What Do I Need To Make Beats? Here’s What I Actually Use

I made my first beat on an old MacBook Air with GarageBand and $10 earbuds. It was crunchy and loud. My cat walked across the keyboard. I kept it anyway. That little mess pushed me to keep going.

If you’re curious about the exact pieces of gear that survived my years of trial-and-error, I laid everything out in this quick checklist.

Here’s the thing: you don’t need everything on day one. But I’ve tried a lot. Some gear helped. Some didn’t. I’ll tell you what stuck, and what kinda flopped.

Start With What You Have (Yes, Your Phone Works)

I’ve made full loops on my phone with:

  • GarageBand on iPhone (free, easy drums, decent keys)
  • Koala Sampler on Android and iOS (fun pads, fast sampling)

Real story: I chopped a voice memo of my friend whistling in Koala while riding the bus. Latency was a pain with cheap Bluetooth buds. I switched to wired earbuds and it was fine. Export was quick. I finished the beat later on my laptop.

If you want a deeper dive on wringing pro-sounding beats out of a pocket device, I walked through my whole mobile workflow in this hands-on app roundup.

If you’ve got a laptop, GarageBand on Mac is a gift. On Windows, I tried Cakewalk by BandLab. It’s free and solid, though it crashed once on my older PC. Save often. Trust me. For an updated snapshot of other no-cost options, TechRadar's guide on the best free music-making software of 2025 is worth a skim.

The DAWs I Use (And How They Feel)

I rotate, but I land here most:

  • FL Studio Producer Edition: Feels playful. The step sequencer made drums click for me. Pattern mode is fun. Song mode took me a minute. It runs well on my mid-range PC. On my old laptop, big projects did spike the CPU.

  • Ableton Live Intro: Clean and fast. Session View is great for trying ideas. I grabbed it on a Black Friday sale. The stock drum racks slap. Intro has a track limit, but I stayed under it by freezing tracks.

  • Logic Pro (when I’m on Mac): Sounds polished. Drummer is handy for quick grooves. File management feels tidy. I wish it came to Windows, but nope.

I even lined these DAWs up against the biggest EDM-focused suites and shared what actually moved the needle for me in this EDM software shoot-out.

Pick one and stay a bit. Switching every week slowed me down.

If you’re still hunting for the overall best fit, my broader take on the question “what software do music producers really use?” might help—find it right here.

MIDI Controller: Want It? Nice. Need It? Not Really.

I learned on the computer keyboard first. It works. But the Akai MPK Mini MK3 made me faster.

  • Pads: Good bounce. A tiny bit stiff out of the box, then they softened.
  • Keys: Small but playable. I use the arpeggiator a lot.
  • Knobs: Light and a bit wobbly. Fine for filter sweeps and quick tweaks.

I also tried the Novation Launchkey Mini. The scale mode saved me from sour notes. The build felt a touch sturdier, but I liked Akai’s pads more. Both fit in a backpack.

For anyone curious about how much actual “beat-making” most producers do versus broader arranging and mixing, I unpacked that common question in this candid piece.

Audio Interface And Mic: Only If You Record

When I started recording hooks at home, I got a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Setup was easy. Latency was low at 128 samples on my machine. The preamp is clean. No drama.

For vocals, I used:

  • Shure SM58: Forgiving, tough, less room noise.
  • Audio-Technica AT2020 (condenser): More detail, but it hears the whole room, which can be rough.

My room was echoey. I made a “blanket booth” with two stands and a thick moving blanket. Ugly, but it worked better than cheap foam squares. Later I added a small reflection filter behind the mic. That helped tame sibilance.

Headphones And Speakers (So Your Kick Actually Hits)

Headphones first:

  • Sony MDR-7506: Clear, comfy, honest highs. The low end is there, but lean. I check bass with a quick reference track.
  • Audio-Technica ATH-M50x: Warmer lows. Fun to make beats on. I had to watch the bass, or I would overdo it.

Monitors later:

  • Yamaha HS5: Tight mids. They told me the truth. Not much sub, so I added a small sub only after I learned the room.
  • KRK Rokit 5: Big low end, easy to vibe. I liked them for trap drums, but I sometimes under-mixed the kick because the room hyped the bass.

Room matters. I placed the speakers in an equilateral triangle with my head. I put a rug down. I used two bass traps in the corners. My neighbors thanked me.

Sounds And Plugins I Keep Reaching For

Stock sounds can go far. But I do have favorites.

  • Samples: Splice for quick one-shots and loops (I tag my favorites by mood). Cymatics has good free packs. I also record my own claps and snaps. Real hands sound rich.

  • Free synths: Vital (clean and modern), Dexed (FM, 80s bells), Surge (deep, lightweight). Great starters.

  • Paid go-tos: Xfer Serum (easy to shape), Valhalla VintageVerb (lush tails), RC-20 Retro Color (adds grit), FabFilter Pro-Q 3 (surgical EQ), OTT (for that squish), iZotope Ozone Elements (fast, light master).

Need an even deeper bench of free instruments? MusicRadar's roundup of the best free VST synth plugins highlights a bunch I still keep on my drive.

New to plugins in general? I rounded up some good music software for beginners that doesn’t require a monster PC or a huge budget.

Real example: A lo-fi track I made called “Lemon Night” used a cassette hiss from RC-20, a Rhodes from Vital, and a soft sidechain with Ableton’s Compressor. 85 BPM. Kick was a Splice one-shot. Bass was a sine I drew in Serum. Simple. Clean. It still gets plays on my tiny page.

Workflow Bits I Learned The Hard Way

  • Turn the metronome on early. Turn it off once the groove locks.
  • Name your tracks. “Audio_36” is pain later.
  • Keep your kick, snare, and bass in a bus. Add a gentle glue compressor.
  • Sidechain the bass to the kick, just a touch. Space wins.
  • Gain stage. Keep peaks around -6 dB before the master. Headroom helps.
  • Save versions. I use “BeatName_v1, v2, v3.” v1 is usually better than I think.
  • Back up. I keep a small SSD and copy projects on Sundays. Boring, but safe.

Budget Paths That Worked

  • $0 setup:

    • Phone with GarageBand or Koala.
    • Wired earbuds.
    • Free packs + Vital.
    • Tip: Use reference tracks you love. Match loudness, not exact tone.

  • Around $200:

    • FL Studio Fruity or Ableton Intro.
    • Akai MPK Mini MK3.
    • Sony MDR-7506 (often on sale).

  • Around $500:

    • FL Studio Producer or Logic (Mac).
    • Focusrite Scarlett Solo.
    • Shure SM58.
    • ATH-M50x or entry monitors like HS5 (used market can help).

You can mix and match. Go slow. Buy used if you can test first.

Little Things That Matter More Than Gear

  • Timing: Nudge hats a hair early. Lay your snare a touch late. Feel beats gear.
  • Space: A break bar, a drop, a mute—those hit harder than a new plugin.
  • Taste: Keep a reference playlist. I set one by mood: drill, lo-fi, house. I level-match and compare.
  • Finish: Done beats teach more than perfect loops. I post the weird ones, too.
  • Energy: Long sessions can wreck your sleep and sap your drive. If you keep waking up groggy or notice your motivation flatlining, it might be worth checking whether your hormones are in check—this clear primer on what causes low testosterone breaks down the lifestyle, diet, and stress factors that can quietly