How much money did you people spend on equipment? Is producing like djing where you have to buy stuff after? (like records)

I want to play around with stuff so im just wondering how much all this stuff would cost?

Do you need a synth, drum machine? What exactly do you need to make music?

Thanks.

Synths, Sampler/Drum Machine, Sequencer, keyboard, computer, sound card, mixer, monitor speakers.

You don't need all of these, but a computer, sound card and some form of speakers are a must. Keyboard/midi controller is very helpful while synths, samplers, drum machines and sequecer/mixers can all be done in software these days if you prefer.

I don't now how much I've spent and frankly I don't want to know. A lot more than my car cost.

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quote:

Originally posted by hey cheggy Synths, Sampler/Drum Machine, Sequencer, keyboard, computer, sound card, mixer, monitor speakers. You don't need all of these, but a computer, sound card and some form of speakers are a must. Keyboard/midi controller is very helpful while synths, samplers, drum machines and sequecer/mixers can all be done in software these days if you prefer. I don't now how much I've spent and frankly I don't want to know. A lot more than my car cost.

Thanks

I currently have a computer (p4 2.4ghz), soundcard (some crap one) and speakers (cerwins and jbls). If i wanna get keyboard/midi controller is this supposed to be hooked up to my computer? and what software and stuff do i need?

quote:

Originally posted by Dmatrox Thanks I currently have a computer (p4 2.4ghz), soundcard (some crap one) and speakers (cerwins and jbls). If i wanna get keyboard/midi controller is this supposed to be hooked up to my computer? and what software and stuff do i need?

If you want, you can just leave it at that and produce entirley with software, a lot of people do it.

Basically you'll need a sequencer (Reason 2.5 and/or FL Studio 4.12 are good programs to start out with). You'll no doubt want some software synths if you choose FL (Reason can't handle VST or DXI plugins), and some samples are a must, especially if you choose FL, as the samples that come with it frankly suck.

State Of Matter & Luke Terry are two people who use FL, they should have a track or two up in the amatuar forum.

There are a lot of people who use reason as well, Bren-F, MK-S & Mr. Mystery for instance.

Keep in mind that the above two sequencers both cost money (unless you warez them ), so if you're looking for a freeware alternative, then Buzz would be a good choice (James Holden and Sasha have been known to use it). A few other sequencers include Cubase, Logic, Sonar etc. It's really up to you to try them out and see which one you like. Personally I prefer FL, but that's just me.

I would advise against buying hardware at this stage, make a start with software and see if you actually enjoy producing, then look at hardware if you like, although it actually isn't nesecary to make good (signable) music.

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@ hey cheggy
don't forget that if you perform live you have some hardware to play around with which cannot be done so quickly with software.
Just think about turning the cutoff + resonance the same time.

I'll be an eternal hardware fanatic. Hell yea they cost a lot but you can hug them, tweak them with the knobs & sliders, they don't crash as much, and still I find it more musical than staring at a screen for some hours.

point is you don't need them, everything cheggy said is true but in my case you'll have a lot more fun producing with hardware.
If you check the second hand market they don't have to cost that much

grtz

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quote:

Originally posted by DeZmA @ hey cheggy don't forget that if you perform live you have some hardware to play around with which cannot be done so quickly with software. Just think about turning the cutoff + resonance the same time.

No doubt, I use hardware myself. I was just trying to provide the minimum and the cheapest alternative.

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alright thanks guys. ill try messing with the software first and see if i like it then may be get some hardware

i only know reason, it think its best to try that (or any similar program (if there are such) first) to get a good view on how a synth works and how to get it to make the sound you want it to make, same for drum computers, compressors, samplers and alll the other stuff

all that would cost you is a 100/200 $ for a nice midi keyboard (will always come in handy i think) but thats not even required in the begin

good luck,

robin

I've had hardware, which I've sold for the simple reason that it's a big hassle getting the sound into the mix. Yes it's fun programming the synth, and the output is superb, but you just cannot compare to the ease when using software based synths.

With software based synths, you don't have to worry about cable routing, midi port setup, recording the output, syncing that output, making sure you aren't using ghetto cables that can degrade quality, etc, etc, the list goes on.

So it all depends on how far you're willing to go.