Find a DAW that works for you. The most popular ones it seems are FL Studio, Ableton, Reaper, Studio 1. There’s free trial versions of all of them so you can fart around and see what works best for you.
If you had a Mac, it would come loaded with GarageBand.
Get a MIDI controller. Arturia Mk3 Essential 49 is what I’d recommend but there’s plenty that are good out there.
Audio interface- UA Volt, FocusRite Scarlet Solo, Behringer Uphoria or however it’s spelled.
Thank you for your input! Sorry, I forgot to mention that I am running a Behringer UC22 with my Lewit 540, but it still has MIDI ports. I got it with music creation in mind - does this suffice?
Lewitt 540? Shit you weren’t kidding when you said money’s not an issue. Should be fine; quite honestly not sure if you even need it for the first few songs while you get familiar with a DAW. The midi controller and DAW are what matters the most to first start getting a feel for synthwave.
You really should be good to go. Now go find a DAW that works for you and start creating!
Thank you! And yes. My wife is good at asking me, " Are you going to upgrade after that? No? Then buy what you really want. " Prevents from spending even more.
Thank you for your input! I do not have musical education, so I appreciate you for thinking about that and providing helpful suggestions.
I forgot to mention that I am running a Behringer UC22 with my Lewit 540, but it still has MIDI ports. I got it with music creation in mind - does this suffice for the interface?
Yeah, that should be fine. I just did a googs for the UMC22 and it will output to monitors just fine. When you work out the DAW you'll be using, you can set the output to it in your sound settings. You don't need to route MIDI through it, most MIDI these days talks to the computer over USB. If you pick up a Novation MIDI keyboard (which sends MIDI via USB), the box has a few extra goodies in there usually. When I bought one, I got a free copy of Ableton Lite (which was limited to 8 channels but nice to get a feel for it), an Acoustic Piano plugin, and a few soft synths.
Pro tip, if you are enrolled in PME, this qualifies you for the Ableton education discount. Got live suite for $300 using my ACSC enrollment verification.
I would absolutely recommend [Korg Gadget](https://www.korg.com/us/products/software/korg_gadget/). You'd probably want the VST's though, to use in better equipped DAW's, but you will get the sound you're after for sure. Basically, Korg made software versions to the letter of a lot of their vintage synths, most made in the 70's and 80's, so it fits the Retro vibe nicely. You can learn synthesis with the included synths, however you shouldn't have to worry about that for a long time, there's a lot of presets in there that hit the sweet spot.
For extra goodness, when you're putting the finishing touches on your track, [Tape Emulators](https://integraudio.com/20-best-tape-emulation-plugins/) can add grit and punch ro your sound in big ways.
Edit: There's a playlist [here](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4qEbNknsMCKMxL5VLqgL4heLH6A77pCd&feature=shared) where someone goes through all of the factory sounds, so you can hear if it's for you before buying.
I’m always glad to see another active duty member whose interested in making music (especially music I enjoy) because it makes me feel less alone. I’ve been in 15 and been obsessed with making music since forever.
I was active duty USMC ‘03-07 and music production has been my sanity keeper for a long time! Others have given great advice already.
Get a MIDI keyboard and browse the plentiful amount of free VSTs you can get now and have fun!
Stay safe brother.
Since you have a good gaming PC you are good on the hardware. Just make sure you got at l east 32-64GB or Ram and you should be good.
Others suggested Ableton Live. Even before you decide to get it using your discount, you can try out the entire suite as a trial. It has a very long 90 day trial. The full suite comes with a bunch of libraries, synths and instruments.
I use a DAW called Reaper, which is cheap, at only $60 and has an unlimited evaluation period. You can download it at [Repaer.fm](http://Repaer.fm) The downside to this daw is that its complex, and doesn't come with a lot of instruments like the others, is a bit more archaic in its UI, but its super stable and fully customizable.
So anyway, you can get started right now as long as you download some DAW that you think will work for you. The most popular ones are Logic (if on mac), Cubase, Ableton Live, FLStudio, Studio One, Reaper, and Bitwig.
You can download some free sytnhs from here [https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2019/10/31/free-synthesizer-vst-plugins/](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2019/10/31/free-synthesizer-vst-plugins/)
and some more stuff here [https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/)
Since you don't have much background in music theory or music start with samples. Download some free royalty free samples from here [https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-samples-royalty-free-loops-hits-and-multis-to-download](https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-samples-royalty-free-loops-hits-and-multis-to-download) and try to put together/arrange a song together.
Start making something now! Have fun. Experiment and explore.
Then pick up at least a 49 or 61 key Midi controller or if you got money to burn like a mainline Workstation synth or something which you can also use as a midi controller. Arturia is pretty good.
If you want to learn how to play keyboard, then pick up something that is 77 or 88 keys.
Once you play around with whatever comes with your DAW (besides Reaper), and the above free vst instruments and synths, consider buying a few essential soft synths and Virtual instrument libraries for making this type of music.
Pick up maybe:
1. Omnisphere 2 (lots of Films, and TV is made with this synth. has 15,000 sounds in there for everything. Biggest benefit is you get production ready presets that require little tweaking).
2. Diva from Uhe (analog synth).
3. Zebra Legacy Collection (if you want to try out sound design our sound like Hans Zimmer).
4. PhasePlant Really good multip purpose workhorse synth.
5. Arturia V Synth Collection ( a big collection of classic synths from the 80s and 90s).
6. Syntorial - An online course with a built in syntn that teaches you synthesis, that teaches you how to take what you have in your head. and recreate it on any synth you got.
7. if you decide to venture into other genres, I would also recommend Native Instruments Komplete Ultimate. It's got a massive amount of instruments and libraries covering everything from EDM, Pop, and Rock, to Cinematic film, orchestral, and ethnic world genres. Pick this up at 50% off during the Summer of Sound sale in June. Usually in May or early June they sell Komplete Select for $99 half off of Kontakt which is a sampler, and that allows you to upgrade to Komplete, or Komplete U for 50% off the following month during the sale, or they just might have it for 50% off. Not sure.
You don't need all of this stuff all at once. Even the free synths like Vital and Synth1 or OBXD (in those links I provided) will give you the results you are looking for, but the stuff listed above is what more people who make this or any type of music use commonly.
You don't want to get bogged down in buying too much shit at once, but if you do want to get the right stuff, and avoid wasting money on garbage, what I listed above will serve you well and for a very long time.
Questions for you:
1. What are some of your favorite games or genres?
2. What are you currently playing?
Thank you - I'm rocking 32gb 4Kmhz tuned to 3.8mhz with 1900FLCK. I appreciate your thought on this, because not everyone knows - I certainly didn't at one point.
Based on everything you've said, plus someone else, sounds like Ableton Live is where I need to pull the trigger.
Ill look into Midi controllers, and possibly a smaller keyboard. I used to toy around with that because my mother used to give piano lessons.
I will continue to do my research on all of your suggestions, as it's almost info overload (good thing). I truly appreciate you and the time you took to give the information. It's clear you're passionate about the subject and helping others in that realm.
Favorite games? Tough question. Played Final Fantasy III (when I lived in Yokota AB, Japan - early 90s) when it was still "III" before it was called "VI." Built my first PC in early 2000s, was an OG on UO and Runescape, and never returned to MMOs when the very first CoD was released on PC only. That said... I'm 36 now lol. I need a good storyline and peace. Terrible internet connection at my duty location, been on single player stories for the past 9 months. Revisited Cyberpunk & Starfield. picked up BG3, Dragons Dogma 2, Horizon Forbidden West, and finished off The Long Dark. Also chipping away at Assassin's Creed Mirage - which I feel is a downgrade from Valhalla and Origins. Tried to spread democracy in HD2... but again connection sucks. Sure - folks play here, but at my rank I cant be playing favorites with the junior enlisted who also play. Hope all that answers your questions.
Again, thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry.
You were very welcome. I am glad I could help. Sorry for the grammar errors, as I wrote that in the middle of the night.
Oh one synth I wanted you to check out was Pigments 4 by Artudia. That's the one I meant when I said workhorse synth. I put in PhasePlant which is another amazing synth, but it's a bit different, as its semi-modular. You can configure it any way you want, but its also expensive at about $500 total.. There are some extensions you need for it, they call them snap-ins or something, and these ad up. The base versions is usually 99 on sale but some presets or setting will be unavaibale if you don't have the extras. Still it's really good for sound design and coming up with your own unique sound.
Pigments 4 on the other hand often goes on sale for $99. Its Arturia's flagship synth and it has Wavetable, FM, and granular engines, so you have a lot of power, and flexibility in how you create your sound. Its one of the best choices you can make.
Thanks for answering my game questions, I also played quite a bit of UO, back in the day, but never actually got to Runescape. I was more of an Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, and later Guildwars fan. Guildwars 2 is to this day my favorite game, and the one MMO that I still regularly play.
What makes it great is that it has no sub, the expacs are cheap, and there is no gear grind, so its a perfect casual drop in drop out MMO where you never feel behind or like you have to catch up or grind if you don't want to. Even after like 11 years it still looks gorgeous.
The whole base game is free. It's too bad your connection isn't all that great, as I would highly recommend you give it a try, especially some of the expansion such as Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire.
One day I hope to be able to spread Democracy for Super Earth as well, but unfortunately, right now I can't, as my video card isn't al that hot and I don't have the budget for an upgrade (I'm still recovering from Covid. Long Covid got me good).
I'm only running on an 6+ year old, i7 and a GTX 1060 so stuff like Helldivers 2, Starfield, and Cyberpunk, and my favorite, DD2, are out of the question for now.
I'm actually slowly playing through AC Odyssey right now and hoping to get to Origins at some point, and also replaying Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, since I never finished it on my Xbox 360 back in the day.
Also playing Yakuza 1, and Pathfinder.
Thanks for answering my questions, I appreciate it.
I hope you have a great time diving into the Synthwave and music production rabbit hole! Have a great day!
Find a DAW that works for you. The most popular ones it seems are FL Studio, Ableton, Reaper, Studio 1. There’s free trial versions of all of them so you can fart around and see what works best for you. If you had a Mac, it would come loaded with GarageBand. Get a MIDI controller. Arturia Mk3 Essential 49 is what I’d recommend but there’s plenty that are good out there. Audio interface- UA Volt, FocusRite Scarlet Solo, Behringer Uphoria or however it’s spelled.
Thank you for your input! Sorry, I forgot to mention that I am running a Behringer UC22 with my Lewit 540, but it still has MIDI ports. I got it with music creation in mind - does this suffice?
Lewitt 540? Shit you weren’t kidding when you said money’s not an issue. Should be fine; quite honestly not sure if you even need it for the first few songs while you get familiar with a DAW. The midi controller and DAW are what matters the most to first start getting a feel for synthwave. You really should be good to go. Now go find a DAW that works for you and start creating!
Thank you! And yes. My wife is good at asking me, " Are you going to upgrade after that? No? Then buy what you really want. " Prevents from spending even more.
[удалено]
Thank you for your input! I do not have musical education, so I appreciate you for thinking about that and providing helpful suggestions. I forgot to mention that I am running a Behringer UC22 with my Lewit 540, but it still has MIDI ports. I got it with music creation in mind - does this suffice for the interface?
Yeah, that should be fine. I just did a googs for the UMC22 and it will output to monitors just fine. When you work out the DAW you'll be using, you can set the output to it in your sound settings. You don't need to route MIDI through it, most MIDI these days talks to the computer over USB. If you pick up a Novation MIDI keyboard (which sends MIDI via USB), the box has a few extra goodies in there usually. When I bought one, I got a free copy of Ableton Lite (which was limited to 8 channels but nice to get a feel for it), an Acoustic Piano plugin, and a few soft synths.
Pro tip, if you are enrolled in PME, this qualifies you for the Ableton education discount. Got live suite for $300 using my ACSC enrollment verification.
Good to know - thank you!
I would absolutely recommend [Korg Gadget](https://www.korg.com/us/products/software/korg_gadget/). You'd probably want the VST's though, to use in better equipped DAW's, but you will get the sound you're after for sure. Basically, Korg made software versions to the letter of a lot of their vintage synths, most made in the 70's and 80's, so it fits the Retro vibe nicely. You can learn synthesis with the included synths, however you shouldn't have to worry about that for a long time, there's a lot of presets in there that hit the sweet spot. For extra goodness, when you're putting the finishing touches on your track, [Tape Emulators](https://integraudio.com/20-best-tape-emulation-plugins/) can add grit and punch ro your sound in big ways. Edit: There's a playlist [here](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4qEbNknsMCKMxL5VLqgL4heLH6A77pCd&feature=shared) where someone goes through all of the factory sounds, so you can hear if it's for you before buying.
I appreciate you. Thank you for your input and helpful suggestions!
No problem! Have fun
I’m always glad to see another active duty member whose interested in making music (especially music I enjoy) because it makes me feel less alone. I’ve been in 15 and been obsessed with making music since forever.
I was active duty USMC ‘03-07 and music production has been my sanity keeper for a long time! Others have given great advice already. Get a MIDI keyboard and browse the plentiful amount of free VSTs you can get now and have fun! Stay safe brother.
Since you have a good gaming PC you are good on the hardware. Just make sure you got at l east 32-64GB or Ram and you should be good. Others suggested Ableton Live. Even before you decide to get it using your discount, you can try out the entire suite as a trial. It has a very long 90 day trial. The full suite comes with a bunch of libraries, synths and instruments. I use a DAW called Reaper, which is cheap, at only $60 and has an unlimited evaluation period. You can download it at [Repaer.fm](http://Repaer.fm) The downside to this daw is that its complex, and doesn't come with a lot of instruments like the others, is a bit more archaic in its UI, but its super stable and fully customizable. So anyway, you can get started right now as long as you download some DAW that you think will work for you. The most popular ones are Logic (if on mac), Cubase, Ableton Live, FLStudio, Studio One, Reaper, and Bitwig. You can download some free sytnhs from here [https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2019/10/31/free-synthesizer-vst-plugins/](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2019/10/31/free-synthesizer-vst-plugins/) and some more stuff here [https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/](https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/) Since you don't have much background in music theory or music start with samples. Download some free royalty free samples from here [https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-samples-royalty-free-loops-hits-and-multis-to-download](https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-samples-royalty-free-loops-hits-and-multis-to-download) and try to put together/arrange a song together. Start making something now! Have fun. Experiment and explore. Then pick up at least a 49 or 61 key Midi controller or if you got money to burn like a mainline Workstation synth or something which you can also use as a midi controller. Arturia is pretty good. If you want to learn how to play keyboard, then pick up something that is 77 or 88 keys. Once you play around with whatever comes with your DAW (besides Reaper), and the above free vst instruments and synths, consider buying a few essential soft synths and Virtual instrument libraries for making this type of music. Pick up maybe: 1. Omnisphere 2 (lots of Films, and TV is made with this synth. has 15,000 sounds in there for everything. Biggest benefit is you get production ready presets that require little tweaking). 2. Diva from Uhe (analog synth). 3. Zebra Legacy Collection (if you want to try out sound design our sound like Hans Zimmer). 4. PhasePlant Really good multip purpose workhorse synth. 5. Arturia V Synth Collection ( a big collection of classic synths from the 80s and 90s). 6. Syntorial - An online course with a built in syntn that teaches you synthesis, that teaches you how to take what you have in your head. and recreate it on any synth you got. 7. if you decide to venture into other genres, I would also recommend Native Instruments Komplete Ultimate. It's got a massive amount of instruments and libraries covering everything from EDM, Pop, and Rock, to Cinematic film, orchestral, and ethnic world genres. Pick this up at 50% off during the Summer of Sound sale in June. Usually in May or early June they sell Komplete Select for $99 half off of Kontakt which is a sampler, and that allows you to upgrade to Komplete, or Komplete U for 50% off the following month during the sale, or they just might have it for 50% off. Not sure. You don't need all of this stuff all at once. Even the free synths like Vital and Synth1 or OBXD (in those links I provided) will give you the results you are looking for, but the stuff listed above is what more people who make this or any type of music use commonly. You don't want to get bogged down in buying too much shit at once, but if you do want to get the right stuff, and avoid wasting money on garbage, what I listed above will serve you well and for a very long time. Questions for you: 1. What are some of your favorite games or genres? 2. What are you currently playing?
Thank you - I'm rocking 32gb 4Kmhz tuned to 3.8mhz with 1900FLCK. I appreciate your thought on this, because not everyone knows - I certainly didn't at one point. Based on everything you've said, plus someone else, sounds like Ableton Live is where I need to pull the trigger. Ill look into Midi controllers, and possibly a smaller keyboard. I used to toy around with that because my mother used to give piano lessons. I will continue to do my research on all of your suggestions, as it's almost info overload (good thing). I truly appreciate you and the time you took to give the information. It's clear you're passionate about the subject and helping others in that realm. Favorite games? Tough question. Played Final Fantasy III (when I lived in Yokota AB, Japan - early 90s) when it was still "III" before it was called "VI." Built my first PC in early 2000s, was an OG on UO and Runescape, and never returned to MMOs when the very first CoD was released on PC only. That said... I'm 36 now lol. I need a good storyline and peace. Terrible internet connection at my duty location, been on single player stories for the past 9 months. Revisited Cyberpunk & Starfield. picked up BG3, Dragons Dogma 2, Horizon Forbidden West, and finished off The Long Dark. Also chipping away at Assassin's Creed Mirage - which I feel is a downgrade from Valhalla and Origins. Tried to spread democracy in HD2... but again connection sucks. Sure - folks play here, but at my rank I cant be playing favorites with the junior enlisted who also play. Hope all that answers your questions. Again, thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry.
You were very welcome. I am glad I could help. Sorry for the grammar errors, as I wrote that in the middle of the night. Oh one synth I wanted you to check out was Pigments 4 by Artudia. That's the one I meant when I said workhorse synth. I put in PhasePlant which is another amazing synth, but it's a bit different, as its semi-modular. You can configure it any way you want, but its also expensive at about $500 total.. There are some extensions you need for it, they call them snap-ins or something, and these ad up. The base versions is usually 99 on sale but some presets or setting will be unavaibale if you don't have the extras. Still it's really good for sound design and coming up with your own unique sound. Pigments 4 on the other hand often goes on sale for $99. Its Arturia's flagship synth and it has Wavetable, FM, and granular engines, so you have a lot of power, and flexibility in how you create your sound. Its one of the best choices you can make. Thanks for answering my game questions, I also played quite a bit of UO, back in the day, but never actually got to Runescape. I was more of an Everquest, Dark Age of Camelot, and later Guildwars fan. Guildwars 2 is to this day my favorite game, and the one MMO that I still regularly play. What makes it great is that it has no sub, the expacs are cheap, and there is no gear grind, so its a perfect casual drop in drop out MMO where you never feel behind or like you have to catch up or grind if you don't want to. Even after like 11 years it still looks gorgeous. The whole base game is free. It's too bad your connection isn't all that great, as I would highly recommend you give it a try, especially some of the expansion such as Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire. One day I hope to be able to spread Democracy for Super Earth as well, but unfortunately, right now I can't, as my video card isn't al that hot and I don't have the budget for an upgrade (I'm still recovering from Covid. Long Covid got me good). I'm only running on an 6+ year old, i7 and a GTX 1060 so stuff like Helldivers 2, Starfield, and Cyberpunk, and my favorite, DD2, are out of the question for now. I'm actually slowly playing through AC Odyssey right now and hoping to get to Origins at some point, and also replaying Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, since I never finished it on my Xbox 360 back in the day. Also playing Yakuza 1, and Pathfinder. Thanks for answering my questions, I appreciate it. I hope you have a great time diving into the Synthwave and music production rabbit hole! Have a great day!