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What should i buy

  • 20 replies
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Topic What should i buy
Hey i was just wondering when i start to buy equipment what should i buy first and what kind of stuff do i need so if you could answer this i would appreciate it.
2
It seems you asked this question twice... and this is something I'd like to elaborate on, in another thread, this one...

What style are you going for? Do you have anything which can be used? Does your computer run stuff like FL studio or Reason in a decent way?

If you're starting from scratch, I reckon you'd save up for a decent computersystem first. Most recording and producing is done through a computer nowadays.

I'd leave pricing and priceranges aside for now. Just make sure you have plan. From there on, I (and perhaps any others) might advice on best value for money equipment.

Please just answer the following questions in a "non-screaming" way... the thread you started sounds screamy.. without using caps even.

- What style are you aiming for?
- Do you have a decent computer system to work with? If so, perhaps any specs.
- How proficient are you with music and musical instrument use? Any history at all? Or do you have a hard time keeping a guitar and bass apart?

So, just answer these questions in a proper way, that way people are willing to give advice.
3
Thanks well i have the fl studio demo and i dont really have a computer setup im pretty good with music i play the drums saxaphone and i used to play the guitar im looking to produce rap or rock. i would like to know what kind of computer system would be good. so there is some info, and another question thanks
4
Well, there's an answer we can work with ;) sorry if I came off a bit harsh.

Well, if I would I would just give you a link from a local store and tell you, buy this. I just would like to head out pointers on what things you should be aware of. And no, I'm not any IT guy with loads of experience and seas of knowledge. This is purely based on personal experience and knowledge.

For mainly production, I'd consider getting a hold of a computer which, and somehow it seems obvious, one of the newer range processors. A duo or even a quadcore as they're far more superior then current single core chips around. Why I say this, is because you don't want to have your mixing stuff lagging or being choppy while being at work.

Besides an aforementioned processor, I'd dish out on a good amount of RAM memory. I'd say 2 gb and in a moment I'll tell you why. Most people are nowadays talking Windows Vista. I still swear by XP. I find it far more reliable and less of a systemhog then Vista. And given that a lot of soundhardware isn't THAT compatible with Vista, I'd say XP is the way to... not go, but stay ;) And now, why 2 gb. It seems results point out the best performance with 2 gb of RAM when running Windows 32-bit. 64-bit only has use if you plan on running your music software at 64-bit variations. And also.. XP 32-bit doesn't handle more then 3 GB... (could be fixed in SP3, don't know)

Most systems nowadays come with onboard videocards. I'm not telling you to get a highend card, as those are for games mainly, but get a card. The reason; An onboardcard uses ram memory and it can make your system get choppy at times. Having a dedicated videoycard in it, will take care of it.

As for a hard disk; Go for the largest buffer available. 32 mb at the moment. Buffer is the space the disk writes the data when moving it from A to B. And with production there is a lot of moving. For a while there is something like Raid configurations around, which is pretty much 2 identical harddrives being exact copies. Might be handy if the stuff you're doing is really important, but it's really a choice. And as for size. I wouldn't recomend any 1 TB drives. They are large, yes.. but they're slow. And even the 500 GB ones. You could opt for that one, for storage, samples and whatnot. Have a smaller one, 250 gb. Install windows on it and your DAW of preferance and run it as a dedicated, mixing only thing.

And finally, a soundcard. it's really up to you, and how you'd like to record. If you're recording multitracks, you can go all the way and spend a hefty amount on a Digidesign desk, along with USB and whatnot to have your own multitrackthing going. If you just need a good "processor" to boost performance, there's always stuff like the Mbox 2 from Digidesign... but with so much going on in respect to recording hardware it's pretty difficult to find what fits your needs. So, here's another question; Are you going to just do mixing at home, or are you intending to record full bands at your studio?

So all in short
- Current Duo or Quadcore (look for the sweet spot in prices; There always is an extreme price increase between 2 followup processors. Take the one before that steep increase, that's usually best value. Hence I still swear with my E8400 intel processor.)
- 2 GB ram minimum
- Seperate videocard
- Hard disk with a large buffer. But not extremly large in size as big disks require a lot of searching.
- A top notch soundcard of some sorts. With so many variants and options, we'd have to slim our choices down. Going from $2000 units down to say... $500, I'd say... think it over. And a thing to consider, when recording full bands, you'd need mic's, amps andwhatnot... not everyone is bringing their own.

I do know this is a long process, but it costs a load of money and I feel that anyone who would like to start something, should be given proper advice. Preferably from more people... but heck... I'm putting a bit of time and effort in it.
5
Ok thanks andill mostly just be mixing at my house but i would like to do it for bands too. and i was wondering if youhave any suggestions on computer brands and stuff like that if you could answer this i would appreciate it
6
Well, different brands make different components. I've had bad experiences with complete systems. So I tend to build my own system. I could give you run down with decent manufacturers per component, but that's about it in regards to brands.

Hardrive; Seagate, Western Digital
Processor; Intel, AMD
Motherboard; Asus
Memory; Corsair, Kingston
Videocards; ATI
Soundcard; Digidesign, MOTU, M-Audio, EMU, TC electronic.

That last one, it's really a lot. Pretty much each brand has their share of either firewire of USB external modules, providing either a 1 or 2 inputs up to full 8 and more multitrack posssibilities. But it does come at a price.

Recording at home would require at least a good system + software. Whereas recording other bands, maybe not even at home, would require your studio to be mobile.
7
Ok thanks what kind of software do you think i should get and about how much would all that computr stuff cost? would it be a laptop or a desktop?
8
Well, I'm not from the US, so $ prices might be a guess to me. I might look into european prices and ajdust exchange rate. Will do that, tomorrow.

Software, I'd recommend a good DAW. Pro tools is a name you'll hear often. But Cubase is one. And even Acid would be one. Pro tools surely is the "pro" way to go. I'd recommend to just try some stuff out. Pretty much each program can be downloaded as a demo. You could search for yourself and install them on your current system. Judge by feel, not by full capacity. Something feeling wrong makes it really hard to use a lot of the time.

That's pretty much basics. A DAW. You could go for a Synthworkstation, an sequencer and a lot of VST plugins, but that's something, that'll come along with time. Dishing out loads on EQ programs just to start isn't the best thing to do I think.

it would be a desktop. Hence you still need a screen for it. Laptops are rarely custombuilt. They often have slow harddrives and a more limited capability because of overheating issues.

But check here tomorrow, I'll see if I can assemble something decent, albeit EU prices, it'll give an indication on what to look for.
9
K thanks i appreciate it
10
Well, took a bit longer.

Processor Intel Core™ 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHZ € 159
Motherboard Asus P5QL PRO, P43, Socket-775, DDR2 € 79,50
GPU Gigabyte Radeon HD 4550 512MB DDR3 € 50,50
Soundcard Digidesign Mbox 2 € 450
Memory 2 x Kingston DDR2 HyperX PC6400 1024MB € 31,20
HD Seagate barracuda 500 gb 32mb € 56
Seagate barracuda 500 gb 32mb € 56
Case Gigabyte Triton 180 Black € 59
Power supply Zalman PSU 600W, Ultra Silent, SLI € 99
Small supplies (Cables, Fans) € 40

Total 1080,20

Which all is in EU prices. With currency ex. rate (1 EUR = 1.26366) it would be 1365 USD. And then to add, you still would need a keyboard, mouse and a nice screen. And I haven't even started on monitor speakers. So even for a pretty slim system it's a lot. You also notice that the soundcard is most costly of all. I did however include stuff like a computer case & power supply. People forget to include stuff like that. But whilst I'm at it, I can explain certain choices.

As for the processor, it's a good price/performance thing. It's about a year old now, but still... it's a good workhorse.
The motherboard has 4 slots for memory. You'll be using just 2. But in future expansion you might upgrade, so I left space there.
The Videocard (or GPU) it might look like a Ati radeon gamer thing... but it's not really. It has a passive heatsink, so it doesn't produce unwanted sound.
Memory would equal 2gb in total.
The soundcard... well, it's digidesign, top notch stuff and yes, like I said before, it has a price. It is an external USB device. It has a 2 inputs and a monitor out. For starting up, giving the boost on audioprocessing and recording a thing here and there, it would be enough.
And as for harddrives... 2 32mb buffering discs equalling 1TB. Fast enough to do audio and space enough to store more then enough samples and whatnot. And, with 2 identical drives you might opt for a raid configuration.
And as for the powersupply. I went for a SLI one, which is usually a gamerthing, however, given the reliability and stability on using a system of this, I reckon something that is made for intense use. Something that'll be made for using on high strain.
As for a case, I went for a standard, black case. Nothing that spectacular. But just a say... average case for a price.

So you might do some crossreferencing on this hardware and the one in your local computershop. Might drop by and ask how much a system like this would cost there. If you're having a list with detailed hardware as the one I gave you, they might have an answer for you there.

As I said before, you're still missing a keyboard/mouse and screen. A screen is important, usually bigger is better. And with the videocard to back it up, it won't cause any problems. Average use nowadays is 22" and for future expansions a 2nd one, which could be hooked up on that card.

And also, like I said before, monitor speakers. It's something you don't just buy. You have the check out a lot of those. Listen to them, be critical. Some have brilliant highs en terrible lows, and the other way around. See what fits your need. And if that's not possible, see the other topics here, there might be one about monitors and speakers. I even opened a thread on monitors in the Do it yourself forum on here.
11
Ok thanks and what kind of equipment should i buy for hip hop/rap such as like mpcs midi controllers and stuff like that
12
Ok thanks what kind of equipment should i get such as mpcs or like midi controllers and stuff like that
13
What kind of equipment should i get lie mpcs midi controllers and stuff like that
14
Sorry, I hadn't been on AF for a few days. I think for a Midicontroller I'd go for anything with keys and controller knobs. I'd advice something along the lines of an M-audio Oxygen 49. 49 keys is enough for most use and it has some controller knobs on it.

For a MPC like thing, and if you're just aiming for midicontrol. Get a Korg Padkontrol. I'm happy with mine and I hear a lot of people give it rave reviews. An MPC has it's name in the industry, but I think that I can be cheaper.

If you'd like, you could even combine both and get a Korg Microkontrol. It has triggerpads for drums, assignable controllers and a 49 key range, keyboard.

In most cases a max to say... 16 knobs you can twist and a couple of faders is enough, especially when doing computer recording. Most stuff recorded is processed in different takes anyway. So do yourself a favor and not try and overload with controllable parameters. I mean, when I use reason and I have say.. the Maelstrom synth running, I can assign about 50 parameters, but twisting it all, all the time is to time consuming for a start, unless you're really and experienced Synth "tweaker".

So in short advice;
- Controller; M-Audio Oxygen 49 (or similar if the local store packs anything like those)
- Drums; Korg PadKontrol
or if combining them Korg MicroKontrol 49
15
Wow chaoschrist, you started off a little shaky there but fucking hell, did you make up for it or what? nice to know there are still people willing to help. one thing you didn't touch on was mac or windows? because well, i happen to be a fan of logic for everything at a reasonable price. logic can start middle and end any project of any genre, but here's the thing, it only works on a mac and macs are expensive but you get ur money's worth if you've got it. at the same time you will be missing out on certain programs that only run on windows, like cubase sx, cakewalk sonar, there may be more.....however mac can set up a portion of your hard disk to run windows very easily and you can get a stripped (music production version of windows xp). so, make up your mind software-wise before you buy a computer if you ask me, becauase mac can run windows programs but it doesn't work visa-versa, don't quote me on that, it may possibly work but just to let you know to ask around and keep it in mind. i might be too late with this post, you might have already bought windows. in which case i think your best bet for a proffesional all round program is Pro Tools which is a little bit more expensive. happy mixing
I'm so thankful for all the help i recieved when i was starting out clueless. And now i want to pass it on. It really is a beautiful online community we producers have.
16
Yo check this out.. i live in the us and i spent just a little over Almost $2000 on my new computer and equipment i have atm, look for theese things on the internet could find most of them at bestbuy or at guitar center.

HP Pavilion a6750y Pc

M-Audio Fast Track USB (i bought this but meant to buy the Fast Track Pro) but it still works just less plug-ins and cheaper, Krk Rokit 5'' Speakers, HD 280 Pro Headphones, M-Audio Axiom-25 Midi Keyboard, 2 LCD 19'' Flat Screens, and 1TB External HD. Hope this helps, i still need to get a Midi Mixer was going to try to get Behringer BCF-2000 still trying to get it its only $180 i think.

Well hope this helped a little bit.
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17
Excellent advice Chaoschrist. I have a couple of the suggestions you listed.

a 

18
I believe you should buy a midi controller first which would be a keyboard
19
That is a lot of great advice from Chaoschrist. As stated, Laptops sound ideal for portable recording but have issues with speed. Especially in the USB/FIREWIRE arena. Some people have a lot of trouble with the slow on board chipsets not working smoothly with their hardware.

This can even affect workstations that utilize on board USB/FIREWIRE. So you will want to investigate on forums for the hardware you are looking at buying. Sometimes purchasing a PCI USB/FIREWIRE interface card will cure the problems.
20

If your just getting started i would recommend FL Studio because its the easiest and look up warbeats from youtube for tutorials put if your a little bit more advanced and been producing for a while I would recommend Protools because its much smoother specially for recording intstruments.You would however consider how fast you computer can process if its a fast computer then you can get protools put if its slower i would consider FL Studio

21

Hai all...

If you're starting from scratch, I reckon you'd save up for a decent computersystem first. Most recording and producing is done through a computer nowadays.

I'd leave pricing and priceranges aside for now. Just make sure you have plan. From there on, I (and perhaps any others) might advice on best value for money equipment.