| Author
|
Advice needed - Selling hardware - Going software based!
|
Andy C
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
9
Posted : Oct 28, 2009 19:31:54
|
Hello all!
This is my first post. I've been lurking around here on and of for years. I've been procrastinating over producing psy trance for the last 10 years. I feel that this is my last chance to make a go at following my dream. I know if I don't take this chance I will definitely live to regret it.
Questions from a pseudo newbie.
I've managed to build up a hardware studio over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, I've had some rather challenging health issues over that period and have not learnt how to use my gear.
I am now working through my issues with steady progress (meditation, extremely health eating, exercise, blah, blah, blah). I still have a passion for psy trance music and want to seriously learn how it's done.
After doing some research online I've decided that I stand a much better chance of succeeding if I reluctantly go software based. I have limited experience in using DAWs & building them and want to learn.
The problem I'm having is deciding which gear to keep & which to sell.
Here's a list of my gear.
Yamaha DM1000 Digital Mixing Desk
Spirit Absolute 2 Monitors
Alesis RA300 Amplifier
M-Audio Delta 1010
M-Audio MidiSport 8x8/s
AMD Athlon 1.81GHz
K8NS Ultra -939
2 GB RAM
Reaper (Not really used this much, only just downloaded it. Spent most of my time researching on forums.)
Access Virus KC
Roland JP-8000
Yamaha S90
E-mu Morpheus Z-Plane Synthesizer
Akai S3000XL
E-mu PX-7 Drum Machine Command Station
Korg ER-1
Novation Drum Synthesiser
T.C electronics M-One
Behringer Composer Pro MDX 2200
I was thinking of selling everything and starting from scratch. But I think that might be a bit hasty?
I was thinking of getting a pair of Dynaudio BM6A (the original ones) to start with.
Can't decide between Cubase 5 and Ableton 8? Laptop or desktop?
One option I was considering was going down the laptop and Ableton Live 8 route and getting the Akai APC40. Then I could keep the virus KC as a keyboard controller. In this scenario I don't think I would need the DM1000, Would I? If I did sell the DM1000 what do I need to connect the virus to the Laptop & the laptop to the BM6A's? I'm not clued up on the computer side of things. And would I need a DSP card?
The other option I was considering was going with Cubase. I did use Cubase VST at college many years ago. Never used SX though. There appears to be lots of tutorials online for producing psy trance. Which I'd like to get involved in. I could buy Cubase 4 second hand and start learning now, while I sell my gear. Then I could build a DAW, and upgrade to Cubase 5 when the money is available. The DM1000 is compatible with Cubase as a controller, but I don't think that's a good enough reason to keep it. Do most people compose, mix & master in software? The DM1000 has onboard effects, dynamics etc, but it doesn't really have anything VST doesn't. Does it? Plus I think I would get confused using two desks. It's nice to have options if you have the skills to chose the right one for the right job, but I'm a newbie and need limitation to keep me focused on the job in hand. Learning to express myself through psychedelic sound. Instead of collecting gear and not using it.
So the bottom line is - What gear would you keep & What software hardware would you buy?
Any advice would be gratefully received.
|
|
|
shellbound
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
14
Posts :
601
Posted : Oct 29, 2009 16:35
|
it's kind of tough to give advise on something like this because it's very personal. but it seems to me like you are on the right track. perhaps you got too many things at once and never really properly explored them. or maybe all this gear is just getting in the way and you get overwhelmed with all the connections and all the possibilities and all the recording and bouncing and all that good stuff. so it's a good thing to strip everything down to essentials in order to streamline your workflow.
i think you should keep the KC. at the very least, it can serve as a really nice midi controller, due to the awesome keys and tons of knobbage. and, of course, Virus is Virus, and it's psytrance we are talking about. you'll be able to get a ton of typical psy sounds you hear, if that's what you like. and if not, you can still come up with a wide range of sounds, since it's a very deep and capable synth.
i would get rid of everything else.
you are on the right track as far as getting quality monitors. BM6A are very nice, from what I understand, and seem to be pretty popular around here. i would also look into treating your room a bit, so you could get the most out of your nice monitors (but of course i don't know what your living arrangements are and how feasible this is).
to connect your gear to your computer and your computer to your monitors, you need an audio interface. you already have Delta 1010, but if i remember correctly, it doesn't have pre-amps. so your choice would be to buy a separate pre-amp and keep the delta or sell the delta and buy an all-in-one interface. this depends on how much you are willing to spend. a lot of people would recommend you get something like a RME FireFace 400, but it's about $1300. you can read through this thread to get some ideas:
http://forum.isratrance.com/the-mother-of-all-soundcards-thread/
as far as your choice of sequencers, all of them are pretty capable at this point. if you think you will want to start playing out as soon as possible and it's one of your goals, then going with a laptop and Ableton would have an advantage. i personally prefer to have a powerful desktop and i really like working in Cubase. you can only know which one is the best for you after working with them for a while. you already have Reaper installed, so why don't you spend some time with it? a sequencer is a sequencer is a sequencer. once you are comfortable with one and know what you like and what you don't like about one, you can start evaluating others based on this. at this point, i don't think you have anything to go by, as far as trying to chose one that would be good for your way of working. so just pick one quickly and run with it. you'll switch later if there's really a need.
so, in conclusion, go for it, man. keep the Virus and sell everything else. invest in nice monitors, interface with good converters, a decent desktop, some room treatment if you can, and a sequencer of your choice, and you should have all your bases covered.
 https://soundcloud.com/dead-end-dance
https://soundcloud.com/shellbound |
|
|
|
Andy C
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
9
Posted : Oct 29, 2009 21:12
|
Yep, your spot on there mate. I completely over faced myself with gear. This made spending time in my studio a chore, instead of a pleasure.
I emailed Bill Halsey (Cosmosis) about this and he agrees with you. Keep the Virus and sell everything else.
Thanks for the link. If I have the funds I'll probably go for an all-in-one interface like the RME FireFace 400.
Just won a Cubase 4 on ebay today and that should run on my existing DAW so I can get started learning. I think it will be a long time before I'm ready to play live so I'm going to look into building myself a desktop DAW.
Thanks very much for taking the time to reply to my long rambling post. I really appreciate it. Between you and Bill, you've both help give clarity in which direction to go.
Cheers! |
|
|
|
Axis Mundi
Axis Mundi
Started Topics :
75
Posts :
1848
Posted : Nov 1, 2009 01:06
|
Yeah, definitely keep the KC. 
|
|
|
|
A.Rosengren
Solid Snake
Started Topics :
266
Posts :
4139
Posted : Nov 1, 2009 15:24
|
I'd keep the JP and Virus + mixer. Then sell the rest and buy a nice computer, a good soundcard and some monitors, dynaudio or adam's is what I would go for. I haven't produced in Ableton so I don't know if it's a good DAW or not.
Good luck in stripping down the studio so it will ft your workflow better, I think you are doing the right thing.
A
|
|
|
|
Elad
Tsabeat/Sattel Battle
Started Topics :
158
Posts :
5306
Posted : Nov 1, 2009 20:29
|
|
Freeflow
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
60
Posts :
3709
Posted : Nov 2, 2009 17:55
|
dont listen to them, you should for the sake of good karma send me the Virus and the Roland Jp8000...
i promise you will feel very good after you done that..
wonderland awaits.... PM me for postal info 
|
|
|
|
subconsciousmind
SCM
Started Topics :
37
Posts :
1033
Posted : Nov 3, 2009 21:35
|
keep the virus, the JP and the 1010
sell everything else
use the computer (DAW) as your mixer
if you are not going to play live very soon buy some i7 PC for around 1000USD
get "demo" versions of cubase and ableton, see how it works out for you. If ableton is your choice go for the apc
a ff400 or 800 would be better then your current one, but not needed.
(if you go laptop you spend more for less power and need another soundcard, not so smart if you don't REALLY need portability)
Most of my music for you to download at:
http://www.subconsciousmind.ch |
|
|
|
shellbound
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
14
Posts :
601
Posted : Nov 3, 2009 22:11
|
i guess the question of what else to keep besides the virus really depends on a) whether you really need to sell stuff to finance your other purchases, and b) whether you developed any personal connections with any of this stuff.
i initially said that you should keep the JP too, but edited that out later. if you are really trying to get yourself going with making tracks, then maybe it is a good idea to really strip it down to essentials and have as few distractions as possible. on the other hand, JP would not only compliment the Virus nicely, it would also be a much better choice to learn synthesis, since almost everything has a knob or slider. KC has tons of knobs too, but if you start reverse-engineering patches, you will get easily lost because of the modulation matrix and lots of stuff being hidden in menus.
i would also probably keep the ER. i don't know where you are, but here you can get a used one for a hundred bucks or so. at some point, you will get sick of staring at your computer and dealing with complicated patches with your virus and you will find being able to just sit in your bed with this simple machine will give you a lot of pleasure and inspiration.
either way, the used market is thriving and you can always buy/sell later.
https://soundcloud.com/dead-end-dance
https://soundcloud.com/shellbound |
|
|
|
Andy C
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
9
Posted : Nov 4, 2009 00:03
|
I definitely need to sell too finance any new purchases. Most of my money is locked up in the DM1000, so that has to go. No idea how much it's worth. Nobody appears to be selling one.
The JP was my first synth, so I don't need much persuading too keep it. Thinking about replacing it with a JP8080, but for the time being I'm going to keep it and see how much I use it.
I'm going to take action and start selling the gear I definitely don't want and take it from there.
Thanks for all your input on this everyone. |
|
|
|
-aeon-
Aeon
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
546
Posted : Nov 9, 2009 18:10
|
don't forget to pop on over to psymusic.co.uk and check out the 'media production' forum - lots of helpful knowledgeable types 
http://www.myspace.com/aeonaeon |
|
|
|
Andy C
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
9
Posted : Nov 10, 2009 16:45
|
|
Thanks for the link aeon. I'll check it out. |
|
|
|
Tablet
Inactive User
Started Topics :
1
Posts :
69
Posted : Nov 14, 2009 07:04
|
You have already had some good advice and I think it was a great thread to start as I am sure many others have over done it with equipment. I know I did.
I would keep the Virus if you get on with it. I would not keep the 1010 sound card though. I had one and it is really shit by today's standards.
Keep it simple....you might find yourself selling and then just buying lots of new stuff. Its easy to do in this world of consumerism. But less is more. I truly believe it is better for the creative process. |
|
|
|
Andy C
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
9
Posted : Nov 17, 2009 23:09
|
Thanks for your comments Tablet.
You're right about the dangerous pitfall of selling & then buying lots of new stuff. I've noticed my mind likes thinking of endless permutations of expensive new gear to buy.
I'm definitely going to keep it simple this time. I get distracted so easily. I'm going to be careful not to buy too many software plug ins too. |
|
|
|
Tablet
Inactive User
Started Topics :
1
Posts :
69
Posted : Nov 17, 2009 23:39
|
|
Like most things in life its about discipline. |
|
|
|
