Setup question

[superdee]

Thanks for the info on the Novation Launchkey. It looks sweet. I saw that it won't be released for a bit. Yes, you do have a point - why not get a much larger keyboard, so it's something I'll have to mull over.

Now that I'm looking at this equipment, I think I need to step back a bit and think about my budget.

Thanks for your link to the APC40 and MK2 combo. I'll definitely turn to it if I should choose this route.

I recommend Novation's keyboards. They just announced a new one, which is cheap and worth checking out: http://us.novationmusic.com/midi-controllers/launchkey

Really, rather than a 25-key controller, I would highly recommend a 'master keyboard' situation - something with at least 49 full-size keys. If for some reason you have your heart set on that size, the little Novation keyboards are essentially exactly the same as their big brothers, just missing a few octaves of keys.

I love the Maschine (mk2 or otherwise, just not Mikro) for production and performance. Maschine and APC40 are great together inside of Ableton.

http://forum.djtechtools.com/showthread.php?t=48092

As for 'a lot going on with my own setup,' there's a lot to be said for minimalism. I'm just definitely not a minimalist. I'm looking at acquiring more controllers in the very near future.

[superdee]

Thanks for the perspective. It's helpful to know that Maschine is a good place to start. It's something I didn't think about until I started reading the forum, so thanks!

I'm a bit in the same boat. I've chosen to start with a Maschine (which is not realy a full DAW). It is fun and easy to understand. It had me making beats in minutes. Also, its cheap, concidering you get hard AND software. Coughing up the ableton pricetag while not being sure I can/want to prduce did not make sense for me.