Article: free music production software

[BlackWinny]

I understand your perspective, my response was more about the sound of the synth rather than technical options.
But again, release date will not solve it because some are constantly updated with new features (Surge for example) but some are not.

Yes. For probably the majority of the high level composers the age of a said synth is clearly not an argument for their choice as long as this synth provides the sounds the composers are after for their tracks.

It is not the modernism nor the complexity but the beauty of their sounds which is the reason why we love so much Synth1, Pro-SoloVST (even if it is only 32-bit and despite its age), SQ8L (even if it is only 32-bit and despite its age), Crystal, all the HG Fortune synths even if their are only 32-bit and despite their ages, all the now discontinued Linplug synths, FM8 (which is 12 y.o. !), several SuperWave synths despite their ages, all the GForce synths despite their ages, all the old Korg KLC plugins despite their small GUIs and their age (2004 for some of them !), DiscoDSP Corona despite its age, several Elektrostudio synths despite their ages, Combo Model F and V despite their ages, Surge despite its age, etc. etc. etc.)
Simply because not only they sound excellent for our taste... but they are sometimes absolutely unique, with even some sounds that we don't find anywhere on more recent synths even by spending lots of tweaks on the knobs of these latter.


The age of a product is not an argument to say that it is better or worse than another one. Because "better" and "worse" are subjective words, and the most important is the resulting song (generally today a complex mix ! With three or four chords only where the main part of the track is in the rhythms ! And with tons of ultra-short envelopes and tons of effects !) and these subjective words refer generally only to personal tastes and affinities... rarely to the features given that even with old plugins in his tracks a very good musician will almost always do a very good sounding music with memorable melodies.

A common idea of today is that the number of features or their "recent appearance in developments" is an argument to make beautiful works. It is totally false, it's not a question of age nor of features... what actually makes beautiful works is the talent of the composer and of the player.

[BlackWinny]

All the songs and instrumental musics which remain in my memory for years (and even for decades) don't remain in my mind because of the "modernism" of their instruments and the number or complexity of their features... but because of the talent of their composers to create awesome melodies, even with very simple synths and simple pianos and simple guitars. I would even say that the more you use complex features of a synth (and the same for the composition) the quicker the tracks made with will be forgotten by the listeners. The key to make a music which will be remembered long years later is in the talent of the composers and of the musicians. Awesome simple melodies with simple synths are carved in the marble of the memory forever and at the contrary almost all the most complexly sounding tracks full of modulations and effects are forgotten in the next weeks or months... and go directly to the garbage of the time.

[xalama qo]

Yup, but somewhere along the line you forgot that the OP was about noobs getting started, not seasoned composers.
And just for the record I believe in the validity of everything for making music, I have old 80s hardware, 90's and 2000's hardware, a winXP computer running 32bit plugins including the dreaded synthedit variety, Win10 running x64 stuff. I use payware and freeware.

I don't really understand the need for a preachy condescending tone about perceived attitudes which probably don't really exist.
I'd highly recommend starting your own wikisynths site which can highlight all synths past and present and show KVR and Vintage Synth Explorer how it should be done. Make the database searchable, give them star ratings, but most of all make the glut of information easily digestible for overwhelmed noobs who really just need to get started and figure out the finer details later.

It'll be fun.

[BlackWinny]

Yup, but somewhere along the line you forgot that the OP was about noobs getting started, not seasoned composers.

Believe me, I NEVER forget it !
If you think that about me, you really don't know me.

[BlackWinny]

I don't really understand the need for a preachy condescending tone about perceived attitudes which probably don't really exist.
I'd highly recommend starting your own wikisynths site which can highlight all synths past and present and show KVR and Vintage Synth Explorer how it should be done. Make the database searchable, give them star ratings, but most of all make the glut of information easily digestible for overwhelmed noobs who really just need to get started and figure out the finer details later.

And if you think that way... it really means that you simply skim what you don't like. I'm NEVER condescending! I simply don't just write messages that look like short tweets but I argue! Even if you don't like my arguments, they are still arguments! And based on a long practice that can be counted in decades, not just a few years. You have every right to take them apart... but then you'll have to argue just as much. I can make short if you want : it's not the synths which makes a good music... it is the talent of the composers and of the musicians, even with very simple instruments ! (and there, in this previous sentence precisely, you can see that I in fact encourage the noobs to make a big work (too often missed today) to learn not only the basis of the syntheses but also a thing which has become extremely poor in the music of today while probably the most important: the rules of the music to make it REALLY impressive ! Because to make really good and memorable music the acquisition of the minimal rudiments of music rules with not only rhythms but also a lot of harmony and melody rules is much more important than the learning of crazy modulations and effects). We are today at a point that crowds of pretended, so-called and self-called musicians don't even know the scales, the modes and the chord progressions !... and must rely on somewhat pitiful scales or chords tools (extremely repetitive, and generally with lots of flaws that a real musician, even kid, can detect immediately just by ear) even for simply that !

The total lack of knowledge in music rules by crowds of today "EDM musicians" is even probably the main reason why their music is boring as hell, made with at maximum three of four chords, and hidden behind just tons of modulations and effects to not show their pitiful knowledge in music! You can tell what you want, the reality is there: the majority of the production of today is forgotten by the listeners after just a few days or weeks while the most unforgotten works are ALL works made with simple synths and simple instruments where the knowledge of the rules by the composers is clearly evident. A teen who really learns the music rules can already compose beautiful musics with a simple synth, and yet he is a noob ! At the contrary so many adults of today simply don't want any more to learn the music rules and rely only on the features of their synths, and their musics resemble so much each others... that they are forgotten almost as soon as you go to another track or album !

And yet, I don't spit on the EDM and the techno styles themselves, because it is not the styles which make the tracks so pitiful but really the level and imagination of the immense majority of said composers in harmony and melody, while there are excellent works made by excellent composers also in these styles, even pure amateur composers. But they are extremely rare in all the plethora of compositions of today in these styles.

No condescending tone in my posts, never. Simply arguments. And I'm always open to counter-arguments. As long as they are real objective arguments.

[xalama qo]

Hey BW, I'm not trying to undermine you. You're one of the most helpful people on this forum. But when you remind us not to forget that older instruments are not obsolete and still make beautiful sounds, I wonder what assumptions you've made about the rest of us that you seem to think we need to be reminded of something so obvious. So it does come across as somewhat condescending.

The total lack of knowledge in music rules by crowds of today "EDM musicians" is even probably the main reason why their music is boring as hell, made with at maximum three of four chords, and hidden behind just tons of modulations and effects to not show their pitiful knowledge in music! ...

And yet, I don't spit on the EDM and the techno styles themselves, because it is not the styles which make the tracks so pitiful but really the level and imagination of the immense majority of said composers in harmony and melody, while there are excellent works made by excellent composers also in these styles, even pure amateur composers. But they are extremely rare in all the plethora of compositions of today in these styles.

No condescending tone in my posts, never. Simply arguments. And I'm always open to counter-arguments. As long as they are real objective arguments.

Sounds kinda condescending to me.
Dance music is dance music. 2 chords and a beat are more than enough to make people get up and dance. Anyone who raises the basic genre to an art form is doing a great job in my book. Will you next start complaining that Hans Zimmer soundtracks aren't danceable enough? Or not classical enough? Not synthy enough? Derivative? Only use 2 chords mainly except for when he uses another one?

It's great to want to educate people, but a lot of people don't want to be educated. They just want to do what makes them happy. If that hurts your ears turn the volume down.

Music is many things to many people... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7J-WrS9ou0
Long live diversity.

[BBFG#]

Perhaps it would be more beneficial to not decide the products for them at all, but give them a beginning guide to map their own journey?

Chances are, it doesn't begin with free, unless someone is also giving you an interface and controller with that computer. And many of those are already packaged with beggining software.

Creating specific list of "bests" most likely will only make another forum troll arguing minutia ad infinitum.

In the end, you might come to the reality that all this is nothing more than click bait for yet another ad supported blog.

(My first advice is to not waste time on past software not updated to the new standard of 64 bit and to stay clear of anything that requires a second company to license it.)

[Paree]

Imo, the article is great, i have never agreed more on choices made in any other article. I’ve been producing only with freewares since 4 years and bpb helped me a ton when i was starting out. I would totally recommend beginners to go the freeware route since we have fully featured DAWs like Tracktion and Cakewalk as well as great synths like Synth1, Surge, Helm etc.
Imo this is a great starting point for anyone starting out and bpb is one of the best resources out there and has done great work for the community by giving up to date news and also teaming up with developers to give us lots of freewares.

Regarding 64 bit software, i agree but there are some vsts like Firebird, Cygnus by Krakli which are very unique and there is no replacement.

Since there are freely available bridges such as netvst for windows and linvst for linux, there is no harm in trying since neither of them will drop 32 bit software support like mac anytime soon.