Completely new to beat making

[Flip_]

Are you interested in making beats from samples, from live instruments, or both? After knowing that, it'll be a lot easier to help you on what to buy.

[howy]

Well here's the thing, I prefer for most of the part to interpolate what I hear from samples I have chosen rather than directly manipulating tracks you could load into samplers. The answer is both. Say I hear a chord or note progression I like or vocals, I would jack the melody and get someone with a suitable voice to do the take. I'm REALLY into lacing my beats with string arrangements, 80s synths and perhaps a horn section, so a sampler keyboard with such presets would be a huge bonus.

[atma]

i think it's honestly a really bad idea to start off this way—compiling a list of gear and putting it together all it once. everyone's preferences for equipment and software are as diverse as their taste in clothing. i can almost guarantee that if you put together a full-fledged setup you're going to be frustrated and disappointed and end up with a bunch of things you're not comfortable or happy with. it's much better to start off slow and put something together piecemeal as you gain experience and understanding of what exactly it is that suits your needs and style of working. you're going to get a million different opinions based on what works for everyone else, but that doesn't mean any of that gear suits you. i would keep it as absolutely simple as possible. something like ableton alone has nearly endless possibilities and you could spend years delving into it and learning all of its features. same with an MPC, etc. in the end it really isn't about the gear—people always get caught up in this trap—always thinking if only they had x piece of gear, their music would be better, and that's never really true. so again, my advice, keep it really simple, start with one program or piece of gear that you're comfortable with, and focus more on the learning aspect of production and mixing, because that's what matters in the end. good luck!

[Colin McCabe]

The list should be short and sweet. A decent computer, cheap midi controller, cheap interface (firwire if possible), some monitors, headphones, a desk maybe, and tons of samples and plug ins. gear doesn't really matter; a good portion of the best producers can make great beats on humble set ups.

[Flip_]

Originally Posted by howy

Well here's the thing, I prefer for most of the part to interpolate what I hear from samples I have chosen rather than directly manipulating tracks you could load into samplers. The answer is both. Say I hear a chord or note progression I like or vocals, I would jack the melody and get someone with a suitable voice to do the take. I'm REALLY into lacing my beats with string arrangements, 80s synths and perhaps a horn section, so a sampler keyboard with such presets would be a huge bonus.

I think what you want is a workstation of some sort. Like a Fantom, Motif, Triton. They have samplers built-in, but also a huge array of high quality presets to mix with any samples you use.

You could do that with a DAW and midi keyboard as well, it just depends which you prefer. A lot of ppl today like starting out with the DAW/midi keyboard route and think its easier to get accustomed to. I started out way before softsynths were available, and when I tried getting into softsynths for me it was much harder to set up/configure/use, etc and much easier to just turn on a hardware keyboard and work that way. So it depends on your preference/background.

Atma is right though that you should take it 1 piece of gear at a time. Its hard to decide on the right gear when shopping for just 1 thing at a time, let alone compiling a bunch of different things all at once. So I'd say start out with a workstation like mentioned above and get used to that, then build from there.

[KevWest]

It sounds like you want to do a lot of different things at once. Imo Reason 6 would be a great choice. Depending on your budget they have 2 versions of Reason. There is Reason essentials for $99 that has a lot of the Reason features but a lot of them are not there or if you have $400 to drop on your software grab the full version for $400. I like 61 key midi controllers and you can get the oxygen 61 from guitar center for like $100. Then for an audio interface it again depends on your budget I used to use a Lexicon Alpha for right around $100 it really got the job done for a few years for me and I recently bought Balance by Propellerhead. Speakers are a taste thing I am using the KRK Rokit 5s they are working for me for now but I am looking for something else but for the price they are not bad at all.

[kingstarzent]

Personally i think you should go with fl studio since thats the easiest and most affordable out of the DAWS. I hope i helped

[KT1]

Ignore the response of anyone that makes a gear suggestion. If you're new to this - get what you need. LEARN NOW THAT GEAR WILL NOT MAKE THE MUSIC FOR YOU.

You will only know what you need ---guess when?....yup when you NEED IT. right now you dont need anything more than the ability to make music.

Dont waste your time on a workstation - its an expensive investment that just isn't required at all.

Get a half decent computer/laptop - something with some decent ram etc. Get a DAW of choice (Logic/ableton). Use only stock plugins etc to learn what you need. Get some decent headphones - If you have the money some monitors. Get a cheap but usable audio interface.

Above and beyond this you NEED nothing.

Nice to haves include triggers like a midi keyboard.

Sit on this for about 6 months. Then come back with your feelings and how to progress based on your experience and not what someone tells you.

God bless and good luck

[DAH]

Originally Posted by Colin McCabe

The list should be short and sweet. A decent computer, cheap midi controller, cheap interface (firwire if possible), some monitors, headphones, a desk maybe, and tons of samples and plug ins. gear doesn't really matter; a good portion of the best producers can make great beats on humble set ups.

this

[BeatGenerals]

Originally Posted by kingstarzent

Personally i think you should go with fl studio since thats the easiest and most affordable out of the DAWS. I hope i helped

I agree with this, plus itll save you a lot of money. Buying all that gear and then decided that maybe this isnt for you would be horrible lol.