[Erytoupo]

Hey guys, I’m interested in making some simple music and I’m looking for a cost-effective item to help. I’ve been recommended ableton gear but is there anything else that would be good?

[larryberry]

If you have a mac, garbageband is actually super powerful.  Logic is honestly a fantastic deal too at $200.  If you already have some production software I'd look at getting a midi keyboard.  49 keys is plenty for basic production, you can even get away with less if you care about portability.  I'd recommend looking at stuff by m-audio or nektar for cheap keyboards.

[CrayBen]

Great question i am also getting in to producing and i have a bunch of friends that make music. I would say it really depends on what genre of music you are going to make. But i would say you should get FL studio and a small MIDI keyboard to start off with. You really dont need any gear except a computer and speakers/headphones to be honest with you. Try it out for a while first and get the hang of it is the best thing to do i think. If you already know it and you want to produce professionally i Think getting a MIDI keyboard, a microphone, speakers and then go from there.

Hope i understood your question correctly and that i gave you a decent answer.