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As far as the Kaoss pad goes, they can be cool for manipulating audio live, but in the studio I think it has limited usage. Don't quote me on this, because I don't have one.

If you have extra cash around for that though, I'd recommend maybe a solid MIDI keyboard, a solid mic, a cheap controller, or Prime Loops. Or go all out on a pair of headphones. Headphones will do you so much good. I need a new pair atm, thanks to my brother wrapping them up too tight and fucking the wires up. If you're a gamer and you have a turtle beach headset, that works perfectly for a mic and headphones. Actually what I'm using now, the bass seems pretty clean and they're relatively cheap. Mic's oversensitive though, so you need a real quiet place to use it. It even picks up fans/keyboard presses/mouse clicks.
Also on mics, they can be badass for creating sound effects/drums.

P Daley wrote:Also on that note, get plenty of sleep. Sometimes if you want some funky experimental stuff, take an ambien and try to stay awake and produce. You won't, but bitches love a man that can say he did anyway.

Have noticed that ambien really affects the way I perceive music. I've noticed that as I listen to a track, I form the notion of a solid three dimensional shape in a space. Strangest thing is like if I listen to the song again a month later under the influence of ambien, I get exactly the same shape again. This has happened countless times. That is a very meager attempt to explain something that is very odd.

And btw, really suggest not taking ambien. (and getting a good audio i/o, good monitors and buying your software).

Also check out: http://www.electronicmusicproduction.or ... guide.html for some beginner setup info.

nowaysj wrote:

P Daley wrote:Also on that note, get plenty of sleep. Sometimes if you want some funky experimental stuff, take an ambien and try to stay awake and produce. You won't, but bitches love a man that can say he did anyway.

Have noticed that ambien really affects the way I perceive music. I've noticed that as I listen to a track, I form the notion of a solid three dimensional shape in a space. Strangest thing is like if I listen to the song again a month later under the influence of ambien, I get exactly the same shape again. This has happened countless times. That is a very meager attempt to explain something that is very odd.

And btw, really suggest not taking ambien. (and getting a good audio i/o, good monitors and buying your software).

I had the same thing happen. My friend gave me an ambien and said "COLDPLAY DOES IT YOU'LL GET INTENSE TRACKS" and all I ended up doing was falling asleep listening to Coldplay. It's a really cool experience to have, but utterly useless for production unless you have intense self-control.
What he said, don't take ambien for production.
As far as producing with drugs go, I'd say no. It's too much distraction. I can't even smoke weed and produce because I spend more time on youtube than FL.
Only drugs you need in the studio is sugar, caffeine, and nicotine.

SpaceTigerMusic wrote: ASIO4All

ASIO4ALL is nice but no miracle worker, would still require pushing latency up past 50ms or so, depends on the computer though. Some come with decent enough sound these days, most don't.

You don't need to start out with any hardware. Just learn your daw as much as you can. Learn massive and your other vsts. Once you feel you have a good grasp on the basics of producing audio, then look at the akai mpk mini. It has a bit of everything at a low price. You can see what style of midi controller would be best to upgrade to. It's all about the time you put in. If your serious about producing when your not producing, be researching on the net. This forum and YouTube are invaluable when it comes to learning from the begining.
Good luck!