Is this a good setup for a beginner?

[Lyncaster]

Hello, I am a 14 year old aspiring music producer/artist.
I mainly make Ambient Dubstep, but can produce any genre given the time.
Anyway, all I used to have is a Kaossilator Pro and an IPhone with BeatMaker 2 on it. Well I have recently acquired a Acer Apsire One netbook (the latest model), and I am getting:

FL Studio (Fruity Edition)
Akai Pro MPK mini
FL Studio Mobile on my iPhone for when an idea strikes.

I already have the demo of FL 10 and I'm learning the ropes.
Is this a good set up for a beginner?

[Schwarzwald]

Sure.
Just a laptop would've been fine.
But with a controller keyboard, a synth, and an Iphone (I'd look into MIDI control via the iphone for a touch-screen mixer/sequencer) You're definitely set.

Be sure to go over to KVR, look at the free synths, find one with a basic analog-style gui, and learn it HARD. It'll go a long way when you're ready to buy a more in-depth softsynth or some hardware.


HUGE EDIT:

You need an audio interface.
I'd recommend something from the Echo Audiofire series or the Focusrite Saffire series.

Also, eventually I'd look to upgrading that iphone to an ipad. I swore against apple a long time ago, however, if I hadn't, I'd be all up on that shit.

[Brian!]

What are you using for monitoring? I'd probably advise against spending serious money on monitors until you learn more but an audio interface to reduce latency will help out a lot. If you don't have any money I would ditch the Korg and buy a half decent interface. Save the rest of the money for an eventual interface upgrade and monitors and you have a perfectly respectable setup. Another future upgrade is a larger MIDI keyboard if you outgrow that one. I'd also maybe look into some sort of pad controller for drum programming if you like the idea of that.

[Odey]

Originally Posted by Lyncaster

Hello, I am a 14 year old aspiring music producer/artist.
I mainly make Ambient Dubstep, but can produce any genre given the time.
Anyway, all I used to have is a Kaossilator Pro and an IPhone with BeatMaker 2 on it. Well I have recently acquired a Acer Apsire One netbook (the latest model), and I am getting:

FL Studio (Fruity Edition)
Akai Pro MPK mini
FL Studio Mobile on my iPhone for when an idea strikes.

I already have the demo of FL 10 and I'm learning the ropes.
Is this a good set up for a beginner?

Wow.. a 14 year old that's into Ambient dubstep. Most people at your age are checking out Tinchie stryder! Kudos to you, you are ahead of your years.

Have you heard Submotion Orchestra? Check them out on soundcloud.

Equipment wise it's a tough one. I haven't used the software you have. So it may work for you. What you need is a bunch of softsynths that you can generate sounds with. I agree with the post above. Get your head around analogue synth structure ( Which can be done with software ) because this will teach you the basics of synthesis. And will help you understand how most synths operate. Also. Spend alot of time learning drum programming. This is the most difficult part of the process in my opinion. ( the trick with drums is often the sound of the drums rather than the programming itself. And be open to percussion.

I think what you want to work towards is a mac laptop with logic and a good 2 channel audio interface that lets you plug in instruments and mics and also converts sounds into your computer and back again (AD-DA) which will also let you connect speakers to it for playback.

I bought my 16 year old nephew a profire 610 ( 2 channel interface) and then his Dad bought him some KRK rokits and he uses this with his mac book pro.

He is all set. This sort of set up would be good for you.

[Lyncaster]

Originally Posted by Schwarzwald

Be sure to go over to KVR, look at the free synths, find one with a basic analog-style gui, and learn it HARD.


HUGE EDIT:

You need an audio interface.
I'd recommend something from the Echo Audiofire series or the Focusrite Saffire series.

Also, eventually I'd look to upgrading that iphone to an ipad. I swore against apple a long time ago, however, if I hadn't, I'd be all up on that shit.

I'm pretty new at this. So I'll ask.
What is
KVR?
And Audio Interface?
I may know these already, just by another name.
Ive been "making music" for about a year.
But I just recently got into "producing music"
So any insight would be helpful.
Also, Moniters?
Do you mean computer screens or mixers?
Sorry if I sound stupid/like a newb :P

[Lyncaster]

I know what KVR is.
The forums, right?
I looked them up a couple weeks ago when I was doing research.
I'll be sure to do that when I get my Internet in a week along with my other things.

[Lyncaster]

I know what KVR is.
The forums, right?
I looked them up a couple weeks ago when I was doing research.
I'll be sure to do that when I get my Internet in a week along with my other things.

[Enneagram]

Originally Posted by Lyncaster

I'm pretty new at this. So I'll ask.
What is
KVR?
And Audio Interface?
I may know these already, just by another name.
Ive been "making music" for about a year.
But I just recently got into "producing music"
So any insight would be helpful.
Also, Moniters?
Do you mean computer screens or mixers?
Sorry if I sound stupid/like a newb :P

KVRaudio.com has forums yes, but also has tons of free VSTs(plugins) just look around.
An Audio Interface is a device that converts Analog signals to Digital signals and vice versa(AD/DA) WAY better than a laptop or an iPhone's built in drivers.
Monitors = Speakers

I agree somewhat with the posts above but all you really need is a laptop, any DAW(FL Studio is fine), and a good pair of headphones/monitors.

Cheers

[LolrusPl]

This is a similar, recent thread, lots of great advice in there.

I want to produce my own music. But how do I start?

[Lyncaster]

Thanks!
I knew KVR had the free plugins, but yhanks for te advise.
And I'm getting a speaker system. And I have some Sony head phones that do the job.
And how much does one of those Audio Interfaces cost?

[Whalez]

You gotta use google bro

I'm in the same boat as you cept I've only been producing for a couple months but if you see terms you don't know just google that exact thing.

"audio interface prices"

Even just on the first page you'll see tons of links with prices.

Or you should just go to a music store website and look at "audio interfaces" and again you'll find tons of prices.

My step brother who introduced me to this place told me people will respect you more if you take the time to do your own research first and not asked for everything to just be told to you.

Dude I can google almost ANYTHING and find something out in like 2 mins, I know you can too

Not trying to be harsh plz don't take it that way, just that it will help you, cause if you are self reliant it will help you not just in terms but learning production aspects too

[Schwarzwald]

The cheapest Echo Audiofire is...

$179 (Echo Audiofire 2)

The cheapest Focusrite Saffire is also $179 (Focusrite Saffire 6 USB)

Presonus also has Audioboxes going for $149

[Lyncaster]

Ive done plenty of research. It's how I learned everything I know.
It's just I don't want to go in blind and either A. Get ripped off, or B. Download something that makes my sound worse or messed up my computer.
I've googled everything else i know.
And thanks for the prices, I'll do some research.
What us the "best", in terms of bang per buck?
Jw

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by Lyncaster

It's just I don't want to go in blind and either A. Get ripped off,

That's why you should compare on stores that offer the same audio interface. As for getting ripped off in terms of what the actual product offers you; look at how manufacturers treat their customers in terms of bugfixes and driver updates. Look at their support forums if they have them, and search here on GS for the name and brand. If you're getting lots of "this hasn't been working since January 2010", stay away. If it says "New! VISTA 32-bits drivers!", stay away (expect at least 32-bits W7 drivers, ideally 64-bits ones too, because it shows they're commited to keeping it up to date).

or B. Download something that makes my sound worse or messed up my computer.

There's no such thing.

What us the "best", in terms of bang per buck?

Well, that's the point; no such thing exists.

We don't know how many bangs you need, or how many bucks you have.

What you buy is determined by a few things.

How far can your wallet stretch?

As said earlier, you've received the advice to get monitor speakers. The reason they call them monitors is because they are supposed to give you an honest representation of what your music sounds like - as opposed to speaker sets that for instance boost your bass to make everything sound better. The problem with boosting is that you can't hear when you have enough bass - if it looks like it's enough on your speaker set, it'll fall horribly short on someone else's. So, if you can spend say, $500, then you could spend $150 or so on the audio interface, and the rest on monitors. If you can't afford that, get good headphones for the time being, and spend the rest on the audio interface since that'll probably last for a few years in your setup.

What do you want to hook up?

You have a Kaossilator. That's got a stereo output. For the rest you're probably using plugins, so you might at least want a stereo input.

You have a set of speakers (or want them in the near future) and perhaps headphones. So, that audio interface needs a stereo output and a stereo headphones output. Amazon.com: Yamaha Audiogram 3 USB Recording Interface: Electronics is cheap - but what if you want to hook up more in the future? In that case this won't be big enough anymore - at least not if you don't want to spend your time switching around cables (which is not as horrible as it sounds - a $50 patchbay makes it a relatively painless ordeal).

If you're saying "ok, that's going to be enough for me for the next 3 years" - great, now you have your first potential candidate. However, search for "audiogram" here and you get this thread:

Gain for from my Audiogram 3

Uh-oh. Might not be such a good idea after all. But, on the other hand, the forum member the last post also might've gotten a Monday morning unit. Do keep in mind that we have people here who throw around several thousands of bucks on a single thing and consider the rest to be low end, so don't read too much in comments like "well, it sure didn't sound like my $2500 Apogee converters!"

Well duh, of course not, it's a $99 interface. But do it like this, pick up a few candidates, realize that for low budgets you can't sit on the front row, test the stuff in a store nearby, and pick something. If installing it is a nightmare and your computer crashes, return it ASAP and pick something else.

The advantage of a desktop computer is that you can usually go for a cheaper PCI(-express) interface which - because it doesn't require the neat metal case around it - comes with more inputs/outputs for the same price. But, since you don't have that, and netbooks don't have Firewire, you're limited to USB audio interfaces.