Equipment for a beginner to start producing

[MisterApe]

Thanks for the help everyone, thought I would have to spend alot of money to start producing

Honestly, producing is only as expensive as you want it to be, I know plenty of guys that just make music using a laptop and a set of headphones.
Also, DAW wise, ableton and FL studio have the best stock plugins, cubase really lacks in that department honestly.
Except Padshop, padshop is amazing

(Coming from a cubase 7.5 user.)

 

[Menosance]

Thanks for the help everyone, thought I would have to spend alot of money to start producing

Not at all mate. My total costs for now are around 600 quid.

 

[kuzami]

looking to spend around £500 - £1000

Including PC?

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One of the stickied threads is made for this shit http://dnbforum.com/showthread.php/...o-get-started-in-Music-Production-quot-Thread

So yeah, try out as many DAWs as you can be fucked to (and i highly recommend going 64 bit, especially if youve got a decent puter), and definitely try to learn synthesis or any sound creating/mixing stuff before you go out and buy plugins. learn to drive before upgrading the exhaust, yeah.

I also recommend getting a focusrite. I have a 2i2, but with your budget a 2i6 would be much better.

The only difference between the two scarlett's is the number of inputs/outputs. If you just need two inputs, just get the 2i2. Or if you have mere to spend.

 

[Tundra]

Including PC?

yeah, already got a laptop though so gonna probably grab a 30 day free trial of ableton and see if it runs on it

 

[RUSSLA]

I have an almost new Novation Impulse 25 Keyboard for sale danny if you need? £95

 

[Tundra]

I have an almost new Novation Impulse 25 Keyboard for sale danny if you need? £95

Sweet might be interested in that, need to see if my laptop can run the software before I start getting stuff though otherwise I'm gonna be spending a fair bit on a new computer, will inbox you when I know mate

 

[sonic72]

All DAWs come with built in plugins, so Reason is not unique in this. Reason has limitations because it does not run VSTs, and that is a big downside imo. There's lots of free plugins that will get the job done, it's what you do withthem that counts.

Something like a Novation LaunchKey 49 controller keyboard would be a good entry level keyboard. The Rokit speakers are good for entry level, certainly in your price point. Just take note that the samller Rokit's do not go down that low in the bass department, so some headphones like Beyer Dynamic DT 990 Pro might be a good to have as well if you're going for small Rokit's.

That is all the hardware you need to get going aside a computer, and a dedicated soundcard. You can use the output from your computer for the time being if you cannot afford to get everything at once.

There are some ok entry level soundcards between £100 & £150, Presonus do a decent cheap one.

What spec is your Dell Laptop? You can get a decent i7 Lenovo with a high benchmark for just under £600, alternatively you can build an i7 desktop for about £400 - £500.

 

[Tundra]

All DAWs come with built in plugins, so Reason is not unique in this. Reason has limitations because it does not run VSTs, and that is a big downside imo. There's lots of free plugins that will get the job done, it's what you do withthem that counts.

Something like a Novation LaunchKey 49 controller keyboard would be a good entry level keyboard. The Rokit speakers are good for entry level, certainly in your price point. Just take note that the samller Rokit's do not go down that low in the bass department, so some headphones like Beyer Dynamic DT 990 Pro might be a good to have as well if you're going for small Rokit's.

That is all the hardware you need to get going aside a computer, and a dedicated soundcard. You can use the output from your computer for the time being if you cannot afford to get everything at once.

There are some ok entry level soundcards between £100 & £150, Presonus do a decent cheap one.

What spec is your Dell Laptop? You can get a decent i7 Lenovo with a high benchmark for just under £600, alternatively you can build an i7 desktop for about £400 - £500.

My laptop has 4GB ram and an i5 processor

 

[LikesItHardware]

Reason does have 3rd party plugins since version 6.5. Sure it's not VST but Reason's own format. Many of the 'plugins' for Reason have huge amounts of routing with different instruments and fx, perfect for the more automation heavy types of dnb.

 

[rysk]

My laptop has 4GB ram and an i5 processor

that should munch through pretty much anything you chuck at it as a beginner... i run an i5 with 8gb ram and i've never seen my CPU usage go above 20%, even with multiple CPU heavy synths running. Though i do tend to work in audio most of the time.

you should be able to chuck more ram in your laptop with relative ease.

 

[flopix]

Use about any software(cubase,studio one,ableton,fl studio...), i suggest a desktop computer but before you buy any midi keyboards i suggest you firstly buy studio monitors + some acoustic treatment then think about midi keyboards.

 

[RUSSLA]

Sweet might be interested in that, need to see if my laptop can run the software before I start getting stuff though otherwise I'm gonna be spending a fair bit on a new computer, will inbox you when I know mate

sound mate no probs, my mate lives in croydon and comes down here a fair bit so i'm sure we could arrange something

 

[sonic72]

I think the i5 laptop should definitely see you right for now, which will give you more money to spend in other departments.

Decent i5 laptop processors (dual core) benchmark with a score of about 4500, and my i5 desktop (quad) benchmarks at about 6000. a decent i7 laptop benchmarks at about 8000, and an i7 desktop is between 8000 & 9000 benchmark score for the processor.

I can get almost 100 tracks in Ableton with loads of VSTs, and then I'm hitting the problem point, but seeing as only one of my tracks was that big, it handles all the other 60+ track songs with no problem.

Your i5 laptop is probably approx 3/4 the processing power of my i5 desktop, so I reckon you should be able to push it to 60/70 tracks, and then if you are hitting high cpu you can bounce some tracks to audio, or do other things to bring the cpu down, like automating hungry VSTs off when not playing in the song.

 

[MisterApe]

I can get almost 100 tracks in Ableton with loads of VSTs, and then I'm hitting the problem point, but seeing as only one of my tracks was that big, it handles all the other 60+ track songs with no problem.

For the record, my i7 4770k can handle 150-230 channel projects (Never gone over that.. yet ). So any i7 should be plenty strong .
But I do resample basically everything.

 

[djdizzy]

like others said, depends on your budget. there are cheaper daws like fl studio but i'd recommend doing a trial. that way you can test them out, daws are like shoes, you have to find the right fit. personally I like ableton, I can't stand fl studio, it's a pain to navigate and it kills my workflow, others find the opposite to be true.

as far as synths, that depends entirely on what sounds you're going for. subtractive synths are a great start but wavetable synths aren't much harder to get your mind around. fm synths are more advanced and I def wouldn't recommend learning on fm, maybe once you have a grip on general synthesis. maybe you want to work with samples? then you might want to start with your daw's sampler or give ni kontakt a try.

 

[alz]

beats by dre

 

[djdizzy]

you should definitely get good monitors. I produce in headphones cuz I don't have a good room for monitors. it's no-no to produce in headphones but if that's your only choice then go for speakers/headphones that don't boost any frequencies. you want everything to be as transparent as possible so you hear an accurate representation of the song. I use sony mdr-7506's and really love them. I've had sennheiser hd series too, i used those when i spun vinyls, they're good also.

 

[Tundra]

beats by dre

Are the pink ones best for producing? hahaha