How to make music on a poor mans budget

[Black Sunday]

I make synthpop music at home. I used to have about $10,000 worth of gear in the mid 90's, but because of technology I can replicate $10,000 worth of equipment for under $1,000 or even cheaper. So i thought I would start this thread for anyone else wanting to make electronic music on a shoe string budget.

The first and most expensive thing you'll need is a computer. Assuming you all have a relatively new computer then you already have the most difficult piece of gear to obtain.

-------------------------------------

Next you'll need a synthesizer. The cheapest way is to find a software based synth. There are hundreds of synths out there. The main thing is finding which ones are compaitable with your sequencer (I'll get to that later) and your computer.

The Cheap Way: There are lots of cheap soft synths out there but be careful because some work with some systems and not with others. Project 5 by the people who make Cakewalk is under $200. Reason is another good one, and it will run you about $300.

The Free Way: You can get a free one at http://www.usbsounds.com/jsp/demos.jsp called Plugsound Free. It's limited but it does has some good dance sounds. On this website it says it is only for MAC but search around. I've seen lots of free ones around the internet. Honestly with enough patience and searching you can build a free synth library. Another good one is www.sampletank.com

-------------------------------------

Next you'll need a cheap way to control the synthesizer. You'll need a USB/Midi keyboard. The keyboard is just like any keyboard with white keys and black keys and it has a USB cable in the back that will plug right into your computer's USB port.

The Cheap Way

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=key/...ontent/cb/index

Here is the list of options avaiable to you. Basically you can get a 61 key controller for $170 or a 25 key M-Audio Ozygen 8 for $139. As alwayys you can search Ebay for an even better deal.

The Dirt Cheap Way The company Evolution makes one called E-Keys. It is sort of a toy, with only 47 keys and the keys are miniature but it works, it will work with any set up. It only costs $49. I have one and it's great. It doesn't have all the options the M-Audio has but it's great for the price.

--------------------------------------------------

Next you'll need a sequencer and studio. Most companies make one piece of software that has an entire studio built in (sequencer, multi track recording and effects). The sequencer helps you arrange the songs you will create with your software synth. The multi-track recording let's you add vocals or other instruments to your songs.

The Cheap Way: This is a tricky question because it depends on what you want to do, what kind of computer you have, what OS you run, etc etc

I use Pro Tools LE. It costs $400 and it comes with something called an Mbox which helps you get the sound into your computer. Your computer has a Mic input but most likely the sound sucks, so you have to get a proffesional sound card. If you are doing instrumentals you probably don't need a soundcard. If you want to add vocals or guitars you will need one. Pro Tools comes with one.

Other cheap options are Cakewalk, which only costs $99. Cubase and Logic are others but they are slightly more expensive.

The Free Way Pro Tools makes a free, stripped down version of theirs. It works great though. It has 8 tracks of audio and midi sequencing. You can load the free plugsound into it as well. www.digidesign.com/ptfree the only problem is that it only runs on windows 98, ME and Apple OS9.

--------------------------------------------

If you want vocals or guitars or other instruments you'll need to upgrade your soundcard.

the cheap way Well M-Audio makes a USB keyboard with Audio interface built right into the bacl. SO you kill two birds with one stone for $250. There are others out there, you can get a USB one or one that will slide into a PCI slot in your computer for around $100.

-----------------------------------------------

Microphone

Well you'll need a good mic if you want to do vocals. I bought a Shure SM58 for $50 at Music Go Round in Novi. You can get a good sounding mic for under $100 if you search.

So some of this might sound confusing so I will list some set-ups that will work and the price.

My Personal set up

Computer: Apple Power Book G3 running OS9 ($600 used)

Sequencer/Studio: Pro Tools LE ($400)

Audio Card: Mbox (included with Pro Tools LE)

Software Synth: Plugsound Synth collection ($99), Plugsound Free (Free)

Midi Controller: Evolution Ekeys ($50)

Microphone: Shure Sm58 ($50)

price (minus the computer) $600

Cheaest Possible set up I could think of

Computer: Dell running Windows 98 ($400)

Sequencer/Studio: Pro Tools Free (Free)

Audio Card: M-Audio Ozone ($250)

Software Synth: Plugsound Free (Free), Sampletank Demo (Free)

Midi Controller: M-Audio Ozone (included with audio card)

Microphone: Shure Sm58 ($50 used)

price (minus the computer) $300

Excellent mid priced studio

computer: Dell running windows xp ($650)

sequencer/studio: Cubase ($300)

Audio card: M-Audio Ozone ($250)

Software Synth: Reason ($300)

Midi Controller: M-Audio Ozone (included with Audio Card)

Microphone: Shure Sm 58 ($50 used)

price minus the computer $900

Ultimate set upm with a realistic budget

computer: Apple g5 $2,500

sequencer/studio: Pro Tools Control 8 $2,500

Audio Card: the control 8 listed above is an audio card/mixer

Software Synth: Reason $300

Midi Controller: Edirol pcr80 $270

Microphone: condensor mic $700

Apprx $4,000 minus the computer

Even the hardware way of making music is getting cheap. Fostex and Korg make cheap protable studio's with USB ports to transfer files to computer for CD burning. The only problem is that you still need a synth and hardware synths are still more expensive than software synths.

[DarkChylde]

Hmm, or how about just banging pots and frying pans together? :laughing:

J&K

[Black Sunday]

Actually there are bands that do that, there was a band that did Elvis Costello covers by banging on things, If I recall correctly they called themselves 'Bang on a Can'.

Regarding the above, if that all sounds confusing, there is a simpler (but slightly more expensive) way to make music.

get a protable hard disk recorder like Korg Toneworks or Fostex FD4 which are both around $275.

Get a synthesizer with built in sequencer, you can get a used roland xp50 for about $500.

get a mic, for under $100.

You'll also need some speakers/monitors which can be as cheap as $50 - $100 for decent pair.

Plug it in and begin, no worrying about software or compatibility.

[torn asunder]

that's a great post, thanks for taking the time to put it all together! unfortunately for me, my money is marked for other purposes at present, so i'm limited to getting better on my acoustic...

[Black Sunday]

Actually the above list is mostly for people wanting to do synth oriented music mostly.

since you already have an acoustic guitar there is an even easier route for you.

All you need is a Korg Toneworks Portable studio and a Mic.

The Korg Toneworks is a little box......it's a little personal studio. It even has a built in drum machine to play along with.

you can record high quality sounding songs on the toneworlds. After you finish the songs you can send them to your computer and burn the CD, because the toneworks has a USB port. It also has effects built in to add to your guitar and vocals. The Korg Toneworks cost $300. It even has a built in microphone but for pro quality I would buy a seperate mic.

So for $300 and whatever you spend on a mic you have yourself a high quality pocket sized studio.

And after that, you can download Pro Tools Free (as mentioned above) and drop your Toneworks songs into Pro TOols Free and edit your songs, eliminate mistakes, add more effects and EQ, etc.