Making Electronic Music - Where to Start?
Moderator: Aesthetics
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kidfortoday70
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Making Electronic Music - Where to Start?
I've been meaning to get into making electronic music for a while now, but I'm not really sure where to start. It seems costly to get into making it, and there seems to be so many VSTs and hardware to pick from. I know a lot of you have been doing this kind of stuff for a while and I would appreciate it if you can tell me how you got started. I would really appreciate it!
Last edited by kidfortoday70 on Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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IronMark
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Youtube is your friend, watch as many videos on recording and mixing as possible. I did sound engineering at uni but I still watch Youtube tutorials all the time because you can never learn enough.
If you progress far enough to where you want to make it as a career and you want to make serious electronic music as opposed to mindless nnnssst nnnssst nnnssst then VSTs won't be adequate and you'll need some synths. But when you're just starting out and doing it as a hobby, cheaper equipment is perfect for learning the craft.
Learning how to use samplers and programming beats is also invaluable, the possibilities with music are endless when you can program drums and manipulate samples freely.
Get yourself a decent DAW, they're costly but you'll need one. I use Cubase at home and its own VSTs and drum machines are adequate for putting together a decent sounding song. Of course, Pro Tools is the industry standard but that's not even a consideration when you're just starting out. The last thing you want to do is spend loads of money on expensive equipment before realising that you're really not as dedicated as you thought you were (not saying this will happen with you but it's always a good idea to start with cheap stuff until you know you're dedicated enough to upgrade).
Of course the most important thing is having a good ability to write songs, learning an instrument is vital even if you just want to produce electronic music. Long before I'd even heard of Boards Of Canada and the only electronic music I ever listened to was the aforementioned mindless nnnsst nnsst nnsst, I decided to learn to play guitar because of bands like Iron Maiden and the like and am essentially a metal guitarist but these days I do mostly electronic/sample based stuff and 90% of it is written on guitar or bass, whether a guitar is in the song or not.
The other thing is patience. I've been playing/songwriting/producing for 12 years now and only in the last year have I finally started to write songs that I feel confident enough to submit to record companies, I'm not saying it'll take 12 years to learn to write decent songs but songwriting is only half the battle, crafting them into something that sounds professional via production is the really tricky thing to learn and I will ALWAYS find something wrong with one of my songs on multiple listens. But patience is the real key, you're going to think you're getting somewhere and then you'll listen to your stuff as compared to a band you like and it'll sound embarrasing, that'll happen a lot, it still happens to me sometimes when I know I've not put the effort in. Basically, making music will give back to you as much as you put in and you'll know when you've finally got to where you want to be, it'll just come with practice and experience.
Hope that helps, feel free to shoot me a PM if you ever need help with anything specific.
If you progress far enough to where you want to make it as a career and you want to make serious electronic music as opposed to mindless nnnssst nnnssst nnnssst then VSTs won't be adequate and you'll need some synths. But when you're just starting out and doing it as a hobby, cheaper equipment is perfect for learning the craft.
Learning how to use samplers and programming beats is also invaluable, the possibilities with music are endless when you can program drums and manipulate samples freely.
Get yourself a decent DAW, they're costly but you'll need one. I use Cubase at home and its own VSTs and drum machines are adequate for putting together a decent sounding song. Of course, Pro Tools is the industry standard but that's not even a consideration when you're just starting out. The last thing you want to do is spend loads of money on expensive equipment before realising that you're really not as dedicated as you thought you were (not saying this will happen with you but it's always a good idea to start with cheap stuff until you know you're dedicated enough to upgrade).
Of course the most important thing is having a good ability to write songs, learning an instrument is vital even if you just want to produce electronic music. Long before I'd even heard of Boards Of Canada and the only electronic music I ever listened to was the aforementioned mindless nnnsst nnsst nnsst, I decided to learn to play guitar because of bands like Iron Maiden and the like and am essentially a metal guitarist but these days I do mostly electronic/sample based stuff and 90% of it is written on guitar or bass, whether a guitar is in the song or not.
The other thing is patience. I've been playing/songwriting/producing for 12 years now and only in the last year have I finally started to write songs that I feel confident enough to submit to record companies, I'm not saying it'll take 12 years to learn to write decent songs but songwriting is only half the battle, crafting them into something that sounds professional via production is the really tricky thing to learn and I will ALWAYS find something wrong with one of my songs on multiple listens. But patience is the real key, you're going to think you're getting somewhere and then you'll listen to your stuff as compared to a band you like and it'll sound embarrasing, that'll happen a lot, it still happens to me sometimes when I know I've not put the effort in. Basically, making music will give back to you as much as you put in and you'll know when you've finally got to where you want to be, it'll just come with practice and experience.
Hope that helps, feel free to shoot me a PM if you ever need help with anything specific.
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futureling
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I personally started by buying a Nord Lead Rack.
But I would say - start out simply! You will need a DAW of some sort if you are going to use VSTs. I think Reaper is free? Not sure if it supports VST. Get something that supports VSTs and then maybe download something relatively simple like the Juno 60 VST at this site.
http://kunz.corrupt.ch/Products
Mess around with things and learn the basics. Find out more through youtube, the gearslutz forums, the KVR forums. Almost anything can be learned from Googling.
Learning the basics will be a good foundation for doing more complex things. It's easy to get overwhelmed, so if you feel that way, I would strip things down and have fun making something simple.
But I would say - start out simply! You will need a DAW of some sort if you are going to use VSTs. I think Reaper is free? Not sure if it supports VST. Get something that supports VSTs and then maybe download something relatively simple like the Juno 60 VST at this site.
http://kunz.corrupt.ch/Products
Mess around with things and learn the basics. Find out more through youtube, the gearslutz forums, the KVR forums. Almost anything can be learned from Googling.
Learning the basics will be a good foundation for doing more complex things. It's easy to get overwhelmed, so if you feel that way, I would strip things down and have fun making something simple.
“The most exquisite paradox… as soon as you give it all up, you can have it all. As long as you want power, you can't have it. The minute you don't want power, you'll have more than you ever dreamed possible.”
― Ram Dass
Count Chroma: https://soundcloud.com/countchroma
― Ram Dass
Count Chroma: https://soundcloud.com/countchroma
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TaoTapeTao
- Dayvan Cowboy
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DIY
endlessly manifold, self contained revealed, replete
http://maketapesounds.bandcamp.com/
https://0robor0.bandcamp.com/
https://personproject.bandcamp.com/
http://maketapesounds.bandcamp.com/
https://0robor0.bandcamp.com/
https://personproject.bandcamp.com/
If you have a computer, you're already half of the way there.
I've recently expanded my studio, but when I started out, it was just a computer and line in recordings with a cheapo karaoke mic and borrowed guitars run directly into the line input of the computer. The results weren't disappointing, but I wouldn't dare do that these days. Anyway, I'd try and find some software that offers multitrack capabilities. Something like FL Studio probably would suit you well, but you'd be hindered in the future if you wanted to use real instruments. If you're a PC user, I'd say go for Mixcraft for now. That's what I started out on.
Now latency can be a real bitch if you're on a PC. If you're on a decent Mac, you should be okay. With PC, you need to get the latest version of ASIO installed so you can at least get a grasp of what you're doing. Software or not, this is necessary.
Another thing you need is a MIDI keyboard of some sort. I was using keyboard keys for a while, but again with the latency... I've got an MPK mini controller now, which is actually really useful, and very flexible despite its size. They're not very expensive either, especially used on ebay.
You also need a decent set of speakers. You don't really need studio monitors (though they're recommended) but you can use hifi stereo speakers. Often times, these speakers aren't colored, like you'd find with computer speaker systems. The problem with colored speakers is that they filter out the bad frequencies. You need speakers that can give you the dirt in your mixes, that way you know what to clean up. I used to use computer speakers when I first started out, and my mixes sound horrid because of my ignorance. You'll eventually build an ear to these things. That just takes time to develop. However, you could use headphones too. I hate headphones personally. I only use them for live instrument tracking, then do the mixing with speakers.
Overview: Good beginner software, midi controller, good speakers/headphones, and a fast computer.
I've recently expanded my studio, but when I started out, it was just a computer and line in recordings with a cheapo karaoke mic and borrowed guitars run directly into the line input of the computer. The results weren't disappointing, but I wouldn't dare do that these days. Anyway, I'd try and find some software that offers multitrack capabilities. Something like FL Studio probably would suit you well, but you'd be hindered in the future if you wanted to use real instruments. If you're a PC user, I'd say go for Mixcraft for now. That's what I started out on.
Now latency can be a real bitch if you're on a PC. If you're on a decent Mac, you should be okay. With PC, you need to get the latest version of ASIO installed so you can at least get a grasp of what you're doing. Software or not, this is necessary.
Another thing you need is a MIDI keyboard of some sort. I was using keyboard keys for a while, but again with the latency... I've got an MPK mini controller now, which is actually really useful, and very flexible despite its size. They're not very expensive either, especially used on ebay.
You also need a decent set of speakers. You don't really need studio monitors (though they're recommended) but you can use hifi stereo speakers. Often times, these speakers aren't colored, like you'd find with computer speaker systems. The problem with colored speakers is that they filter out the bad frequencies. You need speakers that can give you the dirt in your mixes, that way you know what to clean up. I used to use computer speakers when I first started out, and my mixes sound horrid because of my ignorance. You'll eventually build an ear to these things. That just takes time to develop. However, you could use headphones too. I hate headphones personally. I only use them for live instrument tracking, then do the mixing with speakers.
Overview: Good beginner software, midi controller, good speakers/headphones, and a fast computer.
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kidfortoday70
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Which iMac is it? Also, what OS are you running, and how much RAM? If you have at least 4GB, you should be okay. Ableton is excellent software! It's very flexible, but it's a lot to learn. You'll eventually get a grasp of it though.kidfortoday70 wrote:I have an iMac, which I use only for leisure...would Ableton Live be a good program to start with?? And I've heard mention of a soundcard but I'm not too sure what that is..sorry I'm such a noob at this stuff.
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Betterthanyourkids
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Ableton for sure, it's my main DAW. I wouldn't reccomend getting a synth right off the bat because of their price, but when you do, get something cheap and versatile, something that can do a lot. Then start buying more synths for specific parts of a song (i.e. Moog for basses and some leads, DSI Prohpets for that sweet polyphony)
in PACOL
https://pacol.bandcamp.com
https://pacol.bandcamp.com
Don't pour money into a hobby until you know what you want.
kvraudio.com has ALLOT of free vst's. More then you can possibly imagine.
Also, trackers!
Also, sequencers!
Don't buy a 500 dollar full-fledged DAW before you know what you're doing or, even more important, want to do.
kvraudio.com has ALLOT of free vst's. More then you can possibly imagine.
Also, trackers!
Also, sequencers!
Don't buy a 500 dollar full-fledged DAW before you know what you're doing or, even more important, want to do.
Throw away your smartphone.
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kidfortoday70
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I started off like you not knowing a thing. I read a lot online, this was before there was youtube to look at different DAWs and check out different synths.
I ended up going with ableton and Logic. Ableton was a lot less expensive then and logic was really pricey, it's now the opposite.
I have to say though I really clicked with Ableton. But reaper is a good place to start because it is essentially free. So I'd download it and look around for some free VST's. KVR is a great place to learn about software and some freeware, though there are fewer freeware synths and effects for mac there are still some around.
I've moved back and forth between hardware and software and utilize a happy medium of both. I love the automation recording in software and the flexibility, and I like the sound of hardware and the hands on experience. There are plenty of people who are all one or the other though.
I ended up with waaay too much software though and finally eliminated 70% of what I had and stuck with a handful of software synths.
Spectrasonics Trilian, Omnisphere, and Stylus
U-he Zebra
Lennar Digital Sylenth
and Synplant
There are some other really good synths out there Dcam Synth Squad and a few others but I just stuck with what I knew and utilized the most.
With hardware interface is always an issue especially with newer more complex gear. I have some newer digital synths that are complicated and some older vintage synths that are very limited but fun and obviously have a sound unlike anything else.
If you go with software it helps to get a decent midi keyboard and possibly something like an mpd or trigger finger because playing and programming beats with a mouse really gets tedious.
ETA: Reason is also very worthwhile. And as an entire system with low cpu load its got a lot of functionality and now its open to vst and audio makes it a go to for many people.
I ended up going with ableton and Logic. Ableton was a lot less expensive then and logic was really pricey, it's now the opposite.
I have to say though I really clicked with Ableton. But reaper is a good place to start because it is essentially free. So I'd download it and look around for some free VST's. KVR is a great place to learn about software and some freeware, though there are fewer freeware synths and effects for mac there are still some around.
I've moved back and forth between hardware and software and utilize a happy medium of both. I love the automation recording in software and the flexibility, and I like the sound of hardware and the hands on experience. There are plenty of people who are all one or the other though.
I ended up with waaay too much software though and finally eliminated 70% of what I had and stuck with a handful of software synths.
Spectrasonics Trilian, Omnisphere, and Stylus
U-he Zebra
Lennar Digital Sylenth
and Synplant
There are some other really good synths out there Dcam Synth Squad and a few others but I just stuck with what I knew and utilized the most.
With hardware interface is always an issue especially with newer more complex gear. I have some newer digital synths that are complicated and some older vintage synths that are very limited but fun and obviously have a sound unlike anything else.
If you go with software it helps to get a decent midi keyboard and possibly something like an mpd or trigger finger because playing and programming beats with a mouse really gets tedious.
ETA: Reason is also very worthwhile. And as an entire system with low cpu load its got a lot of functionality and now its open to vst and audio makes it a go to for many people.
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Weekend_Warrior
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I'm not sure if this is the right thread, but let's try:
Any opinions on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL6bLrxLz5U ? Worth the money, or is there something better? Looks interesting, but I'm a complete turd when it comes to machinery knowledge.
Any opinions on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL6bLrxLz5U ? Worth the money, or is there something better? Looks interesting, but I'm a complete turd when it comes to machinery knowledge.