Dubstepforum.com

what would I need as a basic start?

Sampler, mixer, effects pedal, keyboard synth?

Pls could you point me in the direction of some good threads

A mic and a looper pedal/sampler.

Thats all Heatbox needs oh and some rythym helps along with beatbox skills.

sco wrote:what would I need as a basic start?

Sampler, mixer, effects pedal, keyboard synth?

Pls could you point me in the direction of some good threads

Not really many people into hardware on this board and most of us that are have hybrid setups. Doing things all out of the box is going to cost a ton more money. And it all depends on what you want to do. Unless you have a powerful sampler you are probably going to need multiple hardware synths.

I would suggest:

Soundcraft EPM 8 mixer (You might actually want a more complex mixer, but this would get you started it has two aux sends, which is unusual on smaller mixers)
8 Mono channels and two stereo channels you can use as returns. Also sweepable mids on the mono channels.
An MPC
Waldorf Blofeld Keys
Zoom MS-70CDR Multi-Effects Pedal
I would probably recommend a FMR Really Nice Compressor unless you are planning on mixing in the box.


EDIT: Or just buy all three of the Korg Volcas and a mixer.

sco wrote:what would I need as a basic start?

Sampler, mixer, effects pedal, keyboard synth?

Pls could you point me in the direction of some good threads

Drum machine
Synth
Mixer

That would be a bare minimum to get you started.

thanks for the responses

@blinx
@wub cheers yeah i guess you can start with that but i'm looking for something a bit more advanced. a compressor and a reverb for example
@fragments thanks a lot pretty much what i was after

i know it's a lot more expensive

so i'd do the track arrangements on the mpc?

Yea. I guess in that case you would do arrangement on the MPC. Is there a particular reason you want to work all OTB?

fragments wrote:Yea. I guess in that case you would do arrangement on the MPC. Is there a particular reason you want to work all OTB?

cheers

i'd like a much more tactile approach to making music (i'm currently all itb), i'd like the restrictions of working with more limited resources, and i'd want to see the effect a different production style would have on my music. i'd feel more of an onus to fully fully master a specific bit of kit if i've paid a bit for it and in all likelihood i'd probably have more fun recording music with an otb workflow

and i guess there's always room to go from all otb to a hybrid if i wish but i definitely want to work all otb for a while

You start can with an Mpc and a few synthesizer keyboards and mix on ITB, that should give you an idea about the workflow, from there you can add more things like mixers etc.

Hex047 wrote:You start can with an Mpc and a few synthesizer keyboards and mix on ITB, that should give you an idea about the workflow, from there you can add more things like mixers etc.

In terms of creativity and ideas. Yes

If you want something that's a more tactile version of ITB I would not go with an MPC. It's the completely opposite end of the spectrum where all you work with is samples. You will find it very limiting. Try something like a Korg Kronos. At least then you will still have some non-destructive effects and EQ in the sequencer, as well as a little hardware compatibility.

Otherwise you can go with a hardware recorder as well and send the MPC into it. That's what most of the big producers of the past would do. Effects handling basically doesn't exist on an MPC.

gen_ wrote:If you want something that's a more tactile version of ITB I would not go with an MPC. It's the completely opposite end of the spectrum where all you work with is samples. You will find it very limiting. Try something like a Korg Kronos. At least then you will still have some non-destructive effects and EQ in the sequencer, as well as a little hardware compatibility.

Otherwise you can go with a hardware recorder as well and send the MPC into it. That's what most of the big producers of the past would do. Effects handling basically doesn't exist on an MPC.

This is true. A multriack recorder is probably a neccisary part of the setup. I never looked into MPCs much, but if they have with individual outs...arranging on an MPC sent to a nice mixer would give lots of control. Then you could just have the raw samples there and arrange them.

I am just a fan of grooveboxes or MPC style samplers : )


My honest suggestion to the OP would be a hybrid setup...using a DAW with a nice interface (lots of I/O) and a mixer with invidual outs. Then you can use some VST effects on your mixing board and do some things from your DAW. Best of both worlds.

there's many different ways to achieve the OTB workflow/setup, it's all about how you would like to work. A Mulitrack and Sequencer will be necessary though.

A sequencer and a sampler is all you would need at a minimum. Probably a mixer too. Then an outboard FX unit and a synth would be nice as well.

If you are looking for a cool inexpensive sequencer consider the Arturia BeatStep. Dunno if they are really shipping yet or not. But check out the videos of them. Hoping to pick one up myself.

Would be so much more inspirational to get hands on OTB. One day.....

outbound wrote:Would be so much more inspirational to get hands on OTB. One day.....

What is stopping you? There is so much affordable, cool, useable gear out there now. The used market is a buyer's market. There are Bass Station IIs for 375 out the door. You can get an Arturia MicroBrute for under 300. Maybe a bit dated, but you can get Nord Lead 2xs (rack version) for ~400-500 if you are patient. Shit, I have seen Prophet 08 racks go for well under 1k.

im a bit confused about racks and synths and keyboards tbh. i get that a rack is a version of a synth without the keyboard so you can use your own keyboard. but can you just use any midi keyboard with the rack? or can you connect it to your daw and use the synths sounds using the built in daw keyboard?

if i had a laptop an audio interface a usb keyboard and a triton rack, would i be able to use the triton or would i be missing something?

i think i need to learn more about audio engineering before i move out of the box

sco wrote:im a bit confused about racks and synths and keyboards tbh. i get that a rack is a version of a synth without the keyboard so you can use your own keyboard. but can you just use any midi keyboard with the rack? or can you connect it to your daw and use the synths sounds using the built in daw keyboard?

Hardware synths come in two main types;

Keyboard
Rackmount

Both are the same sound engine, and can be controlled via a computer/hardware sequencer, the keyboard synths have the added bonus of being able to be 'played' by themselves as standalone.

sco wrote:if i had a laptop an audio interface a usb keyboard and a triton rack, would i be able to use the triton or would i be missing something?

That would be sufficient. You'd have MIDI cables to/from the synth to send and receive MIDI data, as well as output from the Triton itself for the actual sounds.

sco wrote:i think i need to learn more about audio engineering before i move out of the box

I posted this YouTube channel in another thread;

The Tuesday Night Machines

Good introduction to how synths etc work.

ty