I use a lot of software to make my music.
As you may already know,
I am an avid user of SONY products which include:
Acid
Pro 7,
Soundforge 9,
Vegas
Pro 8,
Cinescore, and
CD
Architect 5. Acid and Soundforge are used on every one of my tracks for
mixdown and mastering. I also use Vegas to make music videos for my tracks.
I use the SONY Batch Encoder inside Soundforge
to produce MP3's and WMA's for release to sites like MySpace, Soundclick,
iSound, Reverbnation, etc..
My main host program is
FL Studio 8 XXL which is available from Image Line with an additional
10% off if you click the link on this page before placing your order.
VST and DX plugin's are the synthesizers and effects that produce or
manipulate the sounds within the host program. I use a lot of these plugin's
while creating music.
I also produce and use
my own sounds which give my music a unique and very distinctive quality that
says "ozone333" when you listen.
Plugin's are broken into a few
categories: Commercial - which you pay for, Open Source - which are free
with limitations, and Free - which are free with no limitations.
I
use all types of plugin's in all three categories but the free plugin's are
the ones that I use the most.
I get lots of free plugin's from many
different sources. One of my favorite sources is
Computer Music Magazine
from the UK which is considered to be very expensive in the USA as a
subscription, but in my case, a wonderful investment.
Computer Music
is a great magazine for learning how to use every type of audio software on
the planet for making music. Their tutorials encompass multiple pages and
their expertise is like having my very own instructor available to me on a
24/7 basis. Every conceivable facet of the computer music making experience
is covered in a useful and understandable writing style.
The magazine
comes with a DVD packed with samples and free plugin's from major and minor
software companies all over the world. The DVD also includes tutorials and
DEMO's of Commercial software and plugin's. Reader Music, Master Classes,
and other goodies.
More recent versions of the DVD include "The CM
Studio" which is a complete software studio including tons of synthesizer
and effect plugin's created by major and minor software companies and made
available exclusively on the DVD FREE.
The investment of around $120
per year makes this subscription in my case well worth my money year after
year.
The other source I use to find free plugin's is a well known
website to music enthusiasts called
KVR Audio which was recently purchased
by the folks at Muse Research who make a very popular line of Hardware VST
Hosts.
They list every conceivable plugin known to anyone in their
huge database and provide links to download them. They also list all of the
other types of plugin's as well. Their database can be searched with very
specific terms leaving you with only what you're looking for, which is great
when you have a huge database such as theirs.
I suggest that if you
want to get into the world of making music on your computer that you spend
the money on the CM subscription and log into KVR on a bi-monthly basis at
the very least. These two things alone will get you going in the right
direction towards computer music making.
Here is a list of the FREE
plugin's that I use almost constantly in my music:
ReFX - Claw
Audjoo -
Helix beta
[now a commercial synth for $149]
Muon - Tau
[no longer available]
Tweakbench -
Padawan
Superwave -
Superwave P8
Togu Audio
Line - Bass line
