I am new to composing for video games, in the past I''ve only written songs using an MIDI editor called Anvil Studio (anvilstudio.com). So If I want to be serious about doing this for a career, what should I start with? I know I need a synthesizer keyboard, a fast computer (This one''s only got a celeron and 64mb ram), and a soundcard. What else do I need, and what brands/types of these items should I get?

My PC advice would be:

get a pentium 4 , around 2gig, (i had an amd, but it was trouble... nothing against them though)

so Pentium 4
as much ram as you can afford 1 gig is good
two hard disks, one slave solely for audio files, has to spin at aleast 7200 rpm... a cheap graphics card will do, something like an nvidia gforce2 for about $20-30. and sound cards, this is where you make a decision... if you''ve going for a pentium, go for an intel motherboard, they do great ones now which have upo around 533mhz bus speed, which is basically to do with data transfer rate on the board itself.. the faster the better. so...

Pentium 4 2ghz (533mhz FSB)
Intel Motherboard (533mhz FSB)
1 gig of 2700(or faster) ram
g force 2 nvidia
hard disk 5200rpm 30gig or more for operating system and programs
hard disk 7200rpm or more, at least 40gig for audio files.

as for sound cards, i recommend the delta range from www.midiman.com they are pretty solid cards, great professional sound for a great price... also you probably will need a midisport device from them as well, to give you as many midi ports as possible for synths etc... i''ll price it all in pounds for you, so you''ll have to convert it.

Delta 66 - £250
Midi Sport - 4 inputs 4 outs - £100
PC - £550 - 600 discluding case, floppy drive.

its also important to get yourself a pair of good studio monitors, which is really an individuals taste... have a look on the net for some reviews of close-field studio monitors... and see what you find.

look to spend around £200-300 on your first pair...

as for synthesisers, it''s entirely up to you what you want, i know that building a studio isn''t something which can happen overnight, you have to work on it... i myself use alot of korg and emu modules... so you might want to check out their range, synths are expensive... but if you get a lot of RAM in your computer, there''s a hell of alot you can do virtually..

Hope this helps

David

Great advice David. Here''s some additions, the board should have a solid chipset (Intel). Intel made boards are good, but not like they used to be. An ASUS might even be better. Try to get a board that doesn''t have onboard sound. I agree totally with the Pentium for music idea. I also had problems with an AMD (great cpu, just not for music). AMD progresses nicely, who knows, in the next generations of their processors we might have one that works well for music. They do about everything else great.

Soundcard: Delta''s are ok. I had a 1010, but they''re poorly built. I found out the hard way that they''re not truly full duplex as advertised. They''re virtually full duplex like some cheap consumer card. I went with RME Hammerfall (Outstanding product). You might also check out lower end echo cards like the Mia just starting out.

Monitors: I''d recommend passives, and find a good amp. The right combination will blow actives away in my opinion. I''ve been through a lot of monitors trying to find my flavor. Your selection will depend a lot on the style of music you produce.

Synths: Korg, EMU, Kurzweil, it all depends on what sound you''re after. You might be better off going with a Nord Modular, or a Nord Lead of some kind. That will give you a lot of flexibility. Learning those will take you into another huge realm of exploration aside from the studio studies.

There are a lot of things you''re going to have to consider. Going from writing midi tunes to full blow video game music as a career is going to take a lot of discipline and hard work. You''re on the right track though, just don''t get ahead of yourself or you''ll burn out.

-Aaron

bollox my amd tb is solid for me and dozens of other electronic musicians i know.

imho there''s little point in buying a synth.. get a controller, yes.. the nord pitch stick is divine.. buy the pedals! but in terms of a h/w sound module.. unless it''s analog there''s not much point with the way software is going. i consider my z1 (does acoustic modeling, ie. mathematically emulates string physics) to be an asset, but a week from now someone will probably release it as freeware.. (there are already two freeware string modeling vsti.) romplers, sample-based instruments.. why pay for data compression? spend it on the sequencing software instead, then learn how to use it to correctly configure your controller so you won''t know you''re not using a hardware synth..

Glad to hear it! I don''t trust AMD yet as my music workstation. Even if it does act right 99% of the time, I''m not putting up with that 1% (just to give you an idea of my tolerance). After thorough tests, and system usages I''ll stick to my Pentium. It probably has a lot to do with our specific hardware as well. If you have an AMD working well, more power to ya. (Just built an Athlon XP 2000 system, not for music mind you)

Anyway, about softsynths... ahh...sorry I''m a hardware snob. You just can''t build a proper gain structure with software, there is no gain structure unless it''s virtual and that''s yucky. Don''t get me wrong, softsynths are brilliant. In the future they''ll just get better and better. Honestly though, stop for a second and think of the musical orgasm of running some hardware synths through some DI, into a creamy vintage mic pre, then perhaps onto 1/4" tape on a studer deck...etc. etc. you get the idea

You just can''t beat it! YMMV

Just starting out though, I would have to agree with you xoxos. The softsynth way is probably the quickest means to an end. Sorry, the engineer in me won''t let me enjoy softsynths like I should. I guess my gripe is the lack of analog manipulation which is key to a good outside of the box sound. I''ve heard some people use softsynths up to great potential, but there is still that last drive missing in the sound, aurally boring or something...take my obsessive BS with grain of salt.

just my 2 cents

-Aaron

Oh BTW Xoxos, there will never be software that will sound like a Korg Z1 properly recorded (unless we''re talking like the year 2034 when we''ll all be taken over by robots, and softsynths won''t matter, just kidding!). Oh I love the Z1!

-Aaron

Please, let''s not get onto the AMD vs Pentium topic, let''s just help ICE out...

you''re possibly right about just getting a controller, it''s a cheaper way if you''re tight on cash, but nothing beats some great hardware in your arsenal.

i haven''t had any problems with the delta range yet, but I know i''ll change sound card next time... driver issues, obscure noises occasionally... choosing a sound card is a tough job, but i think they''re all just criminal : )

I''ll look into a rme hammerfal, ICE, take his advice on the cards, Noct definately has more experience with the variety of soundcards...

passive speakers are a good choice, alesis or samson amplifiers make a good start.

hope this helps!

Thanks a lot everyone. I'll look into those things, and maybe even get a job to pay for it :D

[edited by - IceFlamethrower on April 10, 2003 6:58:02 PM]

Yeah, don''t you just hate it when the AMD vs Pentium thing is going on and some smart alec buffoon comes in and says, "Duh... get a Mac"? Anyway, enough of that cliche. Whatever floats your boat, I like them both. Just Intel for music, or more specifically, and accurately AUDIO.

What type of budget do you have to work with Ice? This will help us to help you better.

-Aaron

i''m pretty much low budget culture.. the rest of the world doesn''t exist i also have a blind spot about "the analog difference.." sure.. i have analog synths, signal processors, mixer, i love it, but i maxed out my credit for years to come on $10k worth of hardware that''s outperformed by soft/freeware in some cases and barely worth $3k today.. considering i''m thus stuck with an audiowerk2 soundcard for a while, i have to admit the concept of existence without a 44.1k 16bit ceiling evaded me since any difference is lost outside of my studio.

so expect no debate here! but.. my 1.2g athlon has been running without any such errors for a year now. it''s my baby! btw i *did* painstakingly assemble a ''vintage'' system.. w98se, logic 4, 1.2g tb being behind the times at purchase.. all components previously proven in several instances to jive together. no way i''d build a system otherwise..

z appreciation comment: somehow i gotta get a wx5 breath controller!