Starting out w/Old School Gear with New school gear

Are you looking for recommendations on DJ controllers (like the S8), or USB/MIDI controllers for music production? What gear do you already have?

I'd look into the Akai APC 40 and Ableton Live. You could use both for music production and DJing.

The APC can be found for around $100 used, and you can get a demo version of Ableton for free before deciding if it's right for you.

http://equipboard.com/pros/daft-punk

I recommend getting some cheap rackmount 80s synths to integrate with your mac book and maybe a powerful lofi old sampler like the previously mentioned Akai or maybe an ensoniq ASR10 (this can also take over as your primary keyboard controller)... these kind of gadgets are antiquated but powerful and have a sound that you would be hard pressed to simulate in your mac... from there you can really integrate hardware and software (as I prefer to)... it can't hurt to get a phat man midi knob box and a good 1 or 2 channel interface with great sounding DI or if you never plan to use multiple microphones you could just get a BLUE or AudioTechnica USB mic and a Radial stereo USB DI box to integrate your hardware.

Some affordable synths are: Novation Bass Station rack 1 or 2 (analog subtractive) Roland MKS-50 (analog subtractive/PWM) Yamaha TX81Z (FM) Oberheim Matrix 1000 (analog, matrix) Red Sound Darkstar (analog, unique voice, cheap!)

Logic will work fine for your purposes.... Cubase or nuendo are good too

if you want everything to feel and look a bit old skool, I like fruity loops these days.... great VSTi host, great midi sequencer, solid stereo recorder for pumping your outboard gear back into the box... others will be anti-FL, I used to just use it for beats and use Logic for midi in its pre-apple days and then went to Cubase sx for many years...but FL does it all now and I love the beat-box GUI

well thanks... thumbs up, dude... keep writing and creating

this awesome article just popped up in my phone this morning!

https://reverb.com/blog/8-under-the-radar-synths

number 1 pick is my beloved ESQ1, so Reverb.com is pretty on point.

Love the ESQ1. They are still cheap. Hopefully no one catches on to this little gem, but the fact that it made a Reverb.com article tells me that if you don't score one soon you will not get another chance.

I don't have a Synth just yet I've looked up and down for a good cheap one but it hard to get any of these things when I have little money. Which is why I haven't posted a reply in a while.

try a korg volca bass or one of those arturia mini brutes tos tart... CHEAP! and nice sounding analog units to boot. I am still getting next to my korg, no free time :-(

I;m trying to find a good Virtual analog Modular and I was wondering what would work out the best in your own opinion.

ummm, I don't do a lot of modular synth stuff because most of the time I just wire everything up in a pretty standard order so its like 'why bother?'...

but on the off occasion I do want to get creative with LFO and filter rder and such? and I am just knocking about at home stuck with virtual synths for anything outside my small (and ever shrinking) collection of older hardware such as modular analog? I will break out the korg legacy collection and use their modular simulation, I think it sounds really good and the virtual patchbay is cute and the whole thing sounds and looks like a real korg modular of the era, more or less like the one at miner street recording that I really favor for doing weird guitar treatments and such when I am making a real record and not just knocking off some BS in my bedroom, but I digress...

I am sure there are better modular and semi modular modellers out there these days, but unless I am trying to make a Depeche Mode ARP 2600 bassline I always just open the korg plugin because it kinda does what I am used to from using so many old korgs, you know? And maybe you aren't experienced with ms20 and microkorg synths, so your mileage is going to vary outta these plugins I am recommending. I'll bet Gchiaren or someone will know better than me, I am so NOT plugged into modernity or user friendliness or whatever, even in electronic music. I will keep using whatever works for me long after its outdated because once I get over the learning curve on something I am reluctant as hell to start over with a new piece of gear or instrument and if I can get it simulated for my PC all the better because is still zero learing curve. I pretty much enjoy all of the synths simulated in the korg legacy collection, some I have used, some I have or still own, others I dunno if they are accurate copies of the originals but I don't care, I got used to the simualtions after I got the whole collection for the synths I do know personally. I find them easy to program and way easier than dusting off the poly6 and hoping it fires up okay just to get an analog bell texture for one part, you know? I had a friend who owned so many vintage synths including 70s modular literally lining the walls of his studio and he was so lazy about firing them up because all of those CV synths are a pain in the balls compared to what your PC can do or maybe an access virus like he had sitting next to the ADAT machine (this was a long time ago, eh?!). All those vintage synths went into storage when he moved to LA and I wil bet they are still being stored or he sold them....

but anyway, I guess try out the korg?