2005 was the last time I played with a #synth or digital production tools. I was an uncommitted teen, but it was a fun diversion from #music theory and #jazz band. It was not a protected interest, and in college I buried it under fear and greed. I want to fix that. With search engines designed for others’ gain, I don’t know what to trust. Assuming I know nothing, can anyone recommend educational resources for musicians that introduce the basics of modern #synthesizer or #DAW technologies?
@deli_rum so … That was me three years ago. What you want is to play an instrument. There’s these great synths called volcas , get one of those. There’s an effects pedal called kp3 that’s also really fun. Try pocket operators they’re really cheap and fun. As you wander deeper into the musical journey things really start to add up. Sometimes it’s better to just get the expensive stuff directly. Sonicware.jp is so cool and not that expensive - really fun to learn as well! Roland also makes some
@tonic @deli_rum really fun outboards too! I have some of the more expensive standalone controllers , and it’s been great really fun. My best advice is get the best thing you want to get directly (because now I have a bunch of outboards like the td3) . You’ll also need a mixer if you’re linking them up. That’s what’s so convenient about going straight to ableton. I would say though pick up a push2 , and learn to play that - it’s incredibly fun 👍🏻 tldr; ableton is really great get a controller
@tonic That’s awesome!! Thank you!! I think I’m still three steps behind - need to do some googling on most of what you suggested. I am excited to start playing regularly again, just don’t know what thread to start pulling on to know how these tools work, processes and functions. It’s like being a pen-and-paper cartoonist and wanting create digital animations; the music is still there there, just totally ignorant of the tech and best practices.
@deli_rum yeah my mistake was I didn’t start with the software , I really like the immediacy of these instruments which made it « all fun , no learning software » , but the big keyboards although they’re amazing and totally worth it do have a learning curve … the best is to learn ableton , but what can make it fun is to have the controller (Push2) to go with it. I have something called the Akai force which I love , but I’m starting to hit the limits of it , and I see that ableton on pc is better
@deli_rum see that's the thing : with a $2000+ computer & ableton + all the add-ons you simply need to operate it ... all this comes out to a pretty huge investment compared to a standalone controller like the rolands, sonicware, akai force, native instruments... i regret it because it turns out knowing how to quickly knock out some audio is really useful for lots of stuff. The bad thing about ableton is that, without a controller, you can't really "turn up and play" . the good news is that there's loads of cheap controllers out there fun ones are MPD218 to learn finger drumming (i use this one plugged into the big controller), small $100+ external keyboards , i also use one of these plugged into my box. And by the way, every time you buy these you get a licence for software that comes with it (eg keyboard software with the keyboard controller) . ableton is a beast of a software, full time it would take months to learn properly , so my best advice is to make sure you have a useable toy on hand just in case you dont wanna butt heads with learning software on your time off ha 👊
@tonic I dig it. Sounds like a #DAW -first strategy. I can do that. I’ll start playing with Ableton. I’m also looking at #linux -based tools, another opportunity for me to be frustrated with something I don’t know anything about! Purchased a #pinebook pro as a transition/backup to my aging MacBook…. One step at a time! Anyway, thanks again, I’ll be sure to ping you whenever I make some progress and have something fun to share!!