Are You A Loop Based Music Producer? Recording Studio Starter Kits For Under $1000
As we said in the first article in this series Studio Starter Kits For Different Studios - Our In Depth Look At What You Can Get For Around $1,000 To Meet YOUR Needs, the question “What studio gear should I buy?” isn’t a detailed enough question to provide any form of useful answer. You need to know exactly what kind of audio application you intend to use the gear for otherwise you could end up buying a load of gear that you either won’t use to its fullest potential, or worse still, not use at all.
In this series of articles we are putting together a number of studio starter kit suggestions based on a variety of common audio production fields to help you to not only find the gear you need but to also help you to understand why we have suggested the gear we’ve chosen for each audio product category.
In this article we focus on the essential studio gear for songwriters who typically produce loop-based music. These types of songwriters or producers don’t record live acoustic instruments such as guitars, instead they rely on audio loops, sample libraries and virtual instruments to produce their material.
Self Producing Songwriter Recording Artists Who Want To Produce Music Using Loops And Virtual Instruments
As with all the options in this series, to stay within the $1,000 budget we have assumed you already own a computer. Taking out the purchase of a computer and DAW software means you have the full $1,000 budget available to spend on the key audio elements that matter the most for producing music on your computer. If you haven’t read it already we recommend that you read the introductory article to this series Studio Starter Kits For Different Studios - Our In Depth Look At What You Can Get For Around $1,000 To Meet YOUR Needs. This article lists several free DAWs you can download and start using today as well as some guidelines to ensure that the computer you already own is up to the job of producing music.
If you plan to get into producing your own loop based music and have $1,000 to invest into your new studio setup then you’ll be pleased to learn that you don’t need that much gear to get started. This will enable you to buy some good products right off the starting blocks. We assume you have a computer and a DAW, what else do you need to get up and running?
Affordable Audio Interfaces For Producing Loop Based Music
Audio interfaces don’t need to be complicated nor cost the earth to be able to produce music solely on your computer. In fact, you don’t really need an audio interface at all if you intend to produce loop based music as you can easily get going using your computer’s onboard sound card using a set of headphones plugged in. There’s nothing wrong working this way, however, you may become a bit unstuck if at some point in the future you want to use a set of studio monitors in your setup. Monitors need some form of audio interface to connect to, but which audio interfaces should you consider?
There’s no point buying an interface with lots of inputs and outputs as there is a good chance you’ll never use them unless you want to record lots of microphones in one take which isn’t typical of the loop based music producer. If plugging a set of monitors into your studio is all you need then a simple interface will suffice, luckily there are many to choose from in the budget end of the market.
Audio interfaces in the lower end of the market are very similar, there’s not a lot in terms of features between them. The vast majority are compatible with Mac and Windows computers, some even support iOS devices. We have tested and can recommend the three interfaces below which all squeeze into the $1,000 studio starter kit budget. These all provide the essential features that loop based producer need in order to get sound out easily of a DAW:
Outputs for connecting a set of studio monitors with a main monitor volume knob control
A single headphone output with level control knob
A single XLR input if you do find you need to record a vocal with a microphone
USB Bus powered
TASCAM US-1x2 USB Audio Interface - $119
Audio interfaces don’t come much simpler or more affordable than this. TASCAM’s US-1x2 features one XLR input if you do find that you need to track a vocal at some point in the future but importantly it will enable you to route and monitor audio from your DAW out through to a pair of monitors or set of headphones. For those on a budget, this could very well be all you need.
Visit TASCAM for more information.
PreSonus AudioBox iOne USB - $129
Presonus, the makers of Studio One, offer a range of amazing audio interfaces. The AudioBox iOne is their entry level device. Simple, elegant and easy to use. This ticks all the boxes for the loop based recording artist on a budget.
Visit Presonus for more information.
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen - $139
Focusrite has years of experience developing great budget friendly audio interfaces. The Scarlett Solo 3rd generation is their latest interface aimed squarely at the home studio market. The Solo is their entry level interface which features a cool AIR mode similar to what you get in Focusrite’s more expensive Clarett range of interfaces. AIR mode is useful for adding a presence to the sound of a microphone in recording. This may not be a particularly useful feature for the loop based producer, but it’s nice to have if you do record a vocal or instrument.
Visit Focusrite for more information.
Studio Monitor Choices For Loop Based Recording Artists
In the not too distant past a decent set of active studio monitors used to be quite expensive, thankfully this is not the case these days with many of the top monitor manufacturers producing entry level systems for less than $500.
Small active two way active monitors are the best type of studio monitor for loop based artists who wish to produce music at home. Smaller monitors generally sound better in smaller rooms. It’s tempting to buy large studio monitors but in reality large drivers tend to not perform very well if there isn’t enough space in a room for sound to develop. If you are considering buying a large set of studio monitors then you must consider the size of your room, is it large enough? If not, save some money and opt for a smaller monitor as bang for buck you’ll be getting a better sounding system.
We’ve heard a great many small personal desktop near field monitors at Production Expert. We’ve listed three of what we consider to be the best studio monitors for under $400 that would meet, if not exceed, the demands of the everyday loop based recording artist.
The following monitors we suggest are the same products we recommended in our earlier article Essential Studio Gear Every Songwriter Needs To Record Edit And Mix Their Music - A Studio Starter Kits For Around $1000
IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitors - $299
These are very much a personal monitor as the listening sweet spot is quite narrow. Don't expect to get half a band sitting in between these monitors in final critical mix listening. That said, the iLouds are very well designed. The back of the monitors have positioning EQs switches that can lift the sound ever so slightly to help improve the sonics in whatever room they are in. These are also ultra portable and affordable for “in the studio” or “on the road” monitoring. Exceptional sound quality for the price and size. The iLoud Micro Monitors punch above their weight, its name also suggest these can get pretty loud, which indeed they do.
Visit IK Multimedia for more information
JBL 306P MKII - $398
We recommend the 306P MKII’s to anybody starting out as they would be a perfect first pair of monitors and to the seasoned pro with a nice pair of monitors already these would be a useful B pair. These deliver a pleasing impression of detail at the top end and an impressive amount of genuinely deep bass from this medium sized two way design. Read our full review of the 306 MKII monitors to find out what we think:
Visit JBL for more information
ADAM Audio T5 - $398
ADAM Audio has always had a great reputation for designing and building great sounding studio monitors that deliver superb detail along with top end shine that other monitor manufacturers can't seem to get close to. Somehow, in the T Series, ADAM Audio managed to design a low-cost monitor range that, to our ears, sound expensive without compromising on quality of sound. For the price, we don't think there is another set of studio monitors on the market today that can deliver better results than these, but are these the right monitors for you? Only you can decide that, hearing is believing. If you are considering a set of T5s you need to head on down to your local ADAM Audio dealer to test these for yourself.
Visit ADAM Audio for more information.
MIDI Controllers For Loop Based Recording Artists
If you intend to produce beats or instrument tracks using VI’s then there’s a good chance you will need a MIDI controller of sorts in your studio starter kit. There are so many options out there, many of which provide both piano keyboard and drum pads which are great for bashing in beats and performing melodic instruments.
49 key MIDI controllers are typically enough to get started with. There are many full sized MIDI keyboards out there, though these do take up a lot of desk space, 49 key controllers are more compact.
Below we recommend three affordable 49 key MIDI controllers that all share essential features you need:
Connects via USB to your computer
Pitch & modulation wheels
Semi weighted key action
Drum pads
Programable encoders
Alesis V49 Keyboard Controller - $199
Visit Alesis for more information.
Arturia KeyLab Essential 49 Keyboard Controller - $249
Visit Arturia for more information.
Novation Launchkey 49 Keyboard Controller- $249
Visit Novation for more information.
Three Studio Starter Kits For Loop Based Recording Artists New To Music Production
In our three kit suggestions below we have prioritised each kit list in order of the most important studio gear essentials to the least important:
Studio Kit Option 1
PreSonus AudioBox iOne USB - $129
JBL 306P MKII - $398
Alesis V49 Keyboard Controller - $199
Total: $726
Change: $274
Studio Kit Option 2
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen - $139
IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitors - $299
Novation Launchkey 49 Keyboard Controller- $249
Total: $687
Change: $313
Studio Kit Option 3
TASCAM US-1x2 USB Audio Interface - $119
ADAM Audio T5 - $398
Arturia KeyLab Essential 49 Keyboard Controller - $249
Total: $766
Change: $234
These kits are just suggestions, you do not need to stick to these exact bundles. Mix and match them to create a starter kit that works for you.
What To Do With The Remaining Budget?
With the remaining money you could of course save it for a rainy day or buy more studio gear such as a microphone or set of headphones but if your intention is to produce the majority of your music using loops, sample libraries and virtual instruments on your computer then we recommend you invest that change in some decent software suitable for your style of music.
If you like synths check out the amazing keyboard instruments from UVI, if you want realistic sounding drum libraries be sure to browse through the likes of Toontrack, Steven Slate Drums and Native Instruments. UJAM are cool as they provide a great range of VIs that are not only simple to use but also sound great.
The free DAW’s we recommended in our first article in this series don’t provide much in the way of sample libraries or virtual instruments. Warning: Some of the free DAW’s we recommend don’t support third party plug-ins or VI’s. Do check the descriptions on developer website to find out if the DAW you use will enable you to install virtual instruments from third party developers.
Sample libraries and virtual instruments should be chosen based on the styles of music you produce. There’s no point buying realistic sounding acoustic drum kit libraries if you are predominately an EDM producer.
We’ve tested countless virtual instrument products, watch our video reviews below to discover a range of VI’s that could work best for you in your workflow: