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Thread: you have $300 to pick your 1st piece of hardware

  1. #1
    heiderbeats.com Heider's Avatar
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    you have $300 to pick your 1st piece of hardware

    [font=verdana]what kind of production hardware would you pick to get your studio started? i know this isn't much cash to work with, but just curious...

    i've mostly just used fruity loops and a bit of Reason, and i wanna get a few hardware pieces....talkin like synths/keyboards/drum machines/etc (btw - i produce dnb if that matters)
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    id get

    a usb midi keyboard, in the uk u can get one for around 100 quid.

    or a good pair of monitors.
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    Superfluous Third Eye Zac Jackson's Avatar
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    AHOY MATEYS! the sex molesters's Avatar
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    i'd save up another 100 or so and get a microkorg
    "If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life...."

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    Animate Object Agent Sunshine's Avatar
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    Buy something used. Like an old Roland machine of some sort. But yeah, for $300 most stuff I'd wanna buy is way too expensive.
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    method's Avatar
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    a mixer & a good pair of studio monitor headphones. you can pick those up on a $300 budget. any synth for $300 more than likely isn't going to have what you want.

  7. #7
    ace of spades Jungle Jessi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by djinergy
    i'd save up another 100 or so and get a microkorg
    i agree with this if you have your heart set on a synth.

    microkorgs are pretty damn cool.

    a midi controller with some vst's could also work for ya.

    personally i would go for moniters, just cause it dosn't matter what kind of hardware you have if everything you do on it sounds like crap.

    but thats just me.

    (FYI- if you are looking to spend your money NOW rather then later, then i would head to guitar center as early as possible on monday morning for their memorial day sale.

    most of the shit that is on sale is crap, but if you go early enough (they open at 8 and there will be a line outside of the door) there is always at least a couple killer deals. :yes:)

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    fleeing the temple mattb's Avatar
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    Last edited by mattb; 2005-05-28 at 06:40 PM.
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  9. #9
    Animate Object Agent Sunshine's Avatar
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    Hold on, why exactly do you want hardware?
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  10. #10
    method's Avatar
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    holy shit - the raveOlutions have gotten really cheap - when i was looking at hardware a couple years ago, they were over 2x that!

  11. #11
    .. djliquidice's Avatar
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    i say don't waste money on hardware just to realize how hard it is to make good music. Use software. If you can kick ass on the software, then the hardware will be easy.
    Focusing on work and my book. :)

  12. #12
    heiderbeats.com Heider's Avatar
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    seems like the majority here and other places are pointing me towards a decent pair of studio monitors, and you are totally right. i've produced stuff in the past on my cheap computer speaks, and it ends up sounding totally different on a better system. i actually burn some tracks to cd and throw them in my car to see how it actually sounds (my car system actually sounds better than the one i use to produce).

    Quote Originally Posted by Jungle Jessi
    i agree with this if you have your heart set on a synth.

    microkorgs are pretty damn cool.

    a midi controller with some vst's could also work for ya.

    personally i would go for moniters, just cause it dosn't matter what kind of hardware you have if everything you do on it sounds like crap.

    but thats just me.

    (FYI- if you are looking to spend your money NOW rather then later, then i would head to guitar center as early as possible on monday morning for their memorial day sale.

    most of the shit that is on sale is crap, but if you go early enough (they open at 8 and there will be a line outside of the door) there is always at least a couple killer deals. :yes:)
    i actually checked out that microkorg on the memorial day sale. seemed pretty cool for the price. i might just end up getting a cheap midi controller like the oxygen 8 and just stick mostly to software.

    I did pick up one of these cards though...
    http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Delta1010LT-main.html

    next step....monitors.

  13. #13
    heiderbeats.com Heider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent Sunshine
    Hold on, why exactly do you want hardware?
    Quote Originally Posted by djliquidice
    i say don't waste money on hardware just to realize how hard it is to make good music. Use software. If you can kick ass on the software, then the hardware will be easy.
    i might not want it for the best reasons. like....i like messing with the physical knobs instead of clicking around on my computer. but i have heard in the past that I can get a "fuller" sound from hardware than software. @ liquidice - i already know it's hard to make good music in hardware or software. i've used fruityloops/FL studio for about 5 years now, and I just felt like I was being held back in a few things. maybe I should just give Reason another chance.

  14. #14
    Punched in the nose. Jay Selway's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DJCnut
    [font=verdana]what kind of production hardware would you pick to get your studio started? i know this isn't much cash to work with, but just curious...

    i've mostly just used fruity loops and a bit of Reason, and i wanna get a few hardware pieces....talkin like synths/keyboards/drum machines/etc (btw - i produce dnb if that matters)
    [/font]
    A good midi controller keyboard.

    If you already have one of those and you don't have a good audio interface, look into getting a firewire interface.

    It eliminates the need for a mixer / sound card down the line. While it doesn't actually generate 'sound' its an essential peice of gear for a studio with external gear.

    I'd recommend a Motu 828 mk2, but that's about $750 .. which is outta your price range.

    I almost forgot, if you have $300 to spend and you haven't done so yet, save your money and get a decent pair of studio monitors.

    You can be the best producer in the world, but if your production sounds sloppy because you have shit studio monitors - you'll never get anywhere. I currently have Behringer Truth monitors, which are so/so - but only about $350 for the pair. They are basically reverse engineered mackie hr824s. If you can save up some money, get a pair of mackie hr824s, they are expensive, but definitely worth the $.

    Before I bought any external synths, work on getting your studio up to par for easy expansion and for good mixing. After that, buy the external gear...

    But then again, you could save your $ and get a really powerful computer and just use VST soft synths. Most people seem to be going that route anyway.. The VSTs are so powerful these days.
    myspace Jay Selway & Magnus 'Stronghold' (Out NOW on Ministry of Sound)

  15. #15
    Punched in the nose. Jay Selway's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mattb
    Don't get either of those.

    If you dont' have an interface to hook them into, they are useless.

    Especially the Moog. If you dont' have a midi to CV convertor you'll only be able to use it for un-synced sound sampling. You won't have the ability to program patterns.
    myspace Jay Selway & Magnus 'Stronghold' (Out NOW on Ministry of Sound)

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