great thread! i like the free-ware suggestions for synth plugins.
i like to use cubase sx for home sequencing and mixing, and plan to use ableton for live performance.
a great magazine to flip through and maybe buy if you like it enough is Computer Music. They have
great tutorials on so many different things. they give reviews on software for making music. they tell you about the expensive stuff you have to pay for, but also like to make their audience aware of all the stuff that is out there for free. they even sometimes include cd's that have free software that they
themselves have made...and it isn't bad at all.
oh, i didn't see any mention of a need for a decent
audio interface. while it's not required to produce sound from the softwares that are mentioned, it offers so much more flexibility, stability, and high quality sound that if you're interested in making good music, i believe it is a must.
all computers already have an audio interface of some sort. in PCs, microsoft equips the computers with an "ASIO Multimedia" driver which lets your computer make sound. But it really isn't powerful enough for the modern music making programs to reach their full potential. you will get lower quality sound in the end, and on top of that...there is
latency between the programs used and the sound that comes in and out. it can be really frustrating when trying to make music.
they have audio interfaces that are external consoles that connect via USB...or for the PC's (/not laptops), they have PCI interfaces that snap into your motherboards.
they are basically HD converters for sound, pretty much. They let you route different input signals into the computer to be processed in a high quality, and let any sound coming from the computer be re-routed out to the monitors or headphones.
A lot of audio interfaces out there let you plug in the 1/4" instrument cables as inputs, or even the digital XLR inputs (found with microphones). they also have audio interfaces that provide a port for MIDI connection...which is pretty great if you're making music with your computer.
here are some that I'd recommend taking a look at.
TASCAM US-144
http://www.tascam.com/details;8,15,70.html
i like it because it is small, portable, and works very good. a couple of my friends use it. it's got your MIDI, Audio Inputs and Outputs and a USB connection to the computer. a decent price too!
M-AUDIO
M-Audio has a bunch of different audio interfaces. PCI, USB, and even Keyboards that are MIDI controllers as well as Audio Interfaces. I'm planning on getting this guy when I get the money:
Ozonic
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Ozonic-main.html
so sexy.
Yamaha MW12 Mixer/Audio Interface
http://www.zzounds.com/item--YAMMW12
This is actually the one I'm using right now. I love it. But I'm planning on selling it so I can get the Ozonic I mentioned above. I have no complains at all about it, it is just more than what I need. It serves as a mixer, and you can plug in I think a total of 12 inputs! plus, it is a USB audio interface, so you can plug in inputs to this, route them to the computer to be processed by the software, then route it back out to the mixer, then to monitors to hear. It works great, and is a comparable price to most of the other USB interfaces out there.
There are a bunch of different options for this, but these are good to start your search. Check out places like
ZZounds or
www.musiciansfriend.com to browse options that are out there.
A place I like to browse occasionally for reviews and talk on new gear is
Harmony Central.
There are also other message boards, of course, made up of audio nuts and all sorts of musicians. One that I go to often is a message board of one of my favorite musicians and keyboardists,
Jordan Rudess.
www.jordanrudess.com/forum
The place is kinda small, and a little slow at times, but there are a few people who really know their shit and can help you out a lot...they've helped me out immensely over the years.