editing a breeze. It also has built-in support for video and CD burning and can save to a number of audio and video file formats, including WAV, WMA, RM, AVI, and MP3.

Why Sound Forge?
Powerful editing features — Sound Forge provides a combination of over 35 audio effects and processes with more than 200 presets. It includes dozens of editing features including: Cut, Paste, Move, Delete, Mute, Reverse, Crossfade, Trim, Normalize, Fade, Pan, Resample, Enhance, Insert Silence, and more.

Amazing effects—Sound Forge includes 20 DirectX Audio Plug-Ins, including XFX™1, XFX™2, XFX™3, and Acoustic Mirror™, which can be used for acoustic simulation and microphone modeling. The entire arsenal of effects includes Amplitude Modulation, Chorus, Delay, Distortion, Flange, Gapper, Noise Gate, Pitch Bend, Reverb, Vibrato, Time Compression, Wave Hammer™ and more. Sound Forge also includes three Eqs—Graphic, Parametric, and Paragraphic and supports DirectX Plug-Ins from third party applications.

Support for many file formats—Sound Forge supports a wide range of audio formats, including 12 import formats and 17 export formats, such as WAV, Windows Media™ Audio, RealAudio® and MP3.

Cost value—Sound Forge includes more than $800 of free software, including XFX™1, XFX™2, XFX™3, Acoustic Mirror™, and Vegas® Audio LE*. Learn more about these products by clicking the hyperlinks above.

Ease of use—Sound Forge provides simple drag-and-drop operations and a customizable interface, allowing you to build projects the way you want. Sound Forge also supports standard Windows® keyboard commands and mouse shortcuts.

Protected work environment—Sound Forge includes auto crash recovery, which allows you to recover lost work after a power failure or system crash. Sound Forge also includes a powerful undo/redo history feature, which allows you to see your entire work history at a glance and undo unwanted edits.


Platform: Windows 98SE, ME, 2000











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More tools that are listed will be added soon . If you have info that should be in this thread , post it .
[Edited by GMF on 05-28-2002 at 01:56 PM]

[GMF ™]

The Third Generation
REAKTOR 3 is here! Building on the strengths of the award-winning REAKTOR 2.3, REAKTOR 3 brings modular sound design to a new paragon. REAKTOR 3 features a completely rewritten audio core, convenient interface enhancements, and loads of new modules.
http://www.native-instruments.de/eng...1_reaktor.html

Breaking New Ground
REAKTOR is a complete sound design studio with almost endless possibilities for producing and performing music. REAKTOR can be used as a synthesizer, sampler, effects processor, groovebox, and much more. High quality signal processing algorithms and the 32-bit floating point precision of REAKTOR's audio engine guarantee sound quality that meets the highest demands. The steadily growing REAKTOR libraries contain hundreds of different instruments with thousands of presets for a very wide range of sound generation and audio processing applications. All instruments can be modified freely, and even building own instruments from scratch is possible.


REAKTOR runs stand-alone or as a plug-in on Windows and Macintosh computers with minimal latency and very precise MIDI timing. Compatibility with the common interface standards on both platforms ensures that REAKTOR can be integrated seamlessly in almost any studio environment.

Customizable Device Pool
REAKTOR's Libraries are filled with useful and charismatic allround-synths, fascinating music machines and surprising effects which do not exist anywhere else. Hundreds of instruments of all kinds and thousands of presets are there - ready to be played. Since everything is modular in REAKTOR, the instruments can be modified and improved in any way. The arrangement and look of panel elements can be changed, for example, and oscillators, filters or sequencers can be swapped according to the user's ideas. New instruments can be made by copying parts of existing ones, by using the pre-made functional blocks in the huge Macro Library or by combining REAKTOR's basic building blocks, the modules. The user decides how far and deep he'd like to go.

Many users worldwide have already discovered these creative possibilities, and regularly contribute new and modified instruments to the library database on NI's web site.




THE REAKTOR PRINCIPLE:

Reaktor provides more than 200 basic modules which are the source material for creating any sound generator or effect-processor you can think of: Numerous "analog" and sampling oscillators, various filters and envelopes, shapers, delays, sequencers and much more. The user can interconnect all the modules freely in the structure window.

Macros are usedto encapsulate several modules (or other macros) and to structure circuits clearly. They also make it easy to re-use building blocks. Even beginners can soon create new virtual machines, thanks to comprehensive set of ready-made macros.

An instrument finallyconsists of macros and modules. It has its own MIDI parameters, program memory, and a separate panel window for the controllers. On the highest level of the REAKTOR hierarchy - which is called an ensemble - several instruments can be combined.


THE 3 REAKTOR LIBRARIES:

We deliver REAKTOR 3 with three extensive libraries which already comprise more than 300 instruments and effects:

NI-PREMIUM-LIBRARY: In this fine collection you will find instruments and sounds which have been developed for you by the world's best sound-designers.

NI-ESSENTIALS: Mature instruments created during REAKTOR's ongoing rise to fame , for creative work with synthesis methods, sequencer concepts and effect algorithms.

NI-USER-LIBRARY: All over the world ambitious users and computer music freaks are working with the REAKTOR SERIES. We want to make sure that you have access to all the different creations coming out of the user community, so we have gathered them in a special library.

Read more

[Edited by GmF on 10-08-2001 at 02:50 PM]

[GMF ™]

MJ Studio is a virtual mixing console for the digital dj. based upon cutting edge MP3-technologie MJ Studio offers all possibilities of professional dj equipment using MP3 and WAV files.
drag your songs into one of the two decks.
use functions like pitching, scratching, volume, 3 band equalizer, independently for each deck and in realtime.
match the speed of the tracks with a supporting BPM detector and mix your tracks with a cross fader on the fly.

the playlist supports the common functions like adding, deleting and moving songs.
MJ Studio will play the complete playlist without any gaps between the songs by using the "automix" function. Before the song hits the end it will be faded into the next one ... non stop fun.


Home page : http://www.d-lusion.com/products/mj/index.html
[Edited by GmF on 05-11-2001 at 04:46 AM]

[GMF ™]

"New" forum

http://www.futureproducers.com

Great place to learn about mixing and software .

[Pipper]

I wouldnt forget about Fruity Loops. With the new v.3 it has alot more to offer and for the average person just wanting to make simple loops and simple full songs its a good thing to use. Its fast and easy to learn. The sound quality maybe not as good but making quik and simple loops for flash or even ones own song for a cd its not that bad and the price is good. Its low enough for the averge person or even kid to buy and play with and its a good starting tool for beginers and even alot of profesional studios use it. Fruity Loops v.3 is good but if your serious about synth music and sampling then its not the programe to use. Just thought Id add in my two cents.

[GMF ™]

FruityLoops has always been a popular choice with desktop musicians; its intuitive interface and unrivalled parameter tweaking have earned it the reputation of being one of the best loop creation tools available. This was a reputation we found difficult to disagree with, and we duly awarded FruityLoops 2 our Ultimate Buy award in issue 18.

Just over a year later, the world of computer music has changed. Processor speeds have increased, brand new music technologies have emerged and it seems that complete virtual studios are the way forward. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before the folks at Image-Line took advantage of such advances and caught up with Reason and Orion. FruityLoops 3 looks to be one of the most radical free music software upgrades we've ever seen. The asking price for the full version has even dropped from $129 to $99.

Strangely familiar
The first thing you'll notice is that the FruityLoops interface has been completely revamped. There's a new toolbar, the Sample Browser can be resized, the pattern area is now referred to as the Step Sequencer, and most of the windows are independent and can be closed or opened with a click. And of course there's the introduction of the hugely anticipated Piano Roll feature.

The Piano Roll opens FruityLoops users to a whole range of musical possibilities that were absent up until now. You are no longer limited to entering notes with the mouse in the Keyboard Editor or playing riffs one pattern at a time with the MIDI keyboard. Now you can compose melodies of unlimited complexity and - most importantly - up to any length. This is an essential addition to the program and means FruityLoops has definitely entered the virtual studio premier league.

Another major feature is the support for VST instruments. To access a VST instrument simply insert a VST(I) Wrapper channel, locate the .dll of your virtual synth and off you go. We ran demos of Pro-5 and PPG Wave, as well as freeware synths such as Muon Atom, and the mda JX10, all without any mishaps, although some do work better than others. The JX10, for example, enables every parameter to be fully automated, but Pro-5 doesn't permit any automation. Also, there's no way to load the presets for the Muon Atom as FruityLoops doesn't recognise .fxb files. These are minor compatibility issues, however, and the only serious problem we encountered was with our test machine, which decided to take a long-term tea break when we tried to have six Pro-Fives on the go at once.

Not to be outdone by third-party software, FruityLoops 3 provides its own internal Generators to accompany the TS404. The 3xOsc is - not surprisingly - a three-oscillator synth, BeepMap creates unique sounds from images (.jpg and .bmp), and Plucked! is a plucked string generator.

Stings like a Wasp
There are also two demo synths for you to check out, Wasp and SimSynth. Wasp is a three-oscillator synth some of you might recognise from Orion. It has excellent programming potential and can be purchased for $30 (£20). SimSynth, which is now called SimSynth Live ($35/£24), has also undergone the FruityLoops 3 makeover. Both these generators behave exactly as a VST instrument would, but unlike some third-party synths, all parameters can be automated.

The effects have undergone something of an overhaul too. In case you didn't already know, FruityLoops has long provided its own effects while also supporting VST and DirectX plug-ins. Previously there were eight insert effects and one master effect channel available. This has now been expanded to a master insert channel, 16 individual insert channels, and an additional two sends, with each channel holding four plug-ins. Another nice touch is the ability to switch the effects channel your samples are sent to in real-time and have the changes automated.

There are also new FruityLoops effects: a flanger, a compressor, Pan-o-matic and a Notepad. The Notepad can be automated to change pages with your music, which should save you from searching for that beer mat you scribbled notes on late one night last week. As you would expect, the synths and effects are of a high standard and integrate effortlessly with FruityLoops.

Wot no MIDI?
If you have been using the MIDI channels in FruityLoops 2, you might be interested to know that this feature has been removed. All MIDI work must now be done through a MIDI output plug-in. This can be inserted into the step sequencer like any other generator. There are presets for the Sound Blaster Live!, which means you can access SoundFonts with ease and tweak parameters within FruityLoops. If you have previously been unable to use the sounds on your card because you don't own a MIDI keyboard, don't worry, you can use a QWERTY keyboard with FruityLoops 3.

The good news for DrumSynth users is that the DrumSynth renderer has been updated so it is compatible with version 2, and custom controls for DrumSynth presets have been added. Other improvements include events, which can now be created per pattern, the peak meter now shows clipping (it turns pink), and new filter types have been added to the instrument section. Oh, and there's a slick new manual.

Naturally, with all the new features added there is a price to be paid. If you've only just managed to avoid system overloads using previous versions, the chances are this latest upgrade is going to frazzle your processor. That's not to say FruityLoops 3 is a processor hog - far from it. Our test machine happily ran three reverbs, two delays, all the Fruity synths, two VST instruments and 10 sampler channels with barely a glitch, but to take full advantage of version 3 you do need a moderately powerful machine.

FruityLoops has always been excellent, but version 3 takes it to new heights - and thanks to a distribution deal with Cakewalk, you can now buy it off the shelf as well as over the internet. For $99 (£68) you get one of the best drum sequencers available with comprehensive sample mangling tools and effects, synths and a decent piano roll. Register now.

If you have previously been unable to use the sounds on your card because you don't own a MIDI keyboard, don't worry, you can use a QWERTY keyboard with FruityLoops 3

[B S T L A]

There`s also Cakewalk, SymSyth and Fruity Tracks .... but that`s not the point I want to make.

Among all these wonderful products is there one which has VOICES in the true sense of the word, either "sung" or "spoken". We should be able to construct complete sung sections and choruses from, say, a bank of voices which would pronounce any letter of the alphabet, all we would then have to do is mess around with the attack and delay etc and tweak the pitch to get virtualy any sung words we want. If it hasn`t been done yet this is surely to come! These drum loops are starting to grate and they`re getting a little monotonous....especially when there is obviously so much creativity around just bursting to ge used. When the sort of software I`m describing becomes available you`ll see a whole new breed of people using this music creation software ... intelligent poets, songwriters and singers ... and I`m afraid that a repeating little drum loop will be passe very quickly.

[cameronbrewer]

which is the best for starting on if you've got little experience?

cam.

[GMF ™]

I would say soundforge , very easy to learn.

[Mysty]

yeh, also fruityloops, cos there's plenty of guides dotted about everywhere for n00bies

....since this thread answers so many questions...***BUMP***

[Mysty]

thought this thread needed pushin up once more

GmF, fancy putting it on the announcements bit? :-)
or even a link to it lol

Si

[GMF ™]

Thanks for the pushup Will ask the webmaster about the announcement thing

[GMF ™]

top

[Mysty]

Originally posted by B S T L A
There`s also Cakewalk, SymSyth and Fruity Tracks .... but that`s not the point I want to make.

Among all these wonderful products is there one which has VOICES in the true sense of the word, either "sung" or "spoken". We should be able to construct complete sung sections and choruses from, say, a bank of voices which would pronounce any letter of the alphabet, all we would then have to do is mess around with the attack and delay etc and tweak the pitch to get virtualy any sung words we want. If it hasn`t been done yet this is surely to come! These drum loops are starting to grate and they`re getting a little monotonous....especially when there is obviously so much creativity around just bursting to ge used. When the sort of software I`m describing becomes available you`ll see a whole new breed of people using this music creation software ... intelligent poets, songwriters and singers ... and I`m afraid that a repeating little drum loop will be passe very quickly.

W.I.P

[Mysty]

^^BUMP^^