In order to progress with production and live performance in the dance music world, it’s crucial to acquire the right equipment.

There is a smorgasbord of equipment available out there for producers to utilise in hopes to enhance their production and technical skills when performing live.

We spoke with composition and music production course co-ordinator Patrick Nellestein at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) to see what they chose as some of the more important pieces of studio equipment needed for producers trying to further their skills.

1. Novation Launchkey

This a great tool that you can run through Ableton. If you’re nifty on the keys than you’d certainly enjoy having a go with this bad boy.

2. Keith McMillen – QuNexus

Aside from that cool lightsaber-blue tint on the buttons, The QuNexus is crucial if you crave versatility in your equipment and something easy to move around #tourlife

3. Ableton Push

This little dude is perfect for your live show. You can run Ableton Live through the Abelton push and get freaky with all your sounds. Who doesn’t like pressing buttons?

4. Akai MPD18

The MPD18 is an expressive and intuitive instrument for the studio and stage. The MPD18 is built around the pads of the industry-standard MPC and contains some of the same technology that gives tracks made with the MPC an unmistakably human feel.

5. Serato Scratch – Rane

If you want your CD’s and digital tracks to sound like they’re on wax, then this is for you. This sucker gives you a heap of options for sampling your own music as well and the vertical view of the wave form is awesome for scratching.

6. Maschine controller

Maschine is a beat-production workstation with built‑in drum sequencing, sampling and loop slicing. Installation is simple, and is a well known piece of equipment it have.

7. APC40

The APC40 was co-created with Ableton, and hence is a great tool to run through Ableton during your live sets. It is probably one of the most popular pieces of hardware to use with Ableton. Definitely worth copping!

 

Each of these tools is available on campus at The Australian Institute of Music in Sydney and Melbourne, where you can get a head start to learning composition and music production. For more info, click here.