I want my own home music studio.  What I really want to do is to
produce break beats and record them on cds.  What equipment do I need?

Hi! Thanks for the question.

The best way to answer your question is to find links and resources to
different tutorials and guides on how to setup a home music studio.
Some of the articles are detailed step by step guides, complete with
illustration on how you can set it up while others are personal
experiences shared on how they were able to build their own home
recording studio. Most of the articles presume that you know how to
record your completed music and use the CD-RW hardware in your PC. I
will try to also post some links to recording music on CD so you will
have a complete picture.

Here are the articles to help you build your home music recording
studio. Let us start with a discussion on what equipment you will
need.

?An introduction to home studios?
http://www.exhardware.com/reviews.php?Id=53 

?Introduction to Digital Home Recording?
http://www.kevinkemp.com/homerecordingtutorial/ 


Our next links now will pertain to the setup itself. Some have
additional equipment being mentioned in their tutorials so better
check them out as well.

?Home Studio 101? (Complete with Graphics)
http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_get_started_with_midi.html 
http://www.tweakheadz.com/setting_up_your_audio_card.htm
http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_build_a_budget_studio.htm

?HOW TO SET UP YOUR HOME STUDIO?
http://www.soundrecordingadvice.com/downloads/studiosetup.pdf 

?The Musicians Guide to Home Recording?
http://home.earthlink.net/~rongonz/home_rec/home.html 

?The Personal Computer Based Music Studio?
http://home.earthlink.net/~rongonz/home_rec/studio.html 

?Building a Home Studio on a Budget: How to Get Started?
http://www.shurenotes.com/issue1/homeStudio.html 

?Building a Home Studio? (Personal Experience)
http://www.marktaw.com/music/BuildingaHomeStudio.html
http://marktaw.com/recording/HomeStudio/BuildingaHomeStudiopartII.html
http://www.marktaw.com/recording/HomeStudio/BuildingaHomeStudiopartII-2.html
http://www.marktaw.com/recording/HomeStudio/BuildingaHomeStudioPartVI.html


In case you are interested, here are some recommended books for
creating a home music studio.

Books:
http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/Books/HomeStudio.asp


After you?ve done creating your music, it?s time to burn them on a cd
by using your computer. Here are some articles to get you started.

First off here is a specific article catering to your needs when
having a recording studio. It mentions specific software you will
need. But its main point is converting the music you created first in
a proper format first before burning it to a CD. Usually it?s from the
MIDI to Wav format.

?COMPLETE TUTORIAL FOR TRANSFERRING MUSIC FROM YOUR DIGITAL INSTRUMENT
AND BURNING IT TO CD?
http://www.synthzone.com/files/technics/Burning%20CD2.doc 
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:3mkggxXtMigJ:www.synthzone.com/files/technics/Burning%2520CD2.doc+burning+music+CD-r+tutorial&hl=en

Here is another tutorial on how to convert MIDI to WAV or MP3.

?How to Convert MIDI to MP3 or CD?
http://mp3.about.com/cs/tipstricks/a/miditomp3orcd.htm 


Here are other general ways to burn to a CD.

?CD Burning Basics?
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/00/38/index4a.html 

?How to burn a CD? (using Nero software)
http://www.ncs-ltd.co.nz/burning.htm 


Search terms used:
home music recording studio setup tutorial basics

I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
                 
Thanks for visiting us.                
                 
Regards,                 
Easterangel-ga                 
Google Answers Researcher

Minimum: good computer,MIDI keyboard and software( by the way its the
main part).Notice that professional music software at studios works
not at Windows/PC but at Mac.

If it's sampling and loop creation you're after, all you need is a
computer (Windows PC or Mac), a half decent soundcard (it can be done
satisfactorily using a Soundblaster), and the software of your choice.
Very good advice for the aspiring computer musician can be found at
the Computer Music magazine website:

http://www.computermusic.co.uk/main.asp

The use of Mac in pro studios is more to do with tradition than any
real advantage these days - 10 years ago the PC was not a very
interesting platform for creating music. Find out about a few programs
(Ableton Live, Cakewalk Project5, FL Studio, Propellorheads Reason,
Sony Acid, to name but a few)and try out the demos to see which suit
your preferred working style. I guarantee you'll be hooked!