Dubstepforum.com

Well, I'm getting an external soundcard. I'm already pretty familiar with Ableton, I used Ableton 7 quite a lot when I was in my old band in the studio and for some production. So...

If you're truly looking for a basic set-up:
Laptop
NI AUDIO 2 DJ - Soundcard
KRK ROKIT 6 - Monitors
BEHRINGER UMX-25 - MIDI Keyboard
DAW of your choice (please demo them first before you just buy Ableton.)
Dubstep Forum Production Bible - Free

If you start with more than this, you will get lost.
IMHO download a demo of Ableton or any other DAW and make stupid beats there before you buy anything...

I get the whole jumping in thing, but take it slow.

Don't just give up on playing guitar... knowledge of a musical instrument is a massive help to production because you can apply songwriting techniques such as knowledge of keys and scales to your productions. I usually write basslines and melodies on my guitar rather than midi keyboard, because I know my way around the scales and chords better. I think up a melody, play it on guitar, make it better, then draw it or play it into my DAW with a midi keyboard.
If you already have that skill don't let it go just because you feel limited by whatever music you have been playing in bands!

Surely if you have played for 7 years you must know some music theory to support your playing? This is one of the most useful things for producing because essentially you are writing music - although being good at production and making things sound nice is a brilliant skill to have, if you can't write good music then you are essentially polishing a turd.

Why an APC40? Do you have any idea what you're buying?

s i c k b o y wrote:Don't just give up on playing guitar... knowledge of a musical instrument is a massive help to production because you can apply songwriting techniques such as knowledge of keys and scales to your productions.

Word.

garstep wrote:Okay so I've basically decided on getting the APC40 and an M-Audio Axiom 25. Will I need any other equipment like this as far as hardware goes? Is this too much?

Pretty expensive bits of gear for a fresh producer, id hold off on a controller at that price until you start getting the hang of things first, but thats personal taste. Other than that you'll want some XLR and/or 1/4" cables to get everything going.

Actually, upon reading all of this I've decided to stick with DAW for a while before I get any sort of midi controller. Now the issue is which DAW to buy. I've pretty much narrowed it down to either Ableton Live 8 or Reason 4. Can anyone with experience give me pros and cons of either?

garstep wrote:Actually, upon reading all of this I've decided to stick with DAW for a while before I get any sort of midi controller. Now the issue is which DAW to buy. I've pretty much narrowed it down to either Ableton Live 8 or Reason 4. Can anyone with experience give me pros and cons of either?

Ableton Live
Ableton is a solid workstation and also enables you to DJ in a creative way. The layout is rather nice, and it supports VST(i) plug-ins. You can work with midi or/and audio, which is nice. Resampling goes very fast, as you can let one channel record another one as audio. It comes with a bunch of tutorials in the program itself, which is really nice if you just start off.

Propellerhead's Reason
Reason is the DAW I use. Actually it is not a real DAW since it can not process audio. You only work with midi notes. Reason does not support VST(i) plug-ins, but the stock instruments on reason are quality, plus if you are just starting out, plug-ins will only confuse you. You will learn a lot about routing your signals, since the wires are actually visible. This is great for if you are planning to use hardware some day, and it will also help you understand small things like side chaining better.

I personally use Reason because I've done so for the past 4-5 years. It's not my favourite DAW, but I work the best in it since I am so used to it. Lots of people on this forum use Live because of the well... live performance options, which are really nice and original compared to other DJ/production softwares. Ableton will confuse the shit out of you when you just start out, but make use of the tutorials.

One thing that many people forget, VST instruments are not everything. Sure it is nice to have filters that no one has, sure it is nice to have reverb no one has, but in the end, you will end up looking for VST's more than just making music. Limits are good. If you have limits, you get creative. That is also exactly why I prefer Reason.

EDIT: I must add, it is wise to get a midi controller. Just a small 25 key crappy 50 euro keyboard is sufficient. You can not imagine how hard it is to make a melody in the piano roll compared to just jamming on the keyboard. Keyboard is also really nice to test out patches while you are working on them.

Before I had a midi keyboard I was just making drum grooves, which is cool, if that is what you want :>

kejk wrote:

garstep wrote:Actually, upon reading all of this I've decided to stick with DAW for a while before I get any sort of midi controller. Now the issue is which DAW to buy. I've pretty much narrowed it down to either Ableton Live 8 or Reason 4. Can anyone with experience give me pros and cons of either?

Ableton Live
Ableton is a solid workstation and also enables you to DJ in a creative way. The layout is rather nice, and it supports VST(i) plug-ins. You can work with midi or/and audio, which is nice. Resampling goes very fast, as you can let one channel record another one as audio. It comes with a bunch of tutorials in the program itself, which is really nice if you just start off.

Propellerhead's Reason
Reason is the DAW I use. Actually it is not a real DAW since it can not process audio. You only work with midi notes. Reason does not support VST(i) plug-ins, but the stock instruments on reason are quality, plus if you are just starting out, plug-ins will only confuse you. You will learn a lot about routing your signals, since the wires are actually visible. This is great for if you are planning to use hardware some day, and it will also help you understand small things like side chaining better.

I personally use Reason because I've done so for the past 4-5 years. It's not my favourite DAW, but I work the best in it since I am so used to it. Lots of people on this forum use Live because of the well... live performance options, which are really nice and original compared to other DJ/production softwares. Ableton will confuse the shit out of you when you just start out, but make use of the tutorials.

One thing that many people forget, VST instruments are not everything. Sure it is nice to have filters that no one has, sure it is nice to have reverb no one has, but in the end, you will end up looking for VST's more than just making music. Limits are good. If you have limits, you get creative. That is also exactly why I prefer Reason.

EDIT: I must add, it is wise to get a midi controller. Just a small 25 key crappy 50 euro keyboard is sufficient. You can not imagine how hard it is to make a melody in the piano roll compared to just jamming on the keyboard. Keyboard is also really nice to test out patches while you are working on them.

Before I had a midi keyboard I was just making drum grooves, which is cool, if that is what you want :>

Ahh, I see. Well, I've used Ableton a little bit when my old band was in the studio. I think I'm going to just stick with that. BUT, the way reason works and how it shows everything physically as in the wires etc is really appealing just because of my background. Decisions decisions.

Oh, also, another question about hooking up the monitors. Well, not really a question as it is more of a request for a second opinion. I was thinking about running an M-Audio FireWire Solo and running some TRS to XLR cables to XLR inputs on the monitors. Does that sound about right? Sorry for all the newfaggy questions but you guys have been tons of help, really.

kejk wrote:Actually it is not a real DAW since it can not process audio.

Could get record? Got both and love it, no need for vst support imo

Project EX wrote:

kejk wrote:Actually it is not a real DAW since it can not process audio.

Could get record? Got both and love it, no need for vst support imo

I could get record, but it's rather pointless. I think NNXT is fine, I was just mentioning it for the hell of it

I agree with you on the VST(i) support, there's no need. Reason got everything. (Except for a stand alone HP filter... but yeah)

stappard wrote:

morphamish wrote:
But I'd re-state, in my opinion unless you are doing serious recording into the laptop, you won't need an extra interface, the output from the internal soundcard really is excellent.

Unless I'm missing something on the new macbook, how are you suggesting he connects krk monitors straight to a macbook pro?

sorry, my bad, I use a passive volume control between laptop and speakers when writing, or a mixer when mixing with decks etc. I forgot to mention mentioned that!