Which DAW?

[Goussy]

Was thinking of getting into making symphony/orchestral music and 8 bit.

[xeromynd]

Well:

 

8-bit  ->    FL studio, no question.

 

Symphony/Orchestral ->   I'd assume you mean via. sample libraries, and not actual recording, right? If you aren't recording, I'd recommend FL Studio here too, it's great for 8 bit, no sense getting two DAWs, plus it just came out with version 12, which is the first major upgrade in years. As far as orchestral plugins go: Kontakt (+ various libraries, I like Impact SoundWorks, but there's tons) Cakewalk Dimension Pro, Edirol Orchestral, Magnus Choir

 

If actually recording: Pro Tools/Cubase

[Goussy]

Well:

 

8-bit  ->    FL studio, no question.

 

Symphony/Orchestral ->   I'd assume you mean via. sample libraries, and not actual recording, right? If you aren't recording, I'd recommend FL Studio here too, it's great for 8 bit, no sense getting two DAWs, plus it just came out with version 12, which is the first major upgrade in years. As far as orchestral plugins go: Kontakt (+ various libraries, I like Impact SoundWorks, but there's tons) Cakewalk Dimension Pro, Edirol Orchestral, Magnus Choir

 

If actually recording: Pro Tools/Cubase

alright thanks, will I have to buy any plugins or add ons I'm not familiar with fl studio.

[xeromynd]

Definitely download the demo first them, FL does come with a good lot of plugins if you buy it, but quality sampler stuff like orchestras you'll have to get from somewhere else. 8 bit you'll be able to do just fine.

[Oktyabr]

I can't argue with FL Studio at all (I've owned the Producer edition for years) but there are a few alternatives:

First off it's important to realize that VSTi (instrument plugins) need a host to run.  FL Studio is a host, one of many.  LMMS (free) is a port of a linux app that will look very familiar to FL users, and it works much the same way as well:  https://lmms.io/

And if you aren't squeamish about linux itself you have access to many, many possible solutions including the extremely powerful Ardour, which is a true DAW and not so much of a sequencer:  http://ardour.org/
You can also configure a linux distro to run with a very low latency, real time kernel, which can give you the extra performance required for multi-track recording and sync.

Also under linux, especially for classical composition (URL is in the video):  

[Goussy]

Well:

 

8-bit  ->    FL studio, no question.

 

Symphony/Orchestral ->   I'd assume you mean via. sample libraries, and not actual recording, right? If you aren't recording, I'd recommend FL Studio here too, it's great for 8 bit, no sense getting two DAWs, plus it just came out with version 12, which is the first major upgrade in years. As far as orchestral plugins go: Kontakt (+ various libraries, I like Impact SoundWorks, but there's tons) Cakewalk Dimension Pro, Edirol Orchestral, Magnus Choir

 

If actually recording: Pro Tools/Cubase

what equipment would you suggest for a beginner as I'm interested in doing this.

[xeromynd]

Well

 

a.) If you're just starting out, and all you want to do is make 8bit music with a few orchestral plugins and samples in FL, you don't really need any hardware (DAC or audio interface) provided your onboard motherboard audio isn't garbage.  FL will install ASIO4All, a free, low latency audio driver that's actually pretty good. In most all cases, it's much better than using your PC's primary audio driver. ASIO4All does not replace your current audio drivers, and shouldn't mess anything up in other programs

 

or 

 

b.) If you find yourself wanting more I/O than your motherboard can offer, for actual recording with mics or for routing audio outputs places, then I'd look into audio interfaces. (ex. I have 3 mics for recording voice + instruments, laptop audio in, and I output audio to two pairs of speakers and headphones)

 

Interfaces will have drivers and integrated hardware that helps a bit with playback, latency, etc... For small form factor, I'd look into Focusrite audio interfaces. Scarlett series is great (USB) and Saffire series is FireWire. 

 

Granted, many plugins, virtual instruments, and different programs are optimized differently, but having a respectable CPU (for plugins) and decent amount of RAM (for plugins that load lots of little files [samplers, wavetable synths, etc...] and loading audio files into your DAW)  also helps.

 

A decent set of headphones also helps. Sennheiser HD280's are a great for starter headphones, hell I've had mine for 6 years now and I still use them (granted they've dulled a bit in the high freq's)  

 

 

 

Many will disagree with this statement, but I stand by it:

 

For someone starting out, having a robust pair of studio monitors or amazing headphones really doesn't matter, AS LONG as you take the time to learn your gear, and know how your mixes will translate to other consumer listening devices once you've done your final mixdown. High end gear has its place, but for home studios, you could even mix songs on crappy Logitech speakers, again, as long as you know they translate. You'll pick this up after using your gear for a while, usually comes naturally.

 

 

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You might want to consider other DAWS like mentioned above if it turns out you don't like FL. Reaper is popular and free, and pretty robust for aforementioned price of $0.00. It's like Audacity, but not shitty.

 

Keep in mind for recording actual audio (with mics and stuff) I don't recommend FL at all. Like the above post mentioned, some don't consider it a true DAW, because it's sequencer based. But like I said, it's great for midi, electronic music, 8 bit, sampling, etc...

 

 

tldr: get some HD280's, or other respected headphones, and maybe some speakers to reference mixes on, audio interface is not totally necessary...yet. Sorry for the huge post, I like talking about this kind of shit.