Hello!br
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My father has made available to me some money which I am allowed to use in learning and developing knowledge in music production. I am a complete beginner, and need to know a little about what I may require to purchase in addition to your software (or taking out a software subscription).br
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I wonder if there is a walk-through tutorial for complete beginners such as me? Presumably other girls (and blokes, of course, ha ha!) have had to start at the beginning and so you may have been asked this sort of question previously.br
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I need to know what things I shall have to purchase to make your software work (other software packages, keyboards etc.). Although I shall use this at home, I also need to know if I am allowed, for example, to take it into school to show what I have done, or whether there is any sort of limitation which will prevent me from doing this.br
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If you are able to provide me with a few answers to get started, then I shall be pleased. Although I am a beginner in your field, I have studied piano up to Grade 4.br
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Thank you!br
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Rickeybr
Well first thing first you need to find out what type of computer your going to be using…from this we can start to narrow down which Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) you can/would use. This is where all the magic happens 
(I couldn’t help it haha). The most covered ones here on Sonic Academy are Ableton Live, Logic Pro (Apple), Cubase and Reason and all have their different pros/cons.br
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Once you’ve gotten a hold of a DAW this is where your Sonic Academy Subscription comes into play. The videos range from extreme beginner (showing you around the daw; getting used to it) to building entire songs from the kick up. br
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It would probably be in your best interest if you go through with purchasing a Sonic Academy subscription, to also purchase Sonic Academy’s synth ANA. ANA is separate from the DAW you purchase above and while its not needed for the Sonic Academy videos, you are eventually going to need a synth ands its a good one. :)br
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I hope I made some sense in there!
[quote]jamesXarnold (08/10/2013)[hr]This is where all the magic happens (I couldn’t help it haha)[/quote]br
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Bro…br
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Erm it depends on your money flow. I would say get some decent monitors, a mid-range pc (desktop if you don’t need to be portable) and a DAW (I would recommend ableton… personal choice!).br
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As a newbie I don’t think it matters what DAW you choose, as long as you put the effort in to learn it. The only other thing I would recommend is a vst called sylenth1. I am yet to find a soft synth VST that is as refined as that!br
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Also I would just jump in to a course like progressive house/mainroom house etc. I think I learned the most from just getting stuck into a full project straight away. br
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Oh and welcome to the forum, get involved aha!br
Hello again James - thanks for the quick response. In our house we have several PCs, but no MACs. I know from friends that Apple is often preferred for this work, but we have been a PC (Windows XP and Win 7) family for several years.br
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I see that Cubase appears to be a free download (is this correct?) - I presume it must be the sale of their hardware gadgets which makes this possible. If I am correct in this, then I guess I will start (somewhat blindly, as you know already) with Cubase. I have a friend who has used it quite a bit, and she seems very happy with it.br
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Next I shall need to get data into the proposed system. We have keyboards here which generate standard MIDI. They are not “silent” keyboards (i.e. just for data entry) but are functioning musical instruments, originally purchased for the simple purpose of playing. It is just a useful by-product that they generate MIDI too. My favourite, which I use the most, is a clunky Panasonic from the last century.br
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Can I use an existing keyboard, or do I need something else? Also, how do I convert the MIDI 5-pin DIN to some form of usb input?br
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So many questions - but you have a chance here to make a girl very happy. I hope you can help me.br
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Thank you.br
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Rickey
If you want to use a keyboard that only has midi output (no USB or firewire) you will need a midi interface. Motu midi interfaces are good but cheap, this is a basic onebr
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[url]Sweetwater
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Personally I bought quite a few hardware synths when I started up, a nord lead 3 keyboard was amongst them, but I found I just ended up using it as a midi controller and used the internal software synths for sounds, so I sold it and bought a cheap usb midi controller.br
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Agree with what people are saying on here re Sylenth1 and ANA, they are my go to software synths.br
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Re: Cubase, it’s not free to my knowledge, not sure where you’ve seen this. Also if you want to learn on here I would recommend Ableton cause 80% of the courses are in this DAW and very few in Cubase, you can pick up Ableton relatively cheaply.br
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To get going what you need isbr
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Computer, preferably something with a decent sized hard drive and a lot of RAM, you’re going to struggle for processing using an older low spec PC.br
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Powered Monitor Speakers (these range from around £250 per pair to say £1000 for a really high quality pair, there’s a thread with recommendations on here, don’t cheap out on monitors, cause bad speakers will mean a bad mix) [url]http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/14-recommended-studio-monitor-speakers-233378/1[/url]br
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Audio Interface (to hook the speakers up to the computer, check this article out for the best cheap options [url]http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/8-of-the-best-budget-usb-audio-interfaces-570850/2[/url])br
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Decent cabling for your speakersbr
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Midi Interface, if you want to use your old keyboard (as above)br
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DAW software (Ableton, Cubase etc…)br
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a couple of Software Synths (Sylenth1, ANA, Zebra2, Albino3 are the ones I use)br
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Effects and Dynamics wise the DAW you choose should have enough to get you going but as you progress you’ll probably find you want to get hold of a good delay, reverb, compressor etc…br
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That’s about it really.br
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Oh just found this, which shows you the basic setupbr
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[url]http://www.platinumloops.com/images/flow_chart_equipment_setup.jpg[/url]br
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Sorry if some of this is obvious…
![http://www.platinumloops.com/images/flow_chart_equipment_setup.jpg[/url]br](http://www.platinumloops.com/images/flow_chart_equipment_setup.jpg%5B/url%5Dbr){kind=link}
Windows isn’t a problem at all it just puts Logic out of the running. You can probably download a demo of the DAW’s with most functions available in them with a simple google search…br
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Like xpa said it’s not life or death which DAW you decide to go with but you do need something. Watch a couple youtube reviews on them maybe you’ll see some features in one that catches your eye…br
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As for the music. You don’t need to have anything external to operate these or to create sounds in them everything can be done right on the computer. Connecting your keyboard (depending on the model) to the said DAW shouldn’t be too much trouble…I’d probably just get the make/model and run down to the local music shop they should be able to at least get you the proper set up and then google the latest drivers for your keyboard to make sure it will communicate with the computer properly.
Hiya,br
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I have tried Cubase myself and got some basic down, but I found it like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut.br
I then moved onto Fruity Loops, which is very easy to use and has a ton of videos on you tube to help you get started.br
I have moved over to Logic Pro (9) now because I bought a Mac after being fed up with PC’s being attacked crashing, blah, blah, blah. But I am only using a Mac Mini with bumped up RAM to 8GB.br
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Logic has taken me about 6 months to pick up with the help of you tube and mainly SA video’s. They are very well made and as a trance producer its perfect for me to have a dance music site to refer too!br
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I am by no means much more than beginner to intermediate but really enjoy my hobby (addiction) very much.br
Good luck with you music journey…
Many thanks James, Spoon and Jimmy! I now have enough to get going on my journey. The links were very helpful, as well as knowing what people’s experiences were.br
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It is also very pleasing to encounter such an articulate group of contributors - thanks again. You ALL know how to make a girl happy!br
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In our family we have had Bang and Olufsen speakers and equipment for many years, so for that part I hope I can overcome what might otherwise have been a very large expense. I am grateful for the opinions about Ableton, (as well as the slightly dismal ones about Cubase), and so will be likely to make an Ableton purchase.br
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Our family motto has always been “learn by doing”, in the full knowledge that possibly many mistakes will be made along the way, but learning will arise from these errors. We sometimes say “one mistake is human, same mistake twice is normal, third time - I am an idiot”. Hopefully there will not be too much idiocy!! br
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With all of the helpful input you have provided, I will go away to think and try things out for a few days or weeks, but undoubtedly I shall have other questions (not idiotic ones, again one hopes!) as I learn further.br
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Thank you once again for this helpful launch. I will see you all again in a while…br
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Rickeybr
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Mmmm just remember hi fi equipment will normally eq things by default, I would still try to get decent monitors at some point in the future so that you can hear exactly whats going on in your mix.
Hi xpa - thanks for this caveat. I will add your helpful comments to what I have gleaned so far. Bless you. Rx