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ChipMusic.org / Forums / Nintendo Handhelds / I want to get into LSDJ. How much should I expect to spend?
As a person who primarily modifies hardware for fun (and profit), I find I use my unmodified equipment just as much, sometimes more.
A Game Boy Color is probably your best starting point; you can get one with LSDj and a flash cart for under $100 USD.
This, of course, doesn't preclude the wonderful option that is an LSDj license and a copy of BGB. You can get that set up going for the price of your generosity and gratitude to Johan, expressed in donation form. 
you can always trade here too. i had a powerpak i never used and exchanged it for a gb of equal value from justin thursdays shop. if you have some music/videogame equipment or anything else you might be willing to part with you could try making a wtt thread here. you'd be surprised how quickly someone usually bites.
You'll need $1500, then i'll come to your house and make some sweet jams.
work in an emulator spend nothing up front (except the money for the rom) add pieces as you realize what it is you need/want. you can transfer the saves to an ems64 or a drag and derp after your songs are completed (and have the backups on your drive). I've probably spent around $300-$400 on my chip equipment but it was in $30-$40 intervals (and includes mixers, battery powered micro recorders/iphone apps and desktop stuff) every couple of months.
Last edited by 9H05T (Nov 14, 2012 6:04 pm)
I also recommend ThursdayCustoms if you want a great modded GameBoy. In his topic you can find a whole listing of what he can do, to which price (http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/2557/ … ed-101512/).
But pls. stop right there if you're thinking: "OMG! That's some sweet stuff, i'm gonna get some!".
Cause that's the dumbest thing you can do, before you looked at LSDJ (try out the demo) with a good emulator. Just don't expect to buy some good gear and a cart makes you the greatest ChiptuneDude on the planet. If you never did anything with music you can assume that your first 10, 20, 30 or maybe 40 tunes will suck.
So it would be the best if you would go the cheap route first before you blow out money for nothing.
I would honestly recommend buying a cart to learn lsdj unless you have a gamepad or something for your computer. To me, half of understanding how it worked was getting the keypresses down and doing that with an emulator and a keyboard is sort of unintuitive.
Also, if you buy a cart and you end up not using lsdj, it's really easy to resell them for close to the price of a new one on here. Think of it as renting the cart for a bit- You'll spend a net of maybe 5-10 bucks on the rental plus the LSDJ license costs and if you decide to keep it, all the better.
Yeah, I picked up a custom Black Play it Loud! DMG with RGB switches, prosound and NES buttons from ThursdayCustoms and have never looked back. The EMS cart I bought from nonfinite also came loaded with LSDj v4.6.1. I have a load of other stuff including mixers and keyboards as well as a guitar, but they were from before I really got into the chipscene... The only thing I am looking to get now is an arduinoboy so I can midi sync my DMG with my compy and casio for extra cool grooves... But all you really need to get into it, as has been said plenty, is a gameboy, EMS cart, and LSDj.
You'll need $1500, then i'll come to your house and make some sweet jams.
XD