I just need to empty my brain on some subjects I've been facing recently with my music.
I'm almost completly free of using FruityLoops to make beats.
The only thing i use it for now, is setting up my sample to fit to the tempo, since i havent figured out a solid way to do that in nuendo at the moment.
But I think I can do it in Battery, i just have to look into it more.
But I'll be so glad when i get out of FL.
why?
Because something that alot of people dont know about Reason and FL is that they both have built in compression on the output of the signals, that actually decrease the sound quality, by smooshing the stereo field.
It really becomes apparent when you witness someone who is using hardware, or one of the major software programs make a beat. I've been on the verge of using Nuendo completly and Battery, and Halion for a while now... But some Timbaland studio videos, and that Just Blaze interview sealed my decision to try and go all Nuendo. Those are 2 producers I look up to the most in the game. (Besides Dre. I doubt dre is doing software and hardware integration heavily... but who knows. He's mad secretive.)
Some good things can be made with fruityloops, and some stuff that i have made in the past is proof of that. But there's always that ceiling, because of that compression they add. It would be different if you could switch it on and off. But you can't. Once you run the sound through the sound engine, its a wrap on your "dope ass drums" you just tweeked from that old record you bought.
Do some tests yourself if you dont believe me.
I did them for myself.
I ran a whole song through Fruityloops
I put "The Watcher" off the Chronic 2001 in windows media, (no enhancements or anything on of course)... played it all the way through 2 times... then put the whole song into Fruity Loops, on a channel, and turned the volume up to 100%... made sure no effects were on anything, and let it play...
Huge difference.
Do that test for yourself with any commercial quality song, and witness the difference in sound quality.
Another thing i've been tinkering with is running my keyboards through my dbx 586 preamp. Makes a big difference in quality as well, but in a good way. I had heard about alot of producers already doing this, but i never really considered it, until i was told by a big named producer that i needed to try it out, so i can get a thicker sound to some of my non-sampled tracks. I bought some instrument cables, and tried it out, and now everything sounds amazing when it sounded "mundane" before. Makes me want to get some new mic preamps, and compressors, and also some new keyboards.
I'm at the point now, were i feel i have to in order to compete with some of the producers i look up too.
Anyway...