Getting into music production, a quick guide to solid gear

Bigger World
May 16, 2020
5 min read

As somebody looking to get into music production, whether that's electronic or hip-hop, you're probably wondering what you need to get started right away-- I've got you. For the most part, my recommendations will be the same for whatever style of music you'll be making, think general necessities.

New-Kid On the Block

Kicking off a producer career, at the most basic level, you're going to need a laptop or computer (preferably a laptop), a DAW, headphones, and if you're doing vocals, a microphone.

The laptop you pick is more or less up to you, I'll assume you already have some sort of computer that you're planning on starting with. If you're looking for a laptop, get something with a nice SSD on it, good storage, and good processing power. For a DAW, I strongly recommend FL studio or Ableton, but if you're just looking to test the waters and try your hands at this, GarageBand is free and there are other options like Logic, which you can try with a trial. Personally, I use Ableton, I find there's so much you can do with it and live recording is made very simple. As far as headphones go, a starter kit always starts with some Audio Technica M50's. These are pretty much an industry standard and while they discontinued them, there is now an AT M50x model which starts at $150, but you'll often find them for sale around the $100 range. For a solid price, these headphones will give you a very good reference when you're trying to make your production sound clean and polished. People say they're comfortable, I agree mostly, but you can also get some foam-like velour pads for them that make them way cozier. Since we're just starting out here, I'm not going to say you need an audio interface. With an audio interface, such as the Focusrite 2i4 models, you'll be able to use an XLR condenser mic, but without one, the Blue Yeti is a great USB mic that many people can still manage to get great recordings out of.

2) Intermediate/Been Here For A While For a complete at-home-music-studio setup, you'll need just a few more pieces of equipment than the basics. At this point, you'll need an audio interface. The best one that I could recommend at an affordable price would be the Scarlett 2i4, with 2 inputs, phantom power, and all the goodies you need, you'll be set for a while with this interface. The mic I used when I first started recording was the Audio Technica AT2020. Lots of artists I know use a condenser mic like this one and it's able to give a pretty versatile sound when recording. I'd say purchase this microphone if it's your first microphone purchase and you want to have something that you know will be reliable. It'll run you about $100 and will pair perfectly with your interface. Another mic that I would recommend would be the Rode NT1-A, coming in at $230 new for the bundle with an XLR cable and pop filter.

Uh, you'll also need a mic stand, right?

You're also probably looking for a good pair of speakers to get. There are a lot of good companies that make really good speakers, and I have a few recommendations, but with producing in mind, it's always preferred to get speakers that are marked as Studio Monitors. I've personally used a wide variety of different speaker sets in the $200-500 range and I can say that' I've been able to use each different pair to improve in different aspects of mixing. A pair on the lower priced side of the spectrum would be the M-Audio BX5's or BX8's. The BX5's I got on sale for about $160, and for some reason I've grown fond of them. They're studio reference monitors, so while giving you a good sound, they're also pretty solid at pointing out areas of your mix which could be muddy. A much nicer sound comes at a higher price, and here I would recommend to check out KRK Rokit speakers. The KRK 5" and 8" speakers are sonically very nice and can get really loud. If you're not particular in throwing a concert in your own house, you'd be more than happy with the KRK 5" speakers, but if you'd like to have the option to make it really loud, really quick, the KRK 8"s will be your favorite purchase in a long time.

3) Decked Out/Fully Loaded Personal Studio

Whether you've been producing and recording for a while, are looking for upgrades, or are just investing in quality equipment that will last you a long time right off the bat, there are some pieces which are universally renowned for being amazing. With interfaces, we've got the Apollo Twin MKII. Coming in at $800, this interface carries a pretty steep price tag, but the quality you get with this is amazing. Not only is it excellent in terms of quality, but you can also pack this around anywhere which is awesome when you're moving around for recording sessions. Coming from Universal Audio, you'll often find that you can get the Apollo Twin MK2 on sale or bundled with a variety of UA plugins, including Antares Auto-Tune if you find a sale at the right time.

For speakers, if you already have a pair such as the KRK 8" you may not feel the need to upgrade anything, and if that's you-- perfect. If you are looking for another high end pair to upgrade to, I strongly recommend the Yamaha HS7's. For an in-house recording studio, these will give you such a great sound for a price tag that doesn't run up into the $1,000s. Paired with the Apollo Twin MK2 interface, you will have a very polished and professional sound coming from this equipment, given you're able to mix properly!

When you start building up your home studio, you may want to have a few different microphones to be able to get a different sound or better record your instruments. One of my favorite industry standard microphones is the Shure SM7B condenser mic when recording vocals. At $400 it's expensive when factored into a beginner budget, but for a sturdy, reliable, and very versatile mic it is very much so worth it's price. If you're looking for some higher end ($$$) microphones for your studio, I have 2 more recommendations. at $699 the Sennheiser MK 8 Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone is amazing and is well worth the price. My favorite part about this microphone is how you can switch the polar pattern on the mic which allows you to slightly influence how your recording will sound. and tipping the scales into the red for budgets everywhere, the Neumann U 87 Ai. This microphone is insane and will give you a professional industry sound with minimal processing right away. The one con? It's $3500! If you at some point end up getting this microphone, your home studio will most definitely be on par with professional studios everywhere (given you treat your room properly!).

In closing,

Now with this list, you should have a good idea at which pieces of gear you should get at certain stages of your production and recording career. As always, everything I said is in my personal experience and others could have different opinions on what gear they would recommend, but I think you'll find with some searching that these picks all are rated very strongly among the audio community. As a general order of which pieces of equipment you should get when building your setup, I would say it goes:

1. DAW (Digital Audio Work Station)

2. Headphones 3. Interface 4. Microphone 5. Monitor Speakers