Your quick guide to tech for creating your own music at home
Amy Flower
STACK Senior Editor
Whether you want to make your own music, or get creative with tunes made by others, it’s never been easier. The tech is ready and waiting, you just need to add some talent!
Mic, interface, action!
If you plan on recording vocals, or want to connect a guitar, bass, or old school synth, then your first necessity is an audio interface. This connects to your computer via USB and acts as a conduit for analogue signals to be converted to the digital domain needed for music recording software.
For vocals, a good microphone is another must-have – that old SingStar mic may work at a pinch, but you’re best going with one that's more up to the task.
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Well, DAW!
You’re likely to hear the term DAW when talk turns to home studios. It stands for Digital Audio Workstation, which is software used to record, edit, and produce audio. It’s basically a recording studio inside your computer, allowing recordings of analogue audio like vocals and guitars to be combined with computer-tracked sounds and samples, then mixed and processed with effects, ready for sharing.
Novation Launchpad
After something more compact and portable than a keyboard for making sounds in any situation? The Launchpad from Novation is for you.
Like their Launchkey range, both the Launchpad X and smaller Mini MK3 are fully Ableton Live integrated and are a more tactile way of composing music or triggering sounds than clicking a mouse. 64 velocity and pressure sensitive pads offer heaps of control, and the included software could have you pumping out master mixes in no time.
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DJ hit that button!
More into getting creative with existing tunes? There’s DJ gear that’ll have you mixing things up with ease. Numark make decks suitable for everybody from beginner to pro, kicking off with the super-fun Party Mix II DJ Controller.
With two big wheels for scratching, just plug it into a PC or iOS device full of tunes (or hooked into a supported streaming service) and let loose your DJing creativity.
It comes with Serato Lite DJ software, and even has built-in party lights! Moving up the range, the Mixtrack Pro FX ups audio quality and convenient features, while the Mixtrack Platinum FX goes all the way with the ability to layer four audio tracks, plus even more useful functionality added.
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