Absolute beginner

[Dr Gonzo]

Am deciding to get into making Goa trance finally after all these years...could someone out there give me a few good tips on how to start. I am using a mac but i can't seem to get a good Dj program..

 

I know already bout the roland TB 303 and the type of music. It's the starting technical help that I could do with.

Any help would be appreciated. BOM

[Dr Gonzo]

DJ 1800 doesnt seem to be a great program. I just downloaded megaseg....is it better?

[Drew05]

you probably don't want a 'dj program' to make music with

 

i suggest using reason/fl studio/ableton live

 

these programs have steep learning curves, but enable you to do almost everything hardware does (with some compromises)

dedicate yourself to one program and learn to master it. it will take a long time, and you will need alot of patience

don't expect to be making full tracks to begin with, mess around with drum patterns and melodies

then slowly put it all together

 

hope that helps

 

i really like your avatar

[needle ninja]

You should get a good midi sequencing program for your Mac.

There are many options. You should plan on it taking a while to learn all about midi.

I think the best way to learn is by doing, but you probably should buy a book to read at the same time.

[Dr Gonzo]

cheers thanks a lot. cleared things up a bit. I will check out Live and Reason...gr8

 

thanks the avatar's actually a small part of a painting done by someone called mika kramer in goa in 1994. He painted it on his house wall as a mural and when I stayed there last season, I took this pic. they are supposed to be dancing on south anjuna beach.

[Jikkenteki]

I'd say your best two option for "gateway" programs that can still get you a long way would be Reason or FL Studio. Of the two, I prefer FL Studio, but Reason is also just as good for the new artist. The major differences between the two are basically that Reason is self contained and you don't need really anything else out of the box. Since it is self contained and doesn't support any of the major software synth types (VST and such), it is also very stable. FL Studio's advantage is that is does support VST and such, so it is more expandable soundwise while still being easy to use. This flexibilty has a cost in that poorly written effects or synths can effect how stable the program is.

 

Try each and see which one feels better for you at first, choose that one and then spend at least a year focusing on only making tunes with that program and getting to know it deeply. Once you have a solid depth of knowledge within your chosen program, you can branch out to more complicated programs like Logic, Cubase, Live, etc and since both Reason and FL Studio can be rewired to these programs (well, maybe not Logic since its Mac only now, I'm not sure), your skills with your original software will still be usable in the long run.

[qualia]

I have been using Renoise for a few years. If you're from a more oldschool production background (my last sequencer was Cakewalk for DOS and I was using a hardware sequencer before that lol), then it will come naturally. It also has everything on one screen unlike FL or Reason which I found much more difficult to learn...

 

Just another option that might be worth a try...