What equipment to choose to start in computer music?

So, is this it? Have you finally decided to get serious about composing? But you do not know with which material? Today, we will quickly see some home studio setups to help you choose one that suits you quickly and efficiently. But before offering you all this, we will quickly review the essentials to have a good basis for composing your own small recording studio. Each aspect of a home studio will be covered in more detail in future blog posts.

The choice of computer to host your DAW

The component, the most essential if not the most expensive to start in computer-assisted music (or computer-assisted music), will be your computer. Nowadays, almost all of us have at least one computer in the home. We are not going to dwell on the details, argue on the fact of choosing instead a Mac or Windows operation or on the fact that it should be portable or not. Choose your computer according to the recording software, also called a sequencer or DAW, that you will have. And make sure your computer is up to date and has enough RAM as well as USB ports.

The DAW: a software for creating and mixing

Then, the software to create and mix, your main companion! It can have several names, such as DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) , sequencers or more rarely STAN (Digital Audio Workstation) . Choosing your software, even to start computer music, is very personal because what will change between the different sequencers is essentially the workflow or their ergonomics. Although some software is more efficient in certain areas of music. For example, Ableton Live is a reference in the field of electronic music while Logic Pro, or Studio One are more famous for mastering and more orchestral composition. Cubase and Pro Tools are often used by professional studios or renowned composers. Your DAW will allow you to take sound, to mix them thanks to the various functions of the software. And of course, it allows you to use plugins in order to have a multitude of virtual instruments (modeled) or samples.

The centerpiece: the audio interface

Now that we have the virtual tools, we need a more than essential element to have a sound quality at the top and a platform to connect the various XLR, Jack, MIDI cables of external equipment to the computer. This is the audio interface , also known as a sound card . You plug in almost everything and therefore, it should not be neglected. To start in computer music, the Presonus Audiobox or the Scarlett are very good quality-price level.

A listening system is essential

Then we need a headphone or monitors … or both. Ideally, the frequency response of the latter should be as flat as possible so as not to color the bass or treble too much. Thus, the mix will be as homogeneous as possible regardless of what device it will be listened to. To choose a good headphones, we have already concocted a blog article on how to choose your headphones . Ideally, you should work with both monitoring speakers and headphones. But depending on the budget and if we have neighbors or a family who would not allow us to compose at any time of the day or night, headphones will be your main ally.

Optional but so useful: the MIDI keyboard

Now that we have seen the elements that you absolutely need to start in computer music, here is a last element a little more optional but more than recommendable for a varied musical production. A MIDI keyboard, also called a MIDI controller . The latter does not emit any sound but allows, thanks to a series of MIDI commands , to have the sound of the virtual instrument interpreted by our software.
Of course you can use your own instrument, whether acoustic or electronic. At this point, you need either a cable to connect them or a microphone suitable for the instrument and its use. To start MAO with a microphone, we will assume that you have one or two acoustic instruments (or a voice). So a directional microphone, taking the sound from the front of its capsule is recommended. Thus, it will not pick up sounds outside its axis, eliminating parasitic noises and other noise pollution.

Our computer music packs to start

Well, now that we have quickly seen what constituted the basis for a home studio, here are some proposals for packs to start in computer music.

First of all, a few packs pre-composed by various brands and even including lite versions of software!
Among the first prizes, we have the Presonus Audiobox 96 Studio Bundle 25th Anniversary Edition at CHF 229 including an audio interface with 2 inputs and 2 outputs for microphone, instruments / line. As well as a microphone and headphones or so for CHF 265, an equivalent but from the Focusrite Scarlett brand, the 3rd Generation Solo Studio Pack which takes precedence over the Presonus with its foolproof stability especially if you have a Mac. Or with 1 additional input and output for microphone / line and for only twenty francs more, you have the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio Pack 3rd Generation . If you have a slightly larger budget, the Universal Audio brand, a reference in the industry, offers the Volt 276 Studio Pack for CHF 439 for an almost professional sound quality.
Although there are headphones, you can obviously add monitoring speakers. The Yamaha ProAudio HS5 are excellent studio monitors at a reasonable price (CHF 169 per piece) restoring quality precision and smoothness. The KRK Rokit 7 G4 , at CHF 261 each, have an excellent bass response. Or, if you want to produce electronic music, the Pionneer VM-70 is perfectly suited (CHF 279 per piece).

Let’s take a look at the basic setup packs that we could offer you, to start in computer music with quality and for different budgets. Let us not forget that these proposals are obviously flexible according to your desires and your needs. These are, essentially, very generalist basic packs.

Comparative table of computer music packs