What equipment do I need now?

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SaltSlasher

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Ok, me and my friend are wanting to working together on recording. I have just been recording with my latest gear. However I want to start recording electronica/dance/house /industrial stuff in this category.

Here is the list of equipment already owned:
64bit Windows 7 computer w/ the works including ssd, dual screens etc
M-Audio Bx5a studio monitors
UX2 recording interface
MXL 990 and 991 w/stands and cables
Ableton Suite 8.1
Reason 5
Komplete 5
Fruity Loops 9
CTK 6000
Strat Guitar

I know this is not a lot but I have spent most my money over the last year or so, buying new software. So I am would say the kind of sound I am shooting towards would be in the ballpark or Daft Punk, Aphex Twin, Justice, and kind of like Ohgr.

Anyways I was going to buy to buy a DM6 drumset, cause I wanted to be able to play out songs since I have doing with in the computer.

My question is, what kind of equipment should I be looking to get for recording? Not playing live yet, cause that is going to be down the road here soon. I want to focus more on having to tools to produce my own sound!

Things I have considered, my friend will sell me his Roland MV-8000, MPD32, turntable package cd/vinyl or even a controller, Mashine, and just various samplers and drum machines.

So what are some of the equipment that every group/dj has in their arsenal?
 
The way I see it, until I can save up and get something like the Nord Lead 3 or Virus, or any high end synth, I will be primarily be working within these programs. So thats why I thought of getting the MPD or any other controllers.

The CTK6000 is my 'piano' midi controller, which I traded in my mpk25 for, cause it was way to small for me. I will probably invest in the MPK49 down the road, because it is a more suitable controller, cause my ctk is more of a workstation.

THe MV8000 would be something I could use for almost everything. I have been considering everything it can do, but he wants 750$ for it, and I was looking into newer products that are alike but for cheaper.

As far as turntables go, I sold my set about 4 years ago, now I am really would like a new set like CD or midi!
 
Sounds like you already have more than enough than you need to start recording. A lot of people are using a lot less gear than that.

You might want to get a full-duplex mixer if you are recording several instruments at once, but you should be able to do quite a bit with what you already have.

What is it that you find limiting about your setup now?
 
Save up for the MPK 61 over the 49. The splittable keyboard is way handier. I have the 49 and wish I had spent the extra $.

Played a Yamaha S90 hammer-action keyboard last weekend and really want to go that direction next I think.

You have a pretty powerful setup now.
 
Honestly I have a lot more to learn with what I have, I just got more money for baby sitting some ferrets, and now by the end of the month I will have even more for babysitting a dog.

So it's not so much I need more things, but since this is my one hobby I spend my extra money on it.

This is why I was really into the MPD, cause it would just be more help for working with ableton which is my favorite. I asked cause I just don't know what I should get. There are several things I can get that would be cool, but I want the things that are going to help me improve and expand.

For what I have paid in software would be an equivilant in equipment I could of bought that could do the same. So i am focusing on Ableton, and recording on the computer, which is why I don't think I would really need the MV8000.

Anyways I just don't know what these kind of artists use to record. I know what they use for live shows, and that a lot of them use ableton and FL studio. I just was wondering what I could get to increase my home studio!
 
c7sus said:
Save up for the MPK 61 over the 49. The splittable keyboard is way handier. I have the 49 and wish I had spent the extra $.

Played a Yamaha S90 hammer-action keyboard last weekend and really want to go that direction next I think.

You have a pretty powerful setup now.
Click to expand...

I had the MPK25, but obviously it is way to small(i got it for 200, and it was it or a demoed axiom49 gen1, with no discount) But I think that the MPK61 was built for Ableton, cause when setting the pads, in ableton there are 4x4 rows, just like on the 61. I bought the CTK6000 for a piano and workstation(which is actually nice) however the midi controller is good, I just notice that I don't have as much control on account the MPK had programmable knobs.

Your probably right, I have plenty of power on my computer, I just need more hands on control like with the MPK61($500)
 
Babysitting ferrets and dogs ! Love that Slasher !
And put the word out to KCearl, electronica major domo.
 
The next thing you might want to look into is hardware FX, like MoogerFoogers, Strymon, Eventide, Lexicon, stuff along those lines.

And at some point you're gonna find a hardware mixer to be indispensable.

Check out the Slim Phatty when you want to go into hardware monosynths. A lot of guys are really digging the Strymon El Capistan Delay on the Moog board.

http://www.moogmusic.com/

http://www.strymon.net/
 
One thing I really don't like the ctk for my midi, is because as I lift up on the keys I don't get the slow let off, it just goes to blank. I am sure if I get a sustain pedel I might be able to fix that!

If you use ableton, you can just tell by the way they make akai stuff, that it was meant to be together. So I am think I should save and get a MPK61 to match my CTK workstation.

Let me ask you about your MPK49, are the touch pads on it very hard to use? on my mpk25 the pads were so stiff, you really had to push hard, and it was impossible to do a measure's worth of a drum beat. I used it more for "pretending" to play live, and have it trigger something I recorded previously! But I also thought I read, you can get differnet pads installed or have modification done to make them feel like real MPC, cause they are nothing like real MPC pads.
 
The pads on the MPK line aren't the same as the ones on the high-end Akai MPC samplers. They aren't nearly as expressive as the MPC. I don't really use them much because I went with EZDrummer and the EZPlayerPro soft drums, and mostly drag-and-drop MIDI lines and then edit in EZPlayer.
 
Yeah, I don't have a mixer, but then again, I don't have a bunch or equipment to plug in, just my guitar and mics. But I understand what your saying. I would be nice to have a mixer w/effects or rackmount fx's, so that I can manipulate my sounds pre-recording. I have my UX2 but it is mainly for transfering my mic and guitar for now, cause my keyboard is usb, and sd card, even though I sometimes mic it for fun. I would only probably need a 8-16 track just for future purposes.
I did watch a video of an alesis mixer, and the dj was able to get a lot effects just out of the mixer along into his voice. I will have to look into a mixer also.
 
c7sus said:
The pads on the MPK line aren't the same as the ones on the high-end Akai MPC samplers. They aren't nearly as expressive as the MPC. I don't really use them much because I went with EZDrummer and the EZPlayerPro soft drums, and mostly drag-and-drop MIDI lines and then edit in EZPlayer.
Click to expand...

So you don't use any kind of pads to make you drum beats? I thought about getting Ezdrummer with some drum pads. I know that playing drums on drums is differnet than the drums I hear from drum machines and programs.

For example, Aphex Twin has increidlbe beats/sounds, I am not that good at making beats and stuff, and I thought with the DM6 or something, I could have better control over my beats(not that FL studio can't handle the job) What I am saying I thought that I use a keyboard for controlling synths with programs, so shouldnt' i get drum controllers to control drums and beats with in the program.
 
Really the only way to take advantage of e-drums is to be a decent drummer to begin with. Beyond that you're probably better off learning how to sequence in FL or Ableton and invest in good drum samples.
 
c7sus said:
Really the only way to take advantage of e-drums is to be a decent drummer to begin with. Beyond that you're probably better off learning how to sequence in FL or Ableton and invest in good drum samples.
Click to expand...

LOL, I asked somewhere else about getting drums to help me become a better drummer, cause I said that with in programs I am just learning to organize not play drums. And the guy told me to save my money and not get drums. He said that I should get lessons instead. :)

I can play drums, I just can't play drums well. I am just saying what I think, I don't necessarily think that I am right, I am just pondering.

When I use ablton and battery 3, is when I would like some drum pads instead of pushing key. In fl studio or reason there is no need for a drum machine or drum pads, cause it's more of sequenceing and clicking on dots in order and editing each litle detial with in each note. Which is why I like it, cause if I played a few mesures on a drum set, and took my recording, I would have to do all this tweaking. While in FL, I would the drum line laid out, and I can go back in at any point in time with in the beat and change it.(I have more drum sounds than I know what to do with)
Even with the Dm6, I wouldn't even have enough pads to cover the kits that load.

Anyways that was just an idea, and now it is starting to sound dumb espeically since I just want to record. So i am going to put drumset/pads/machine on the back burners.

There are many different rackmount effects, do you know of a good solid mixer that has a lot of fx's, that has maybe 8-16 tracks? because it and the MPK61/49 are sounding better and better.
 
For a mixer a nice 8 track that has a good price is the Alesis MultiMix 8 FX and then the yamaha mg82cx w/compression and effects and then there is also the behringer xenyx 1204, but it is $200.

I haven't really looked into them, but they seem to be cheapest ones for around $150.

I really think the best thing I can get at this point is the MPK61, I might have enough for the mpk49 by may, but I will have to go to guitar center and try everything. I like my ctk a bunch, but it doesn't exactly have the best keys and functionality as far as midi controllers go!

The 61 and 49 are pretty much the same thing, the 49 is just missing one octive and 4 pads. I really liked the MPK25 as far as the build quality, its just that you can't do crap with 2 octaves.
 
Actually I just found where I can buy the MPK61 for damn there the same price as the MPK49, just an extra $40.
So yeah I am going to get the MPK61, I am not sure how much I will have by the end of the month, but for 389$ I would be seriously ill not to get it.

I have about $260 of extra money, so I think I should be good by the end of the month, I might be on back order list, but it will be so worth the wait!

I still haven't bought a piano stand for my ctk, but the one I am going to get is this $25 dollar one, that you can pay $35 for a bracket to make it a dual stand, and then another $35 to make it a triple.
 
Rather than go with a mixer with built-in FX, you could be much more original with a mixer and an array of either hardware or soft FX.

You don't want to sound like everybody else on a limited budget, you want to be able to make your OWN sound. At least that's how I look at it.

Keep tweaking on your soft instruments. Keep in mind that drums sound better if there is variation in the velocities. Nothing sounds more robotic than a drum line where every hit is the same volume.

Learn about lowpass filters and check Youtube for vids about the MIDI MuRF and the rest of the MoogerFoogers. There are tons of great new hardware FX that can either animate your drums or otherwise alter your soft synth instruments to sound nothing like the original samples. Bitcrushers are pretty hot right now too and there are many to choose from.
 
Yeah that sounds good. I am still a young padowan learner, and need to start learning more about using the equipment I have. I do think with the MPK61 I would't need another instrument for a long while. I just wish I could get student discount on hardware and not just on software.

But I understand what you saying, the preset sounds can be tweaked, but with an external sonic maximizer, others like you mentioned and other signal processor's I could make my sound very unique.

Anyways, after i buy the mpk61, unless i get some extra money, then the next big thing I will get is a mac book pro with sandy bridge in August. I am getting a laptop for school and thats the best laptop on the planet espeically for a musician such as myself. I really want to work with logic and garageband.

But once I get it, I plan to buy the Duet 2 and Logic!
 
I think you should learn everything about what you have and then decide what you need next. master your gear and figure out what its lacking
 
When I am working, I mainly use my ctk6000 for keyboard controller, and then use my mouse for everything. The way I record is usually in the same way, but I have no tools to play live. Which means I do in fact have barriers.

So the things I have looked at would all be great to have for any musician who wants to make electonica/house/dj etc, I just need to narrow it down a little.

I have been debating on whether my ctk6000 is good enough to play the roll of a midi controller. Besides for several things, it mainly does th basic job.
What I am thinking of getting is the MPK

WHich has been good, but from what I have seen and read, the novation launchPad and APC's give you more hands on control.

What I am thinking of getting is the novation launchpad for it's full blown hands on controller. With 8x8 grid I am sure there are many things I can do with it, that I dont already know.

I am sure that a MPK61 for my center piece would give my studio a much needed boost for overall playing and triggering. It pretty much has a built in MPD, which was something I wanted so i'ts like a 2n1.

Then I have been wanting the mixtrack for playing my stuff live and doing remix's in real time.

Pretty much if I decide I don't need the MPK, I would have enough for just about any other controller. I have thought of several others such as the padkontrol, apc's even the maschine.
 
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