Which for production?

So i want to start becoming a producer and I have two setups i have been thinking about.

M audio Venom and kore 1 controller (i can use this standalone without the kore 1)

and an mpk 49, kore 1 controller, native instruments razor.

i really cant decide. If i wasnt on a budget and i had more than once computer id go all out on Midi Controllers and buy ableton. but for now I have my drum kit, a microphone, and an ipod - with somethin called nanostudio - in my studio. Which is not enough. i was thinking the venom so that i can just go anywhere with it without my laptop, but the mpk49 has a lot more analog controls if im going to be doing everything on my laptop. Opinions??

and the kore1 controller i already got it just hasnt arrived yet- so dont say get that out of the setup :)

From the perspective of someone who bought a synth to be able to play away from a computer, I suggest away from it. It's inconvenient, and the sounds are extremely limited on the venom. If you really want something that you can rock out on without having to bring around a computer, I'd stray away from the venom, maybe look at the Ultranova by Novation as a synth/vocoder.

If you don't want a synth, get the Akai MPK49, or the Novation Nocturn, or what I have now, which is the M-Audio Axiom Pro 49. The integration with software is pretty great, not having to run external software like Novation's Automap in order to fully integrate with software is really great, and I love this thing. Also, the pads on the mpk are shit. I've messed around with them, and their consistency with velocity is pretty terrible. I've never spent time with the nocturn, so I can't speak on that, but you get some nice plug ins with the nocturn, so it could be a good buy. If you want my advice, go with an Axiom Pro 49.

In terms of software, don't just get razor, you can't really do much with it without external software due to the fact that razor is a plug in, and in order to use it to it's full potential, you need a host software. My advice would be to get Ableton Live Intro, and either razor or massive. If you can't afford massive, go for razor. It's fine, but it's really not that great for making new synths. It's great for tweaking with LFOs and changing presets, but there's not too much otherwise.

I hope this helped somewhat.

To start with, what kind of music are you looking at producing?

If you're into synth stuff and have budget enough for venom, here's the solution:

MPK + REASON

the mpk pads let you do mpc style stuff, the keys give keys, and you can mix everything with the faders onboard. Not much mouse using left to do...

Reason has many "modules" that act like legit synth modules that you would plug in midi irl. but it's all inside the box.

Instead of mpk I went with a plain 49, a launchpad, a nanoKontrol and an MPKmini all for the price of 1 mpk49 (ymmv) and I only have 1 computer, those MPKs aren't that portable anyway!

+1 on reason - it's an awesome bit of software. when i was experimenting with it i just used my nanokontrol for the mixer and nanokey for programing - tho the nanokey has to be the worst ever controller for that - but it doesnt take up much space ;)

the kore series are discontinued so i wouldnt go there - and afaik its basically just a controller with software anyway - so no gain over using ableton live or reason.

and u dont need more than one laptop to use them, i run ableton and traktor at the time same on this laptop and it's a couple of years old now.

hmmm okay... well i really like the sound of the 10-bit synth the venom has, i mean its amazing, and nothings is very limited when you have the computer, so it might be a dissapointment when i play it standalone. But you can still use it as a midi controller. and i dont know if anyone has heard of these but they came into my studio a few months back and they have midi in/outs.
http://www.laenenmusic.nl/contents/m...dd_65_main.jpg

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Originally Posted by zestoi

+1 on reason - it's an awesome bit of software. when i was experimenting with it i just used my nanokontrol for the mixer and nanokey for programing - tho the nanokey has to be the worst ever controller for that - but it doesnt take up much space ;)

the kore series are discontinued so i wouldnt go there - and afaik its basically just a controller with software anyway - so no gain over using ableton live or reason.

and u dont need more than one laptop to use them, i run ableton and traktor at the time same on this laptop and it's a couple of years old now.

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and i already have the kore 1 controller. Just the controller. a friend sold it to me for only like $100

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Originally Posted by DJ_Pabloco

and i already have the kore 1 controller. Just the controller. a friend sold it to me for only like $100

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could well be useful just a midi controller then - but i'm sure you'd get something more versatile for that kind of cash. i did look into those a while ago when i saw a cheap one on ebay - but it just doesnt have enough controls for a generic midi controller for production imho.

the drum pads look pretty toy like - but my musical journey started out as learning the drums when i was 11 (loooooooooong time ago) so i guess i'm a bit particular about drum pads. having said that i do really like programming drums on an lpd8.

edit: if i wanted some kind of drum pad like that i'd look to something more like the alesis performance pads i think

well i think immma start out small. So imma buy Ableton Intro. And an akai synthstation 25. Only reason for that is cuz its the only one with just mod and pitch wheels and I guess I could run touch OSC from my ipod while their both hooked up to the laptop. And i could just run through the ipod from time to time so it seemed pretty practical to me.

and then I might get a nanopad or an lpd8.

but is komplete elements just like things I could run in ableton- cuz im pretty sure you cant use them and like sequence them without something like that right? cuz then i was thinking about that.

I dont want to buy anything too advanced yet. I wanna start out small.

I would suggest albino3 cause it has all the advanced stuff but it allows layering of synths