Jakos Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Hi everyone! I'm new in this big comunnity and I want to use this post to ask for recommendation and say "Hi, I'm new" to everyone who wants to read this. As new as I am, I'm new making music with the computer and I have no idea almost where to start, and all I want to is start learning soon the things you guys know. So the thing is this, only I have around 500 € (600 USD?) of budget to buy things and I thought to buy this: - M-AUDIO Axiom 49 2nd Gen (Around 200 €) - Steinberg UR22 (Around 120 €) - Cables (Around... 10€?) And I only have one Yamaha PSR E423 so... I have no idea what to buy, and I want to use wisely my money. I hope you guys could help to get me more into this world as I would love to bring new things into this community. I appreciate all the feedback you can give to me! Thanks for reading. PS: Sorry about my english, it isn't my first tonge I'm from Spain (Ole toros paella flamenco ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theshaggyfreak Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Interface wise, I'd go with something Focusrite. They definitely have something your price range. Something like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 would certainly work for you. Focusrite tends to have a really good track record on audio interfaces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalxero Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 You're probably want at least want a pair of studio headphones if you don't already have any -- standard headphones or speakers aren't really that great for mixing. I'd recommend either the Sony mdr-v6 or mdr-7506 (I use the mdr-v6) as they sound great and are very cost-effective. Also, depending on what you're doing you might not actually need any extra cables for now. Both the midi controller and audio interface should come with usb cables to plug into your computer, so unless you're going for a microphone or pair of monitors (which would likely put you over your budget), you probably won't need any. Interface wise, I'd go with something Focusrite. They definitely have something your price range. Something like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 would certainly work for you. Focusrite tends to have a really good track record on audio interfaces. It's a great interface, but the driver (for Windows at least) is buggy as all hell. I've blue-screened my computer with it at least 3 (or 4?) times now, and I wasn't even trying that hard! Also, you pretty much need to use asio4all with it. The standard driver I think gives you one control for latency and nothing else, so it's not really that amazingly useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakos Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Oh yeah, a pair of headphones could be a good choice. Also what do you think about the UR22? I saw that the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 doesn't have MIDI In/Out, and I don't think I will use any microphone or guitar at the moment. :S Also, I should buy a DAW but I'm afraid to buy one too complex or not powerful. I use the free version of FL Studio to train but... that's all, I tried Cubase and was a little bit complex to what I prettend to make (I think). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I'd say get Reaper, but you need to be willing to learn seriously the basics. It's super powerful and if you know it very well, jumping to most other DAWs (except Ableton/Reason/FL) will be +90% the same. You'd save $ and could focus on an interface, IMO the most important of all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakos Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 I was reading and watching tutorials about REAPER right now, seems powerful but It doesn't bring any VSTi, that's bad. So what should I look when I buy a Interface? For me they look all almost the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiesty Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Take a look on https://reverb.com/ for some used gear thats cheap. Get something like a Digi rack 002 or a MOTU. Pretty decent sounding pres and you can grab them pretty cheap these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederic Petitpas Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 It doesn't bring any VSTi, that's bad.So what should I look when I buy a Interface? For me they look all almost the same. Buy some ? Interfaces; I don't like most of them. I decided to invest a few more dollars to get everything right away (I have a FA-66 from when they were made in Japan by Edirol); ¼ inputs, XRL inputs & phantom power, RCA inputs, s/pdif (optic input/output), MIDI in/out, 4 outputs with direct monitoring and FireWire. What I really needed, that you won't find on every product out there around 100-200$, was FireWire, direct monitoring, midi i/o and 4 balanced outputs. You have your normal 2 outputs (left right) where the volume knob on the interface affects the volume of those outputs (to your speakers/monitors) and the 2 other Left Right outputs are not affected by the volume knob. It's perfect to feed a mixer. Personally what I do with that is route those 2nd outputs to the RCA input and can therefor directly manipulate the sound from my computer. For instance, I can watch YouTube or play CoD and downtune the sound as I'm watching/playing (for fun) or simply just record something off the net directly where downloading isn't possible. Anyway, depends of your needs. FireWire was what I needed because I wanted the processing to be done by the unit itself, not the computer CPU like with USB interfaces. I'll go with Focusrite eventually, when I'll upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakos Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Oh, thanks for the information, I should read more about the interfaces. But for what I need it I think something less complex could be enough, I don't know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalxero Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Also what do you think about the UR22? I saw that the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 doesn't have MIDI In/Out, and I don't think I will use any microphone or guitar at the moment. :S You don't really need midi in/out unless you're using a midi keyboard that requires it. Most midi keyboards now (I believe including the two you mentioned in your post) connect via USB, and so don't need the midi ports. I was reading and watching tutorials about REAPER right now, seems powerful but It doesn't bring any VSTi, that's bad.So what should I look when I buy a Interface? For me they look all almost the same. VSTi instruments are typically separate from the DAW (although many DAWs will include a few of them), and are made by different developers. There are a number of paid ones, but there are also plenty of free ones you can find online, eg. TAL Noisemaker. Oh, thanks for the information, I should read more about the interfaces.But for what I need it I think something less complex could be enough, I don't know Don't worry too much about it yet. I'm still pretty new to this too, and I can say there's definitely a lot of overwhelming information out there. Just start out with the basics, and as you learn more/get better at making music, you'll start to recognize what kinds of things you do/don't need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakos Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 Thanks for the full answer digitalxero and thanks for the Noisemaker. It sound very good to be free And about the keyboards, the PSR E423 yes, it only has USB connection, but the M-Audio Axiom 49 has MIDI too, and I'd read that the MIDI has better response than the USB (I've tried to play my keyboard on the PC and has a little bit of latency, even with ASIO but is almost unnoticeable) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neifion Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I can vouch for the UR22. Solid metal construction, very low latency, compact design. Part of the reason I got one too is because it's made by the same company that develops my DAW, Cubase, so the ASIO driver compatibility is optimal. Also, yes, most keyboards have a USB connection these days. However, having MIDI ports on the audio interface frees up a USB port on my system, and that was a definite plus for someone like me! My mics, my keyboard, my interface, all just take one USB spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakos Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 I think I must try the things first to learn by myself. Is all about seeing it yourself! Thanks for the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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