Ableton Forum

Hey all! I'm in a bit of quandary. There's a number of things I'd LIKE TO purchase but due to budgetary constraints at this stage in my life I won't be able to afford them all.

I'm making sample based drone/ambient stuff using vast sample libraries and far too much automation. I would like to be able to record some stuff both in the field and in the studio (mainly piano and perhaps some rough vocals), so the first thing I want is a microphone. I need something that can fulfill a number of purposes - I was thinking some kind of condenser mic.

Unfortunately I don't have studio monitors yet. This is another thing I would like, but I'm not sure how important they are for the kind of music I am making.

A would also like to invest in a midi controller. I feel like it would greatly improve my creative flow. I haven't had the chance to borrow one to see how I go yet.

So how important are monitors going to be for me? Am I better of getting more items that are going to assist me in making the kind of music that I want to rather than monitors which serve only to perfect the finished product? I feel as if they are unnecessary at this point.

I know this is a broad post but I feel as if I need a little direction here. Who wants to help?

I think I´d go for good monitors, I would hate the thought of making music that might sound shit on other speakers. But its subjective.

Dude get all that shit real cheap and over time you can build on it.

Firstly, I agree that getting decent monitoring is most important right now, because you can do so much with just a computer and some software and madskillz.

Maybe some Alesis M1s or M-Audio BX5A would be affordable speakers for you.

I recommend you check out the Korg Nano MIDI stuff, but if you look in your local buyandsell, adverts, ebay or whatever, you'll find old midi keyboards for half nothing.

If you wanna record stuff maybe check out a Shure SM 57/58, but don't forget you'll need a decent soundcard/interface.

Still, if your doing drone/ambient etc, it's your skills with software and your experience with music and sound that will reap the greatest rewards. In other words, if you have the skills, you don't need much kit.

Give someone like James Holden or Moby a decent laptop and monitors and they will be able to create something mind-blowingly good in a couple of hours.

Good luck on your quest.

I'll second the recommendation for the alesis M1's. I've been using my first generation M1's for about five, maybe six years..
Also, i'll second the suggestion for using ebay.

Another option might be one of the portable hand held digital field recorders, i'm not sure of any of the model numbers, i know zoom and korg make them.

krk rokit5 is EOL.

ultra wrote:http://www.possecrewensemble.com/as606/

lol...

PLacidBasilisk wrote:budgetary constraints

monitors...

what *is* your budget anyway?

Right so I gather that monitors are the most important next step. So I'll focus on getting myself a decent pair before I move on to anything else. I am pretty happy at the moment using my mad skills to do things just with my laptop.

When it does come time to get a mic I will need to buy a decent soundcard yes? I switch between my macbook and my PC so a decent external one will be my best bet I'm guessing. What about audio interface?

Also lol @ http://www.possecrewensemble.com/as606/

Homebelly, I've thought about portable digital recorders but I figure I can just take my mic and my lappy into the field and do it that way.

For the record, my budget is somewhat flexible. I just don't want to buy gear that I never use. However I want an easy way to record piano/field recordings and such. I'm looking at around $2000 NZD (roughly $1300 USD) tops.

Oh man, with that budget you can get a bunch of decent stuff used especially.

Definitely decent monitors, mic, soundcard and midi controller.

I would guess you could get the following for
M-Audio Monitors ($100-200 used)
Decent Mic ($100-200 used)
PreSonus Firebox ($250 used)
M-Audio Axiom 61 ($200 used)

On the top end you are looking at $850

That's just a basic example, swap what you like but you can get a full rig sorted is the point.

Wow that makes me so happy. I have so much love for you right now. I presume you are talking in US Dollars there right? Second hand is definitely the way to go methinks. Then I should be able to get everything I want. Yum.

Yes, USD.

I think the two places that you may consider spending more is on a mic and monitors.

You can get the industry standard SM57 mic for like $80 or less, or you can get a condenser, stereo, etc mics for more.

Same thing with monitors, M-Audios aren't the greatest, but they are inexpensive.

You can always buy used, then resell later as you upgrade piece by piece for the same price or close to what you paid.

I just thought of two more things that may be essential sometime soon. If I want to start integrating more live instrumentation, running guitars through Ableton and such, is it going to be necessary to purchase an external soundcard? If I were to do so could I use the soundcard for both my PC and my macbook?

Also, I get the feeling that I'm going to need a good mixer the way things are going. Would a mixer be a substitute for an external soundcard if I just used my macbook's internal soundcard?

You don't need a mixer as Live is built on a virtual mixer, so all you would really need is a sound card/audio interface with at least eight preamps or 1/4 inch inputs on it. There are literally hundreds of these. My advice would be to look at the fire wire option as most of these allow 16 to 18 bi-directional channels from your computer to the out side world, FW is also a little more stable than USB and is also a little more respectful of your CPU, especially if piping lots of audio back and fourth.

I'm using a presonus, There are always deals on Trade Me for all of the presonus stuff straight from the distributor.

The advantages of a mixer would be that you can EQ on the way in..
You have faders and can build an inline mix.
It make using hardware FX a whole lot easier..
Looks freaking cool when people that don't know better come round and see your 32 channel Mackie with a light bridge and a lit up FX rack...