Starting with Hardware

H

Heartman

New Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2009
Location
Belgium
So I'm planning to buy some hardware to produce and mix some dnb, i used software such as FL studio before.
I thought i'd buy a Korg E-mx to start with but i think many of you people might have some other ideas, please keep on mind that im on quite a low budget and will only invest on more and maybe more expencive gear when I'm used to using the hardware.
So what should i get to start with? :D
(would be great to know the price or online shop)


Thanks

Heartman.
 
I wouldnt suggest just buying something because it looks good, you better have a plan of use before getting it, especially if you are on a strict budget. Look up some videos of the machine and see what it does. But I'm guessing you already know what it can do for you...

A good tip to go for your 1st hardware is to try and buy something used. This way if you don't like the piece you can sell it onward without practically any loss of value. If you buy it new for 499£ and then try to sell it for 450£ nobody will buy it. But if you buy it used for 294£ and sell it again for 287£ you've lost nothing.

I've only once got to jam with the electribe and while it is fun and probably has tons of features i never got to try, it seemed more like a techno box than a hardware synth. Was really fun to use it live. Jam with live while a mate was taking care of the beats on a computer.

But as I said, consider your need before you buy. I got me an oldskool sampler for 300€ but i merely run my sounds through that and mixer preamps and back to the pc to beef them up.
 
funkmod said:
mircokorg for the epic win :teeth:
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Yeah.gif
 
funkmod said:
mircokorg for the epic win :teeth:
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truth. the "emx" is actually a great little machine for making sounds and sampling them. its fairly easy to learn the basics of sound design on and has some great effects to run your sound through. the tubes are super PHAT too. Its better to use as a sequenced piece, or even just to sample. i had one for a long while, but sold it to buy some studio monitors as i found i could pretty much make any sound on there with softsynths. sure miss those tubes tho.
 
barnesy00 said:
yeh im planning on gettin one of these when i move house, any more info on them, do they work well with logic?
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i personally never used it with logic .
i usually make a tone of a particular sound with it and record in with a sound card and sample it into reason the easiest way i have found so far for my particular sound card but im sure you could find other ways ?
edit: also midi might help as well
 
logikz said:
i resample everything anyway, no midi what so ever. midi might be handy come to think of it...
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You don't Midi up your Hardware to your Hosts Clock?
I assume you only make short riffs... non Midied riffs come out of time and don't sound right.

If you're sampling a single hit, no problem, but riffs and beats won't sound right.


My suggestion for the OP would be to start with either an Electribe EA MKII or an Electribe ER MKII. One rocks as hard or harder than a real 303 (imho) and the other is amazing for making synthesized Drums.

Both are fairly cheap used and, very easy to program, and once midied up to your Host, will yield years of fun and quality noises.

http://www.synthesisers.co.uk/eaMKII.htm

She's a bad lil mamajamma! ^

When paired up with the ER MKII - you can make Electro at any BPM for the rest of your life.

Pair both of those up with an EMX and it's on like Donkey Kong.


The EMX is an amazing tool, the sequencer is twice as long as the ER and EA... but the major difference is that the EMX is essentially a Rompler... it takes sampled waveforms and gives the user a lot of flexibility over the sound whereas the EA and ER are both full fledged digital Synths that create the sound from (math) Algorithms. The Filters on the EA and ER are superior to the EMX... but the EMX has a lot of quality fx built in. All 3 of them are worth every penny imo.


Then, when you've mastered those and you're ready for the big leagues, you can try on this Master of the Drum Machines.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/machinedrum.php

Everytime I pull this out ^, I never get anything done, because I get lost in all of the presets... I'll turn it on and sit there for hours tweaking patches and creaming over how amazing it sounds.
 
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I've checked out the microkorg and it's possibilities. Might get one of those and yeah, i'll try to find some secondhand gear(I was gonna do that from the start xD)
But it's really hard to find stuff like the korg emx for example on ebay or any other, i mean, once theyre on there they are usually buy now items And they have the same price as a new one.
But I'm not planning to buy any new gear at all, I need to get some experience with the used stuff first.

So anyone knows some online(music)shops that do 2nd hand sales?

By the way, thank you all for helping out :D

Heartman
 
By the way i just found a Roland Groovebox MC 505 on a 2nd hand sale.
Would that be a good start?Has anyone ever worked with one of those?
 
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr...d+Groovebox+MC+505+&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Doesn't look like it goes for much...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_MC-505

Looks like a simple rompler, I've never heard one so I don't know what the quality of the samples are.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Korg-Electribe-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4838ee313a

Besides not having the manual, that looks like a solid deal. Mine was $220ish new... these things retain their value VERY well.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Korg-Electribe-...ewItemQQptZKeyboards_MIDI?hash=item27ae4fb0e1

Looks decent... and if no one bids on it, it's a steal at that price.


You can get the Roland groove box and have fun learning a piece of kit... honestly, it looks like a clusterfuck imo and I don't imagine it sounding all that hot... or you can spend an extra $100ish and get a Synth that'll walk circles around that Roland groovebox in terms of 'ease of use', 'sound', and pure 'fun factor'.

For $200ish.. you can't go wrong with what Korg created with the Electribe lineup... they're all tested and tried with Musicians all over the world.


g/l deciding
 
Protoplasym said:
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_tr...d+Groovebox+MC+505+&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Doesn't look like it goes for much...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_MC-505

Looks like a simple rompler, I've never heard one so I don't know what the quality of the samples are.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Korg-Electribe-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4838ee313a

Besides not having the manual, that looks like a solid deal. Mine was $220ish new... these things retain their value VERY well.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Korg-Electribe-...ewItemQQptZKeyboards_MIDI?hash=item27ae4fb0e1

Looks decent... and if no one bids on it, it's a steal at that price.


You can get the Roland groove box and have fun learning a piece of kit... honestly, it looks like a clusterfuck imo and I don't imagine it sounding all that hot... or you can spend an extra $100ish and get a Synth that'll walk circles around that Roland groovebox in terms of 'ease of use', 'sound', and pure 'fun factor'.

For $200ish.. you can't go wrong with what Korg created with the Electribe lineup... they're all tested and tried with Musicians all over the world.


g/l deciding
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The thing is i can't pay those since i dont have paypal or a cc, i have to transfer the money to a bank acc number.xD
But thanks anyway
 
Oh and if i should buy one of those korg electribe ER1 or EA
Wich one would be more interesting?
The EA doesnt have drums on it does it? since its a bass synth?
 
Heartman said:
The thing is i can't pay those since i dont have paypal or a cc, i have to transfer the money to a bank acc number.xD
But thanks anyway
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Dang... not to tell you how to live your life.. but getting a CC and making a single purchase on it, receiving a bill, and paying it in full at the end of the month is the safest way to buy things online.

The money doesn't leave your account until you pay the bill at the end of the month.
 
Heartman said:
Oh and if i should buy one of those korg electribe ER1 or EA
Wich one would be more interesting?The EA doesnt have drums on it does it? since its a bass synth?
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Ask yourself... "Do I want a Hardware synth for making drums or Bass/Leads?".

They are both very badass at what they do... but honestly... I guess since you're asking.. I say get the Drum one.

Get the ER (MKII if you can afford it) and learn that puppy inside and out. It'll make Drums of all kinds, and Bass (if you know what you're doing, lol), and all kinds of misc and weird FX Noises.


g/l with it:)
 
i certainly wouldnt buy a drummachine. i own two and theyre both bloody useless. ill tell you what a guy once told me when i was looking into some hardware long ago, dont buy a drummachine, buy a sampler. maybe a bigger desk and a soundcard with more outs, maybe better monitors. might not be as fun as a synth but i think youll thank yourself in the long run
 
logikz said:
i certainly wouldnt buy a drummachine. i own two and theyre both bloody useless. ill tell you what a guy once told me when i was looking into some hardware long ago, dont buy a drummachine, buy a sampler. maybe a bigger desk and a soundcard with more outs, maybe better monitors. might not be as fun as a synth but i think youll thank yourself in the long run
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Lol... so because you can't get anything out of a drum machine means this guy won't... that's solid logic.

Since he already has a computer and a Sequencer... he's basically got a sampler with his DAW. He doesn't need to spend money on a Hardware Sampler.

From the sound of it (imo), he's looking for something to turn on and have fun with... and make noise with that'll be usefull to him when making his music.

Learning an Electribe and using it to make fun and useful noises is 10 million times easier than learning any Sampler... and it's cheaper.


He's looking for something to have fun with though.



I just realized... lol.. no wonder you don't like Drum Machines... you don't bloody midi your Hardware to your DAW = riffs that come out of time.
 
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