dXter Member Posts: 59 From: Texas, the US of A Registered: 09-26-2006 |
Does anybody know if there are any free or cheap virtual (sound) synthesizer programs out there? I went looking for one on the web once but could only find prices near or above $100. I couldn't find any free ones, except for this one that looked really dumb and didn't even work....... Also, does anybody know if those programs NEED midi keyboards to use them? Would the normal keyboard work? ------------------ "Time is an excellent teacher, but eventually it kills all of its students." |
Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
You could just use a keyboard and wire the headphone or output jack direct into your computer then use a program like Audacity to record and edit the tracks. ------------------ Portia The Merchant of Venice |
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dXter Member Posts: 59 From: Texas, the US of A Registered: 09-26-2006 |
What I mean by "virtual synthesizer" is an audio program with all the built-in sounds for all the instruments and stuff. ------------------ "Time is an excellent teacher, but eventually it kills all of its students." |
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Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
Yes, but you could also record output from the virtual synthesizer in your keyboard, indirect and usually lower quality, but still passable in most cases. ------------------ Portia The Merchant of Venice |
steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
I haven't tried it, but the screenshots look good for Impulse Synth . It's free. In fact, I think I'll download it. It's an old-school style synth with oscillators, filters and LFO's. There's another one, KarmaFX Synth Modular that looks pretty good, too. I believe these are both VST plugins, so you'll need something to plug them in to, a VST host application. A quick google search came up with this one: Cantabile. Now, you'll still need a midi source. If you don't have a midi keyboard, for that you can use a program like Midi Tracker. That allows you to use your PC keyboard as a midi source. There's tons of free stuff like this on the net, it just takes a little searching. ------------------ |
Faith_Warrior Member Posts: 490 From: So.Cal. Registered: 09-05-2006 |
Whoa, I could buy a pretty decent keyboard for what they want for a license to use cantabile from their store link. Maybe even throw in a Fender Strat on sale. Interesting topic, I’ve never really found anything too great for free if anything at all for doing something like this, and yes I’ve searched and even asked around. |
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JeTSpice Member Posts: 433 From: La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA Registered: 06-10-2006 |
As far as free synths on the net, I haven't looked into it. But there's other options that might help you. If you are looking for music for a game you're developing, there are lots of people online who want to do music for games and movies. I've met lots of talented musicians and even a recording studio engineer at church. That's a great way to go--hooking up with a talented keyboardist at a church. If you just want to mess around with music, but you're on a budget, consider getting a cheap keyboard either at a pawnshop or (even better, if you ask me) at WalMart. You can do sketches of what you want your music to sound like, and then hand it off to someone with better gear. |
crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
MadTracker may be just what you're looking for. ------------------ |
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steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
quote: Yep, good old trackers. Have any of you used Jeskola Buzz before?. It's free, got a great built in tracker and uses VST plugins. I used it once to make some drum tracks when I was recording metal on a four-track, just didn't have the lungs for the vocals. I guess Psycle is a pretty good clone. ------------------ |
penny Member Posts: 101 From: Registered: 08-15-2006 |
I use MadTracker and some good soundfonts and samples. Its not really a synth tho. If you want a free synth use jeskola buzz, but I have found that buzz is hard to set up unless you really know how audio hookups work (delays, filters, reverbs, etc.) Also, I have only been able to get techno sounding music from buzz. So, I'll stick with tracking and soundfonts. ------------------ |
HanClinto Administrator Posts: 1828 From: Indiana Registered: 10-11-2004 |
I'll second Steveth's suggestion of checking out Buzz. It's a very good tool that both my wife and I have enjoyed working with. --clint |
SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
Wow! That buzz thing looks great. I downloaded MadTracker last night but did not install it yet. It appeared like MadTracker was a synth. Or at least it has several synth plug-ins allowing you to create sounds. |
kenman Member Posts: 518 From: Janesville WI Registered: 08-31-2006 |
Have you thought about saw cutter. It is pretty easy to use and has some of the basic analog synth type controls on it. You can import wav files and use it as a sampler. Pretty powerfull for freeware. It even has a control to record your music so you don't have to do that sound card loop through thing if you are on a budget! http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/SawCutter/ |
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F1LT3R Junior Member Posts: 3 From: Swindon, Wiltshire, England Registered: 09-11-2006 |
Under $100? Dont bother. You can look for free and cheap stuff until you go blue in the face, but if you are just starting out, and learning all the tricks; your shortest route is to buy a copy of Reason 3. I know it's not under $100, but it's better value for money than anything you will find under $100, that's for sure. And it will teach you everything you need to know about making music in other programs. But it's not just for beginners, I'm still using it after 5 years, and I've written music for nature documentaries, music videos and even taught using Reason. My advice: SAVE UP FOR REASON 3!!! If you are interested to hear what I'm doing with Reason at the moment, check out these tracks or... http://www.doctorfilter.com/tracks/BlessTheLord-v15-Unfinished-F1LT3R.mp3 Or to listen to some of my old stuff... just go to DoctorFilter.com. (Havn't updated that in over a year) ------------------ |
Jari Member Posts: 1471 From: Helsinki, Finland Registered: 03-11-2005 |
F1LT3R, BlessTheLord is nice.  ------------------ [VoHW] (Help needed) [Blog] - Truedisciple (mp3) |
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dXter Member Posts: 59 From: Texas, the US of A Registered: 09-26-2006 |
Yeah, F1LT3R, those tracks are pretty cool. I'll definitely look into Reason 3. ------------------ "Time is an excellent teacher, but eventually it kills all of its students." |
