Do we need high cost hardware to make music?

decent trap

decent trap & more
I personally think one can produce decent music without expensive gear. Some people disagree. Let me know what you think!
 
There's a few wide-open variables in a seemingly simple question: 1) people have pretty different perceptions about "expensive" 2) different types of music can have very different requirements (in other words, you can bang out beats with nothing but a laptop but recording an orchestra is not gonna happen without some decent gear) and 3) "decent" is also a very subjective thing.

That said, I'd say anyone with the skills and vision can make, well, decent music with just about anything these days - it's more about making the most of what you have rather than worrying about whether or not you need this or that to achieve something. There are of course some things you can't get around: we still need microphones to record stuff outside the computer, and good monitor (speakers) are rarely cheap. The high end stuff has its place, even if the sonic gains get relatively smaller the higher you go - and it's not always just about that this thing sounds 200% better than that thing, but also how it feels and how it makes you work.
 
after being an "in the box" creator for over 10 years and than finally moving over to analog. the difference is vast. The emulations come no where near real analog. So that is how my opinion has been shaped. Now I believe that analog gear is very important to, not decent, but great music.

TLDR: yes
 
For a long time I was just using Fxpansion Geist/mpd32, both paid half the price, so maybe something like 250max for both and some free DAW. (i'm into sampling mostly)
Right now using Ableton Push 2 and I really can tell you I don't regret it. It was not cheap BUT it comes with so much packed into it, I kinda feel stupid not paying for it sooner

If you are on a budget you can definitely find a way to make decent sounding music but you are missing out
 
making good music isn't about gear. however mixing and mastering it perfectly, it does matter. If you're on a budget, there's plenty of options, and people who would help you with that if you look hard enough
 
You will need LMMS, Reason, FL Studio or Reaper.
You will need flat response headphones & speakers.
You will need analog gear or a laptop.

When you get comfy then splurge on upgrades.
 
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