Noob Needs Some Software Help Options

[rygelxvi]

I need some good sounds for my software sequencer, mostly drum sounds but others would be nice too. I've heard battery is good but unfortunatly not OSX compatible yet. I'm new to music software so any help would be great. I'm currently using DP4 on an iMac G4 running the latest version of OSX jag. Also could you explain in detail what a sampler does and what its used for. Thanks.

[rickenbacker]

What software sequencer? You could buy Reason and get tons of very cool sounds. Then you can expand it exponentially (woah!) by buying lots of REX format sample CDs - lots of drum CDs from AMG, for instance (www.samples4.com, I think).

For quick, cheap drums, take a look at Doggiebox - www.zygoat.ca/products/

[rygelxvi]

I'm using DP4

[rickenbacker]

Isn't there a new sampler for DP4? Mach 5 or something? Maybe look into that.

As for how samplers work, I'm not too up on that sort of thing, but basically it allows you to capture or import an audio file and then monkey around with it - chop it up, loop it in every direction, apply FX and filters to it, shift the pitch, adjust the tempo, tweak the EQ and generally render it unrecognisable if that's what you want. It all depends what features a particular sampler has.

I don't know if Phatmatik Pro 1.1 works with DP4, but that's a pretty good tool for tempo-matching samples and applying FX etc. You also get lots of free loops with it, so it would get you started.

Does anyone have an opinion on Doggiebox? I'm a PC user who's possibly looking to switch to Mac for recording purposes, and that prog looks to be an inexpensive way to create drum tracks (exactly what I'm looking for). It seems like it's still coming off the ground; is it buggy or does it work nicely?

[rickenbacker]

Doggiebox is great for knocking up quick, simple drum beats. There is also a very helpful community around it - join the e-mail list for a flavour of what goes round.

The developer, Ben Kennedy, is a really cool guy who is happy to ask users what features they want and then try and include them. The program is expanding all the time.

I have a copy of the program, as well as plenty of other, considerably more expensive, drum software programs and I still like Doggiebox for some uses.

Definitely give it a try.

[Oybunny]

Jumping in here...

Rickenbacker, would you mind naming a couple of these other drum programs you use and which ones you prefer and/or use the most...

Thanks!!
D.

[rickenbacker]

Well, it's not specifically drum software alone, but I generally use Reason and a shelf-load of REX and ReFill CDs for putting together my beats. I like Dr.REX for dropping ready-made REX files into and Re:Drum for creating my own from scratch.

I also use Phatmatik Pro for rearranging loops from other sources. And programs like Peak, Live and soft synths like VirSyn TERA all have drum samples in there, which I use from time to time. Doggiebox is the only pure drums app I have.

I suppose I use Reason the most, but if I had the EXS24 in Logic, I'd probably be using that. Battery is very cool but it's not in OS X yet (the LM-7 drum machine that comes with Cubase SX is a very basic take on the same concept).

So my advice, on balance, would be if you want easy drum-programming with access to thousands of samples, get Reason and a few ReFill CDs.

Hope that helps.

[xingu]

FYI, the Battery OSX update was released sometime in November...
more here

[rickenbacker]

As Prince sang in U Got The Look, I stand corrected.