Wanting to begin Music Production, how/what to get to start?
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Wanting to begin Music Production, how/what to get to start? Posted on: 22.06.2012 by Fred Meager Hi so I want to start trying to make my own songsI already have Ableton Live, but I don't really know how to use it. I am believeing to purchase a midi controller This one in particular, http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?...=any&PT_ID=all and try to figure Ableton out over the summer. Is the MPK Mini a good keyboard to begin with? What are some tips/tricks to use with Ableton? I am a total noob/beginner with this, and the only other music-type program I have is Traktor, which I use with my traktor S2. | |
| Fred Meager 26.06.2012 | Yeah im going to go to axe music to test them when i get money |
| Dorie Scelzo 26.06.2012 | Seriously, if you can…go feel them. As with many things, I'd rather not have something than have something that pisses me off if I can possibly do without it. You might believe they feel fine. |
| Corey Tronchin 26.06.2012 | I like the keys not weighted to be honest, since i usually just use it more for getting a melody and adjust the velocity later on. If you're classically schooled or used to playing the melody right the first time, it might turn you off. The drum pads are not that great for drumming purposes (google akai mpk fix how to make them better), but I'm using them as macro buttons (on/off, shift functions) so that doesn't matter for me. |
| Fred Meager 26.06.2012 | @Michielygil Are the keys bad if they're not weighted? Does everything feel good? The guys above said the keys and stuff feel cheap. How good are the drum pads? thanks |
| Corey Tronchin 25.06.2012 | I like my mpk mini. I had an arturia laboratory keyboard for a bit, but I really like the small size and versatility the mpk mini has. Plus, it's really easy remappable with the software it comes with it, so I made mine a multi-layered beast in disguise. As I'm not classically trained with piano's and such, I don't miss the extra keys full keyboards give. |
| Dorie Scelzo 23.06.2012 | I don't play keyboard well. So, that's part of it. One of the E-flat keys doesn't work unless you smash the fuck out of it. And mostly it feels like garbage…completely un-weighted, cheap plastic keys that only count as a keyboard in a very general sense. Something tells me that having fully-weighted keys would make it worth taking piano lessons…but that's expensive. And Maschine lets me play things on a grid (either by semitones or with scales because of how I have it set up) that works a bit closer to the way I believe anyway (I play guitar). So, there's a lot that goes into it. They don't make the 49 key version anymore, but I don't believe the 61 key is worth the price compared to spending $100 or so more on an Akai or Novation……more functionality and they feel a lot less like crap. Axioms are about where M-Audio starts feeling less like garbage. Seriously, though, just go to Guitar Center or something if you can and see what level of crap you're willing to deal with. It's not so much a "this one is good" level as much as balancing cost vs. crap. |
| Yukiko Beauvil 23.06.2012 | What is the reason you don't touch them Mostapha? Is it simply because you don't play keyboard or the quality of it? I don't have a keyboard yet but when I go back to home, I want to get a 61 key to play as my master keyboard as I am tired of drawing notes in the piano roll, I want to use my keyboard instead of drawing. |
| Dorie Scelzo 24.06.2012 | I'd say the opposite. I have a keystation 49e, and I never touch the thing. But I also have a Maschine and don't play keyboard. It does everything I need so far except for working as a control surface in Pro Tools. |
| Yukiko Beauvil 22.06.2012 | I would suggest getting m-audio keystations which are simply the keyboard without any fancy drumpads or faders which you will probably won't use. |
| Dorie Scelzo 22.06.2012 | The MPK Mini feels like a cheap piece of crap because it is. Unfortunately, you won't get anything better without spending a lot of money. I believe it wouldn't be a bad place to start, especially because it fits in a backpack. But I returned mine. That being said, if I got it used (in good condition) or on sale, I probably would have kept it. I believe it'd be better if it cost $50 instead of $100. As a corollary, I like my LPD8, but I paid $35 instead of $70……If I'd paid $70 for it, I would have returned it. I guess that's where the market has settled for stuff like this. To get better, the cheapest I know of (and have touched) is like $200. I'd believe the Novation and M-Audio 25 key offerings would probably be the best, but they're also $200+. So, for $100…I believe the MPK mini does offer a good bit…and it's not like it's going to fall apart. It just feels like crap. |
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