A little background on my music performance/composition history. I have studied the Jazz technique on the sax for close to 6 years, with a heavy (and I mean HEAVY) focus on improvisation- culminating in running a paying combo for about 7 months. Most of my compositions derive from the classical and neo-classical fuges, marches, and quartet pieces. Also, I have "studied" blues lead guitar, and "thrash metal" rythm guitar for a good 4 years thanks to a garage band I was in. also I have taken SOME lessons in piano, enough that I'm probably at an intermediate level. unfortunately, college and work made me drop my musical persuits over the past 2 years, and since then my tastes in music have changed: Coltrain has become Chicane, Stevie Ray Vaughn was ousted by Tiesto, and even the revered Steve Vai has been replaced by Deep Dish.

My equipment
currently I have at my disposal: 2 saxes, 3 guitars, a PC, 1 studio mike, and these software packages: Music time, Cakewalk Guitar studio, and Acid

My Dilemma
I have lots of ideas in my head for ambient/trance progressions, melodies, and just some cool things that I have heard/done in jazz and improv that I think would sound interesting when putting an electric feel to them. what the biggest problem I face is going from a purely live instrument to one that is programmed as much as played. a lot of the sounds that I have in my head I can't get out of the midi on my PC (soundblaster Live 5.1 planinum soundcard). the sounds I want are change a quality of "fuzzy" and "buzzed." best way to describe it would be breath tones on a sax, or slight reverb/fuz on a tube amp (think mesa boogie half stack).

If I were only able to buy one piece of equipment to help me get started, what should it be? keep in ming 2 things: 1) I'm a poor college student and my budget is probably going to be $400 at best. 2) I want to bring the live improved techniques I picked up with jazz and blues to the electronic music genre.


and to be honest, I read most of the "new people read this" threads, and got lost VERY fast in a lot of the terminology and description of methods, so this may have been covered before. if so I appologize for my repost. :hs: