Comparison of Producing Software

So are you still trying to pick which one you like ?? It can be hard, but I am here to helpp.

We spoke about FL Studio, Reason Essentials, Albeton Live and Adobe Audition. 

There is four things I will discuss about to help make your decision.

FL Studio

• User-friendly and Support - Fl Studio is a straight forward program to use and is very user-friendly. The official website alone provides so much support to users such as help files for every version of the program with videos, technical support and forums for everyone to come together. In addition there are so many Youtube tutorials and forums that many people use.

• Features - There is a huge amount of features in FL Studio. Like even when I first saw it, I just wanted to use everything at the same time. Every new upgrade brings new features and the main ones include: Performance mode, Multi-touch support, Playlist (199 up from 99), Linking includes MIDI input port, Playlist and Piano Roll, Piano Roll, Right-click data entry, Plugin Picker, Mixer, Options. This features are always being improved and being added to. For more information go to http://www.image-line.com/documents/flstudio.html.

•  Plugins - Like the features, there is a huge range of plugins. They are even new or have been updated. The updated Plugins include: FL Flowstone, Newtone 2, Warp editors, Harmour, ZGameEditor Visualizer and Direct Wave. The New Plugins are, BassDrum, GMS, Effector, Patcher, VFX Key Mapper, VFX Colour Mapper. Some of you will know what this is all about and others who are just starting out may have no clue. This website has an explanation of all the plugins so it would be ideal to check it. http://www.image-line.com/documents/flstudio.html

• Price - The prices as mentioned before varies from $99.00 to $1000.00. The plugins, content, software tools can all be bought separate when purchasing a starter pack but may turn out to be more expensive than purchasing the full complete FL Studio Pack for $1000.

 Reason Essentials

• User-friendly and Support- Reviews prove that this is  a powerful and easy to use. There is so much that can this program to do and Propellerhead  has organised this program well to make it easy to use. The website also has support catergorized into user support, shop support, support news and support contact. There is also forums online which is a good place to communicate. 

• Features - This website has it all. http://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/index.cfm?fuseaction=get_article&article=features_instruments. The great features of Reason Essentials include the Instruments, Creative Flow, Effects, Mixing, Rack Extensions, Recording and Sequencing and Sounds. 

•  Plugins -Rack Essentials is a major plugin that is popular. It opens up to third party developers. As part of this there is a Polar, Pulsar and Radical Piano. Don't forget to look at the site for more information.

• Price -Prices vary from $120 - $300. A different between with FL Studio and Reason Essentials that you have to pay for upgrades whereas for FL Studios all upgrades are free with your purchase.The prices also indicate however that FL Studio is a more advanced product.

 Albeton Live

• User-friendly and Support-There is some support on the website. There is not as much as the other programs on the site its self but I am certain there will be forums and videos available in addition to their website. https://www.ableton.com/en/help/. 

• Features - The features are not as professionally recognized when compared to Reason Essentials. This programs features includes: Audio and MIDI Tracks, Scenes, Send and Return Tracks, Audio Inputs, Max for Life, Audio Slicing and Groove Pool. This website goes into more detail about the various features included in the range of Albeton Range. https://www.ableton.com/en/live/feature-comparison/

• Plugins - I found this site (http://www.everythingableton.com/category/free-audio-plugins/) where they offer a free plugin every week. Some of the recent ones include: Orchestra sound library, Harmony Box, Glitch and Fuzz/overdrive effect. This is great and they have a wide range of plugins for every new tune.

• Price -Prices range from $599 to $1198. This is for the range of Live 9 for Intro, Standard and Suite. The starter off package includes a lot more than the other starter packages for the other programs but then again it is more expensive than the other starter packages.

Adobe Audition

• User-friendly and Support - Adobe is an internationally recognized brand and its format is consistent over all products. It is a very user friendly product and has support of the website. This website has the support contacts. The support is not as broad as the other programs but it is sufficient to get help. http://helpx.adobe.com/audition.html?promoid=DINUG

• Features - There are so many features. They include: Fast, precise editing, High-performance audio engine, Intuitive user interface, Track count limited only by CPU power, Real-time clip stretching, Powerful effects, Native audio effects, Powerful sweetening tools, Effects workflow enhancements, Powerful effects routing and VST3 support, Clip grouping, Favorites in Effects Rack, Tools for efficient session management, Fast and flexible batch processing and Trim to Selection. This is not all the features and for a description this website is perfect for more information. http://www.adobe.com/au/products/audition/features.html

•  Plugins - This is some steps that I found on the site in regards to installing programs. 

1. Choose Effects > Audio Plug-in Manager.
2. In the VST Plug-in Folders section, click Add to specify custom folders you want to scan for plug‑ins. Click Default to specify the standard VST folder for your operating system.
3. In the Available Plug-ins section, click Scan For Plug-ins.
4. Select the plug-ins you want to access in Adobe Audition, and then click OK

• Price - Prices vary from a subscription which costs $19.99, upgrades at $122.38 and full version for $585.00. It is cheaper compared to other programs and not used as much as other programs such as FL Studio for proffessional producers. 

Opinions will come soon but this comparison is great for those who have their own preferences and can pick and choose what they like.