First of all, we must make it clear that today, with the facilities that technology provides us, there are many and varied profiles of people that we can find within “music production equipment”. We can encompass within the production, from the person who is dedicated to singing and records at home on instrumental tracks that he downloads from the internet to composers or creators of instrumental tracks, recording or mixing engineers, etc… We will leave this for another post to clarify the definition of the music producer and in this one we are going to focus on teaching you what is the basic music production equipment you need to start.
Next, we are going to analyze in order of importance the 5 elements that we have believed to be a priority for the average profile of a person related to production. It is very important to take this into account, because depending on the exact task you want to dedicate yourself to, including the specific genre, these priorities may change, elements may even appear that we are not going to detail in this post, and most of them that we did analyze, you may have leftover (if, for example, you were going to dedicate yourself to mixing or mastering, what might interest you the most would be the issue of soundproofing and acoustic conditioning). With that said, here we go…
1. COMPUTER
Number 1 of the basic music production equipment is the computer. It will be the central base, our center of operations. Through it, we can carry out the rest of the actions.
Record audio, create midi tracks, sequence our projects, edit, mix, master…
Along with the computer, we assume that we also have specialized DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software, which allows us to carry out these actions. As for the computer, it is important that it has a certain processing capacity, since this way we will avoid possible crashes of the software or that it works really slow.
2. MICROPHONE
In second place on our list, we have placed the microphone. To create tracks, beats, or instrumentals, all you really need is a computer. Keep in mind that, at the moment, we are not talking about quality.
From there, the next profile that we could find is that of the singer or composer who, apart from the tracks that he can create using virtual instruments, audio files, loops, samples, etc… would like to add some recorded elements. Either the voice or some instrument. We might also find people who want to base all their material on recorded audio.
For this reason, before other elements that we will talk about in this post, we have decided to include the microphone. If we talk about basic equipment, we could start by talking about USB connection microphones, since other microphones would require the use of an audio interface to be able to use them. If you want to know more about microphones, take a look at our post on the types of microphones.
3. HEADPHONES
In number 3 on our list of basic music production equipment, we have placed the headphones. And really, we almost put them in the No. 2 spot shared with the mic for a reason. Almost always that we record it will be on other tracks, an instrumental, or a clapperboard. So that this signal does not slip through the microphone, “dirtying” our recording, the ideal is that we listen to it through headphones.
On the other hand, headphones, although they are not as suitable for mixing or mastering as monitors, are cheaper, and will allow us to better appreciate certain specific aspects (the amount of reverb or delay-type effects that we add to a track). And very important. They will prevent us from disturbing the rest of the inhabitants of the house or our neighbors.
4. MIDI CONTROLLER
In position number 4 on our list of basic music production equipment, we have placed the MIDI controller, which is usually a keyboard. We know that it may be a not-so-basic or priority equipment. That’s why it’s number 4 out of 5. However, we wanted to make it on the list for a reason. It can help a lot to add creativity and capture new ideas when creating our projects. Although you can always create MIDI messages or patterns using the computer keyboard or directly by drawing with the mouse on the Piano Roll Editor, we feel that these methods greatly limit the ability to try and create new and more complex ideas.
5. MONITOR SPEAKERS
At number 5 on our list of basic music production equipment, we have decided to place studio monitor speakers. We have done it thinking that it may be a priority for a type of profile related to music production. The one for those who want to achieve good results in the mixing and/or mastering processes. Either for your own projects or for other people’s.
For these tasks, it is interesting to use monitors as a listener, since their frequency response will be much more faithful to the reality of the project than another type of listening system. They will be very useful for techniques such as equalization.
As a drawback, we could say that to be “basic”, in most cases they will need to be accompanied by an audio interface, which makes the price more expensive, and other elements have to be added to the basic equipment.
OUR OPINION ABOUT THE BASIC MUSIC PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT
Regardless of the material or equipment you have, our opinion is that the important thing is what comes out of your mind and heart, as well as the experience you have. That is why we encourage you to invest time and passion in what you like, regardless of the material that is within your reach. In the past, we have carried out mastering processes with a 5.1 from 15 years ago as the main listener (we rely on headphones and a car), and the client was very satisfied. Also, during the work in the new studio, we recorded instruments in a room with absolutely homemade acoustic conditioning and you would be surprised by the results.
So cheer up, in the circumstances in which you are, work with all the love in the world and surely the future has great surprises in store for you.
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