Beginner Home Studio Setup Ideas for Creating EDM

[moomentum]

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!

[PeteWoods]

Ableton Live 8, Akai MPK49, a soundcard of your choice (not really sure what the general choice for production is, though i've heard wonderful things about the Apogee Duet) and a set of monitors, of your choice (go test as many as you can!) you should also look at room treatment for that kind of cash, and include that you'll need to invest in VST's!

[KS2]

Wish I had mates that spent 2-3k on my birthday!

[lethal_pizzle]

It all depends on what instruments your mate plays and what sort of music he wants to produce.

[Dustin V]

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.

[vanaema78]

KRK's probably aren't the best for producing tough.

[zero15ny]

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.

[MaxOne]

KRK's probably aren't the best for producing tough.

KRK VXTs are considered good by many. But some peeps will always have an opinion otherwise

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

[psykx]

A lot depends on what sort of music he wants to produce. Dubstep, House, techno, drum and bass, or breaks?

[DJZILCH]

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