What do you really need to become an electronic music producer?

I started my music production journey in the late 90's with a basic PC, a copy a Cakewalk Home Studio, a Roland MC-303 Groovebox, A spirit Folio F1 mixer and a pair of Mission floor standing Hi-Fi speakers. 

Since then  I have continuously upgraded and downgraded my studio equipment and wasted a lot of money on equipment that I thought was going to put me in the big league with the world's best producers who I would see featured in magazines using the gear that i coveted and eventually saved for and purchased.

Music technology and software has seriously advanced since the late 90's, for example VST had only just become available back then and most electronic music was produced using hardware synths and samplers while the computers were basically used for sequencing midi to these devices.

These days there are endless options of hardware and software that can be used to produce electronic music and let's be serious, music production hardware and software is expensive, however don't fall into the trap of spending an absolute fortune on gear that music tech manufacturers and software developers tell you will improve your production skills and make you the worlds best artist. Trust me, I have fallen victim to those amazing ads and videos and I am still tempted by some products but you have to stop and ask yourself the following questions:

1: Do I already have software or equipment that will do the same or similar?

2: Will this really improve my productions?

3: Is there a learning curve that will take up more of my time rather than focusing on completing my tracks?

4: Will this really help with the style of music that I'm creating?

In all the time that I have spent creating electronic music, I have only recently realised and come to the conclusion that a pro sound can be achieved with the stock plugins and synths in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), providing you know how to use them effectively and I wish that I had someone to show me how to do this when I first started producing electronic music, as this would have saved me a lot of money and time and helped me achieve my dreams and goals of getting my tracks signed much earlier than I eventually did.

If I could go back in time and knowing what I now know, I would invest the money that I spent on numerous plugins and synths (some of which I can't use anymore due to either companies going bust or discontinuation of products) on good quality music production courses and training, taught by producers who have experience of releasing music on labels (and not some random Youtube influencer).

So going back to the original title question, here is a list of what you should get as a minimum to start your electronic music journey:

1: Laptop or Desktop computer, Mac or PC is your decision based on your budget but go for the fastest processor with the largest amount of memory that you can afford and at least 1TB of storage.

2: Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), the most popular of these is Ableton live, Logic Pro, Presonus Studio One and Cubase. (Consider the initial price and price of future upgrades, while Logic can only run on a Mac, it is much cheaper than its competitors and you don't get charged a subscription or extra for future updates) 

3: Audio interface, if you intend to record live instruments then you should consider the number of inputs that you would need, otherwise a simple interface with low latency drivers (PC) should be fine to get started.

4: Midi controller keyboard, key weight and range of keyboard octaves are important considerations here, along with the number of controllable knobs, sliders and pads. 

5: Good quality open back headphones with the flatest frequency range that you can afford, along with headphone correction software.

Finally search for reputable courses with instructors who have proven knowledge and experience in producing the music that you want to produce. Don't waste hours and hours of time watching Youtube influencers who have no catalog of released tracks on labels. 

If you can, find tutorial videos by reputable producers or your favourite DJ's then take tips and advice from them as there are many tutorials online by inexperienced You-tubers with conflicting advice that will leave you doubting more than producing pro sounding tracks. 

What to consider when buying a computer for music production:

https://bit.ly/424bARj 

(29/12/2024)