For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
By mircofragomena Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:19 pm
Hi there,
this is my first post and I'm excited to start being active in the forum since I'm about to get my first equipments.

And this is what this topic is about - I'd love to have some advices about this.

First I say, rather than playing a bit with Logic and Reason, I don't know so much about producing and sampling, but I feel that a small investment is needed to help me feeling more the action of doing music.

At first I was about to go for the MPK25 (or the M-Audio Axiom 25) having a keyboard + pads all in once.
Then reading about some complains on both of them, I tried to look for separate gears, and I read about the MPX8 as a good cheap sampler, and the Korg Microkey, a good key-sensitive MIDI keyboard.

The price is going to be quiet the same, and I don't need to go around with my equipment, so the fact that the MPK25 is bigger it's not a big deal.
I just want to stay in a good "real beginner" budget, and have an equipment which, with this budget, is not going to be the best on the market, but more an extension of my software and a help for my fingers 8) I can't ask for much with 200€ budget.

My interests are in sampling, looping, and playing some basic instrumental stuff on a keyboard to give more personal harmony to my tracks.

I'm open to every suggestion (save money, stay cheaper, buy another brand, devote yourself to gardening..)

Thanks in advance :nod:


EDIT: I also want to add that an analog similar equipment is appreciated..I felt like Reason is already a powerful tool to work on, but if I could add the essence (both to my music and especially to myself working on it) of the analog stuff, I won't mind.
The budget is still the same though, which could actually be too low to get decent analog stuff, right?
Well, I'm open to anything
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By distortedtekno Wed Jan 21, 2015 3:47 am
You may be confusing the word "analog" for hardware. Analog gear is made up of circuitry to create sounds. You'll find that in some synths and drum machines. Samplers are digital.

As for the MPX-8, I personally wouldn't recommend it since there's been some issues with them that were posted here recently. if you want to save money, you would be better off buying something used like a Korg Electribe ESX-1 or a Roland SP-404. They're more fun to work with and have more features in general, which you'll find useful as you learn more about sampling. A used MPC or S Series sampler is another cheaper option. But there's a lot to consider when dealing with outdated storage methods (floppy discs, SCSI devices, etc.). So my advice would be to save your money and take your time to really know what's the best decision for your money. Hopefully other members offer their suggestions, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
By mircofragomena Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:33 am
distortedtekno wrote:You may be confusing the word "analog" for hardware. Analog gear is made up of circuitry to create sounds. You'll find that in some synths and drum machines. Samplers are digital.


Yeah, I'm sorry, as analog I meant to be not MIDI digital controller, but something like the MPCs that works via floppy discs and SCSI and so on.

distortedtekno wrote:something used like a Korg Electribe ESX-1 or a Roland SP-404


I checked them already and they were both a bit above my budget (there's the SP-303 which could be the closest one to 200€).
But the lacking of keyboard I feel like it could damage me in the future since I might want to play some piano chords - that's why I was considering those 2 options (1+1 or all in 1)

any other sampler rather then the MPX8 that works well?
Thanks for your answer by now :)