Please Help a Noob Out

rbf737 · Post by **rbf737** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 3:59 am

My band and I used to use Live for full band recordings, but now I just want to use it to create demos on my own with midi drums and straight in guitars.

I've always used mics in the past, so I don't really know and this may sound like a dumb question, but does Live have built in guitar and synthe sounds, all that which are easily accessible that I can test out?

OR, is there a program better suited for that, like along the lines of Garageband, but downloadable for windows? Thanks!

Comatoze · Post by **Comatoze** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 4:58 am

Live does have built in stuff, some of it is great but there's not a huge amount. If you want access to more stuff, definitely download the livepacks, they're free:

http://www.ableton.com/livepacks

They contain presets for the inbuilt sythesisers, and samples, loops etc. A lot of it is really, really good.

Of course if you still need more after that, you'll need to start looking into getting some VSTi's.

BassTooth · Post by **BassTooth** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 6:14 am

if you wanna make your own sounds its easy.

get hooked on Sampler, Simpler and Impulse.

especially Sampler. just record individual guitar notes at increasing loudness'.

and drag the samples into Sampler. lots of room for anything you can imagine.

dude, you could make your own sampled guitar-virtual-instruments in Sampler if you work hard enough at it. i love Sampler because it is only multi-sampler i own and the only one i have ever used, i am hooked. (a lot of people don't really like Sampler, but a lot do) i have learned to work within its parameters.

mesaboogiewes · Post by **mesaboogiewes** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:55 pm

BassTooth wrote:especially Sampler. just record individual guitar notes at increasing loudness'.

and drag the samples into Sampler. lots of room for anything you can imagine.

dude, you could make your own sampled guitar-virtual-instruments in Sampler if you work hard enough at it. i love Sampler because it is only multi-sampler i own and the only one i have ever used, i am hooked. (a lot of people don't really like Sampler, but a lot do) i have learned to work within its parameters.

\

Why the HELL couldn't I think of that? That's badass man.

kraze · Post by **kraze** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 2:06 pm

If you want to record demos as a way to write using the computer i'd recommend something else.

I love TabIt. www.tabit.net. It's my secret weapon, it's a tablature based general midi sequencer.

It's a great way to write band tunes while you're saving up to buy the usual stuff. The usual being a drum plug-in (addictive drums or BFD2, both are amazing) and an interface (line6 toneport stuff is actually great) to record the guitar and maybe a nice little rompler sampler for additional sounds.

773M07 · Post by **773M07** » Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:41 pm

I'm a rock drummer who now uses Ableton to record demos solely using sequenced instruments (unless I strum some acoustic guitar). I add vocals after the instrument tracks are complete. I don't have the suite (yet) - just the regular Live, so I use u-he's free Triple Cheese synth to create very realistic bass guitar sounds, harmonica sounds, etc. I use Ableton's Impulse for drums. I can add effects to my recorded acoustic guitar to get pretty decent electric sounds. Overall, I'm happy with the demos I can produce. Sometimes the end result sounds a bit different than I originally planned, because of substituting synth sounds for what used to be live musicians, but overall it works really well. Ableton is my program of choice.

AndrewZachary · Post by **AndrewZachary** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:26 pm

I am a guitarist , and I use Live to create my own music also. I use native instrument's Guitar Rig software as a plugin thru Live and it gives pretty much any tone and effect I need. I have used a lot of different DAW's and Ableton blows them away in every possible aspect. If you wanna make a solo project, then Ableton is definately what you want to use.