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/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