Looking for suggestions for decently affordable interfaces and DAW's

[DevonB]

Trying to figure out a decently affordable interface/DAW for a 12 year old on a Windows 7 PC and not sure if keys or pads will resonate with him more or not (or if he'll get into it at all, I'm not pushing it.) He's really into dubstep and electronic music. Used or new is fine. I can help him out with the setup and VST's and such, that's certainly not a problem. What I'm not so familiar with is things like the Novation Launchpad or NI's Maschine Mikro, or some other MPC-like interface out there that I can just hook up to his computer and let him have at it. He likes my studio setup, but it's so darn complicated that most days it gets frustrating for me getting things to work right. I don't want to crush him with learning how to troubleshoot every little issue just to write some music. That soul crushing nightmare can wait until he's really into it later.

So, suggestions? This goes for DAW software too. I've been either Logic or Cubase for the last 20 years, so open to other suggestions that might fit the MPC style workflow, but needs to be cheap (light versions that come with the interfaces are fine) until we figure out he's really into it and should make the investment, like I have over the years.

Devon

[xalama qo]

I can highly recommend looking at MuLab 7 for a minimal learning curve DAW. Start with the free "demo" version, 4 track limit, and if it suits you you can upgrade to a licensed version. Excellent MUX synth/effects included too. Plenty of room to grow.

http://www.mutools.com/mulab-product.html

[Zexila]

Bitwig or Live, than explore some controllers that integrates well with them.

[Kimuchuu]

FL Studio seems to be very popular for the kids. There's also tons of tutorials for it, and also big youtubers who's channel resolves around FL Studio.

[EnGee]

My first suggestion is Live 9 Intro. It has a nice price and comes with 16 Tracks limitation (the Drums Rack taking just one track with subtracks for kick, snare, hihat, ...etc) and 8 scenes. It also the first DAW that the hardware manufacture tries to support, so most controllers should work out of the box with nice integration. The Intro version can be obtained for $99 new or about half the price in the Sell & Buy market.

I suggest that the main synth to be Serum with $10 payment per month (Rent to Own Plan, which can be stopped or paused). Serum can do a lot of noise (not only of course) and it has many presets towards the dubstep crowd. It also has a very nice GUI.

I believe those are a very good start and in the same time popular tools between the kids, so he won't feel with 'odd' tools that the other kids don't use.

I don't know what do you mean by 'interface'? An audio interface? or Midi controller? If it is a controller, I suggest one that he can play the clips, so he can demonstrate live his creations

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I'd second the live 'intro' recommendation.

However, I'd suggest going for a keyboard that allows scene launching, rather than a keyboard-less controller. Or maybe, combining a keyboard with a separate launcher/launchpad etc. Maybe it's just me, but I still think we should be encouraging people to learn how to play chords, rather than draw them in

[e@rs]

Maschine Mikro is a nice product. You get a hardware controller and a DAW in one go. Plus it comes with a nice selection of extra software (dubstep king synth Massive included). But it doesn't contain a soundcard (a cheap Steinberg unit will do).

[Redmerkurii]

Ipad mini.
My kids vibe to the Ipad mostly. My eldest (14) has a Windows 10 'production machine' laptop. She's mostly into graphics, animation, teeny chatsites etc.
Younger one (11) does most net activity through the Ipad though enjoys gaming on hardware consoles.
Control under glass I believe is a massive boon to this generation of kids.
There's loads of great and relatively inexpensive apps on IOS which are really good for audio production at all different levels and abilities.
Korg Gadget is a killer app that's very easy to be productive with in a short space of time.
Novation Launchpad for IOS is free (with some paid upgrades) and yields instant gratification.

I understand you have a Win 7 machine 'ready to go' and as others have suggested Live Lite as a package with a hardware controller makes a lot of sense. I have loved Live ever since version 4, it is my goto arranger DAW. I can get exactly what I need from Live fairly quickly, but after all these years I still think it looks absolutely insipid and I think a young lad such as your son would find it a huge turn off. I could be wrong but that 'spreadsheet' look ain't exactly 'sexy'.

Anyway just my 2c. Good luck with whatever you choose.

[whyterabbyt]

I would have thought this was pretty much FL's bailiwick...

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

could be wrong but that 'spreadsheet' look ain't exactly 'sexy'.

But what IS sexy is knowing that you are using what your idols are using. The 'can i haz avicii sound' phenomenon exists because aspiring artists believe that they need to have specific tools for specific sounds

While I do agree with your ideas about iPad music, I think they work better as an adjunct to full-blown desktop/laptop producing. In the same way as I recommended using a proper keyboard, I would also recommend also learning a traditional workflow to offer a much deeper production experience

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what any of us think. I'm sure the op's kid is savvy enough to work out where they want to start, and even end up

[xx JPRacer xx]

Ableton Push1 which can be pretty cheap now. Come with Live Intro and can work with Bitwig too.

[glokraw]

A Korg Triton Taktile49 is bristling with things to enjoy,
and the rompler/portability aspect means he can use
it outside the studio, even outside the home with batteries.

There is some limited 'no-save' editing of the Triton sounds
(nothing to break!) and a PIN for his own full Korg Legacy Collection,
as his skills grow. (and maybe Dad can borrow it sometimes
for some of that M1/Wavestation action )
Cheers

[tikmasterflex]

Ableton Live 9 for sure. Suite if you want to pony up. Comes with great stock sounds, and maybe you can give him some VSTs? Most important aspect of Ableton is how intuitive it is learn and play right away (especially with a controller like novation's launchpad), while having great depth for advancement (e.g. sample manipulation, unlinked parameter envelopes, the session view hierarchy, and M4L anyone?) Really everything you need is in one package, not to mention the large user community and loads of tutorials available.

If your son is into dubstep/electronic, I'd get him something with pots and keys for sure. This way he can play out anything he needs (drum, keys, grimey synth monster, wobbly bass squelches, squirrel synths, and whatever else is in dubstep I don't know) which may be harder to do with pads (that may be just me though). There are even midi controllers with all of the goods (pads, keys, pots, faders), start with m-audio, alesis, novation, and akai to browse for some models. It's the tactile stuff that's fun and can be engaging, especially starting out. A host of midi-controllers connect via USB with an included data cable, are pre-mapped for use with Live, and just as easy to override/customize with a couple of clicks.

I know people who would also recommend FL for starters, but this is my opinion for getting the ball rolling creatively.

Hope this helps, cheers from HK

[chk071]

Affordable audio interface: http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/au ... /ur12.html

Comes with Cubase AI, which is a limited version of Cubase, but may be enough to get started.

[DevonB]

A Korg Triton Taktile49 is bristling with things to enjoy,
and the rompler/portability aspect means he can use
it outside the studio, even outside the home with batteries.

There is some limited 'no-save' editing of the Triton sounds
(nothing to break!) and a PIN for his own full Korg Legacy Collection,
as his skills grow. (and maybe Dad can borrow it sometimes
for some of that M1/Wavestation action )
Cheers

And this is what I went up going with. Nice included software package too. I've already have the M1/Wavestation package for a decade now, so not a big deal to me. (Wow, hard to believe I bought it back in 2006!) I also already have a Triton, so again, no big deal. But I do love the Triton sounds, so should work out pretty good for him, IMO. However, it looks like it only comes with Reason, and a discount code for Live! so going to need a host for him still I think? But got a brand new 25 key one for $139, so not too shabby!

Devon