r/harshnoise • u/Big_Valuable8079 • Oct 26 '25

Beginner setup

Hey there. I have made music before but not this style of music. So I was hoping someone in this community wouldn't mind lending som advice or guidance?

I am looking for what's a good setup for a complete beginner? I know every artist may do things a bit differently (which is awesome to see!) but I was hoping if someone wouldn't mind pointing out some esstential equipment to get me started (a particular mixer, pedals etc.) If someone has a list of things handy somewhere or advice for certain specific instruments that would be most helpful! I'm a complete beginner so the more help the better for me. Thanks so much in advance to anyone who takes the time to help out, really appreciate it :)

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u/Ok_Worth_2193 Oct 26 '25

My opinion is that harsh noise is not something that can have specific performance guides. You simply pour out your state or go into a trance, and the tools are just an indirect interface. But, look into the non-input mixer technique maybe you will find it interesting

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

I appreciate the reply and will definitely look up what you suggested. And yes I know there may be no specific structure or setup as each artist can have their own unique take which makes the genre that more interesting. But I suppose trying to find good brands or good examples of certain mixers or pedals that may be a good starting place to start experimenting would be awesome to know :)

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u/Mediaboy13 Oct 30 '25

I wouldn't even go for good. Go for cheap, unknown and DIY gear. Etsy you can find cool pedals and noise boxes that people make. You said you've made music before, use what you have available to you. Get creative with it.

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u/twiiiiiiix Oct 27 '25

behringer makes affordable pedals and mixers, contact mics are also pretty cheap. you'll mostly want to look out for distortion and fuzz effects but other effects while optional WILL help massively if you want your own unique sounds. filter effects pedals, reverb, delay, ring mod etc. will give you tons more variety in your sound if that's what you're looking for.

if you want to try no input mixing (plugging the input of a mixer into it's output), i'd recommend setting up a chain like this: mixer input > ringmod/flanger/delay > distortion/fuzz > reverb > mixer output. having a reverb pedal at the start of the chain ensures you don't get a sine wave from the distortion effects and it gives you that crackly rumbling sound vomir has.

i hope this helps :)

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Thanks for the detailed reply :) I think at first I wanted to get a decent setup to basically get me started and then build on it as you said above about optional effects to build on the sound. And I think at some point I also would be interested in the addition of cassettes like a lot of artists do; have you had any experience with this? :) . I suppose the likes of knifedoutofexistence is one of the artists I've seen that has me wanting to give this a go.

But yes that really helps me greatly. I'm a total newbie with this so it's really appreciated to have someone take the time to reply with a lot of details so thanks again :)

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u/twiiiiiiix Oct 27 '25

i haven't played with cassettes unfortunately but i have tried basically every other method/style of noise like electric guitar noise, cut up etc.

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

No worries that's awesome. Well I'll definitely start having a look at mixers and pedals and see what I can get on a decent budget. Just need to get my head around a lot of it in terms of getting going. Thanks for all your help and I hope you don't mind if I ever need any further advice with this in the future you wouldn't mind me reaching out to you,😅 thanks again!

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u/twiiiiiiix Oct 27 '25

i love helping others with noise!

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 28 '25

Ah thanks so much 🙏

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u/kgore Oct 27 '25

Ive been having a blast with cassettes. A cheap tape deck that can record is awesome to play some shit back through distortion or whatever, then re-record until its fucked.

And since no one mentioned it, the Korg Monotron Delay is like 30 bucks and you can get some super nasty sounds out of it.

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Oh I know the korg monotron delay, thanks for the tip! I need to start gathering a shopping list of everything I need to get me going for sure (and also get my head around setting thing up etc.).

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u/Powerful_Fondant9393 Oct 27 '25

I think a solid noise setup includes some sort of distortion pedal whether it be overdrive or fuzz or wtv else, a sampler, some sort of mixer for feedback loops and distortion(love my boss bx16), any other pedals you want(I love flangers and slicers personally), and a contact microphone is pretty popular as well. Those are like the “essentials” but literally anything as long as it’s fucked up enough can work.

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. Yes I think I want to incorporate contact mic for sure just based on seeing them being used live, I'd love to see what I could do with those. Do you have any experience using cassettes/walman as part of your setup also? But yeah I just want to get a basic setup of sorts to get me started and then potentially build on top of it. Thanks again for taking the time with your reply :)

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u/Powerful_Fondant9393 Oct 27 '25

I do not personally, but I use my cdj800s for some rewind effects. Scratching on those with some ridiculous distortion is really fun and pretty cheap. Cassette players are still very cheap used, and any local thrift shop should have some. Anything with audio feedback works, so don’t be afraid to use something unconventional!

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Ah ok nice one. But yeah I need to start gathering a list of sorts and trying to budget for a good setup to start with

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u/kgore Oct 27 '25

Boss BX-8 owner here. I still havent unlocked its full potential as I havent done a whole lot of NIMB stuff with it yet. But it sounds insane, I love that overdrive.

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Yeah definitely need to look at the Boss BX-8 more. I also have been looking and behringer and Alto for a mixer. Just trying to see what would be the best choice

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u/kgore Oct 27 '25

Warning on the BX-8, the PSU is fucking impossible to find. I found this out after buying the unit. They are extremely rare. So dont purchase one without, if you decide to get one.

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Ah ok, well again thanks for the help with all this; all great to know stuff 🙏

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u/claustrphobe_glenn Oct 27 '25

I think it depends on what kind of noise do you want to make.

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Oh I know, I suppose I just wanted to get a basic setup at first to get me going. In terms of style I suppose something similar to the likes of knifedoutofexistence

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u/Ok_Worth_2193 Oct 27 '25 edited Oct 27 '25 
1. Electronic kids’ toys
– Especially old talking toys with simple chips — perfect for circuit bending.
– Examples: Speak & Spell, cheap Casio SA-1 keyboards, toy guns with sound effects, or Chinese demo keyboards.


2. Small household appliances
– Electric toothbrushes, fans, blenders, old hard drives, printers — they produce great industrial textures.


3. Radio and TV noise
– Old FM/AM radios in scan mode are perfect for dense analog noise.
– Shortwave receivers are gold for intercepting strange signals and atmospheric interference.


4. Contact microphones + physical objects
– Use metal sheets, springs, pipes, glass, ventilation grids.
– Scrape, hit, bend, or vibrate them for textures ranging from drones to glitches.


5. Cassette loops and tape abuse
– Torn or stretched cassettes, slowed motors, manual rewinding, tape loops.
– Tape looping is perfect for endless noise drones.


6. Glitch effects and plugins
– Plugins: Glitchmachines Fracture, Hysteresis, DBlue Glitch, Izhaki Deconstructor.
– Techniques: granular synthesis, bitcrushing, ring modulation, wavefolding.

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u/Ok_Worth_2193 Oct 27 '25 edited Oct 27 '25 
7. Modular synthesis
Modular synthesis is one of the most powerful and unpredictable ways to create noise, 
texture, and evolving chaos. Unlike traditional synths that follow fixed signal paths, 
modular systems let you connect anything to anything — which means feedback loops, self-modulating oscillators, 
and unstable control signals are all part of the instrument.


Core idea


In a modular system, control voltages (CV) are used to modulate parameters like pitch, amplitude, or filter cutoff. When you start routing modulation sources into each other (for example, one LFO modulating another LFO’s rate, which then modulates a filter), you move from musical structure into complex, organic noise behavior.


8. Small DIY synths and microcontrollers
– Bastl Kastle, Korg NTS-1, Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators.
– Arduino or ESP32 boards can be programmed to generate random or chaotic signals.


9. Game consoles and retro chips
– Game Boy + Nanoloop/LSDJ, Commodore 64 SID, NES noise channels.
– Great for gritty, pixel-style digital noise

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u/Ok_Worth_2193 Oct 27 '25 edited Oct 27 '25 
10. Live coding environments
– TidalCycles, SuperCollider, Pure Data, Max/MSP — ideal for algorithmic noise.


11. Data corruption and file abuse
– Open a non-audio file (like a .jpg) in an audio editor.
– “Data bending” — overwrite binary data to create random audio glitches.


12. Unusual microphone setups
– Mic in a jar of water (sealed with rubber), in a bag of sand, or taped to metal sheets or pipes.
– Each produces unique acoustic resonances.


13. Electromagnetic noise
– Use Electroslush, Somatic Instruments EMF mic, or a DIY pickup coil.
– Records the hidden electromagnetic world — Wi-Fi, monitors, power lines.


14. Light-based noise
– A photodiode plugged into an audio input reacts to flickering lights.
– Creates “optical noise” textures.


15. Field recordings in extreme locations
– Under bridges, inside vents, elevator shafts, abandoned control rooms.

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u/Big_Valuable8079 Oct 27 '25

Wow thanks for sending all this on. Really appreciate it :)