Best Software for simple Production

Hi there, New to the forum!

I'm a guitarist and music performance student looking to start producing my own music, mainly aimed at the generic youtube/tv market on the various sites to earn a little pocket money and improve my skills. I'm currently using a moderately specced macbook pro with a Focusrite iTrack solo and Akai MPK mini into Garageband. I'm fairly used to garageband now and know my way around it.

So far the tracks I've made sound okay but aren't up to a professional enough quality for my liking.

I can't feasibly record live drums so I've been using the drummer feature on garageband which works okay but I find it hard to make good sounding and interesting drums. I've never had any formal training on recording/producing so there's a good chance I'm missing something.

My question is: Is it worth upgrading to Logic with something like superior drummer 3 or is it more likely my lack of knowledge on EQ and mixing techniques that's the factor

Both are probably important. SD3 won't do a lot for you if you don't have part writing and mix skills. At the same time, SD3/XLN/etc. are very effective in the right hands and sonically more advanced that "Drummer."

Cheers, I can play a little drums so I think part writing should be okay, it's more getting those ideas down (impossible in Garageband) and the mixing side of things that I struggle with. Would the mixing be any different on logic compared to GB or am I going to get the exact same results if I do the same things?

Cheers, I can play a little drums so I think part writing should be okay, it's more getting those ideas down (impossible in Garageband) and the mixing side of things that I struggle with. Would the mixing be any different on logic compared to GB or am I going to get the exact same results if I do the same things?

 

"Drummer" rules, I use it all the time in arranging and writing drum patterns, its great.

 

However, for sounds I use EZ Drummer 2, for me this sounds better, but you can still use Logic's drummer to trigger the Ez drummer sounds, this is perfection, as Logic's drummer is easier to work with that any drum software I have tried.

 

just my opinion.

Logic is affordable and you already know GarageBand so I don't think it will hurt to upgrade to logic.

So far the tracks I've made sound okay but aren't up to a professional enough quality for my liking.

I can't feasibly record live drums so I've been using the drummer feature on garageband which works okay but I find it hard to make good sounding and interesting drums. I've never had any formal training on recording/producing so there's a good chance I'm missing something.

My question is: Is it worth upgrading to Logic with something like superior drummer 3 or is it more likely my lack of knowledge on EQ and mixing techniques that's the factor

 

Making good sounding tracks is not something one plugin or the hitting a magic button will do for you.

It takes time and research, training your ears for frequencies, mixing tools and habits of the seasoned pros.

Start learning Logic and everything you can do with it, the rest will come later. Be patient.

Thanks everyone, I'm doing my best to learn how to mix at the moment, and hopefully starting it as a minor with my degree next year. I don't have any experience with superior drummer, does it work as a standalone programme or does it need to be triggered by an actual kit/midi? As I said this is primarily for background music for videos and demos so I'm not trying to sound like Bonham, just aiming for something a bit more genuine sounding than the Garageband drummer.

just aiming for something a bit more genuine sounding than the Garageband drummer.

 

A plugin, regardless of which one it is, will never replace a real drummer.

Of course there are very good sounding ones, but they are also expensive.

Using some EQ and mixing tricks you can make Drummer pretty good.

Cheers, I can play a little drums so I think part writing should be okay, it's more getting those ideas down (impossible in Garageband) and the mixing side of things that I struggle with. Would the mixing be any different on logic compared to GB or am I going to get the exact same results if I do the same things?

 

Logic has some better stock plugins. I don't know a lot about Garageband or your music and goals, so I'm hesitant to say much more about it. Upgrading to Logic is inevitable though if you stick with composition and production, so it's unlikely to be a bad decision.

 

There's a lot that goes into making drum sample sound good. Maybe read up on drum programming and drum mixing, listen to the examples on the XLN, Native Instruments, and Toontrack sites, watch tutorial videos using that software (there's enough content out there that you should understand the programs completely if you spend enough time), listen to your favorite mixes and think about how the drums sound, etc.

Great thanks for all the advice! I'll have about £350-£400 to spend soon, logic is £200 so what would everyone recommend spending the rest on, is it worth upgrading my interface or buying some plugins/superior drummer etc, what would the limiting factor be?

Which Mac do you have?

The iTrack Solo is meant for the iPad, it has a Lightning connector as well.

 

Do you use headphones or do you have speakers?

I have a 2014 2.6ghz i5 Macbook pro with 8gb ram and a 256gb hard drive, though I use a 1tb external one as I have a lot of stuff! I have some Sennheiser HD595 Headphones which seem to have a fairly flat EQ and appear to be pretty neutral. I've not had any problems with the iTrack Solo as of yet, but then I don't have much experience with any other interfaces so I probably wouldn't know if it was bad or not! I do occasionally get to mic up amps and record live stuff but at the moment I'm in student halls so the majority of stuff I'm doing is software based and I'm currently just using the garageband amp sims for guitar, though I am looking into getting a dummy load with a line out for my head and a cab sim plugin to get some better tones.

Great thanks for all the advice! I'll have about £350-£400 to spend soon, logic is £200 so what would everyone recommend spending the rest on, is it worth upgrading my interface or buying some plugins/superior drummer etc, what would the limiting factor be?

 

Literally nothing until YOU know what YOU want to buy. I can't tell you how much money I've spent on software recommendations from friends and colleagues, only to find later it wasn't really my thing.

 

Sounds harsh, but trust me, there is no shortage of plugins and gear to buy.

Literally nothing until YOU know what YOU want to buy.

I couldn't agree more. Stop buying, start learning. And no better way to learn than doing. So... start composing, producing, arranging, mixing, mastering, whatever you're good at and/or want to do. Lost yourself in the task. As you work, needs may express themselves that your current set up does not offer, then you'll know what you want to buy. It may be a lamp, a trackpad, a MIDI controller, a 2nd screen, better speakers, some acoustic insulation, a heater, who knows.

 

Meanwhile if you really want to spend some $$ I'd recommend this great help to your learning process: http://amzn.to/2rVCxlz !!