What gear is necessary for Music Production?🧐
Music Production became really accessible lately. But there’s still some essential items you’ll need to get through this course.
Computer 💻
Mac, PC, Linux, whatever!
Computers are the center piece of music production, without them we can’t do anything, so naturally you’ll need one.
Tablets or phones are not an acceptable replacement for a personal computer.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Mac or PC user. I use Mac computers and feel like they’re great for music, but whatever you prefer is fine!
However, please make sure your computer has enough power to use modern DAWs and plugins while running Zoom at the same time. From my experience, I can confirm that if you have a recent Macbook (2018 onwards), you’ll have no problems. Unfortunately I don’t have any PC/Linux experience to report.
Headphones 🎧
No bluetooth & no earbuds!
Studio monitors are for many of us the no.1 way of mixing our DAW projects, but the feedback of the loudspeakers going into your microphone would make our Zoom calls very difficult. Headphones to the rescue!
Please know that not all types of headphones are appropriate for music production. Please bring a pair of either:
Wired over-the-head headphones, either open or closed back
Wired in-ear-monitors
Please avoid all forms of Bluetooth headphones or earbuds. While these types of headphones are lovely to listen to music while taking walks or doing the dishes, they’re not appropriate for music production.
As for budget, don’t worry too much. You can get a decent pair of IEM’s (in-ear monitors) on Amazon for 30-50€ that can help you get started - same thing for over-the-head headphones. If you want to stretch the budget a bit more, put 100€-150€ into a pair of over-the-heads and you should be golden for a couple years at least.
Audio Interface 🎛
For recording and sound quality
The most obvious use for an Audio Interface is that it allows you to record into the computer. But there’s a lot more it does for you, including improving the sound quality of what you hear from your DAW a lot.
It’s very important to have an audio interface for this course because we’ll be exploring the basics of recording techniques, and for that, you’ll need to record stuff.
There’s many good quality Interfaces on the market for acceptable prices that won’t break the bank. You can get an entry level Focusrite Scarlett or Audient for somewhere around 100€.
If you want to invest a little more to get something truly great for its price, look into the Audient ID22 MK2 - my personal favorite entry level interface.
Microphone 🎤
For recording voice or instruments
The microphone will be useful for our Zoom Calls, so you can learn hands-on how to use a mic in real life. But most importantly, it’ll be fundamental when we approach the recording techniques lesson, where I’ll teach you the fundamentals of mic placement and mic distance.
You don’t need to buy any specific type of microphone, but I would advise you to stay away from ribbon mics for now, they’re a bit too sensitive. A good first purchase would be either:
A simple dynamic mic like a Shure SM57 or SM58 (around 100€)
An entry level studio condenser like a Rode NT1 (around 200€)
These are totally different mic types with different applications, but both can work wonderfully as a first microphone. You can also get a podcast type mic such as the Rode Procaster (great mic) if that’s more your jam.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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If you're in doubt about your computer's ability to run your DAW and Zoom at the same time, try it out with a friend or family member in real life. Call each other via Zoom on each other's computers and try to share your screen while streaming your DAW's audio to each other. If you're still not sure, feel free to send me a message!
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No! All you need is your DAW's stock plug-ins. We won't be looking much into specific plugin brands during the course, we'll be learning the essentials of Music Production which can be learnt with any set of DAW stock plugins.
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One is perfectly enough, however, If you can buy an interface with two inputs, this might help you in the future if you're trying to play and sing simultaneously or if you want to play with a friend through the interface.
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You don't need one necessarily, but it's very handy to have one around. Having a stand could really help during the lessons to have the microphone set up in a way that gives you freedom of movement.