How to start electronic music with hardware? The guide to create your first setup

The first machine often arrives with a lot of enthusiasm… and some questions: What do I plug where? Do I need a computer? A mixing desk? An audio interface? And how do I make all these machines play together?

Good news: to start electronic music with hardware, you don’t need to turn your room into a professional studio. A small setup of two or three machines can already allow you to create tracks, jam with other musicians and even prepare a first live performance.

The most important thing is to build a setup that you understand and want to use. A good configuration is not the one with the most machines: it’s the one that makes you want to play.

Why start electronic music with hardware?

With a computer, it is possible to have thousands of sounds, synthesizers and effects at the click of a button. Hardware imposes more constraints. And that is precisely what can be interesting.

Turning a filter, programming a sequence on a drum machine or modifying a bassline with a few buttons creates a much more physical relationship with the music. You listen, you manipulate, you start again.

Hardware is also particularly suited to jams. You can set down a drum machine, add a bassline, invite someone with a synthesizer or an additional machine and start building something without needing to prepare a perfect track in advance.

This is often where electronic music really becomes collective: everyone brings a machine, an idea, a groove or a different way of playing.

What do you really need to start?

For a first setup, think in terms of functions rather than brands.

• A rhythmic machine to create kicks, snares, hi-hats and percussion.
• A melodic or bass machine to provide notes and synth lines.
• A way to mix the machines if you want to listen to them together.
• Audio cables and possibly MIDI or Sync to connect them.
• Headphones or speakers to listen to the result.

You can start even more simply with a single groovebox or a machine capable of handling several roles. But two complementary machines are often more interesting to discover how a real setup works: a drum machine for the groove and a synthesizer for bass or melodies.

A first setup for acid techno

If your goal is to make acid, a classic example is to combine a machine like a 303 or TD-3 with a drum machine.

The bass machine produces the famous acid line, while the drum machine handles the kick, hats, snares and percussion. Add a small mixer and you already have a configuration capable of producing a whole track.

The principle is simple:

• Acid machine → bassline
• Drum machine → drums
• Mixer → mix of the two machines
• Headphones or speakers → listening

You can then add effects, a synthesizer or a third machine. But don’t rush. Learning to make two machines sound right is much more instructive than buying five and never really understanding how they work together.

And to start techno?

The logic is similar. A drum machine often forms the heart of the setup. It allows you to build the kick and percussion, then a synthesizer or bass machine completes the track.

A minimal techno setup can therefore look like:

• a drum machine;
• a synthesizer or bass machine;
• a small mixer;
• headphones;
• the necessary cables.

With only these elements, you can already work on rhythm, bass, variations, breaks and transitions. In other words: everything that makes a loop gradually become a track.

How to connect your first machines?

You need to distinguish two things: sound and musical information.

Audio cables

Audio cables carry the sound produced by your machines.

For example, if you have a drum machine and a TD-3, their audio outputs can be sent to the inputs of a mixer. The mixer then allows you to control the volumes of the different machines and send the result to your headphones or speakers.

The basic diagram therefore looks like:

Drum machine → mixer
TD-3 / synth → mixer
Mixer → headphones or speakers

To record your performance on a computer, you can then add an audio interface between the mixer and the computer.

MIDI

MIDI does not carry sound. It allows machines to exchange information: which notes to play, when to play them, when to start a sequence or what tempo to use.

This is particularly useful when several machines must play together.

For example, you can decide that one machine is the “brain” of the setup and sends the tempo to the others. All machines can then stay synchronized.

At the beginning, don’t try to master all the details of MIDI. Simply understand this distinction: audio carries sound; MIDI carries musical information.

MIDI, Sync: what’s the difference?

Depending on the machines, you may encounter several synchronization systems.

MIDI Clock notably allows the transmission of tempo and start information between devices. Some machines also have dedicated Sync connections, particularly common on machines designed for performances and compact setups.

The principle to remember is simple: choose one machine to serve as the time reference, then make sure the others follow its tempo.

If your setup does not start at the same time or if the machines seem to speed up and slow down independently of each other, the problem often comes from the synchronization configuration rather than the audio.

Do you have to buy a mixing desk from the start?

Not necessarily.

With a single machine, you can do without. With two machines, it depends on your configuration. But as soon as you start multiplying instruments, a mixer becomes very practical.

It notably allows you to:

• independently control the volume of each machine;
• listen to several instruments simultaneously;
• prepare a setup more easily for a jam;
• add certain effects;
• send the complete mix to an audio interface or sound system.

The mixer becomes particularly interesting as soon as you start playing with someone else. Your setup is then no longer just a personal studio: it becomes a small musical system in which several people can intervene.

Is it mandatory to have a computer?

No.

You can perfectly build an entirely hardware setup. A drum machine, a synthesizer, a sequencer and a mixer can be enough to create and play music without opening Ableton or another software.

The computer becomes especially interesting to record, edit, arrange, mix and archive your performances.

A hybrid approach also works very well: you play your machines in real time and then use your computer to record the jam and turn the best ideas into a track.

How much does a first hardware setup cost?

There is no magic budget. You can start very small and evolve your installation gradually.

The right reflex is not to calculate only the price of the machines. Also think about cables, headphones, possibly a mixer and an audio interface if you want to record.

Rather than trying to buy the “perfect setup,” set yourself a musical goal:

• I want to make acid → a machine like 303/TD-3 + a drum machine.
• I want to make techno → a drum machine + a synth or bass.
• I want to jam → two complementary machines + a mixer.
• I want to prepare a live → prioritize reliability, simplicity and mastery of the machines.
• I want to record my tracks → add an audio interface or use the output of a suitable mixer.

Don’t choose your machines only on their technical specifications

Two machines can be capable of doing similar things and yet cause completely different sensations when you play them.

Before buying, ask yourself: do I want to spend an hour with this machine?

The number of outputs, polyphony or the amount of presets are important, but ergonomics count a lot. A machine that you understand quickly and that makes you want to turn its knobs will often be more useful than a much more powerful device that you leave in its box.

The trap of “gear acquisition syndrome”

There is a constant temptation in hardware: thinking that the next machine will unlock your creativity.

A new drum machine can indeed open new possibilities. But if you already have a machine that you don’t master, buying additional equipment will not necessarily solve the problem.

Try instead a simple rule: make several tracks with your current setup before adding a new machine.

You will quickly discover what you really lack. Maybe a bass. Maybe more percussion. Maybe a mixer. Or maybe simply more time to learn to use what you already have.

Your first goal: make a loop that makes you want to move

Don’t immediately try to produce a six-minute track.

Start with a kick. Add a hi-hat. Find a bassline. Vary the filter. Cut the kick for a few seconds. Bring it back. Listen to what happens.

Electronic music relies heavily on the ability to evolve relatively simple elements.

A good 16-bar loop that you want to stay on can be much more interesting than a complex arrangement full of sounds you don’t really like.

And now: play with someone

This is probably the step that is most easily forgotten when discovering hardware.

You can spend weeks watching synthesizer videos, comparing drum machines and building the ideal setup… without ever plugging it in with someone else’s.

Yet, a jam can completely change your way of producing.

Imagine a producer with a drum machine, a person with a TD-3 and a third musician with a synthesizer. Each arrives with a machine and some ideas. You have to find the right tempo, adjust levels, synchronize devices and above all listen to what the others play.

It is no longer just about producing your own track. You have to leave space.

This is precisely what allows you to discover the musical compatibility of another producer: do your grooves work together? Do you like the same tempos? Do you want to build something after this first session?

How to find people to jam hardware with?

Start locally. Look for producers, DJs, musicians or artists who work in styles close to yours and who also want to play rather than just exchange playlists.

A first contact can be very simple: explain what you do, indicate your city, specify your style and clearly say what you are looking for.

For example: “I make acid/techno with a small hardware setup and I’m looking for someone to jam regularly and possibly build a live.”

This precision is important. “I’m looking for musicians” is quite vague. “I’m looking for a techno producer for a hardware jam next weekend” immediately gives the other person an idea of the project.

On Benoizzy, the goal is precisely to facilitate this type of meeting: move from a musical profile to a real collaboration, find compatible people in your city and turn a meeting into a jam, a project, a recording or a live.

A good jam can become much more than a jam

The first session will not necessarily produce an incredible track. And that’s okay.

You can especially discover that you like working together. The second session will be smoother. You will know each other’s machines. You will know who prefers to program, who likes to improvise and who is comfortable structuring tracks.

After a few sessions, several possibilities naturally appear:

• record a track together;
• build a hardware live;
• start a production project;
• play at a small local event;
• invite other musicians to a session;
• form a duo or a collective.

Hardware is then less a collection of objects than a meeting point between musicians.

The best setup is the one that makes you play

You don’t need a studio full of machines to start.

A drum machine, a synthesizer and some cables can already teach you a lot: create a groove, program a sequence, listen to frequencies, manage a mix, synchronize several devices and above all build music that works with other people.

Start small. Learn your machines. Make tracks. Record your jams. And above all, get out of the studio from time to time to meet other people who play.

Because in the end, hardware is just a means. The real project is the music you will create with it.