Advice on equipment for electronic music production

waximus

Hi,

Im just looking for advice on what equipment to get for producing electronic sounds. I have been thinking of buying an Apple Mac Book Pro. I suppose what Im asking is, is this the best laptop for the job. And if anybody knows where I can get them cheaper than what the Apple store are selling them for. Any advice you can give will help. Ill just give you the history behind this thread. About ten years ago I got a PC. Funny enough Im using that PC now. But the poor old puter isnt able for any music applications anymore. But back in the day I had a copy of Fruity Loops Pro. I had hours of fun with the PC and the software. And I would really like to take up the hobby again. But Ive read so much crap that I would nearly need someone to hold my hand and say " right buy this this and this and in a about a year youll be making good sounds" Again any help would help.

Thanks.

cornbb

A Macbook pro would be a great option but they are on the expensive side and its not easy to get discounts anywhere. You could start off by learning to use Garageband (included with the Mac) and move on to Logic Pro from there.

There's nothing wrong with PCs for music production either, there is a massive range of software to choose from there.

Let us know what you can spend and what sort of music you have in mind and we'll go from there. You might also want to budget for a set of monitors, an audio interface and a MIDI keyboard. Have a read through the stickies at the top of the forum for lots more tips.

blackbagtrack

You don't have to buy a macbook pro to produce music. You can get some very powerful pcs too and you would find them usually cheaper. Especiallly if you are approaching it as a hobby to experimant around on fruity loops.

ICN

I got a great deal on my Mac Pro from www.musicstore.de.

Worked out €100's cheaper - cant really remember the details now - but definitely check it out before you part with your cash.

Free delivery too.

I was able to upgrade the spec of it and I think it still worked out cheaper at the time.

You would want to be certifiably insane to be buying extra Ram / HD's etc.. from Apple with your Mac. Crazy prices for CRAZY people.:eek::eek::eek:

Best of luck! Mac's & Logic are great!

PS - Dont get a usb soundcard. They disconnect in my experience. Firewire all the way.

MB's or MBP's have a dodgy usb port also, the one closest to the screen apparently.. Inconsistant power distribution I believe.

Baz_Masterplan

See my add on adverts if you are a bit flush. Cant go wrong. Best of gear in the best of knik.

jtsuited

ICN wrote: »

Inconsistant power distribution I believe.

that's the only one my mbox will use!!

sei046

If its a hobby the pc might be the way to go

squibs

The PC would probably be a cheaper option alright. If it's all electronic, and especially if you aren't recording vocals, guitars etc (i.e. all your sounds are being produced from the PC), you can start with a consumer soundcard (you might need to check out the asio4all drivers for the soundcard though). Of course you'll have no way to connect a keyboard then and will need a keyboard with USB or a midi interface.

Here's an interesting interface with some nice software bundled:
http://www.dv247.com/invt/33958/

Look at Reaper as an inexpensive DAW with a try before you buy option, and Wusikstation as a synth/rompler with a decent selection of sounds - all for less than €100. Then again, FL Studio or Reason will be better suited as DAWs (I use the TLA loosely in the case of Reason) for electronic production.

RAM, fast processor, fast HDD will all help, and most PC musicians are still staying away from Vista.

frobisher

Don't let this become a PC v Mac issue for you. They will both do a super job. Follow your personal preferences and budget.

sei046

You could grab a cheap Pc and tbh you might be better off grabbing any old cheap soundcard for 100 bucks or so with a midi in and a usb interface. That would definitely get you going. You wont owe it a penny at the end of the day either

seannash

yeah you can produce on a pc but id personally say mac.you just dont have to worry about drivers and viruses.plus i presume itll be your internet computer too.
oh and by the way.is it necessary for it to be a laptop.desktops are cheaper and you get more bang for your buck.
id definitely suggest logic.your only messing around with fruity loops reason or ableton(yes i know you can make great music with them but this is my opinion on the matter)
logics inbuilt effects and synths are really really good so its a good starting point.
you will defiitely need to budget for monitors although seeing as itll probably take you a while to get the hang of it you could probably leave it for a few months and see if its something you wanna invest further in.
soundcard is a must and so is a midi keyboard.
theres alot of options for you to choose.try a refurbed mac from the apple websites.ive heard good things about them.
oh and as some one suggested you can wet your feet with garageband that comes free with apple computers

sei046

I see what your saying there man but if its only a hobby would that not all be a bit too much cash to begin with. I could be completely wrong as i dont know the financial situation but it seems to me it might be a good idea not to be out of pocket. The setup you are reccomending is definitely the way to go if he really got into it

seannash

well if im honest my thoughts on making music is that you gotta put in a hell of alot of boring groundwork learning programmes,synthesis,arrangement.
so to get any satisfaction out of this hobby is going to require alot of grunt work that,lets face it ,is not enjoyable. so to treat it as a hobby i dont think hell get very far ie to the satisfying bit of actually getting whats in your head to come out of the speakers.
that being said if this was purely a debate about someone wanting a computer just for general use id still say go with a mac.doesnt have to be a macbookpro,macbook should suffice or if he doesnt need portability the imacs are fantastic value for money(1000 dollars over ere)

so i guess for a hobby he could have a setup that would roughly cost a grand,bar the software(garageband is free)
dont know about mac prices in ireland but over here imac is 1000 dollars(roughly 650 euros)im sure he knows someone going to or who lives in america.plus the refurbed ones are cheaper still.

imo opinion macs are better so like i said id go with the mac to begin with.

sei046

I dont know if i agree about how the gruntwork is not enjoyable. All i do is gruntwork! And i Love it! I think people are into the music production for different reasons. I am interested in the serious side of it but I understand completely if people enjoy just messing around

seannash

sei046 wrote: »

I dont know if i agree about how the gruntwork is not enjoyable. All i do is gruntwork! And i Love it! I think people are into the music production for different reasons. I am interested in the serious side of it but I understand completely if people enjoy just messing around

well maybe i overstated my point but i do think you gotta treat it seriously
its like learning an instrument.sure its fun to strum the thing but its definitely more fun to make music with it.but to get to that point you gotta practice.
which requires some sort of commitment.
im really in no position to preach about this subject but i do take a huge interest in learning as much as i can about what i still consider a hobby for me and realistically always probably will be,but i do remember a point where i made a concious decision to take it more seriously and it was after that point that made it more fun for me.
its frustrating to have the ideas but be unable to get them out.

anyway,if he has the cash id definitely get the best gear he can afford.oh and id still recommend a mac:D

frobisher

seannash wrote: »

so to get any satisfaction out of this hobby is going to require alot of grunt work that,lets face it ,is not enjoyable. so to treat it as a hobby i dont think hell get very far ie to the satisfying bit of actually getting whats in your head to come out of the speakers.

I'll have to disagree on that one!

seannash

frobisher wrote: »

I'll have to disagree on that one!

well i think you have to put in alot of work to eventually get to a place where you can make whats in your head come out the speakers.
i spend time reading articles, tutorial,trial and error.
granted fannying about can be fun,guess its just not for me:D

seannash

anyway i guess weve gone off topic on the poor chap:D