Beginner Home Studio Setup Ideas for Creating EDM
Beginner Home Studio Setup Ideas for Creating EDM Posted on: 05.05.2012 by Gilberto Kretzler Hey guys,So pretty much myself and some friends are putting together a "home studio package" for one of our good friend's 21st birthday. He loves music and DJing but really wants to get into producing. I guess time, family commitments and financial strain have contributed to him not starting anything so far. So, say you had $2-3k - what would you buy? Software, hardware etc? Midi keyboard, Mics, preamps, blah blah? Any help would be great! | |
| Candy Vardy 08.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by Dustin V
Thanks for the suggestions about getting a KA6, completely forgot about that, it looks like a viable option. Any other suggestions? Am I on the right track so far? |
| Romelia Stankard 08.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by ThinkAboutIt
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| Gilberto Kretzler 07.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by mostapha
Thanks for the help! Appreciate it. |
| Larraine Hannum 31.08.2012 | Agreed, the Novation SL MKII line is prolly the best midi-keyboard available right now. With that said, I don't believe they are worth their price considering the knobs/faders/rubber drum pads are all pretty bad (The drum pads are WORTHLESS). They have a fatar keybed which plays very nicely and a helpful lcd readout screen (Automap sucks IMO), but like I said, 500-600$ for a simple plastic midi keyboard is outrageous. I would look to get one used on Craigslist or whatever for half that price. And I'd suggest at least a 49 key, I had a 25 key Novation SL MKII and got rid of it because 2 octaves just isn't enough, should have saved up alittle more for the 49 key. |
| Romelia Stankard 08.05.2012 | SL 49 is the best of those keyboards |
| Candy Vardy 08.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by Dustin V
Thanks for the suggestions about getting a KA6, completely forgot about that, it looks like a viable option. Any other suggestions? Am I on the right track so far? |
| Dorie Scelzo 08.05.2012 | Sounds good. Honestly, I haven't felt a keyboard that felt even half decent that cost less than about $3,000 by itself. Fortunately, I'm a lousy keyboard player, so I don't care. Maschine is also a very good idea…but not just as a pad controller. Get it if he wants a software based groove box. If he's happy working just in Live, you get a lot more for your money with an MPD32. |
| Georgianna Eurick 08.05.2012 | Guess i'm gonna go with the LPK25 just for a while until i save up some money for the decent one |
| Romelia Stankard 08.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by ThinkAboutIt
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| Georgianna Eurick 08.05.2012 | Should I go with the LPK 25 or pay double and get the MPK mini 25? I've heard from Ableton community that it's pain in the ass to map the pads, knobs and faders. Maybe I can save the 40€ for the decent drum pads like Maschine. What would you do? |
| Kandra Fagler 08.05.2012 | IMO CPU is A LOT more important than RAM i have 8GB of ram and i very rarely run out of ram except if i load huge kontakt/battery samples at the same time and i normally have 40-70 tracks in ableton on a song my 2.4ghz C2D macbook pro can barely handle the 40-70 track my iMac 3.06 ghz however, handles everything nicely so... More CPU! |
| Dorie Scelzo 07.05.2012 | Plenty. Budget? General Entry Level: AT2035 General Little Better: AT4040 Loud/powerful voices: Shure SM7B A "good" one would take up your entire budget…from what I've heard (from using them and talking to others who have) these are the standouts…but again, some mics work better with certain voices than others. Those are kinda standouts for their price points, but they won't work with every voice. |
| Gilberto Kretzler 07.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by mostapha
Thanks for the help! Appreciate it. |
| Suzanna Eisenbath 07.05.2012 | if you can play the piano go for at least a 49 keyboard, of not just use the keyboard on your computer |
| Romelia Stankard 07.05.2012 | Unfortunately almost all midi keyboards kind of suck so there isn't really much better on all fronts, you just get to choose from a scale of 1-10 how cheap and plasticy you like your midi keyboards. The novation SLs have decent keys but are way overpriced and the knobs and faders are junk and they are expensive, I really want to get rid of my mpk49 but there's not much better to replace it with, and I don't want faders/knobs. |
| Dorie Scelzo 07.05.2012 | the mpk mini is a POS toy. It's not worth it's price by a long shot. If you can get it for $30 or $40 and are going to be carrying it around in a back pack, sweet. Unfortunately, there isn't much better in that price range. The Korg MicroKey has a USB hub (that probably sucks), pitch bend and mod wheels, and 3 octaves. You lose pads (the pads on the mpk mini are horrible) and knobs (which have to be assigned the hard way) and save like $20, get more keys, and pitch/mod wheels. And it can't feel worse. I kinda feel like control surfaces and keyboards should be separate, but that's just me. At any rate, what the mpk mini offers isn't worth worrying about. |
| Romelia Stankard 07.05.2012 | it's good for what it is... My LPK25 gets more use than my MPK49 which I haven't bothered to hook back up. No pitch bend but oh well. |
| Georgianna Eurick 07.05.2012 | How do you guys know mkp mini 25 with Ableton Live? Any feedback? Looking for a beginner midi keyboard around that value. |
| Dorie Scelzo 08.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by psykx
When you're talking about that little money |
| Suzanna Eisenbath 07.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by djhipnotikk
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| Romelia Stankard 07.05.2012 | I'll just say at the price point for home studios people are talking about here monitors are going to make way, way, more of a difference than a soundcard, especially if it is for an mostly ITB setup. With what you're getting I wouldn't spend $500+ on an apogee personally, they may be nice but it's just not worth investing there over better monitors if you are going to be hooking up KRK Rokits, and I also dislike the small size and all the messy breakout cables it requires on the duet. The Komplete Audio 6 is surprisingly good for $200, zero latency, solid drivers, no dropouts, very stable over USB at highest settings and you can put the money you save towards decent monitors. Converters are pretty decent. I was reading a lot of people on gearslutz were preferring it over fancy RME and other cards that didn't perform as well. The only reason I would see replacing it would be for more inputs if I got more hardware synths, but it is very solid and I would have to be in a very well treated studio to consider replacing it for sound quality. |
| Candy Vardy 07.05.2012 | Well let me jump on this set up thing... I'm in the process of slowly building my home studio. So far I have: MBP 15" i7 2.0 8GB 500HDD Logic Pro 9 Studio Sennheiser HD 25's Now I've been browsing around for the rest, but there's just so many options out there, all based on personal preference IMO. So the other things I'm still undecided on, are which sound card, keyboard, monitors to get.. These are what I'm considering: Focusrite Sapphire 6, M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Apogee Duet 2, NI Audio 6? Krk's 5,6,8? or Yamaha HS50 Axiom Pro 49, SL 49, MPK 49 (which ever works best with Logic) Other than that I believe I'm on the right track right? amidoinitright? |
| Harold Jaras 07.05.2012 | lots and lots of RAM |
| Alla Bluemke 07.05.2012 | I also am slowly building mine out. So far mine consist of: -Macbook pro 2.2 i7 17" 750 gb -Axiom 25 -HDJ 2000 -Logic 9 -Krk rokit 5s -Focusrite saffire 6 (Or maybe a duet) |
| Gilberto Kretzler 07.05.2012 | I guess what I forgot to mention is that be is pretty intent on using Ableton... primarily due to him having a trial version on his current laptop. I'm believeing this: Akai MPK49 (Mainly due to the keyboard/pad combo) Microphone (It's going to be primarily for vocals/samples I believe so I was believeing a Rhode NT2-A or SM57 or Zoom H2N) Thoughts? Soundcard Monitors Headphones Software Yeah yeah yeah? |
| Dorie Scelzo 06.05.2012 | That's the problem. HD25s are just better than HDJ2ks…no comparison. And Massive is far from must-have. Wouldn't make my top 20, and if I need 20 soft synths, I'm doing something wrong. I realize a lot of people disagree with me on both of those points. But that's my entire point. It's really hard to buy this stuff for someone else. |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 06.05.2012 |
midi keyboard or a pad like controller like the apc
Also I would deffo not choose a DAW for someone, VST's sure (e.g. massive). I'd go for ... Studio Monitors Studio Headphones (Sony 7506 or similar). "Must have" VST's e.g. Massive Maschine for making beats maybe .. BUT thats my personal preference .. I believe if you are all serious about spending that kinda money would talk to him first of somehow find out what kinda stuff he has already or would like, Its like trying to buy a DJ friend a new set of headphones, giving them HD25's when they already have HDJ2000's. |
| Dorie Scelzo 06.05.2012 | You're asking 2 questions. First…what would I buy if I had 2-3 k to spend and owned nothing? I'd buy an iMac, upgrade ram and SSD from stock at OWC, an academic discount of Pro Tools 10, a Maschine, a pair of Sony MDR-7506, and a Zoom H2n. Second…what should you get your friend? A gift certificate to Guitar Center. Production is a really personal thing. Just the choice of DAW might be wrong, and you would have wasted money. He might not want a new computer. He might. He might be a die-hard PC or Mac guy (which you'd probably know). He might want to go all software. He might not want a computer at all (which is doable on that budget…kinda…MDR-7506, MPC-1000, used Access Virus C or Nord Lead 2 or Korg Radias or something……but it might be even harder to buy for someone else). Without talking to him, no suggestions would make any sense. |
| Suzanna Eisenbath 07.05.2012 | an sm57 is practically mandatory for every studio, professional or home. I'd recommend ableton for a DAW (it's what I use and I love it) |
| Gilberto Kretzler 07.05.2012 | Wow thanks so much everyone! Great feedback and help I noticed that some said get a midi keyboard or a pad like controller like the apc... Would it be a good idea just to get a Mpk49? He plays a range of instruments (bass and violin etc) as well as vocals so was defintiely believeing of a sound card and mic. As for music style.. I'm guessing pretty ambient electro/house/dreampop/nudisco/chill wave kinda stuff. Any recommendations for mics? And what type would be most versatile? |
| Kandra Fagler 06.05.2012 | thanks, was in the same position as the op a few years ago |
| Kia Vonhagel 05.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by DJZILCH
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| Vikki Jeannoel 05.05.2012 | I'm currently building a studio too... This is what im going for. Ableton Live 8 Akai APC 40 Akai MPK25 Krk Rokit 8's Focusrite saffire 6 usb Soundcard |
| Romelia Stankard 05.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by MaxOne
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| Kandra Fagler 05.05.2012 | a good laptop / desktop with lots of horsepower, lots of ram, and lots of hard drive yamaha hs50m speakers - these are the standards over here DAW of your choice - Logic / Ableton / Cubase , if you can find a friend who can exploit the use of EDU discount, DO IT!!! Edu version are much much cheaper (except for logic, logic is only $200 so just buy it!!) Native Instruments Komplete 8 - everything you need is here, drums (battery), synths (massive,fm8, absynth) , instruments and samples (kontakt) , crazy addictive puzzle game (lol not really but it feels like it) - Reaktor A midi keyboard - 37 key would be better than 25 keys for chords , oh and if possible something with knobs/faders for doing those WUB WUB WUB ZZSSSH ZZZSH automation , suggestion : novation nocturn / impulse 49 A few books on the DAW of your choice, i recommend the Power! series (Cubase 6 power! / Logic 9 Power! / Ableton 8 Power!) - read these as it will be REALLY beneficial and if you want to - a nice audio interface + microphones, if you play instruments it would be a good idea to have this a nice desk and a nice comfy chair to sit on - THIS IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED!!! you will sit there 20 hours a day and please, get a comfy chair that supports your back, a nice roomy desk to put all your gear and sit nicely, dont worry about acoustics for now, just point the tweeters of the speakers to your ears lastly... dedication, all these gear wont matter if you dont get into it, so yeah just my 2 cents |
| Suzanna Eisenbath 06.05.2012 | A lot depends on what sort of music he wants to produce. Dubstep, House, techno, drum and bass, or breaks? |
| Hipolito Scionti 06.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by vanaema78
Here's some pics from pro studios who have krks Freemasons: http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/...tudio-218755/3 Alex Metric http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/...tudio-461560/2 Avicii http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/...tures-370071/3 But obviously it'd down to personal preference and learning your speakers. Using other songs as a reference and treating your room are more important IMO Yamaha monitors get a lot of love. I'd say A macbook pro logic pro/ableton live focusrite soundcard midi keyboard with pads faders and knobs - akai, m-audio, novation Here are other pro set ups http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/...tures-370071/3 |
| Tatum Untiedt 06.05.2012 | KRKs are great for producing. Get him those, a scarlett 2i2 soundcard if you dont want to dish out the cash for the duet, m-audio or other 49 key keyboard, and spend the rest on software. Only thing you'll have trouble with is deciding which DAW to get him since it comes down to preference. I'd recommend logic or Ableton (prefer Ableton myself), and definitely a copy of Sylenth as an all around great softsynth. |
| Edwina Fagel 05.05.2012 | KRK's probably aren't the best for producing tough. |
| Candy Vardy 05.05.2012 | For that price range it really depends on what he wants to do. There are many great DAW's out there to choose from, and then choosing a midi keyboard depends on what DAW you have, as some keyboards work better with certain DAW's (plug n play), from what I've read. Also when it comes to sound cards I've heard that M-Audio and Focusrite make some good ones for production. Get some decent monitors e.g.. KRK's etc, and a good pair of studio headphones. |
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