In the comments to my entry on getting started with music, @vurren took me up on my offer for software recommendations, and this very quickly grew to something larger than what should be buried in a comment.
Composition software
Here's some software that is worth checking out:
Free
- BeepBox, as mentioned in the original post
- LMMS - basically a clone of FL Studio but is free and seems pretty beginner-friendly
- Sunvox, which I was coincidentally just reminded of on a Discord
- GarageBand, if you have a Mac or recent iOS device
- Endlesss is a fun live jamming environment, although the people behind it decided to pivot from being professional software to an NFT scam garden. The software itself is still good, though, and part of the NFT bullshit involved them making the software free. After they'd done a Kickstarter in which I'd paid substantial money for the exact same software. Sigh. But anyway it's still fun to mess with.
Cheap
If you want to move up to something a bit more advanced, check out Reaper which is basically an inexpensive (but not very usable IMO) clone of Cubase, or Bitwig which is an easier-to-use alternative to Ableton Live.
Also there's absolutely nothing wrong with using FL Studio if that's what works for you! There's a lot of music snobs who care too much about peoples' choice of software. Ignore them.
Professional
Personally I use Logic (which is, unfortunately, Mac-only now), although that's mostly because I've been using it as my main DAW since 2005 and it's what I'm used to. Also it comes with a whole bunch of amazing built-in instruments, whereas other DAWs just give you barely enough to get started and then you end up having to spend thousands of dollars on additional instruments. (I have, of course, also spent thousands of dollars on additional instruments.) I like it a lot and I do honestly feel that it's one of the best deals in music software out there (even if you include the purchase price of a Mac to run it on), but I'm also not so foolish to think that it's a one-size-fits-all solution by any means.
Cubase is extremely similar to Logic and actually does a few things a bit better. If I were forced to switch to Windows for music making, that's what I'd probably use.
"Real professionals" use ProTools. For some reason. Anyone who says you must use it has bad opinions that you can safely ignore.
Alternate interfaces
Also! These suggestions are biased towards my previous advice regarding using a piano roll interface. But there's also something to be said for trackers! A lot of people like Renoise. I used to do all my music in Impulse Tracker (and was one of the few people who actually paid for a commercial license), which is now cloned by Schism Tracker. FL Studio started out as a tracker originally (back when it was called "FruityLoops") and it might still have some tracker stuff inside somewhere? Sometimes I exercise my brain by composing in the Pico-8 tracker, which is a lot of fun for nostalgia purposes but I wouldn't recommend as an actual music production environment.
If, for some weird reason, you absolutely want to use sheet music as your composition interface, Cubase and Logic have vaguely-competent scoring modes, but Musescore is designed specifically for score-based composition. I can't wrap my head around its UI but I know a lot of people who love the heck out of it, and I'm not one to judge.
Instrument plugins
On that note, if you want more instruments, there are plenty of free and cheap VSTs out there. dexed is particularly good and fun.
If you go down the spending-too-much-money rabbit hole, Native Instruments makes some amazing stuff. It adds up real quick though, and I ended up just buying Komplete when it became obvious it was cheaper than buying the specific instruments I wanted individually. I mostly use the piano collection and Cremona quartet but I also make a lot of use of the various symphonic and sound design things.
Also, much like the alleged playground drug dealers who were the bogeymen of the 1990s, NI does provide some free plugins for people just getting started. They're really good, as far as "here's a little taste of the real good candy" sales tactics go.
Hardware
MIDI controllers
If you're only doing composition with synthesized instruments, get yourself a MIDI controller. I like NI's Komplete Kontrol line, mostly because it integrates well with NI's own plugins (which I have, again, spent way too much money on) but also they're pretty good controllers on their own right. I use a first-gen S88 (88-key hammer-action keyboard) as my main one but I'm also a classically-trained pianist.
If you just want something cheap to start with, find an older Yamaha or Casio keyboard with USB-MIDI support. I'd recommend 49 full-size keys as a starting point.
Also, the Casio Privia line punches way above its price point. I used a PX-300 for years before I finally upgraded to the S88, and honestly the PX-300's keyboard felt better! (But it was lacking some features I needed.)
Audio interfaces
If you want to record live instruments and/or vocals as well, you'll want some sort of audio interface, ideally with multiple XLR inputs and phantom power. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 + Behringer ADA8200 but that's because I have way too much stuff in my studio and I don't like having to switch stuff around all the time (plus it's nice to be able to record a whole band at once). I haven't had much luck with cheaper interfaces, personally, although I know a lot of people who are quite happy with ones by M-Audio or Tascam (although Focusrite doesn't cost that much more and this isn't a situation where I'd recommend saving a few bucks). Anyway I wrote a review of the 18i20 on my blog, and also compare it with the 18i8 it replaced.
But, avoid Presonus. They have a history of buggy drivers and dropping support for older products, and their current products are overpriced (IMO). I liked my FireStudio Project while it was possible to use it but I've heard nothing but complaints about their USB interfaces.
Microphones
For microphones, I have way too many of all types (well, condenser, dynamic, and ribbon), and I end up always going to the same handful of MXL condenser microphones. The V63m is an amazingly versatile workhorse mic, and is also really cheap as far as these things go. They're often available for even cheaper on the Musician's Friend Stupid Deal of the Day, which is how I ended up with so many microphones in the first place.
Physical instruments
Don't get me started on my instrument collection, as it's both largely irrelevant to anyone else and extremely large and kind of depressing to think about. At last count I had like 40? And that was a while ago.
That said, I've had a lot of fun with my Kaossilator Mini, and the current version looks pretty great.
Oh also this should go without saying but do not buy instruments being sold on Kickstarter. They are almost always gimmicky crap that doesn't work right; the ones which are even remotely worthwhile you'll be able to buy later anyway. It took me way too many "hey that looks neat!"s to figure that out for myself.
