essential gear to get started

[skamunista]

hi all- student on a budget here.

i've had a simple midi keyboard controller and a korg nanopad for some time along with live lite. I've been trying to get the hang of it and suffered a number of false starts over the past year and want to give it another go when i finish school next month. so here is my question. what in your opinion is the essential gear to get started?

I would like to learn how to dj using computer software (also have a set of actual decks and a mixer), including doing some of my own compositions within ableton. specifically i'm drawn the the latin electronic sounds of artists like mati zundel, frikstailers, uproot andy and chancha via circuito-- check out a zzk/zizek records sampler if you haven't heard them--and more similar groups that draw on folkloric traditions of latin america like bomba estereo and novalima.

i frequently have run into problems when i begin to compose a loop. i'm alright with latin rhythms, but it is so tedious to actually find a rack or instrument that i like, that has all the sounds i'm looking for, and then to find where all the sounds are so i can click them in, and what comes out generally sounds mechanical. i've wondered about buying a pack of loops or if maybe i just don't have a good midi controller for this. another possibility i suppose is that i sample from songs, but i'm a bit lost on how to isolate certain instruments.

so to put it simple, what is the essential gear to get started using ableton efficiently?

[simmerdown]

you have them already

+

time/ focused practice