Re-evaluating what I want to do: Production equipment input please.

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

Re-evaluating what I want to do: Production equipment input please.

So after spending countless hours mixing on traktor, I have decided that I would much rather produce than mix.

What I need:

-Quality/Durable headsets

-Studio monitors (that can also be used for small parties?)

-Controller for Ableton. Heard about the APC40 for 260 on amazon, sound like a good deal?)

-Soundcard?

Budget: $1400

THANKS!!!

Gianmarco

2

Worst idea ever… search this, not a good plan.

3

APC40 would be great. Add on some cheap keys (oxygen 8/49) and you are on your way a tad.

Do you already have Ableton? What VSTs do you have/plan on getting?

Dunno what to recomend for soundcard… something with good ins.

You on mac or windows?

I’ve used the Sony MDR7506’s, ATH M50s, and Ultrasone DJ 1 Pros. I have to say I like the way the Ultrasones sound the best. The M50s were a close second, but they were a little tight on my head. Sony’s were alright, just not the most robust or best sounding.

4

  • Sony MDR-7506 are good studio reference monitors although you should never do a final mix on headphones ($100)

  • KRK Rockit Powered 5’s have tons of bang and sound great. They are also top rated by Future Music magazine and other producer mags. ($300) And if you’re not going to mix, why do you need them for parties?

  • APC40 is a good performance controller but not the best for production. You should go with something like an M-Audio Axiom 49. It has faders for mixing, rotary knobs for controlling parameters and velocity sensitive drum pads. Best part is that it is pre-mapped to be used with Ableton Live. ($250)

  • The sound card depends on how you want to use it. Are you going to record vocals or line instruments like guitars? Sound cards like that M-Audio Fast Track pro have outputs and Mic/Line inputs on the front ($200). You can go cheaper if dont you need those inputs.

  • Then you just need ableton live. Find a friend with a student ID(educational discount) and have them get you Ableton Suite for only $450. Suite comes with some great synths like operator to start with as well as a ton of drum packs.

+$100
+$250
+$300
+$200
+$450
=$1,300

5

thanks for the input.

I will get ableton aside, so that is not in the budget, the only thing i need is what i listed

I will be producing for the most part, but MIGHT be mixing, in which case i got traktor…or ableton

FYI: I have NO experience producing EDMs, but I have been playing guitar for 3-4 years (which I am selling to fund my production stuff…I can only afford one , but i am not going to miss it)

I might go with the keybourd sinc eI would like to be able to produce actual notes

any more tohughtS?

-Gianmarco

thanks!

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Just out of curiosity how long is “countless hours”? I’m assuming you don’t have any speakers/good headphones/any equipment based on this thread so it sounds like you kinda ditched it pretty fast.

Of course whatever works for you is great and dandy, just wondering.

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lol i was exagerating i guess. I dont know the the exact number, but just enough to know that I got tired of just mixing…and mixing…and mixing…oter peoples stuff. just finding new stuff to mix got boring since that is the only tihng that kept me going, i really got tired of mixing the same stuff and such, and production has always been on the back of my mind

gianmarco

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Ableton isnt part of the budget, but im getting ableton 8 from a friend

In terms of computer, I am upgrding my computer, but I dont know if I am getting a mac or a pc yet

ill look into your headphone recommendations

thanks!

any other tohughts?

gianmarco

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If thats the case then all you need is a pc and a mouse - and some ok speakers (one of those cheap cd deck\stereo’s all in ones is all you will need to start with, which you might already have lying around), they don’t have to be studio monitors. Your going to spend a seriously long time producing crap until studio monitors would make any sense at all. Save yourself the $$$ and produce on the bare minimum - a pc, a mouse and a cheap keyboard (like the oxygen 8) before moving up and buying other equipment. All that stuff isn’t going to make your productions any better if you cant product to begin with.

Don’t make the classic mistake of going out and spending heaps of money on gear before you have even got your feet wet. In fact that will just make you even more frustrated when you cant make something decent - producing good music takes some serious long term dedication.

When you start making some half decent music, then is the time to start spending money on studio monitors. Also it will give you time to work out how you want to approach producing, some people are happy mixing with a mouse and 2 octave keyboard, while others like get their hands on the knobs - both methods are just as viable as the other. Personally i come from the mouse way of things and always end up not using midi controllers for anything else other than a playing synth’s out on a keyboard.

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If you are familiar with keyboards then the MPK 49 has great functionality, drum pads, faders & knobs. Then you may find you want to go with an APC 40.

Sorry can’t give advice on headphones and speakers as i’m plugged into a Hi-Fi apart from steer clear of skullcandy however pretty they look.

Hope that helps :smiley:

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don’t get the Ultrasone Pro One’s - they’re not strictly nearfield monitoring so will likely colour the sound… you want some monitors/headphones with as flat a response as possible. Look into BeherDynamics DT990’s and other headphones in the DT range. For monitors look into Mackies, Adams, Dynaudio and Genelec. If you can’t stretch to that kind of money then KRK is a good make… avoid Behringer.

12

I always make the mistake assuming people are going the pro way. I spent 4 years in my parent’s basement in high school playing with Reason so when I got my first rig I went for the gusto. Bento is right though, don’t drop $1,400 until you’re really into it.

13

Honestly if you are working on a serious budget, the Korg Nano series is great IMO. Yes other keyboards are better, but it’s getting me along. Honestly I don’t find myself actually using the keyboard for production much, and I just use the knobs more often than not to play with different settings/effects. It’s an inexpensive option (though I would like to upgrade to a stronger keyboard at some point, like the Axiom 25 or some such).

Sound card isn’t totally needed for production, but highly recommended. Once you get ableton and start playing around, that’s when you’ll start understanding more of what would best serve you more.

14

Well after reading all your replies (especially Bento’s…who is absolutely right, I am pretty much trying to run when I have yet learned to walk) I am going to wo with the basics and get a keyboard with ableton. I am also getting a basic 2 channel mixer and traktor controller (probably the X1)

thanks all!!!

Gianmarco