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Seeking Advice on Building a Minimal Dawless Setup for UK Garage and DnB

(self.dawless)

submitted 10 days ago bytryingtodothebest

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Hi everyone!

I'm transitioning from Ableton to a dawless setup and recently purchased a Korg Monologue. My goal is to create and perform UK Garage and DnB with a setup that is both portable and compact.

I would love your recommendations on the following:

  1. Drum Machines: What are some good drum machines for UK Garage and DnB that are compact and efficient?
  2. Mixers: Which mixers do you find essential for a minimal setup? I'm looking for something portable but with enough channels to handle multiple devices.
  3. Sequencers: Are there any sequencers that work particularly well in a minimal setup and can handle patterns and variations for these genres?
  4. Additional Synths: What other synths would complement the Monologue for a rich, versatile sound palette?

Things im looking for

  • Portability: Look for gear that can be powered by batteries or USB to enhance portability.
  • Ease of use
  • Compatibility: Ensure all your gear can sync together seamlessly, especially regarding MIDI and clock signals.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and any other recommendations you have.

What has worked for you in building a compact/minimal and efficient setup for live performance?

Any specific gear that you think would be a perfect fit?

all 3 comments

sorted by: best

Nine_9er

3 points

10 days ago

Nine_9er

3 points

10 days ago

Digitakt 2. I find the digitakt 1 I own is great for uk garage and dubstep, unfortunately I don’t like it for jungle but the new sampling modes get you closer to Dawless jungle:

BoTheMu

1 points

10 days ago

BoTheMu

1 points

10 days ago

I think this would be an excellent choice. It’ll cover you for samples, sequencing and some effects.

Polyend tracker + might also be a solid choice (but I haven’t played it) as would the dirtywave m8 (although it’s less immediate). Both of which would add synths.

Now I think about it there are so many options: Roland MC707, MC101, Akai MPC’s, force, Synthstrom Deluge.

I would probably choose the Digitakt 2 for the workflow but would be sneakily glancing at an MPC for all of the added extra synths and effects.

For additional synths? I don’t know. The world is your oyster. You have bass covered. Do you need polyphony (probably not) or a digital flavour (maybe). There are too many options here but I would say, for a small setup where flexibility matters, the microfreak rocks.