$200...what should I buy?

[BobCarter]

Ok.. I have reached yet another financial dilemma in this music production thing. I got a $200 check from my Dad for Christmas and I currently have no hardware besides a laptop. With the $200 limit in mind, what should be the first piece of hardware I get and the best piece for the money? I understand that most hardware especially good hardware is way more expensive...I was thinking either a cheap midi keyboard that I could use to play through Absynth and Albino and stuff like that....or maybe an external hard drive to store all the samples and large plug-ins files my current laptop is jam packed of..

What do you all think?

Midi keyboard....or external HD?

 

[Kontents]

Dude.. if you make beats and dont have a keyboard get one.


http://www.sweetwater.com/c513--M-Audio--Keyboard_Controllers

I'd go with the
M-Audio Keystation 88es if you have the space if not a nice 49 key will do just fine.

 

[Chrono]

hey bob, think about it with strategy.

any instrument will require a new dimension of practice. of all instruments, the midi keyboard is a fine choice because of the variety of midi VSTi (virtual instruments) / RTAS (pro tools instrument format). These virtual instruments will be handy if you want to compose your own music

but.. if you want to avoid composing, which can take much time, then maybe sampling is your forte. in this case you want some pads like the finger trigger (in your pricerange). but sampling by itself is an achilles heal for many who need to emulate an melody with their own change ups, for copyright reasons.

what do you feel your production path is flowing, sample or composing, and where do you find yourself?

-chrono t.

 

[adthekidd]

put $50 more and get a

M-Audio Axiom 49

you should also be able 2 find 1 on ebay or craigslist for $200

 

[eDub24]

look on craigslist.

id go for the m audio 49 axiom

 

[Formant024]

save up, get a 1000 bucks

 

[Kontents]

^^^^

HAHAHA Word

 

[MagnaOpera]

Honestly, my advice would be to save. Considering you're getting your first piece of gear, like everyone said, get a MIDI controller. I would recommend that you don't buy a cheapey one... I think that you really get what you pay for. If you're dead set on getting one, go ahead I suppose. Based on the assumption that you're of working age, and that you're employed, I would suggest you just wait a pay period or two, save a hundred or something from each paycheque (budget permitting), and invest in a good quality MIDI controller. MPK49 on the realz, it's got pads and keys. $373... I think that's pretty reasonable for what alot of professional producers (Just Blaze?) are calling the best MIDI controller on the market.

 

[DJ EThical]

I would say try to get something like a MPD24 or 16 but look on ebay or criaglists for them. You most likely should get yourself some kind of turntable. maybe not for scratching but something solid for sampling. There is a good chance if you spend you money right on ebay or criaglist you could get both.

 

[BobCarter]

i thank yall for your advice...but haha i bought an axiom 25 for like $165..it was not as responsive in the beginning but i messed around with my buffering rate a little bit and now everything is really sick...especially the mpc-esque pad.... starting to get really fun to compose...i dont have to sit and click into a grid...haha on a side note I sliced my finger open on the box at the music store and the dude had to bring me a bandaid...he deserved it though...he was copping an attitude with me when i was asking him questions (thank god I have a straight place to ask them now (illmuzik.com))

To respond to Chrono:

I have absolutely no idea what type of composing style I would fall into...If I think up a really good melody motif in my head and need to make something sound new-ish sounding and more obscure I tend to go with just playing it out and composing manually...but i've been digging into the internet's endless crate and have been messing around alot more now with sampling...mainly learning how to take the right samples and just simply dragging songs into FL slicer and learning how to recognize sounds I might usually miss when scanning through the song as usual...im still figuring out really what route im going to go and honestly so far, I think a combination of composing and sampling has helped me out the best... and since with pro tools coming out and alot of hip hop being composed nowadays (and having background knowledge of the guitar) I'm probably going to go more towards composing with a little bit of sampling throughout...plus in a few months when I start making some sampler CD's when I get the hang of things, I don't want to worry about getting in trouble for using samples without permission if I decide to make money off this ish....but for now I'm sitting in the woodshed, quickly downloading tons of old music, learning how to use my hardware, and doing my production homework just trying to make that honor roll...yall know how it is...

Finally, what do yall think of the Axiom 25?
I bought it because of the weighted keys and limited budget...

 

[2GooD Productions]

i thank yall for your advice...but haha i bought an axiom 25 for like $165..it was not as responsive in the beginning but i messed around with my buffering rate a little bit and now everything is really sick...especially the mpc-esque pad.... starting to get really fun to compose...i dont have to sit and click into a grid...haha on a side note I sliced my finger open on the box at the music store and the dude had to bring me a bandaid...he deserved it though...he was copping an attitude with me when i was asking him questions (thank god I have a straight place to ask them now (illmuzik.com))

To respond to Chrono:

I have absolutely no idea what type of composing style I would fall into...If I think up a really good melody motif in my head and need to make something sound new-ish sounding and more obscure I tend to go with just playing it out and composing manually...but i've been digging into the internet's endless crate and have been messing around alot more now with sampling...mainly learning how to take the right samples and just simply dragging songs into FL slicer and learning how to recognize sounds I might usually miss when scanning through the song as usual...im still figuring out really what route im going to go and honestly so far, I think a combination of composing and sampling has helped me out the best... and since with pro tools coming out and alot of hip hop being composed nowadays (and having background knowledge of the guitar) I'm probably going to go more towards composing with a little bit of sampling throughout...plus in a few months when I start making some sampler CD's when I get the hang of things, I don't want to worry about getting in trouble for using samples without permission if I decide to make money off this ish....but for now I'm sitting in the woodshed, quickly downloading tons of old music, learning how to use my hardware, and doing my production homework just trying to make that honor roll...yall know how it is...

Finally, what do yall think of the Axiom 25?
I bought it because of the weighted keys and limited budget...

I would have recommended a good sound card with ASIO support.
The M-Audio Audiophile 192 cards are pretty good and reasonably priced, plus they allow you to use pro tools m-powered. Not a bad starting point for a new beatmaker.
I have to agree that a keyboard is an essential tool too.

 

[BobCarter]

I'm glad you mentioned that 2Good...I talked to the guy at the music store and I was thinking about eventually buying the pro tools bundle that comes with an m-box...

noob question: what exactly is an m-box and if i bought this protools bundle at some point, would I also need to buy an ASIO-supported soundcard? Is there anything else besides the m-box, software, and a good soundcard needed to run ProTools? The guy at the store was helpful yet sadly I think I knew more about certain things than he did...

-bob

 

[2GooD Productions]

I'm glad you mentioned that 2Good...I talked to the guy at the music store and I was thinking about eventually buying the pro tools bundle that comes with an m-box...

noob question: what exactly is an m-box and if i bought this protools bundle at some point, would I also need to buy an ASIO-supported soundcard? Is there anything else besides the m-box, software, and a good soundcard needed to run ProTools? The guy at the store was helpful yet sadly I think I knew more about certain things than he did...

-bob

An M-Box is an external soundcard it supports ASIO already..
I thought it was pretty expensive, how much is the bundle with pro tools?

I would only recommend another DAW to use in conjunction with Pro Tools, I have found the learning curve on Pro Tools pretty steep. I only use pro tools to mix with but it can do so much more than that, I just havent gotten around to learning the ropes.
Anyway, the M-Box bundle with pro tools is a decent bit of kit for a noob.
I think it might be a little over kill though, Im sure its not cheap.

 

[BobCarter]

Well at Guitar Center (Definitely not my favorite, yet my only option) I think a Pro Tools M-Box set was between $300-400... I felt really guilty seeing that the Waves Diamond Bundle was more than 2 grand...hahaha and it only takes ten minutes to download

 

[Cell 2Dee]

Save up and get an MPK49. That's what I did and I don't regret it at all. The only problem with it is 12 pads instead of 16, that's why I'm going to get an MPD24 too.

 

[BobCarter]

the mpk49 is so ill...I cant wait till i save up some money

 

[daproduct]

yeh its almost a shame you spilled on that axiom 25, wont get much more than a bass line with that octave range, and it doesnt sound like you're sampling.. as an owner of the mpk id say its good but 4 octaves still dont cut it for any real expression.. id say go atleast 61 key, but i love having those faders and knobs for tweaking daw parameters!