Ableton Forum

I've had Ableton 8 since last Xmas and I havent really created anything appealing. It's partially my lack of knowledge of the program still, but Im also thinking that with some proper physical equipment I could make better tracks.

So I'm just wondering what basic equipment you guys would recommend? I know I need a MIDI keyboard, probably a good microphone for some vocal stuff, and some monitors.

For those three things what would you guys recommend? I dont want to spend too much, but I want something decent. Budget of maybe $1300ish

What else do you think I could use?

Also, I still dont know how to incorporate all that Live has to offer, so what tutorials would you recommend?

Oh and what are some good all-around soundpacks that you would recommend? I have some PureMagnetik stuff as well as some others, but Im looking for more.

Thanks.

A MIDI keyboard and/or integrated midi keyboard with controller functionality, or a seperate controller is definitely going to be a massive help.

Beyond this, it really depends on you and your musical workflow. You could certainly do a lot soundwise if you invested $500 in Native Instruments Komplete 7 collection. Having great sounds on tap also helps creativity and inspiration.

If I had money to invest, the first things I would look at would be my audio interface and monitor speakers, then the midi keyboard and/or controllers.

In terms of mics, if you have an audio interface with phantom power, something like the Rode NT1-A is a nice cost effective mic which works well on vocals, acoustic guitar etc. There are plenty of alternatives if this doesn't suit you. If you are doing the vocals yourself, or have a regular singer, you should head to a music store and ask to test out a few to see which suits you best.

Tom Cosm has lots of cool tutorials on different techniques in Live. http://www.cosm.co.nz/

As far as controllers go, I personally like Novations keyboards the best. Although the knobs and faders are not the best quality or built to last forever, they give you tons of them, and if you take care of it, it will last long enough. I bought a Novation Remote SL37 bran new from a guy on craigslist for 100bucks. I love it.

With a Zero SL MkII (or the SL37) and a Launch Pad you'd definitely have something better than an APC40.

The M-Audio and Akai stuff are pretty decent quality builds, and playable, I just don't think you get the bang for the buck with those.

I use a Sterling Audio ST55 Mic for Vocal recording. Good enough quality for the price.

I also got a killer deal on some Mackie HR824mk2's. They are pricey, but I love them. No need for a sub. As far as cheaper monitors I really have little experience and no proper recommendations.

As far as sound packs go, I own a lot of Native Instruments stuff. I bought Battery for the library alone. I've had Reaktor for years, and it's just as important to me as Ableton. The User Library combined with the Factory instruments will give you YEARS of sound possibilities. However these days I spend less time with any sound pack and just use what I have to make my own. It's a slower process, but more gratifying to be using my own sample banks.

If I had 1300 bucks to spend, I'd find a bargain Novation Keyboard for 200bucks or less, A Launch Pad, and a Mic for no more than 200. Spend the other 600 on monitors. Maybe save up a bit more for some nice monitors. You wont regret it.

Native Instruments Maschine and any MIDI keyboard is all you need to make music right away. Just drag and drop your patterns to Live and arrange. Done and done.

What kind of music do you want to do?

leedsquietman wrote:A MIDI keyboard and/or integrated midi keyboard with controller functionality, or a seperate controller is definitely going to be a massive help.

Beyond this, it really depends on you and your musical workflow. You could certainly do a lot soundwise if you invested $500 in Native Instruments Komplete 7 collection. Having great sounds on tap also helps creativity and inspiration.

If I had money to invest, the first things I would look at would be my audio interface and monitor speakers, then the midi keyboard and/or controllers.

In terms of mics, if you have an audio interface with phantom power, something like the Rode NT1-A is a nice cost effective mic which works well on vocals, acoustic guitar etc. There are plenty of alternatives if this doesn't suit you. If you are doing the vocals yourself, or have a regular singer, you should head to a music store and ask to test out a few to see which suits you best.

That Komplete 7 looks really like something I should invest in. It just plugs into Ableton correct?

Ill do some reading on what keyboard/controller to get. I dont want to spend a lot on it, and I dont need anything crazy, just something that gets the job done.

Ill for sure get some monitors

Thanks

JuanSOLO wrote:Tom Cosm has lots of cool tutorials on different techniques in Live. http://www.cosm.co.nz/

As far as controllers go, I personally like Novations keyboards the best. Although the knobs and faders are not the best quality or built to last forever, they give you tons of them, and if you take care of it, it will last long enough. I bought a Novation Remote SL37 bran new from a guy on craigslist for 100bucks. I love it.

With a Zero SL MkII (or the SL37) and a Launch Pad you'd definitely have something better than an APC40.

The M-Audio and Akai stuff are pretty decent quality builds, and playable, I just don't think you get the bang for the buck with those.

I use a Sterling Audio ST55 Mic for Vocal recording. Good enough quality for the price.

I also got a killer deal on some Mackie HR824mk2's. They are pricey, but I love them. No need for a sub. As far as cheaper monitors I really have little experience and no proper recommendations.

As far as sound packs go, I own a lot of Native Instruments stuff. I bought Battery for the library alone. I've had Reaktor for years, and it's just as important to me as Ableton. The User Library combined with the Factory instruments will give you YEARS of sound possibilities. However these days I spend less time with any sound pack and just use what I have to make my own. It's a slower process, but more gratifying to be using my own sample banks.

If I had 1300 bucks to spend, I'd find a bargain Novation Keyboard for 200bucks or less, A Launch Pad, and a Mic for no more than 200. Spend the other 600 on monitors. Maybe save up a bit more for some nice monitors. You wont regret it.

Ill look into Cosm's stuff, as well as the Novations keyboard, and Zero SL MkII/Launch Pad.

Thanks

dton wrote:What kind of music do you want to do?

Thats a good question that I cant really answer. I like experimenting with different genres, but I like upbeat electro stuff as well as some industrial sounding stuff.

equipment - i heart drum pads. therefore i really like keyboards that have drum pads integrated. i use an axiom most of the time. IMO - best all around mic for $100 is the Sennheiser e835, good for vox, guitar amps, all sorts of stuff (i have 3 of them and used them to record some of those puremagnetik paks) if you are focused on vocals mostly, i would look at the Studio Projects C1, it's a cheap-oh and not an oustanding mic for things other than vox, but it's a great mic for the price.

tutorials - i just started a series at MacProVideo.com, there are several Ableton courses there, mine is a monthly series.

- b

1) Subscribe to PureMagnetik and download all of their Live Packs!!! Go to Loopmasters.com if you're looking for something more genre-specific.
2) Buy Kore 2, Komplete 7 Crossgrade, and Maschine (Don't need Maschine right away but you won't regret buying it.)
3) Fuck the mic.. buy a shitty one and call your music lo-fi! or just use your headphones as a mic.
4) Korg microKey looks appealing for a basic keyboard.
5) In another recent thread, I recommended the JBL 2300 series monitors. I've got the 2325s and the 2310 sub. Not quite the quality of Genelecs (and definitely not the price) but they're still better than most that I've heard in that price point.

McQ714 wrote:1) 3) Fuck the mic.. buy a shitty one and call your music lo-fi! or just use your headphones as a mic.

This actually made me laugh. I disagree with it, but it was funny

edit: Drop $100 on an SM-58. That will either be all the mic you ever need, or you'll realize you want to jump up to the $400 or so range (unless you're rich, in which case you buy a U87), but in any case, no sense in doing it until you figure out if you're ever going to need it. Plus, you'll be able to resell the SM-58 for $75 or so.

Okay, so I was able to bump my budget up to about $1800-2000. Not sure if I want to/need to spend that all on stuff though.

So Im thinking:
Native Instruments Komplete 7 - $500
Akai APC40 Controller - $300
M-Audio Axiom 49 Keyboard - $250
M-Audio Studiophile BX5a Monitors - $300
Shure SM58 Microphone with Cable & Stand - $110

That should be pretty good right? Anything else I need to get for everything to work?

Is there anything special I need to plug all this stuff into? Or is most of it USB?

Also, for all of this stuff to work properly do I need a good sound card in my PC?

clamber wrote:Okay, so I was able to bump my budget up to about $1800-2000. Not sure if I want to/need to spend that all on stuff though.

So Im thinking:
Native Instruments Komplete 7 - $500
Akai APC40 Controller - $300
M-Audio Axiom 49 Keyboard - $250
M-Audio Studiophile BX5a Monitors - $300
Shure SM58 Microphone with Cable & Stand - $110

That should be pretty good right? Anything else I need to get for everything to work?

Is there anything special I need to plug all this stuff into? Or is most of it USB?

Also, for all of this stuff to work properly do I need a good sound card in my PC?

Your setup is not too different from mine.

You're missing a good audio interface. Lots of good external USB or Firewire interfaces to choose from. I use the NI Audio Kontrol, but you could probably do better.

What exactly does that do?

I feel like such a noob, I know nothing about audio stuff!

clamber wrote:What exactly does that do?

I feel like such a noob, I know nothing about audio stuff!

For just starting out like that, I would not recommend getting Komplete.