If I had it all to do over?

[killmaster]

I know this can be super annoying type thread, however I thought it just might be useful info to someone starting out using computers to make music.

For me, if I had it all to do over, I would buy Logic Pro X (on mac obviously), Roli Seaboard RISE 49, one small "sketch" keyboard like QuNexus and Reaktor (and maybe ArcSyn ). Get the usual interface items like audio midi interface like iConnectAUDIO4+ and one guitar.

I need the limitations otherwise I spend countless hours fretting over making a simple choice of what synth to start with. Kills creativity. For me.

[billcarroll]

I'd echo what I think you're saying.

Pick one DAW (like Ableton) and one really great and versatile synth (like u-he Zebra), and just focus on making lots of music using primarily the built-in plugins in your DAW of choice. Add a synth or two (like Serum, Spire, etc.) over time once Zebra has been mastered.

Limit your choices, learn to work quickly, maximize the amount of music you make.

Edit, quick addition

Focus on the skills that matter most to you. For me, that's melody and rhythm, and tension and release.

[killmaster]

I'd echo what I think you're saying.

Pick one DAW (like Ableton) and one really great and versatile synth (like u-he Zebra), and just focus on making lots of music using primarily the built-in plugins in your DAW of choice. Add a synth or two (like Serum, Spire, etc.) over time once Zebra has been mastered.

Limit your choices, learn to work quickly, maximize the amount of music you make.

like how you say that!

[neight]

Keep these coming. I'm 2 weeks in to trying to learn this stuff, and I don't have to make the same mistakes you did!

[mgw38]

I would spend more time in getting my listening environment optimized early on. I was not even remotely aware on how much that influences your mixing decisions. And I was also not really aware that you can do a surprising amount of optimizing with relatively little money and effort. 100 bucks of acoustic foam can go a very long way.

[Googly Smythe]

I'd buy a house and use the biggest room to build a studio with a kick-bottom API desk.
Then I'd hire an engineer to handle the mixing...
Just wishing...

[ATN69]

Save my Money and stay far away from DAW's and plugins as possible ..seriously though, my advice is pretty simple. Think 10 times Before you buy anything. GAS (or Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a disease and it's very infectious. Hard to cure.

[mgw38]

Save my Money and stay far away from DAW's and plugins as possible ..seriously though, my advice is pretty simple. Think 10 times Before you buy anything. GAS (or Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a disease and it's very infectious. Hard to cure.

I hear that a lot but I would argue that this needs to be differentiated a bit. It depends a lot on what you want to accomplish. If you want to make a career out of making music this is excellent advise. If you just want to have fun, do whatever floats your boat (and does not sink your wallet).

[ATN69]

Save my Money and stay far away from DAW's and plugins as possible ..seriously though, my advice is pretty simple. Think 10 times Before you buy anything. GAS (or Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a disease and it's very infectious. Hard to cure.

I hear that a lot but I would argue that this needs to be differentiated a bit. It depends a lot on what you want to accomplish. If you want to make a career out of making music this is excellent advise. If you just want to have fun, do whatever floats your boat (and does not sink your wallet).

I can agree to that and I consider myself to belong to the second category. But from my own experience I bought a lot of stuff and some of it is never used, and some very Little. Now after playing around with my stuff for some years I really Think very hard Before I buy anything, unless it's dirt cheap or free.

[mgw38]

Save my Money and stay far away from DAW's and plugins as possible ..seriously though, my advice is pretty simple. Think 10 times Before you buy anything. GAS (or Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a disease and it's very infectious. Hard to cure.

I hear that a lot but I would argue that this needs to be differentiated a bit. It depends a lot on what you want to accomplish. If you want to make a career out of making music this is excellent advise. If you just want to have fun, do whatever floats your boat (and does not sink your wallet).

I can agree to that and I consider myself to belong to the second category. But from my own experience I bought a lot of stuff and some of it is never used, and some very Little. Now after playing around with my stuff for some years I really Think very hard Before I buy anything, unless it's dirt cheap or free.

No argument there. That is certainly true for a lot of people. All I am saying is that there is nothing wrong with collecting every single EQ on the market if that is the one thing that keeps you motivated. The important thing is that you need to find the one thing that keeps you going when your creativity gets stuck.

[RichieWitch]

I don't think I'd change anything.

I went a mostly-hardware route. I did a ton of research, scoured Craig's List and eBay for deals, and shopped very carefully. I set a monthly music budget and stuck to it. If something didn't work out, I could sell it for what I paid or maybe a little more, put that money back in the music budget, and get something else.

The most important thing I learned from this was what "my sound" is. I started to recognize which devices/instruments were going to gel with what I wanted to do and what wasn't. I would let something sit in studio for about 6 months and if I hadn't been able to use it in a track, I would spend a few days trying to figure out why, and if it was just the wrong sound, and it got sold. Some things, like MIDI controllers and audio interfaces were sold to buy better ones.

When it came to software, I'd wait for sales, especially those buy-one-get-one sales at IK Mulitmedia, or the deep discount sales at Waves and Native Instruments.

It's been three and a half years, and what I have now is a studio I love, filled with toys that make the sounds I want to make, optimized to my workflow, so that I can flip a few switches and I'm ready to play/record. I'm finishing one or two tracks a month and love making music.

So to me, the most important lesson to avoiding regret is: set a budget, do your research, shop smart, keep making music.

[donkey tugger]

I would have bought some decent monitors years ago. Actually, I would have probably have had to nick them at the time.