Learn me to be a third-rate amateur LAPTOP JOCKEY

as far as cheap and cheerful with options, Reason might be the way to go- it has that dreaded "Groovebox" factor- ie. it sounds like a trashy trance record as soon as you get it going- but it does have an array of options/instruments and it's cheap. A good entry level tool I reckon.

more expensive, all around better for real deal sequencing and softsynth hosting: Logic. I have had plenty of fun with some of the softsynths that Logic hosts, esp. the Steinberg Model-E, the Neon, the Tassman, and the Lounge Lizard (Rhodes emulator).

There are some amazing softsynths now but some are real CPU hogs, such as the Arturia Moog Modular V, which is crashing all the time lately on my laptop.

Still, I reckon it's still a lot of fun to get your mitts on a Roland SH-101 or any older synth and just enjoy the real thing. Best of the both worlds, surf and turf etc.

Jordan -- Cubase supports softsynth? I aherm tried it out (took a class, even) and I thought it needed an actual synth to work.

I think Drew should outline for us how he did the last record, possibly providing set-up files and patches along the way. I was trying the other day to get a sound that clean and spacious, and the room kept filling up too quick.

I do not know what your midi needs are, but live seems to do the trick well enough. It seems to be geared towards generating sound quickly, rather than oriented towards extremely detailed and user-configurable midi editing. The premise of the program is still based around looping audio, it is not full blown midi suite. Live seems extremely intuitive and allows a very quick workflow. I do not use it currently, but everybody I know who does use it is in love with version 4. It will be my next software purchase.

It does support VST instruments.

The midi is used fire a vst instrument, which is then recorded in the internal live audio editor or put directly into the arrangement page. If you decide to record the loop as audio you can do so in the internal audio editor, which will allow you to edit and process the audio loop with vst effects. Once you are done editing, you can dump the loop into the arrangement window and process it further through envelope/filter/effects automation. I believe midi parameter info can also be automated in the arrangement window, but I am not 100% sure.

Again, it is imho the most intuitive software out there. The workflow design is brilliant and it allows you to work quickly and efficently without having to jump through a lot of hoops to realize an idea. I am a hardcore hardware using electronic music nazi and I even like making music with abelton live.

i've almost stopped using digital performer completely and have been doing almost everything in live. i really love it. download the demo and do the tutorial. it's the most intuitive program out there if you are working mainly with samples and loops. plus, it supports all vst and audio unit plug-ins.

I still have some lingering doubts at the compositional level because it makes endlessly tweaking loops that play over and over so addictive and fun that it maybe blinds people to the overall "macro" shape of a finished "song", but what the hey. It's still a great piece of software. So I'm just swelling the already loud chorus of hell yeahs here . . .

Drew's comment about composing macro song structures rings true; I'm not going to be giving up a waveform editor (mine's Pro Tools but anything works) to finish things up, but Live is going to make it a lot easier to improvise & painlessly play around with the sounds to compose those songs. Live = the jam session, PT = the sheet music.

otherwise, Live's the software i've been waiting a decade for, to the extent that I'm scared to start using it now that it's here... but I saw v4's MIDI implementation, broke down, finally ordered it last week.

*bump*

latest suggestions, por favor

what's the best, cheapest controller keyboard on the market?

xp

its the same as its every been it depends on what you want to do. if you want something that includes everything out of the box and will be reliable go for pro tools/logic/cubase/ableton/fruity loops/sonar/digital performer.

these are all sequencers with HD recording facilities that come bundled with a basic sampler, some fxs and usually a synth or two.

secondly get some sort of soundcard/interface for your laptop, again you've got a million options, any of the big names make decent enough interfaces.

cheap ass controller stuff m-audio or edirol

if you're planning to use samples and vsts more than big loops - and aren't thinking too much about recording live instruments -i'd really recommend Renoise.

if you have a mmid range laptop i wouldnt use ableton on vista. i had nothing but trouble on my new 2gig laptop with 2 gig of ram, absolute nightmare and was running worse than the 733 i had just replaced. roll back to xp or weep endlessly. as for controllers, behringer do ones for less than £100 with loads of lights so yu can use it in the dark. its not very sturdy but if you are only using it at home or get a case its fine for gigs. As for VSTs the Korg legacy collection is fantastic. If your producing techno the nepheton and drumazon vsts are perfect 808 and 909 copies. Another good software for djin is traktor, piece of piss to use and runs well on crappy computers.

yeah if you're going to use ableton to its fullest, you need serious processing power