I'm curious about what software everyone uses. I'm using Sony Acid Pro 6, a loop based music tool for those of you who don't know what it is. I'm sure everyone has their preferences and opinions,so let 'em fly!

What I use?
Guitar Pro 5

What I wanna use?
Sonar/Cubase

:p

-Stenny

I use:
Steinberg's Cubase SE3


It works excellent for what i need it for.

I use Cubase 4 Studio. It's excelent.

- Piotr

I use Logic Pro and ProTools. ProTools is mainly for preparing pre-lay and clicks when heading into sessions or opening ProTools files that are sent to me. I also use a variety of sample libraries for creating mock-ups and pre-lay (Vienna Instruments primarily for orchestral stuff).

I posted a similar reply to another thread here. Some of the tech has changed, (I now use some SATA drives for samples) but most of it is still correct.

For sound design, after using Pro Tools (4 years), Digital Performer (3 years), Nuendo, Cubase and Sonar (a year each) I've finally settled on... Vegas. It's the fastest DAW i've ever used... time is money people ;D

For music I use a range of stuff, whatever is suitable for what I'm trying to do.

I've never really got on with Steinberg stuff though. I find it archaic and illogical. I like things uncluttered and fast, anything that breaks the creative process is bad news, no matter what feature set it has.

Back in the day, you could argue that you needed high end software/equipment to compete, this isn't the case anymore. Don't get too caught up with gear lust, it's you that's important, not the tools you use.

Quote: Original post by VectorWarrior
Don't get too caught up with gear lust, it's you that's important, not the tools you use.

This advice is golden. Your most valuable asset is you and the people you work with. Anybody can buy equipment.

When buying new software, new instruments or gear it's good to give yourself time to learn it, before you go mad and buy another one.

This way, I keep developing my skills and expanding my equipment wisely.

- Piotr

I'm an FL Studio fan. I can't afford the really pro stuff, and FL gets me a long way.

I use a crazy combination of Cakewalk Sonar 6 and FL Studio 7.

Sonar is great for larger orchestrations (as it has the ability to flatten down tracks, and the Vienna Instruments can use a TON of RAM...if I were to fill out the orchestra, I would be paging in and out memory faster than you could say "ambusol".

FL Studio, though, I am much more comfortable working with, and would probably use full-time if it could flatten (or freeze, or bounce or whatever) a track as easily as Sonar can. Since I used to do tracking exclusively (using Scream Tracker and then Impulse Tracker), FL Studio is more familiar to me than a full-on midi sequencing setup.

But, I agree with VectorWarrior overall - I feel that the equipment is not important overall. It can help the sound output, but only YOU can prevent forest fires...er, only YOU can actually compose good music.

Samples of recent work (These are all done with FL Studio - I had to work fast to get the music done, so I went with comfort over anything else)