Big dilemma! Which gear for electronic music?

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
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gerry lazarro
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:10 pm

Big dilemma! Which gear for electronic music?

Post by gerry lazarro » Thu Oct 24, 2019 3:52 pm

Hey guys,

For a month now i am trying to find out which device would be the best fit for me. Watching a lot of youtube video's, spend a lot of evenings googling for info but still my dilemma is not solved. The two devices which i doubt between are the akai mpc x or the akai force because of the standalone nature. I hope by posting this message i can finally make the right decision. First gonna give some background and what exactly i am looking for and then will ask some questions.

Main purpose for the device is producing electronic music. My genres are tech house, deep house, minimal and techno. The device should be able to create a song from start to finish(I know the force doesn't have arrangement mode yet but will eventually have it so that's fine by me). I have no experience working with mpc neither with ableton so learning curve is something that is not important to me. I have some experience with maschine from native instruments since i own the maschine studio. I just want to have the device that gives me the most and best options to produce a track from start to finish in the genres as i mentioned above.

Some questions:
What are the benefits of each device above the other?
The thing that stops me from going for the mpc x is when i search for youtube videos most of the time the music they are making is hip hop which is not my genre. It is really hard to find a video about the mpc x creating electronic music :-D which make me doubt if its capable of making music in my genre. What do you guys think about that?
What do you guys think about the software on both devices in the future. Will the mpc x get some more plugins like the hype synth? Since the force is the newest device will the mpc x get less updates?
With the mpc x i know you are able to use sounds from vst plugins by playing them in the mpc software export it and import in standalone and make keygroups out of it. Is there or will it be possible to do something similar with the akai force so i can use sounds from vst plugins in my akai force in standalone mode(maybe when the ableton integration is ready)?

Sorry for this huge post but i really hope you guys will help me in making my final decision.

Thanks, Gerry

gerry lazarro
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:10 pm

Re: Big dilemma! Which gear for electronic music?

Post by gerry lazarro » Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:40 pm

Hi,

Thanks for your advice. Why I was posting my question over here is because the description of this part of the forum was ’Discussion of music production, audio, equipment and any related topics, either with or without Ableton Live:D
I also tried to post it on mpc forum but got no answers yet so I wanted to try and ask it somewhere else. With stand-alone I mean without a computer or laptop so that is not what the maschine is. I just want to be able to create and jam on the device without having my computer or laptop attached To it so I can play with it on my sofa or in bed whatever en whenever I want but the final touch still need to be done in a daw like ableton. And that’s why I was doubting between akai mpc x or the force because both of them have that standalone thing.

Kind regards,

Gerry

jestermgee
Posts: 4500
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:38 am

Re: Big dilemma! Which gear for electronic music?

Post by jestermgee » Thu Oct 24, 2019 11:50 pm

Most hardware options will be for performance and creating some patterns and loops but rarely for building a complete track. With hardware only options you will be limited to samples and loops mostly as hardware devices cannot hold VST plugins for instance.

A lot of people will use things like the Akai, MPD or Octatrack to create some ideas, beats and noodle around but to benefit from the features and power a PC can offer with capable software you really need to have a DAW and actually learn how to use it. Once you have a good grasp on that then you will be able to figure out more which hardware option could be used to facilitate your personal needs as it differs greatly how people like to work.

How many tracks have you finished yourself already (as in completely finished from start to mixdown)? If you are just hoping to get some hardware and start creating full tracks you may be in for a bit of a struggle as the hardware options are really to facilitate your working knowledge of using software or accompany other elements. I'm not sure I know of any completely hardware options that could be used to compose, sequence and produce a full track on. If you want cool chords and things like automated filter sweeps, drops and all that business that electronic music (dance I assume) has then you need a simple way to get in and program these things which is where a DAW has it all for you.

The reason you are struggling to find answers and videos that suit your requirements is basically because that isn't how people use it. Hip-Hop is a much more simple approach to designing a track where loops and samples are common. To make "music" and sequence notes and chords, patterns, progression etc that is far more involved than most hardware boxes can offer.

jonljacobi
Posts: 887
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2017 3:36 am

Re: Big dilemma! Which gear for electronic music?

Post by jonljacobi » Fri Oct 25, 2019 5:04 pm

This is such a broad question and there are as many answers as there are devices. Look for all the posts and reviews you can find on the equipment you're considering to learn the good and the bad. Ignore any that say this is the best or worst thing ever.

TLW
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:37 am

Re: Big dilemma! Which gear for electronic music?

Post by TLW » Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:00 pm

If the intention is to create entire tracks in a single piece of hardware then the Elektron Octratack and their other samplers might be with looking at, as might the Teenage Engineering devices. iPads can also be good music creation platforms and are useful in other ways as well if your computer is a Mac.

Live can be used to create complete tracks without any additional hardware at all, and also integrates well with hardware synths, samplers and other instruments/voices. My suggestion is that you start by learning at least the basics of Live and what it can do, then consider what, if any, additional hardware you might want.
Live 10 Suite, 2020 27" iMac, 3.6 GHz i9, MacOS Catalina, RME UFX, assorted synths, guitars and stuff.

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