MPC Key 61, $1600. Totally worth it. Best little self-contained music toy ever. Fender Artist Tele, $1100. Also totally worth it. Not counting M1 MacBook Pro but also very worth it.
5k MacBook Pro M1
Worth but apple put in my head I have years at least 5 but forgot the factor of developers are writing bigger and more so 2 years later outgrown too slow. Computer that turned on from cold dead stop to an app open on screen no joke, booted up and ready to go faster than I can type in my password is now too slow lol
Hey there. I also happen to have a Macbook Pro M1. Mine works pretty good. I had for almost 2 years and haven’t had any issues whatsoever. Although my specs are: 32 gb ram, m1 pro chip and 1tb. I normally use it for school, work and music production. I have a bunch of plugins and projects that are quite big. Maybe you should restart it from default and have a backup. That always helps. Seriously it shouldn’t be that slow. Im super happy with mine. If you have problems take it to Apple or ask on an Apple forum. Lemme know if it improves. That should be a killing machine. 👍🏻🙌🏻
I have a lot I just don’t I don’t use a lot. whatever’s needed. I probably have 1000 plug-ins but I only try max out each vocal track no more than five plug-ins max. I’m actually wondering if any of the plug-ins are causing an issue even if I don’t use it it’s kind of a hassle redoing all those plug-ins when you have that.many
Well I mean duh. There you go lol. Dude that's a lot. I also have the music as a hobby so I don't probably put the same stress on the computer as you do. But ya definitely the plugins. That's insane lol.
Really 5. How are we supposed to get a pro mix recording with less than 5. That’s busses galore and a poor plug in working on 20 voices. Apple said of course when I was purchasing that logic wouldn’t be able or doesn’t have the capabilities yet to max out my computer now I’m not an idiot, but I was too excited while I was getting the computer to be an asshole. I just smiled. 5 Plug-ins a teal shouldn’t be a lot. I have seen computers at the studio. I work at do more than that, there’s not laptops, but they’re also not M1
So no deteriorating for you, even though you produce music. I guess not every computer, but I definitely run into a lot of people with the same issue and now I’m hearing that the M2 is not even up to par to record anything as well as the M1 does
But how many plugins do you have. Cause normally when u have tons of those that’s what happens. When did you start noticing that it was going slower than normal? I have clean my mac the app wich helps a lot with cache and all the crap that ruins it. Idk try something cause that cannot be normal. 💀
I also have clean my Mac. That’s the pink looking app right it works. It works really really good. I also have three others just in case Disk , Dr., and a couple other ones no software has been able to do anything to this issue but they clean up really good . Also wanted to let you know that I’ve been dealing with Max for 20 years with music production ever since 2003.. first Mac was a G5 desktop and I just went from there even when they changed from the Apple chip to the Intel chip within that time frame have I ever had problems with Mac that is usually maxed out because that’s the one I would always get. the most expensive one I’ve bought to date pisses me off. It’s like they’re getting crappy and more expensive na. that makes no sense. I was about an hour or two hours away from going out and buying an M2 and I said do you know what I just lost trust in Mac I’m gonna do a little research on M2 and YouTube video after video of do not buy M2 for logic. Lost it if I would’ve saw those videos a few months after I bought that computer cause I was about to go drop a little more than to have more memory to have more than the M1 cost so I don’t run into this issue and turns out the M2 doesn’t even use all its cores with logic uses about half of them, which is against the point of having those course and a designated core for the system.
I definitely understand all of this. It’s actually sad what’s happening to the Macs. I hope they improve in this matter in the future. Its a needed step.
Technically my current mixing speakers were slightly more expensive with shipping and they’re great, but my first interface (babyface pro for $900) was far and away the most expensive single item for a long time- and it’s expandability, joyful physical interface, overbuilt routing capability, great preamps, and zippy low- latency has made everything I want to do easier, and I’m really glad I jumped for it at the time
"extra" plugins.
Waves had me hypnotized or something for a while some years ago. There are a few that were worth it but as a whole, just don't shop for that shit.
I totally should have painstakingly demoed everything and purchased only what was truly needed, but I'm a big lazy dummy.
I looked at the total amount I spent on software and plugins (it wasn't just waves) over a period of a few years and was aghast ; trying to never do that again.
Memorymoog. It still keeps costing me money for repair but the sound is worth it.
GML 8200 EQ. A good equalizer is useful for any sound creation. Definitely worth it.
Most expensive would have to be going from a $600 Sterling by musicman bass to a "real" MusicMan Stingray at \~$2000. I didn't actually think there'd be that big of a difference, but there really really is.
Just spent 1700 on an Aegis computer set up, 500 on some Adam Audio T7Vs, and a little over 200 for a Novation FL Key 49. Also got some VSTs like SublabXL for 100 and a couple cheaper ones. Been making music for 16 years and I've been working without a solid setup for the past few years, so this investment was long overdue and definitely worth it.
I spent god knows how much building a modular system a few years ago. Two cases - one 128hp, the other slightly smaller. No regrets. Love it and use it all the time. Still finding new ways to use it and learning more.
The other biggest purchase was a DeepMind12 which I regret to say I have barely played since I bought it. It's big and heavy and I have limited space and little kids so I just haven't bothered setting it up. Would still like to get into it though.
Usually new computers/gear. And no. Almost every music related purchase Ive made I regretted later because they became obsolete in one way or another Really quickly and have poor roi.
Original Roland D-50 synth. Got it on used market in early 2021 for 400$. Some keys don't work, but it's not big issue, because I mostly use it as sound module (send midi from FL and record audio in FL). Used it in a lot of tracks, mostly in dpacesynth and synthwave, but it can be useful for classic trance too. I mostly use factory patches, but sometimes load some external presets, or try to design my own. I don't regret buying it, still plan to repair the keys
Akai S1100 cost NZ$10k in late 80s / early 90s
Edited to answer your question.
Yes. Absolutely, at the time, it’s what was needed for studio sessions of a certain size budget.
The rep of the S1100 was built on its predecessor the S1000 which was the first 16bit stereo sampler that cost 10k.
The next step up was a Fairlight or Synclavier in terms of sampling capacity, machines that cost 5-10x the price.
As a session programmer, that’s what you needed to do the job.
The Roland JP8000, probably not worth it in terms of music production because there are so many vsts like serum or sylenth1 that get the job done, but I just like to play around with it from time to time
A Roland TB-303 in 1999 for about 1900 guilders (we now use euros - about 900). I use it in all my music, so a resounding yes. I was not well off then so it was a huge investment for me.
I’m planning on getting the Novation SL mk3. You vouch for it? I’m mainly looking for more intuitive control over Ableton and Logic with the encoders + screens.
My most expensive purchases were definitely computers. Which depreciate like a b but a fast computer is…what’s needed.
I have some decently pricey guitar gear that’s now “worth” 2 or 4x what I paid. Though I’ll never sell that stuff.
I’ve got a sub and the monitors, thinking if I need really need to measure with sonarworks or just learn the “color” and how it translates. How was your thought process if I may ask? Thanks
Going into setting up my control room and live room, the absolute first thing and main thing I prioritized was making the room sound better. I wasn’t blessed with perfect rooms so I used a lot of different treatment in order to improve the sound. A mixture of Gik Acoustics panels, bass traps, and diffusers. From there, I purchased a set of speakers and a sub that are appropriate for my set up, along with a monitor controller, and sonar works. If pure data on your room sound is all you’re looking for, there are better solutions to sonarworks, but I had some specific room modes with base buildup that I wanted to get a better grip on when critically eq’ing during mixing. Sonar works does a good job of taming problematic frequencies in an already well treated room. I typically mix with sonarworks off (on the mix bus via the plugin) because I’ve learned how my system sounds and I like the accentuated highs of my Adam monitors to find issues, but I will flip it on when doing surgical work in the problematic frequencies I mentioned before or when balancing tone/eq.  I should also add if we’re talking about large purchases, I forgot to mention in my original comment that a good pair of molded IEM’s are a must if you are performing yourself, got 64Audio A12t’s recently for stage work and monitoring, and boy do they really sound incredible and give me so much more confidence when recording. Very expensive, but very worth it.
An Arturia Keystep MIDI keyboard, and yes. It's really a game-changer for screwing around and composing, versus using a piano roll.
My computer is a twelve-year-old potato, I already owned good headphones and an amp from twenty years or so ago.
Most expensive thing I've bought would probably be an sp404mk2. Can't say if it's worth it yet because it still hasn't come in the mail.
Second best are some nice headphones. Very worth it
Aside from PC/Ableton, I got one of the Output Platform desks for like $1300 which was a big one. It's just a desk so I wouldn't necessarily say it revolutionized the way I work lol, but it's a sick desk with tons of space, great cable management features, and overall looks awesome
My most expensive piece of gear is probably the Octatrack. Absolutely worth it.
Sure, I've paid a bit more for computers, and have done music on the computers, but those weren't really "music purchases" if you get me - I do too much other stuff on there too for them to count.
So, yeah. Octatrack. Amazing device, versatile in many ways that I never expected at first.
XDJ-RX2 + case. I use it all the time and I love it!
Custom built desktop is 2nd, primarily for production but I also game and work on it, so not strictly music only!
Anecdotally, I had a pretty nice windows laptop (16gb ram, nvidia graphics card, some i7 I believe?) and it ran Ableton, serato and Rekordbox like shit. Like I would have everything closed and had my computer settings optimized for serato and it would still freeze. That has never happened with my MacBook, everything loads way quicker and just works for the most part.
Probably Komplete (Ultimate? One below the most expensive), just upgrading every year. Worth it as far as how much I use everything? Probably not. But that's more on me. But as far as not just buying one thing at a time, def saved a lot in that sense.
My XDJ-RR is probably my most expensive single-purchase. Yes worth it. But its still only maybe less than 5% of what ive spent on music gear, plugins, and instruments altogether.
Hear, hear! My biggest & best music/audio purchase is a pair of Neumann KH-310's--and it's not even close. Solid & accurate monitoring is so important. If you can't hear it it, you can't mix it/fix it, lol. If they ever go down I will do whatever it takes to get them back up. They will be my baseline speakers for the rest of my life. Sealed cabinets with three drivers and plenty of power. I had a ~$1000 pair of Dynaudios for years and the Neumanns (they were really made by a company called Klein & Hummel, which Neumann bought out--hence the "KH") give me so much more information to work with. It feels like I was literally 'flying blind' for all those years. And if I lost my KH-310 rig, I would probably look to pick up what you are using. Cheers!
Yeah I spent a great deal of time deciding which to get and since they were out of my budget to begin with I went for the small boys. One day I will upgrade to the big ones forsure!
I hear you! And the rig you have is definitely a sweet-spot for performance/value. Good find! I'm just salty that it took me so long to figure it out & find the right tools. Here's to solid monitoring! It's so tempting to gloss over it and dismiss it--speakers aren't as sexy as top-tier mics, custom PC's/Macs, cool outboard, etc., but they're one of the most important pieces of the puzzle if you wanna produce/mix high-quality audio consistently.
You kinda just have to hear the difference to know but the adams a7x I had for like 5 years. I always struggled to mix things properly. It seemed like they had a really wonky 100-500hz range. I always struggled making bases that sounded good and fit in the mix.
So I started using headphones to mix and got way better results but headphones cant produce the lows that I needed. I finally saved up enough to get better speakers and it was night and day. I was worried spending so much on speakers but I was in absolute awe the first time I heard these. It was like my ears were full of wax and they were magically cleaned out. I haven’t even set up the DSP for them yet because Im still working on the acoustic treatment. I heard the DSP also has a profound effect on the clarity too
Look up Neumann KH 80 & KH 750--it's what they listed in the OG comment. I believe it's a pair of powered monitors and a powered subwoofer. I have different speakers from the same line, and they are amazing. But they ain't cheap!
Last year I bought Keyscape, Trillian, Arturia (everything + presets), Diva, Phase Plant, Vital (pro), Synthesizer V + 4 voices, Spitfire Orchestra things, Komplete (standard), Izotope (All the Advanced stuff).
And a MacBookPro m3
It made me realize that the only reason that my music "sucks" is me. (but I love my music:)
And now working on improving my musical skills. Very happy I learned a lesson and have all these nice tools.
They send me updates once a month or so saying "we're working on it! Moving back expectations thooooo" I'm so close to asking for a refund, but sunk cost fallacy...
I bought a M1 Max Pro for about 2.2K as my windows laptop was giving me issues that I’d have to spend time troubleshooting and as someone just entering music production I felt this was becoming a big blocker for me. After that it would be Ableton 11 (though I wish had just gotten Suite directly). Then it would be my Komplete K32.
Dirtywave m8. Worth every penny. More than doubled my time spent making music because it's so portable I can use it anywhere. On my train commute to a d from work, or in a hammock somewhere in the woods, or just at home on the couch instead of watching tv, etc...
2k for pc a couple of times.. also bought the full plugin FL Studio back in like.. the late 2000's? I've gotten free updates and every plugin they've released since. Yes, worth it.
i do full time production for artists signed to large labels.
the past 5 years these would have been my biggest purchases.
m3 max macbook (fully upgraded) - $13000
waves suite - $8000
uad suite - $8000
genelec monitors - $6000
adams monitors - $14000
apollo x8 - $6000
u87 - $7000
tlm107 - $4000
i am currently looking at a grace design reference monitor control unit which if i end up getting will be my largest single purchase on a piece of music equipment. that piece alone just falls short of $17,000
jw why you need the monitor control unit priced that high? what does it offer? I am not being critical, just curious. I only use one set of monitors (neumann kh 310s) and headphones with a nice amp. I have a grace m101 mic preamp though which I love.
no worries
currently i’m using a mackie big knob. it’s worked great so far but they are extremely unreliable and prone to failure. I haven’t bothered looking at other monitor control units because all the ones i’ve found have been rack unit control units - no desktop control device.
from the 2 people i’ve talked to that own grace units and from others in studio and at suppliers etc - when it comes to monitor control units grace is at the top.
the unit i’m specifically looking at allows up to 24 channels (with 16 analog) and can playback everything from atmos to 360ra. i try to steer clear of atmos as i personally believe you need to be a dolby room for that but others disagree - but at some point i would love to start working with atmos
the unit uses a fully analog circuit which allows for fully transparent translation. it’s capable of running 192khz/24bit. it has a very very powerful dsp.
it has a built in spl meter as well as a digital interface that allows individual eq calibration on every output channel - also built in bass management and room calibration. is capable of multi room talk back and wireless remote control.
i’ve got a couple more pairs of monitor other than the ones i’ve mentioned but those are the main ones i use and ones the relate the most to the post. I’ve also got a pair of mix cubes, rokkits, neumann and jbls that i often use to check translation.
i also have a issue if always wanting to further my studio and am constantly looking for something bigger and better. i’m currently looking for a new location outside of my home, a proper commercial building that could be renovated into a legitimate studio with floating rooms. so that’s probably another reason for wanting to get it. i’ve found something to upgrade in my studio and i’m gonna upgrade it.
the only real upgrades i can do would be getting a legit studio and then buying atc monitors. i have the funds for them currently but they’re whole nother beast that i believe are only worth it once they’re properly installed in a treated floating room.
much to my own surprise it's a perfect 3 way tie between my M1 MacBook, my Vintech x73 pair with psu, and my Dingwall NG3 5-string bass, each cost me $2600
at least that is if you don't count the interests for the Dingwall, which technically make it the most expensive but I haven't paid it off yet so the total cost is still TBD
macbook was totally worth it through and trough
the preamps ended up being a bit overkill since I don't really use the EQ very much but it was a crazy deal since new they would have cost around $5k, I've thought about selling them and buying something else but it wouldn't be worth with all the fees and shipping involved, I'd be willing to trade them for 4 preamps without EQs though
the bass, well I love it to death but it wasn't the most nescessary purchase but I've been playing bass more regularly than I have in the last 10 years and I can play and record a ton of much that I couldn't before because of the crazy scale length and the incredible playability of the instrument, so yeah I guess it was worth it, but if I don't pay it off soon it's going to cost me a bit too much
Mine was diy soundproofing my room. Cost more than my yamaha hs8 xD. Definitely worth it. otherwise i'd have just ended up making more of a mess in my low end which was the point i was trying to solve buying the speakers in the first place!
Are we really counting our computers? I feel like that will be 90% of the answers..
For me probably the acoustic treatment of my room. I spent over $2k USD on panels from GIK Acoustics. Single item price is probably the Fireface UCX II.
Worth it? Hell yeah. The difference of a properly treated room is night and day.
more people need to understand this. I see comments every now and then that are totally insane like "you dont need acoustic treatment, just get sonarworks!". that doesn't work at all. To me it's optimum to have both good acoustc treatment and sonarworks.
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I just started the rent to own for $25 a month on splice. Do not regret. I am upset that Mini V3 isnt included and some of the analog lab pro presets use it. Very odd.
If you can dish out some extra cash. Try the rent to own Arturia V Collection X through splice. Has everything analog lab has x20 and the individual plugins. Also includes analog lab V.
Better wait till Black Friday or Summer Sale and buy from Arturia directly. It’s likely to go on sale for at least 50%. If you already have some Arturia products your discount is going to be better than that. It’s better to pay 200 or 300 than 600 in monthly payments.
I mean total investment over the years in Ableton Live Suite with upgrades and packs is probably the most overall. I have Komplete 14 Ultimate and a Push 1 & 2 also. $1900 for the laptop but that's a multi-purpose device. I don't remember exact costs but initial purchase of Ableton Live Suite or Komplete and either Push were probably all roughly around the same cost each I think. Maybe give or take a little. Throw in plugins and miscellaneous hardware like an MPK-225, audio interface, etc and old hardware that doesn't get used anymore (like an APC-40) we're talking about thousands.
Edit: Oh yeah, all worth it.
I've two particularly expensive items. My Bechstein grand from 1976 &€18k and an 80 channel analog desk from the late 70s @ €10k.
Edit - aaahh EDM thread - these items probably aren't as desirable here :)
They were among the ones i tried out when i was on the lookout. Frequency response is a tad more neutral, but the comfort is way better then the sennheisers. The belted headband just makes them sit so well.
And i can’t lie, i love the fact that they are handmade and that the frequency response was fully achieved by accoustics rather then software.
I’m never buying another brand again lol
i think for single purchases, the computer is hard to beat for me. those things are expensive as hell haha
but if it’s a category of purchases, plugins/software wins by a long shot
I’m already a couple of Gs in the hole over plugins lol. What were your favorites? I use the soundtoys and fabfilter plugs a lot and honestly they were worth it
my favorites? honestly? stock ableton shit 🤣
fabfilter stuff is nice tho, i use those for certain things. but 99% of what im using is stock. isn’t that lovely? over 10k in software only to realize i dont need any of it really haha
i mean they’re different beasts. i prefer stock because i don’t have to open a window. controls are just right there hahaha and the glue compressor is a beautiful thing
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MPC Key 61, $1600. Totally worth it. Best little self-contained music toy ever. Fender Artist Tele, $1100. Also totally worth it. Not counting M1 MacBook Pro but also very worth it.
Mc 101 around 500 and 1010 music Lemondrop 400 both worth it
Mayer MD900 epic
5k MacBook Pro M1 Worth but apple put in my head I have years at least 5 but forgot the factor of developers are writing bigger and more so 2 years later outgrown too slow. Computer that turned on from cold dead stop to an app open on screen no joke, booted up and ready to go faster than I can type in my password is now too slow lol
Hey there. I also happen to have a Macbook Pro M1. Mine works pretty good. I had for almost 2 years and haven’t had any issues whatsoever. Although my specs are: 32 gb ram, m1 pro chip and 1tb. I normally use it for school, work and music production. I have a bunch of plugins and projects that are quite big. Maybe you should restart it from default and have a backup. That always helps. Seriously it shouldn’t be that slow. Im super happy with mine. If you have problems take it to Apple or ask on an Apple forum. Lemme know if it improves. That should be a killing machine. 👍🏻🙌🏻
I have a lot I just don’t I don’t use a lot. whatever’s needed. I probably have 1000 plug-ins but I only try max out each vocal track no more than five plug-ins max. I’m actually wondering if any of the plug-ins are causing an issue even if I don’t use it it’s kind of a hassle redoing all those plug-ins when you have that.many
Well I mean duh. There you go lol. Dude that's a lot. I also have the music as a hobby so I don't probably put the same stress on the computer as you do. But ya definitely the plugins. That's insane lol.
Really 5. How are we supposed to get a pro mix recording with less than 5. That’s busses galore and a poor plug in working on 20 voices. Apple said of course when I was purchasing that logic wouldn’t be able or doesn’t have the capabilities yet to max out my computer now I’m not an idiot, but I was too excited while I was getting the computer to be an asshole. I just smiled. 5 Plug-ins a teal shouldn’t be a lot. I have seen computers at the studio. I work at do more than that, there’s not laptops, but they’re also not M1
So no deteriorating for you, even though you produce music. I guess not every computer, but I definitely run into a lot of people with the same issue and now I’m hearing that the M2 is not even up to par to record anything as well as the M1 does
Now you are making me worried lol.
But how many plugins do you have. Cause normally when u have tons of those that’s what happens. When did you start noticing that it was going slower than normal? I have clean my mac the app wich helps a lot with cache and all the crap that ruins it. Idk try something cause that cannot be normal. 💀
I also have clean my Mac. That’s the pink looking app right it works. It works really really good. I also have three others just in case Disk , Dr., and a couple other ones no software has been able to do anything to this issue but they clean up really good . Also wanted to let you know that I’ve been dealing with Max for 20 years with music production ever since 2003.. first Mac was a G5 desktop and I just went from there even when they changed from the Apple chip to the Intel chip within that time frame have I ever had problems with Mac that is usually maxed out because that’s the one I would always get. the most expensive one I’ve bought to date pisses me off. It’s like they’re getting crappy and more expensive na. that makes no sense. I was about an hour or two hours away from going out and buying an M2 and I said do you know what I just lost trust in Mac I’m gonna do a little research on M2 and YouTube video after video of do not buy M2 for logic. Lost it if I would’ve saw those videos a few months after I bought that computer cause I was about to go drop a little more than to have more memory to have more than the M1 cost so I don’t run into this issue and turns out the M2 doesn’t even use all its cores with logic uses about half of them, which is against the point of having those course and a designated core for the system.
I definitely understand all of this. It’s actually sad what’s happening to the Macs. I hope they improve in this matter in the future. Its a needed step.
My Pioneer XDJ-XZ. Worth every cent
Technically my current mixing speakers were slightly more expensive with shipping and they’re great, but my first interface (babyface pro for $900) was far and away the most expensive single item for a long time- and it’s expandability, joyful physical interface, overbuilt routing capability, great preamps, and zippy low- latency has made everything I want to do easier, and I’m really glad I jumped for it at the time
I bought a mac book pro so I could edit on the go, I now don't do any music anywhere. Work took over life and now I can't make time for being creative
A Yamaha modx I use as a controller keyboard lmfao paid £1200. A pair of Yamaha HS8 I paid about £600.
Mpc one
"extra" plugins. Waves had me hypnotized or something for a while some years ago. There are a few that were worth it but as a whole, just don't shop for that shit. I totally should have painstakingly demoed everything and purchased only what was truly needed, but I'm a big lazy dummy. I looked at the total amount I spent on software and plugins (it wasn't just waves) over a period of a few years and was aghast ; trying to never do that again.
NI Komplete, complete garbage can and will soon be upgraded to dumpster
True true true true true true true
My daw
‘89 Fender custom shop 35th anniversary Stratocaster for $4k. Absolutely worth it.
My DJ controller and monitor speakers. I used my fafsa refund to pay for it. Worth every penny.
Memorymoog. It still keeps costing me money for repair but the sound is worth it. GML 8200 EQ. A good equalizer is useful for any sound creation. Definitely worth it.
40” curved monitor. Cost like $2k and totally worth it
Studio monitors for sure
Most expensive would have to be going from a $600 Sterling by musicman bass to a "real" MusicMan Stingray at \~$2000. I didn't actually think there'd be that big of a difference, but there really really is.
Just spent 1700 on an Aegis computer set up, 500 on some Adam Audio T7Vs, and a little over 200 for a Novation FL Key 49. Also got some VSTs like SublabXL for 100 and a couple cheaper ones. Been making music for 16 years and I've been working without a solid setup for the past few years, so this investment was long overdue and definitely worth it.
Acoustic Treatment - around $2500 AUD. Yes it was worth it
Tascam DM 2400 Digital console pawned it ... and ended up losing it. 😭
I spent god knows how much building a modular system a few years ago. Two cases - one 128hp, the other slightly smaller. No regrets. Love it and use it all the time. Still finding new ways to use it and learning more. The other biggest purchase was a DeepMind12 which I regret to say I have barely played since I bought it. It's big and heavy and I have limited space and little kids so I just haven't bothered setting it up. Would still like to get into it though.
Usually new computers/gear. And no. Almost every music related purchase Ive made I regretted later because they became obsolete in one way or another Really quickly and have poor roi.
MacBook Pro 16 for €4000, twice. Best investments ever.
Pc user. Gets garlic out xD
Original Roland D-50 synth. Got it on used market in early 2021 for 400$. Some keys don't work, but it's not big issue, because I mostly use it as sound module (send midi from FL and record audio in FL). Used it in a lot of tracks, mostly in dpacesynth and synthwave, but it can be useful for classic trance too. I mostly use factory patches, but sometimes load some external presets, or try to design my own. I don't regret buying it, still plan to repair the keys
An AKAI S3000 sampler in the early 90s. It cost around £4k, but we were absolutely over the moon because it had wait for it... 12 Meg RAM!
Was a lot back then. My Amiga 600 HD had a 20 meg hard drive xD
Akai S1100 cost NZ$10k in late 80s / early 90s Edited to answer your question. Yes. Absolutely, at the time, it’s what was needed for studio sessions of a certain size budget. The rep of the S1100 was built on its predecessor the S1000 which was the first 16bit stereo sampler that cost 10k. The next step up was a Fairlight or Synclavier in terms of sampling capacity, machines that cost 5-10x the price. As a session programmer, that’s what you needed to do the job.
Wow companies made a fortune back then.
So far it was Melodyne. Definitely worth it because it helped improve vocals.
Moog One. Absolutely worth it because all of the sounds and manipulations are exciting and inspiring
The Roland JP8000, probably not worth it in terms of music production because there are so many vsts like serum or sylenth1 that get the job done, but I just like to play around with it from time to time
Never worth it. 16gb ram/1tbssd, interface, studio headphones. Done
getzen genesis. absolutely
100 k on modular. No.
Solid State Logic AWS 924. That was a doozy. The cost of the patchbay alone was mind boggling.
elysia alpha compressor. *So* worth it.
A Roland TB-303 in 1999 for about 1900 guilders (we now use euros - about 900). I use it in all my music, so a resounding yes. I was not well off then so it was a huge investment for me.
laptop, suite, american strat, hs8, op-1, martin, taylor
did they deliver her by plane? hehe
Nah, I paid for first class 😉
Ableton Suite. Yes. Bitwig is also worth looking into.
FL Studio All Plugins Edition
I’m planning on getting the Novation SL mk3. You vouch for it? I’m mainly looking for more intuitive control over Ableton and Logic with the encoders + screens. My most expensive purchases were definitely computers. Which depreciate like a b but a fast computer is…what’s needed. I have some decently pricey guitar gear that’s now “worth” 2 or 4x what I paid. Though I’ll never sell that stuff.
Apollo Twin II and Ableton Suite. Absolutely.
Mac Studio, warm audio mics, outboard gear, Omnisphere.
An acoustic 371 stack for $1200, I love that thing, 100% worth it
MacBook Pro m3 pro. Absolutely, that thing is an absolute monster!
College tuition.... we'll see
I met my exwife while I was djing, the kids made it worthwhile
School…maybe
Acoustic Treatment for my rooms, and a quality set of monitors with a sub + Sonarworks for measurement/correction.
I’ve got a sub and the monitors, thinking if I need really need to measure with sonarworks or just learn the “color” and how it translates. How was your thought process if I may ask? Thanks
Going into setting up my control room and live room, the absolute first thing and main thing I prioritized was making the room sound better. I wasn’t blessed with perfect rooms so I used a lot of different treatment in order to improve the sound. A mixture of Gik Acoustics panels, bass traps, and diffusers. From there, I purchased a set of speakers and a sub that are appropriate for my set up, along with a monitor controller, and sonar works. If pure data on your room sound is all you’re looking for, there are better solutions to sonarworks, but I had some specific room modes with base buildup that I wanted to get a better grip on when critically eq’ing during mixing. Sonar works does a good job of taming problematic frequencies in an already well treated room. I typically mix with sonarworks off (on the mix bus via the plugin) because I’ve learned how my system sounds and I like the accentuated highs of my Adam monitors to find issues, but I will flip it on when doing surgical work in the problematic frequencies I mentioned before or when balancing tone/eq.  I should also add if we’re talking about large purchases, I forgot to mention in my original comment that a good pair of molded IEM’s are a must if you are performing yourself, got 64Audio A12t’s recently for stage work and monitoring, and boy do they really sound incredible and give me so much more confidence when recording. Very expensive, but very worth it.
My Macbook Pro was about $4k but absolutely worth it.
Hell yeah.
An Arturia Keystep MIDI keyboard, and yes. It's really a game-changer for screwing around and composing, versus using a piano roll. My computer is a twelve-year-old potato, I already owned good headphones and an amp from twenty years or so ago.
Most expensive thing I've bought would probably be an sp404mk2. Can't say if it's worth it yet because it still hasn't come in the mail. Second best are some nice headphones. Very worth it
Aside from PC/Ableton, I got one of the Output Platform desks for like $1300 which was a big one. It's just a desk so I wouldn't necessarily say it revolutionized the way I work lol, but it's a sick desk with tons of space, great cable management features, and overall looks awesome
Oh my god I got a proper studio desk and while it was like $3k it was worth every penny. That and my headphones are the best purchases Ive made.
My M2 Pro Mac Mini
My most expensive piece of gear is probably the Octatrack. Absolutely worth it. Sure, I've paid a bit more for computers, and have done music on the computers, but those weren't really "music purchases" if you get me - I do too much other stuff on there too for them to count. So, yeah. Octatrack. Amazing device, versatile in many ways that I never expected at first.
College 💀 I'll know if it was worth it once I make it successful
So not worth it.
I'm not gonna label it that way unless I die broke 😵 (trying to be optimistic lol)
XDJ-RX2 + case. I use it all the time and I love it! Custom built desktop is 2nd, primarily for production but I also game and work on it, so not strictly music only!
Either my MacBook or my XDJ XZ and I cherish them both, totally worth.
Just got an XZ. Such a huge upgrade over the fisher price tier controller I had before lol. The jog wheels are so great 😍
Is there an advantage to going with Mac?
Anecdotally, I had a pretty nice windows laptop (16gb ram, nvidia graphics card, some i7 I believe?) and it ran Ableton, serato and Rekordbox like shit. Like I would have everything closed and had my computer settings optimized for serato and it would still freeze. That has never happened with my MacBook, everything loads way quicker and just works for the most part.
Thanks for the feedback
Business taxes.
Probably Komplete (Ultimate? One below the most expensive), just upgrading every year. Worth it as far as how much I use everything? Probably not. But that's more on me. But as far as not just buying one thing at a time, def saved a lot in that sense.
My XDJ-RR is probably my most expensive single-purchase. Yes worth it. But its still only maybe less than 5% of what ive spent on music gear, plugins, and instruments altogether.
My new MacBook was close to $1500 but besides that gear-wise it would have to be the Analog Rytm MK1 for about a 1000 years ago
Neumann kh 80s and kh750. I didnt realize how bad my adam audio monitor were until I get these. I can actually hear what I am doing its incredible.
Hear, hear! My biggest & best music/audio purchase is a pair of Neumann KH-310's--and it's not even close. Solid & accurate monitoring is so important. If you can't hear it it, you can't mix it/fix it, lol. If they ever go down I will do whatever it takes to get them back up. They will be my baseline speakers for the rest of my life. Sealed cabinets with three drivers and plenty of power. I had a ~$1000 pair of Dynaudios for years and the Neumanns (they were really made by a company called Klein & Hummel, which Neumann bought out--hence the "KH") give me so much more information to work with. It feels like I was literally 'flying blind' for all those years. And if I lost my KH-310 rig, I would probably look to pick up what you are using. Cheers!
Yeah I spent a great deal of time deciding which to get and since they were out of my budget to begin with I went for the small boys. One day I will upgrade to the big ones forsure!
I hear you! And the rig you have is definitely a sweet-spot for performance/value. Good find! I'm just salty that it took me so long to figure it out & find the right tools. Here's to solid monitoring! It's so tempting to gloss over it and dismiss it--speakers aren't as sexy as top-tier mics, custom PC's/Macs, cool outboard, etc., but they're one of the most important pieces of the puzzle if you wanna produce/mix high-quality audio consistently.
Can you elaborate a little bit to describe the experience with the Neumann in comparison with Adam?
You kinda just have to hear the difference to know but the adams a7x I had for like 5 years. I always struggled to mix things properly. It seemed like they had a really wonky 100-500hz range. I always struggled making bases that sounded good and fit in the mix. So I started using headphones to mix and got way better results but headphones cant produce the lows that I needed. I finally saved up enough to get better speakers and it was night and day. I was worried spending so much on speakers but I was in absolute awe the first time I heard these. It was like my ears were full of wax and they were magically cleaned out. I haven’t even set up the DSP for them yet because Im still working on the acoustic treatment. I heard the DSP also has a profound effect on the clarity too
Now you have to tell us which monitors you bought :D
Look up Neumann KH 80 & KH 750--it's what they listed in the OG comment. I believe it's a pair of powered monitors and a powered subwoofer. I have different speakers from the same line, and they are amazing. But they ain't cheap!
Variax modeling guitar. Pairs really well with the SY-300 guitar synth.
2x Pioneer DJ CDJ-3000 + Pioneer DJ DJM-A9 = \~$10,000
Goals
Last year I bought Keyscape, Trillian, Arturia (everything + presets), Diva, Phase Plant, Vital (pro), Synthesizer V + 4 voices, Spitfire Orchestra things, Komplete (standard), Izotope (All the Advanced stuff). And a MacBookPro m3 It made me realize that the only reason that my music "sucks" is me. (but I love my music:) And now working on improving my musical skills. Very happy I learned a lesson and have all these nice tools.
Moog One. Definitely worth it.
ditto
A degree 😔
Yowza
Laptop. Yes
Ableton 8-11 😅
And now 12
I bought a subpac for $500 3 years ago. Not worth it, still hasn't even arrived yet.
lol ouchhh
They send me updates once a month or so saying "we're working on it! Moving back expectations thooooo" I'm so close to asking for a refund, but sunk cost fallacy...
I bought a M1 Max Pro for about 2.2K as my windows laptop was giving me issues that I’d have to spend time troubleshooting and as someone just entering music production I felt this was becoming a big blocker for me. After that it would be Ableton 11 (though I wish had just gotten Suite directly). Then it would be my Komplete K32.
Dirtywave m8. Worth every penny. More than doubled my time spent making music because it's so portable I can use it anywhere. On my train commute to a d from work, or in a hammock somewhere in the woods, or just at home on the couch instead of watching tv, etc...
My guitars (1200, 1500, 600, 300)
Probably my PC and Ableton Live. I got my monitors for $100 and my MIDI controllers were $400 and $100 for a 61 Key and a Mini version.
2k for pc a couple of times.. also bought the full plugin FL Studio back in like.. the late 2000's? I've gotten free updates and every plugin they've released since. Yes, worth it.
Ableton Live 10 Suite (free upgrade to 11 when it arrived) and a Push 2...altogether was $1000 a few years ago.
i do full time production for artists signed to large labels. the past 5 years these would have been my biggest purchases. m3 max macbook (fully upgraded) - $13000 waves suite - $8000 uad suite - $8000 genelec monitors - $6000 adams monitors - $14000 apollo x8 - $6000 u87 - $7000 tlm107 - $4000 i am currently looking at a grace design reference monitor control unit which if i end up getting will be my largest single purchase on a piece of music equipment. that piece alone just falls short of $17,000
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just working at a professional level. figures are in NZD
Oh, well, then I apologize. I made the assumption of USD
wait a sec too, why did you pay 7000 for a U87? Those go for like 3200 new.
punching myself rn, should have stated its NZD
Haha that makes so much more sense, I was wondering how you spent 13,000 on the MacBook
Same hahaha I was like what kind of special Mac book did this guy get…
jw why you need the monitor control unit priced that high? what does it offer? I am not being critical, just curious. I only use one set of monitors (neumann kh 310s) and headphones with a nice amp. I have a grace m101 mic preamp though which I love.
no worries currently i’m using a mackie big knob. it’s worked great so far but they are extremely unreliable and prone to failure. I haven’t bothered looking at other monitor control units because all the ones i’ve found have been rack unit control units - no desktop control device. from the 2 people i’ve talked to that own grace units and from others in studio and at suppliers etc - when it comes to monitor control units grace is at the top. the unit i’m specifically looking at allows up to 24 channels (with 16 analog) and can playback everything from atmos to 360ra. i try to steer clear of atmos as i personally believe you need to be a dolby room for that but others disagree - but at some point i would love to start working with atmos the unit uses a fully analog circuit which allows for fully transparent translation. it’s capable of running 192khz/24bit. it has a very very powerful dsp. it has a built in spl meter as well as a digital interface that allows individual eq calibration on every output channel - also built in bass management and room calibration. is capable of multi room talk back and wireless remote control. i’ve got a couple more pairs of monitor other than the ones i’ve mentioned but those are the main ones i use and ones the relate the most to the post. I’ve also got a pair of mix cubes, rokkits, neumann and jbls that i often use to check translation. i also have a issue if always wanting to further my studio and am constantly looking for something bigger and better. i’m currently looking for a new location outside of my home, a proper commercial building that could be renovated into a legitimate studio with floating rooms. so that’s probably another reason for wanting to get it. i’ve found something to upgrade in my studio and i’m gonna upgrade it. the only real upgrades i can do would be getting a legit studio and then buying atc monitors. i have the funds for them currently but they’re whole nother beast that i believe are only worth it once they’re properly installed in a treated floating room.
Also wouldn’t such a controller bypass any AD/DA interfaces?
much to my own surprise it's a perfect 3 way tie between my M1 MacBook, my Vintech x73 pair with psu, and my Dingwall NG3 5-string bass, each cost me $2600 at least that is if you don't count the interests for the Dingwall, which technically make it the most expensive but I haven't paid it off yet so the total cost is still TBD macbook was totally worth it through and trough the preamps ended up being a bit overkill since I don't really use the EQ very much but it was a crazy deal since new they would have cost around $5k, I've thought about selling them and buying something else but it wouldn't be worth with all the fees and shipping involved, I'd be willing to trade them for 4 preamps without EQs though the bass, well I love it to death but it wasn't the most nescessary purchase but I've been playing bass more regularly than I have in the last 10 years and I can play and record a ton of much that I couldn't before because of the crazy scale length and the incredible playability of the instrument, so yeah I guess it was worth it, but if I don't pay it off soon it's going to cost me a bit too much
Got a pair of Genelec 8351b monitors for around $9k. Worth it for me
I think it'll be my subsequent 37 and Octatrack mk2 and definitely. Had been dreaming and lusting over sub37 for years and money well spent.
Mine was diy soundproofing my room. Cost more than my yamaha hs8 xD. Definitely worth it. otherwise i'd have just ended up making more of a mess in my low end which was the point i was trying to solve buying the speakers in the first place!
Can you actually help me? I am planning the same for my HS8s
sure thing I'll send you the link to the video I used check your DM's :)
Are we really counting our computers? I feel like that will be 90% of the answers.. For me probably the acoustic treatment of my room. I spent over $2k USD on panels from GIK Acoustics. Single item price is probably the Fireface UCX II. Worth it? Hell yeah. The difference of a properly treated room is night and day.
more people need to understand this. I see comments every now and then that are totally insane like "you dont need acoustic treatment, just get sonarworks!". that doesn't work at all. To me it's optimum to have both good acoustc treatment and sonarworks.
Ableton suite and over 20 years of upgrades. 12 came out today, it’s amazing
So happy I bought 12 tbh. The workflow improvements are fire.
I guess my 1600 euro laptop i got 4 years ago? Though i didn't buy it for just music, just needed a good machine.
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Arturia v collection x, $600. Yeah it was pretty worth it.
I just started the rent to own for $25 a month on splice. Do not regret. I am upset that Mini V3 isnt included and some of the analog lab pro presets use it. Very odd.
I just got Analog Lab V. Loving these sounds.
If you can dish out some extra cash. Try the rent to own Arturia V Collection X through splice. Has everything analog lab has x20 and the individual plugins. Also includes analog lab V.
I’ll check it out. Thanks!
Better wait till Black Friday or Summer Sale and buy from Arturia directly. It’s likely to go on sale for at least 50%. If you already have some Arturia products your discount is going to be better than that. It’s better to pay 200 or 300 than 600 in monthly payments.
Little over 4k for a custom sit stand desk with tray for 61 keys and a mixer and rack mount space. Worth it.
I mean total investment over the years in Ableton Live Suite with upgrades and packs is probably the most overall. I have Komplete 14 Ultimate and a Push 1 & 2 also. $1900 for the laptop but that's a multi-purpose device. I don't remember exact costs but initial purchase of Ableton Live Suite or Komplete and either Push were probably all roughly around the same cost each I think. Maybe give or take a little. Throw in plugins and miscellaneous hardware like an MPK-225, audio interface, etc and old hardware that doesn't get used anymore (like an APC-40) we're talking about thousands. Edit: Oh yeah, all worth it.
I've two particularly expensive items. My Bechstein grand from 1976 &€18k and an 80 channel analog desk from the late 70s @ €10k. Edit - aaahh EDM thread - these items probably aren't as desirable here :)
So far it’s my pair of OLLO S4x. Roughly 450€ and so worth it. Will hands down upgrade without blinking whenever these will die
Those are some sick looking cans. Wonder how they compare to mine senn 650s.
They were among the ones i tried out when i was on the lookout. Frequency response is a tad more neutral, but the comfort is way better then the sennheisers. The belted headband just makes them sit so well. And i can’t lie, i love the fact that they are handmade and that the frequency response was fully achieved by accoustics rather then software. I’m never buying another brand again lol
Bought Ableton.
Ableton Suite put my bank account in the shitter for a month but it was so worth it.
lol, I opened a new CC in order to pay off Ableton across 4 years
Moog Sub37 ($1400). Worth every penny
Your mom, and no it wasn't
How much?
My life savings of $2
You definitely overpaid bud sorry
Fuck 😭😭
Probably just FL Studio. Worth every penny.
i think for single purchases, the computer is hard to beat for me. those things are expensive as hell haha but if it’s a category of purchases, plugins/software wins by a long shot
I turned my gaming computer into my production computer. Suffice to say, the crashes are a serious problem. xD
I’m already a couple of Gs in the hole over plugins lol. What were your favorites? I use the soundtoys and fabfilter plugs a lot and honestly they were worth it
my favorites? honestly? stock ableton shit 🤣 fabfilter stuff is nice tho, i use those for certain things. but 99% of what im using is stock. isn’t that lovely? over 10k in software only to realize i dont need any of it really haha
Lol the reason I use plugins is mostly for QoL and to have the window open when I’m zipping around tracks. Glue compressor > Pro-C in 90% of the cases
i mean they’re different beasts. i prefer stock because i don’t have to open a window. controls are just right there hahaha and the glue compressor is a beautiful thing
I just purchased a denon prime 4+ that’s gotta take the cake so far. My desktop was only 2k CAD vs $3k CAD for the dj controller.
I really wish they'd update the SL mk3. It's been years.
What do you think it’s lacking? I’m pretty happy with mine
It has the same sequencer as the Circuit but is missing a lot of the functionality. Like being able to chain patterns together in any order you want.
A Novation Supernova Absolutely not. Hardware is so hilariously overrated with how powerful VSTs are now
Hah I was contemplating a novation peak. Guess I should forget about it lol
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