Basic equipment for producing music

M

MikeEffay

New member
I would like to hear some suggestions from you guys on equipment. Aside from a computer and a pair of headphones, what are the BASIC types of equipment, and how are they assisting the proces of music making? If you got the chance to start all over again, what would you get first, and why?

My goal is to produce hip hop/trap beats, and i'm currently using FL Studio 11.

This is probably a dum question, and feel free to post some links, if you think that will answer my question.

Please bare with me. i'm new to music making and this forum. Have fun everyone, and thanks in advance!
 
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Aside from your computer your monitors should be the next expensive thing, then if it suits your workflow get a midi keyboard and you're good. You don't need a million dollars to achieve a million dollar sound
 
I second what MarcoMark said, all you need is a computer, headphones, monitors and a MIDI controller. Even just a 25 key controller can do the job, though I would recommend a 49 or larger. Also, if you are intending on sampling you might want a controller with MPC style pads but you can always use the keys as pads.
 
Thanks for the replies. Why monitors? How are they utilized, and how do they make the production of music easier/better? - It's a jungle out there, and it's going to be really difficult to choose some good ones the first time. Any recommendations?
 
Getting the best monitors you can afford lets you hear as much detail in the sound as possible. Thereby allowing you to make the necessary changes like eq, compression etc. if necessary. Good ones also give a transparent sound where nothing is enhanced, like regular consumer speaker systems are.

As for recommendation, krk rokit series is a good start. 8's if you can, gives more bass info than the 5's. But 5's will do to start, but you wont have a very good idea of whats going on in the sub bass freq's like for 808 kicks.

I have had the 8's for about 5 years now. They've done me well.
 
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Sounds great. Just to understand things correctly, what is it that, in the MAKING of music, monitors have to offer, that headphones dont? When do you use what, are there any specific purposes that monitors handle better than headphones and vice versa?
 
Its the clarity and definition that you get in better monitors that will help you make decisions in terms of sounds will fit better with your composition. I see where your clarification comes from. Actually composing the beat doesnt require that you have good monitors. If you know your theory and ears trained well enough you dont need any more than a pen and paper.

What monitors do is show you as close as possible how it will sound on all potential sound systems whether its headphones, car or club. Using headphones as a "headphone check" is sometimes good to see if its translating well. Its possible to do it all on headphones or any speaker but you'd have to be sure you know what it needs to sounds like to have it translate well in other environments.

Theres a bit of a grey area between composing here and mixing but it can only help at least a little while you're making music.
 
Really great response, thanks for the quick reply too. A last question, are there any main differences between regular speakers and monitors, or are the two terms used alike, or does it just depend on the purpose of the sound system? - By the way, does the average producer use a plain 2.0 system, or does it grant an advantage to use 5.1 or even 7.1 systems? As a newbie here, that would make sense to me, since i value surround sound when listening to music, watching videos etc.
 
By regular speakers i'm assuming you mean consumer level electronics like a home stereo. They tend to have embellishments cooked into then such that the bass and highs are usually enhanced. Studio monitors try to have zero embellishment, or little if any. So what you hear exactly whats in the music.

Sometimes its nice to check on a home stereo to make sure they sound ok even with the embellishments, again you use studio reference monitors to make sure a track has the best chance of sounding good on any potential consumer sound system.

5.1 or 7.1 is completely unnecessary unless you're scoring to picture. 2.1 is ideal for purely making music.
 
Mike just a suggestion, get some good studio monitor 2.0 setups, add a sub and then get a magic bullet.Yes, a magic bullet sounds very close to those phone/laptop speakers and helps you mix for those guys too.
 
Good monitors, or bookshelf speakers. I have a set of Alesis monitor one mk2's, and a set of destination audio bookshelf speakers.
The book shelf speakers hold their own aside from being a little smaller, and more bass shy. Overall hi-fi basically has a similar frequency curve as monitors in the same price range.(not always, but that's what google is for)
The nice thing about hi-fi is that new models come out every couple years, and deep discounts on the older models.
My destination audio's were $320 pair, and I scored them new for $45!
So if you find a deal on some decent hi-fi speakers go for it. It might save you some bucks vs. performance.
 
I see what you mean now. That explains why monitors are 10 times as expensive as regular steros. Say you have a 2.1, how many Watts should each unit be? I cant help but notice studio sound systems in general are much smaller than regular, and people dont seem to care as much for size and Watts, like they do with regular systems. Naturally, you dont want to get your head blasted of when EQ'ing - but being a lover of loud music, i don't wanna go too small the first time, since i would like a solid system that lasts. And of course i will enjoy listening to other peoples music too.
 
KonKoss, i get the idea here, could you link an example of the kind of "magic bullet" you are talking about? (just making sure here..)

Thanks a lot for the reply Matt.
 
With studio monitors you're more concerned with frequency response and how flat it is than power (wattage). I dont consider wattage at all.

They typically come with a built in amp and more than enough power for studio use.
 
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Okay. I try to understand what speed i Should look at when Buying mew monitors. What specs are the most important, and how do i determine if they are good? Im looking at the 1000 dollar max here, including Shipping and taxes to Europe.
 
The cask units are beneficial for that very reason.They're cheap, sound bad(but not terrible) and can be used in conjunction with the good monitors.
Why bother?The curiosity of listening to a beat how people who think those devices sound great.phones, tablets and laptops.
If you have a computer that has built in speakers you won't need that external device to test how it'll sound on those devices.

Remember, what sounds good on good speakers will never sound exactly the same on embedded audio, which is why it's a good idea.
 
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