Creating A Soundtrack on the computer at DVinfo.net

Drew Meinecke · January 26th, 2005, 05:48 PM

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I was wondering if anyone could give me info on how to make a soundtrack on the computer. What type of program would work? And would it sound realistic and crisp?

Matt Stahley · January 26th, 2005, 09:58 PM

What platform are you on Win or Mac?

Chris Hurd · January 26th, 2005, 09:58 PM

Are you Mac or PC? In your profile, the Gear field is empty.

Chris Hurd · January 26th, 2005, 09:59 PM

Ah, Matt, jinx! I guess I owe you a beer since your post beat mine.

Drew Meinecke · January 27th, 2005, 09:53 AM

PC.

Douglas Spotted Eagle · January 27th, 2005, 10:14 AM

Drew, your best options are:

Sony ACID-if you have even a quarter of a musical ear, this is the best way to go, as you can easily and quickly build songs that are yours, unique creations that have zero limits.
Sony Vegas has limited ACID functionality.

Sonic Fire Pro- more or less prebuilt music tracks with far less creativity, but good sounding, very little creative licence with the application.

From there, you can get into loads of MIDI and loop/audio based apps such as Sonar, Nuendo, etc.

Glenn Gipson · January 27th, 2005, 01:37 PM

Ableton Live is really good, but you can't preview video in it like you can with ACID.

Drew Meinecke · January 27th, 2005, 04:01 PM

With ACID does it sound like a real band or orchestra? Is it noticable that it was made on a computer?

Sorry for all the questions if they're getting annoying, I'm just trying to piece together things I've never done.

Glenn Gipson · January 27th, 2005, 04:04 PM

Do yourself a favor and avoid Sonic Fire Pro, IMO. The music from that program is too generic, and is not flexible in terms of making it unique. As for ACID, the sky is the limit with that software, because it all depends on the loops that you get for it, and how good you are with arranging them. Just download the demo and try it.

Dennis Vogel · January 31st, 2005, 10:55 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Drew Meinecke : With ACID does it sound like a real band or orchestra? Is it noticable that it was made on a computer?

Sorry for all the questions if they're getting annoying, I'm just trying to piece together things I've never done. -->>>

If you do it half right it will sound like real bands and orchestras. The loops are as diverse as you can imagine and your creativity is what will make it sound real. There are some loop collections from Sony that are made specifically for sound track creation and some orchestral collections. You can also make it sound like it was made on a computer especially if you use only some electronic loops but that's easy to avoid.

Go to the Sony site and download some sample songs made with Acid and see what you can do. Acid Planet has some stuff, too.

Good luck.

Dennis

January 26th, 2005, 05:48 PM	#1
Drew Meinecke Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 53	Creating A Soundtrack on the computer Not sure if this is the right forum, but I was wondering if anyone could give me info on how to make a soundtrack on the computer. What type of program would work? And would it sound realistic and crisp?

January 26th, 2005, 09:58 PM	#3
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Are you Mac or PC? In your profile, the Gear field is empty. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

January 26th, 2005, 09:59 PM	#4
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Ah, Matt, jinx! I guess I owe you a beer since your post beat mine. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

January 27th, 2005, 10:14 AM	#6
Douglas Spotted Eagle VASST Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Stockton, UT Posts: 5,648	Drew, your best options are: Sony ACID-if you have even a quarter of a musical ear, this is the best way to go, as you can easily and quickly build songs that are yours, unique creations that have zero limits. Sony Vegas has limited ACID functionality. Sonic Fire Pro- more or less prebuilt music tracks with far less creativity, but good sounding, very little creative licence with the application. From there, you can get into loads of MIDI and loop/audio based apps such as Sonar, Nuendo, etc. __________________ Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot Author, producer, composer Certified Sony Vegas Trainer http://www.vasst.com

January 26th, 2005, 09:58 PM	#2
Matt Stahley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Waynesboro, PA Posts: 648	What platform are you on Win or Mac?

January 27th, 2005, 09:53 AM	#5
Drew Meinecke Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 53	PC.

January 27th, 2005, 01:37 PM	#7
Glenn Gipson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Plainfield, New Jersey Posts: 927	Ableton Live is really good, but you can't preview video in it like you can with ACID.

January 27th, 2005, 04:01 PM	#8
Drew Meinecke Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 53	With ACID does it sound like a real band or orchestra? Is it noticable that it was made on a computer? Sorry for all the questions if they're getting annoying, I'm just trying to piece together things I've never done.

January 27th, 2005, 04:04 PM	#9
Glenn Gipson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Plainfield, New Jersey Posts: 927	Do yourself a favor and avoid Sonic Fire Pro, IMO. The music from that program is too generic, and is not flexible in terms of making it unique. As for ACID, the sky is the limit with that software, because it all depends on the loops that you get for it, and how good you are with arranging them. Just download the demo and try it.

January 31st, 2005, 10:55 PM	#10
Dennis Vogel Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 409	<<<-- Originally posted by Drew Meinecke : With ACID does it sound like a real band or orchestra? Is it noticable that it was made on a computer? Sorry for all the questions if they're getting annoying, I'm just trying to piece together things I've never done. -->>> If you do it half right it will sound like real bands and orchestras. The loops are as diverse as you can imagine and your creativity is what will make it sound real. There are some loop collections from Sony that are made specifically for sound track creation and some orchestral collections. You can also make it sound like it was made on a computer especially if you use only some electronic loops but that's easy to avoid. Go to the Sony site and download some sample songs made with Acid and see what you can do. Acid Planet has some stuff, too. Good luck. Dennis