Best choice for music production software?

[ToxicPlague666]

Firstly, how is the software in general? What's the difference between ACID MS10 & FL Studio (or any other software as well.)? Also, does it use loops/samples/soundpools? It seems like it is a good piece of software, but I don't want to throw the money down for it just to end up being terrible or far too generic. What are your thoughts?

[Shebbe]

Define "generic". What is it you're looking for? What type of music will you make?
I've used ACID Pro 7 (probably identical to this steam release) quite some time for creating mixes (dj-sets, not mixing single tracks). It's quite solid, has a cool beatmapper, supports vst's.

Generally outdated on the outside though. Windows xp style UI and it can be quite confusing with vst's fx's access and how the chains work.
If you want to record a lot of stuff I could definitely recommend this over FL Studio as tracking stuff is just much easier. But there are a lot of other programs that record quite easy too.

For digital / electronic music productions I could recommend FL Studio but also any other that is not ACID. FL Studio is known for it's ease of use piano roll but it's routing / mixer functionality is not that conventional. You need to have at least some knowledge to understand what you're doing.
In terms of your question about samples/loops I think both offer some but I wouldn't rely on buying one specific DAW just for it's soundbanks. There are much better ones on the internet to buy.

[EDIT] If you're uncertain what works best for you. Most DAW's offer a trial of some sort.
Just check them out and see what fits you most.
Here are some links to help you out:

ACID Software
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/acidsoftware

FL Studio
https://www.image-line.com/flstudio/

Ableton Live
https://www.ableton.com/en/trial/

[DiamondPugs]

Originally posted by MetalMayhemHQ:

Firstly, how is the software in general? What's the difference between ACID MS10 & FL Studio (or any other software as well.)? Also, does it use loops/samples/soundpools? It seems like it is a good piece of software, but I don't want to throw the money down for it just to end up being terrible or far too generic. What are your thoughts?

I will asume you are using Windows. In windows there are many good DAWs, and taking the desicion of which one is the right one for you is though. You can basically do the same stuff with any of them, but how you do it can be quite different.

From experience (I'm by no means professional) I've used FL studio more for drum loops. For recording and mixing if you want to go the conventional way (Good old known) you can go Pro Tools. On Windows I've heard good comments about Reaper (cheap) and Reason. I have not used them so I cannot comment about them.

I would like to help you more, but since some time ago I moved to Linux so Ardour became my DAW of choice.

[ToxicPlague666]

Originally posted by MadXav:

Originally posted by MetalMayhemHQ:

Firstly, how is the software in general? What's the difference between ACID MS10 & FL Studio (or any other software as well.)? Also, does it use loops/samples/soundpools? It seems like it is a good piece of software, but I don't want to throw the money down for it just to end up being terrible or far too generic. What are your thoughts?

I will asume you are using Windows. In windows there are many good DAWs, and taking the desicion of which one is the right one for you is though. You can basically do the same stuff with any of them, but how you do it can be quite different.

From experience (I'm by no means professional) I've used FL studio more for drum loops. For recording and mixing if you want to go the conventional way (Good old known) you can go Pro Tools. On Windows I've heard good comments about Reaper (cheap) and Reason. I have not used them so I cannot comment about them.

I would like to help you more, but since some time ago I moved to Linux so Ardour became my DAW of choice.

Hey, I really appreciate the answer! Thank you for giong so in-depth with the details, I perfectly understand what you mean now!

[ToxicPlague666]

Originally posted by MadXav:

Originally posted by MetalMayhemHQ:

Firstly, how is the software in general? What's the difference between ACID MS10 & FL Studio (or any other software as well.)? Also, does it use loops/samples/soundpools? It seems like it is a good piece of software, but I don't want to throw the money down for it just to end up being terrible or far too generic. What are your thoughts?

I will asume you are using Windows. In windows there are many good DAWs, and taking the desicion of which one is the right one for you is though. You can basically do the same stuff with any of them, but how you do it can be quite different.

From experience (I'm by no means professional) I've used FL studio more for drum loops. For recording and mixing if you want to go the conventional way (Good old known) you can go Pro Tools. On Windows I've heard good comments about Reaper (cheap) and Reason. I have not used them so I cannot comment about them.

I would like to help you more, but since some time ago I moved to Linux so Ardour became my DAW of choice.

That's a very good answer as well. I apologize for not elaborating much on my initial post, in which I'm glad to see that you know what I mean. The genre of music I work with is in the realm of Atmospheric Symphonic/Orchestral Folk Black/Death Metal. (Note: I don't mean to be a complete 'genre-♥♥♥♥♥', but I know exactly which style I'm going for.) Thanks for the phenomenal answer & the links of your sources!