For those just starting out and are wanting to know which software the current producers use then I will offer some information on the top 3 here for you to make your mind up on which software to go for  as no doubt a lot of your friends or contacts have regularly mentioned some names like Ableton, Logic and Fruity loops and your brain simply can’t take it after those heavy weekend after party sessions.

Simply put, if your serious about getting into music production then learning your tools is the only way to go. Sitting down and learning one sequencer software package is the best thing you can do. Just because certain producers use a number of different ones doesn’t mean you have to learn them all. My advice would be to choose one that is right for you then:

• Read the manual
• Visit YouTube for tips and tricks on the software
• Buy a DVD tutorial for it – Check here
• Buy Computer Music & Future Music for the Video’s & techniques on the DVD’s
• Visit this website of course

Now from the contacts I have in the industry and regular social networking there are three main software packages producers seem to use in their studio’s.  Some use a combination of them with extra plugins and virtual instruments (VST’s/AU) and some simply swear by just using the provided instruments you get within them.

There are other packages out there such as Pro Tools, Reason or Sonar and Cubase but the three chosen are the ones that have stood out for more Dance, Hip Hop and Electronica types of music that most DJs making the crossover want to produce. The other packages are more for recording artists such as Singers, Bands and people that require live instruments to be recorded into arrange. For DJs we simply want to produce the grooves, the basslines, the drums and the catchy synthy hooks or floaty pads and these 3 packages do that at the highest quality.

I will let you read on, contemplate and hopefully help you decide on which may be suitable for yourself. Just because your favourite producer is using one piece of software doesn’t necessarily mean you should…

Ableton Live 8 / Ableton Live Suite 8

- Order from us at Soundware -

Ableton is a word that has been banded about all over the world wide web for a while now and is increasing in popularity at a huge rate. A lot of well known producers in the dance music industry have adopted this software and converted from other software such as Logic etc. Of course Ableton is not the software title, Ableton is of course the manufacture name and ‘Live’ is the software they produce. But if chatting to other producers out there and you ask them what software they use and they own ‘Live’ they will probably say ‘Ableton’, or as a few people have asked – to buy a copy of  ‘Appleton’ which is always a chuckle.

Ableton is special to me because it’s one of the only sequencers i can use both in the studio and live on the stage, which is a major plus when it comes to cross compatibility between my Mac and PC setups. I never felt more comfortable experimenting live on stage with such an application, even triggering my visual system from Live!…Deadmau5

Live comes in two flavours – Live 8 and Live Suite 8.  Obviously both at different prices and the ‘Suite’ version being the more expensive of the two. This is because the ‘Suite’ version contains all the extra Ableton instruments such as Sampler, Operator, Collision, Electric, Tension, Analog, Session Drums, Drum Machines etc.  The normal version of Live only comes with Simpler and Impulse instruments which are just a simple sampler and an easy Drum Machine.  The instruments in the Suite version are all virtual synths, professional samplers and extensive drum machines.

Of course you can purchase additional virtual instruments and effects to use in either version like the Rob Papen series or Native Instruments plugins. But these come at an extra cost so if you are not looking for extra specific sounds and additional virtual instruments and you just want an all-in-one package that offers a lot of different instruments and sounds then the Suite version would be for you.

Live is without doubt the current favourite I would have to think and is ever growing in popularity with its hugely time saving features of the session view and warping features.  Most software sequencers have similar instruments and effects so when your choosing its normally down to what other clever features the other packages do not have.

Ableton Live has the session view which allows the most quickest way of getting down and idea, loop, groove, melody in no time at all where you can add any amount of idea ‘clips’ then simply drag and drop to arrange them in the arrangement view. The session view is also used extensively for digital DJs playing and performing live triggering clip after clip.

But the best feature that Logic has just recently kind of caught up with is the ‘warping’ feature. Live allows you to take a track (or number of tracks if you want to mix a compilation), then warp it so you can match it to your current project tempo. What does this mean? Well it means that you can chop the track up into as many pieces as you like. Re-arrange it, add tempo synch effects to it and add your own drums, melodies and loops all in synch and time with each other. This makes Live a valuable production and remix tool if you use loops or samples in your projects, and to be honest, everyone uses samples in their own material.

Artists who use Ableton Live consist of: Armin Van Buuren, Deadmau5, Jazzy Jeff, Daft Punk, Darren Price, Diplo, Dirty Vegas, Gabriel & Dresden, Hot Chip,  John Digweed, Kaskade, Matthew Dear, Pete Tong,  Richie Hawtin, Sasha and a whole lot more….even Annie Mac has joined the exclusive club!

_______________________________

Apple Logic Studio 8 (now currently version 9)

I would have to say a large percentage of professional popular producers currently use an Apple Mac of some sort and if they do then they will most certainly own and use Apple Logic Studio 8 (now 9).

Logic Studio is without a doubt an exceptional sounding monster. It contains everything you need to produce a professional finished track (hundreds of instruments and sounds) all in the same package without the need of extra additional plugins (as long as you know how to use it properly of course).

In all honesty a lot of producers now use Ableton Live and Logic Studio exporting stems from one another or rewiring them together.

Logic seems to be the last step in a lot of studios. The step where once you have your track almost finished, then pop it into Logic to finish it off or master it.  I wouldn’t say it is better than Ableton Live, nor would i say Ableton Live is better than Logic. Logic lacks the quick and simple features of Ableton Live and the amazing warp feature, but Logic does offer a more professional feature-set with amazing sound quality from the start.

I usually nail down a speed, then get a nice drum loop going for some rhythm. Then I lay down chords or a bass line or some piano—some stuff like that. When I feel the musical idea I have is coming across, and I can feel it, I get to properly blowing it up and doing drum programming and better bass line sequences…Paul Van Dyk

Logic Studio is directed at the more professional of us producers as you would need to know what your doing in the world of production to even start to learn to use it. It has a more recording artist feel to it but blends both the recording and production worlds together gracefully.

Some pro artists that use it include – Paul Van Dyk, Fall Out Boy, T-Pain,  John ’00′ Fleming,  Utah Saints, Gabriel & Dresden, BT, Deep Dish, Junkie XL, Sasha and a whole lote more…

________________________________________

FL Studio 8

- Order from us at Soundware –

FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops) is without a doubt like a best kept secret. It is extremely affordable, offers a massive library of instruments, features and sounds and the quality matches any studio grade software packages.

I would have to say that it is targeting dance music producers mainly with a lot of signed trance producers mainly using this alone. I know a few trance label owners who say the producers on the books, most of them use FL Studio and a lot now are making the transition to Ableton Live.

There are a few flavours to FL Studio, to which the feature comparison list can be found here:

http://flstudio.image-line.com/documents/features.html

This is like an introductory studio version of Logic Studio but the interface and windows and workflow can take some getting used to. A lot of people can be put off with the look of it but once you get the hang of it its really actually intuitive.

If your looking for a quick, cost-effective introduction to producing dance music, then this could be the option for you.
But remember, as always, you must learn how to use your software. So take the time to learn it, and bare with it just like all other software titles.

Artists who use FL Studio consist of : Deadmau5, Basshunter, Matthew Dear, Audiojack, Luke Terry, Mike Oldfield, 9th Wonder, Seismic Crew and a whole lot more…

____________________________