Point Blank Music School pride themselves on helping young creatives kick-start their music careers. With over 25-years of offering award-winning music courses both at their HQ’s in London and Los Angeles, as well as online, they are clued up when it comes to the kind of music tech you should have in your home studio. If you’re new to the world of music production and/or DJing and need to get to grips with what software and hardware you need, they can help!

They’ve put together their six go-to pieces of kit for anyone looking to jump into the world of music creation and performance which you’ll find below.

If you’d like to learn more about music production, DJing, singing, songwriting and music business, be sure to check out Point Blank’s courses. Plus, they’re currently offering 25% off their selected London, Online and Los Angeles courses using the codes LONDON25, ONLINE25 and LA25.

1. Ableton Live

Ableton Live is a staple for many music producers, featuring a range of instruments and effects. There are some affordable price plans available if you’re not looking to buy upfront as well as the option to grab yourself a copy for free when enrolling on certain Point Blank courses. If you’re looking for some fantastic free plugins to add to your music production tool kit, check out Point Blank’s round-up of the 10 Best Free Plugins: 2021.

2. AKAI Professional MPK Mini MKII

Akai’s MPK Mini MKII is a great controller for programming beats and playing in your basslines and melodies. Unlike many other controllers, the MKII has an innovative 4-way thumbstick for dynamic pitch and modulation control as well as a built-in arpeggiator with adjustable modes. This one’s perfect for taking on the road due to its compact size of 18 x 31.4 cm (that’s roughly the size of a laptop).

3. Focusrite Scarlett Solo

To help connect all your gear, you’ll need a good audio interface. Focusrite’s Scarlett Solo is perfect for beginners and features an XLR input for recording vocals or instruments, the best-sounding Scarlett mix preamp yet, a 2-in/2-out configuration and more.

4. KRK ROKIT RP5 G4 Studio Monitors

What’s great about the KRK ROKIT RP5 G4 monitors is their integration with the KRK app. This allows users to gain expert assistance with EQ, level matching, speaker placement and more, so you’ll get the most out of your monitors. KRK’s are popular in lots of home studios thanks to their reliable quality and accessible prices. As well as featuring powerful D-class amplifiers, their custom Brickwall Limiter helps provide wider sound dynamics and prevents them from overheating.

5. beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO

These beyerdynamics are a solid option for those looking to use their new headphones primarily at the studio. They’re bass-heavy, reasonably priced and durable, meaning that you won’t need to replace them anytime soon. You’ll reap the benefits of these headphones when using an audio interface but when plugged into a laptop or phone the sound can feel slightly less driven. Overall these are a great selection if you’re in the game for some low-end studio sessions.

6. Pioneer DJ DDJ-400

The DDJ-400 from Pioneer DJ comes in at just under £250, making it a fantastic entry-level controller for those looking to jump into the world of DJing. Like many of Pioneer DJ’s other hardware controllers, the DDJ-400 comes equipped with the latest Rekordbox software which enables users to set cue points, hot cues, arrange playlists and organise their tracks for use on CDJs when the time comes. The layout on this controller mirrors that of the performance tech giant’s flagship NXS2 set-up, meaning that it’s a great tool to use when preparing yourself for the club.

If you’re looking to kick-start your music career, be sure to check out Point Blank’s award-winning courses in London, Los Angeles and Online: www.pointblankmusicschool.com

How Take it away can help you

Instruments and equipment can be expensive meaning some people never discover the joy of learning and playing music.

At Take it away, we work with our retail partners, Arts Council England and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to break down these barriers. A part of Creative United, a community interest company that drives economic growth and social impact in the arts and creative industries, we provide a range of subsidised and non-subsidised loans. These are designed to make learning, playing and participating in music more affordable and open to everyone.

Together with our partners, we look to enable and inspire a life-long love of music.

Find out how Take it away can help you with the cost of a musical instrument, equipment and software.