This feature is part of Resident Advisor's technology month, dedicated to coverage at the crossroads of electronic music and future-forward innovation throughout the month of June.

The history of electronic music is inseparable from the history of technology. Throughout the genre's near-70 year history, affordability and accessibility have remained significant barriers to entry for many aspiring musicians. The original Moog, for example, cost roughly $10,000 (£8,250) (equivalent to $93,000 or £76,721 today). Still, it was considered a breakthrough at a time when most synthesisers cost six figures or more, and sometimes took up entire rooms. It wasn't until the late 1960s and early '70s that companies like EMS brought synthesisers to the mainstream by placing an emphasis on affordability, portability and practicality. And with rapid innovations in miniaturised microelectronics, home computers went from the stuff of science fiction to an everyday reality for many. As computers became more widely available, so too did cost-effective compact synthesisers and rhythm machines.

Over the last 50 years, these technological developments have made music production increasingly accessible. Head over to Sweetwater.com or Plugin Boutique and you'll find an absolute abundance of affordable hardware, software synths and plugins. It can be a little overwhelming for novice creators figuring out where to begin. To help cut through the noise, Resident Advisor has compiled a list of affordable music-making tools to help you get started.

Ableton Live Intro

£66 • $99 • €77

Let's begin with the most vital part of the music maker's arsenal: the digital audio workstation, or DAW. While the complete version of Logic Pro is priced at $200 (£165), it is available exclusively to iOS users. So for the sake of accessibility, we'll focus on their competitor, Ableton's entry-level edition. For just under one hundred dollars, this stripped down introduction to Ableton Live 11 gives you 16 audio/MIDI tracks, 21 audio effects, a range of complex audio warping modes and five gigabytes worth of sound packs. It's everything a beginning producer needs to get started.

Behringer TD-3-SR

£108 • $149 • €129

In 1981, Roland unveiled their now-iconic TB-303 analogue bass synth to virtually no success. Originally marketed as a replacement for the bass guitar, it failed to truly emulate its live counterpart, and in 1984 the company halted production. But it quickly found favour with early techno artists like Juan Atkins and Sleezy D, who took advantage of its unique acid-tinged sound. While an original TB-303 can now run for $4000 (£3,298) or more on eBay, a whole market of affordable 303 knockoffs has spawned in its wake—including Behringer's TD-3-SR analogue synth. Priced at $149 (£108), you can fit this compact acid emulator right into the pocket of your UFO pants. Featuring a 16-step sequencer, built-in arpeggiator, VCO, VCA and VCF—plus a host of distortion effects—the TD-3-SR is the perfect addition to the techno enthusiast's repertoire.

Korg Volca FM 2

‎£166 • $170 • €189

Korg's Volca series includes some of the most well-known affordable hardware on the market. Chief among them is the Volca FM 2—the ideal starting point for anyone looking to get into hardware-based FM synthesis. With six voices, six operators, 32 algorithms, effects and a 16-step sequencer, the FM 2 can produce intricate sounds in the fashion of Yamaha's DX7—all in an essentially handheld design.

Chromaphone 3 - $99 (normally $199)

£77 • $99 • €88

Applied Acoustics' Chromaphone 3 may just be one of the most powerful tools on this list. Intuitive and easy to use with endless possibilities for personalisation, this acoustic object synthesiser allows you to sculpt virtually any percussive surface based on real-world instruments like strings, drumheads, beams, bars and more. Available until September 3rd for $99 (£77) via Plugin Boutique, Chromaphone comes with more than 1000 meticulously crafted presets, plus a range of interesting expansion packs. Stick with the presets or go under the hood for deep customisation. Either way, you'll have an incredibly dynamic synth at your fingertips.

Astra by Splice - Available with Splice Creator plans

£11.50 • $13.99 • €13.99 per month

One of Splice's latest innovations in the plugin realm, Astra is the perfect soft synth for producers of all skill levels. At $13.99 (£11.50) a month, the Creator plan includes 200 monthly credits, access to Astra and Splice's drum sequencer, Beatmaker, plus loads of regular educational content. A nifty polysynth with FM, wavetable, granular, analog and sampler capabilities, Astra makes it easy to kickstart your creativity with endless presets and a rhythm sequencer for dynamic compositions.

Disclosure: Resident Advisor currently has an editorial partnership with Splice. However, their inclusion on this list was decided autonomously by the author, and has no relation to the partnership.

RØDE VideoMic Me-L

£58 • $79.95 • €67

No studio setup is complete without a good directional mic. Whether you're capturing vocal snippets for your next club track or grabbing field recordings of the subway train clattering overhead, RØDE's VideoMic Me-L offers producers a high-quality, portable option. Complete with a lightning connector and clip, the mic fastens securely to your iPhone or iPad. It also includes a furry windshield to protect against wind noise, plus a headphone port for live monitoring.

NI Transient Master

£50 • $50 • €50

A transient shaper might seem like a more advanced thing to include on a list like this. But Native Instruments' Transient Master streamlines the process of honing your sound by offering just three parameter dials: attack, sustain and gain. Use this tool to get your snares snapping, make your kicks beefy, bring hi-hats forward or pull them back in the mix. The choice is yours, without any of the confusing fluff.

Dub Machines

£79 • $79 • €79

This bundle of analogue-inspired delay plugins from Surreal Machines is sure to infuse your tracks with that vintage dubby character. For 79 bucks, you get two equally powerful VSTs. MODNETIC combines the classic tape feel of 1970s delay hardware with digital spring reverb, chorus, flanger and phaser effects. DIFFUSE sits somewhere between a vintage analogue-modelled delay and a digital reverb machine, allowing you to find that sweet spot for echoey atmospheres and tripped out percussion.

Rift 2.0

£79 • $79 • €79 (on sale from $129)

They say a magician never reveals their secrets. But Minimal Audio's hybrid distortion plugin, Rift, is just too juicy not to share. Like other plugins on this list, Rift comes with hundreds of exciting presets—as well as a preset shuffle to quickly cycle through different sonic ideas. Whether you're ready to get your hands dirty or you're content with tweaking existing preset parameters, Rift is the ideal assistant for fattening up sounds, or generating surprising, ear-catching sound designs.

Voxengo GlissEQ

£72 • $79 • €76

Mixing is honestly the last thing a novice producer should focus on. But the sooner you get the hang of a good equaliser, the better off you'll be. Enter Voxengo's GlissEQ. In the fashion of FabFilter's Pro-Q 3—a standard for many advanced producers—GlissEQ is a dynamic EQ plugin. With Ableton's stock EQ, you get exactly what you set. So if you need to scoop a few dB out at 250 Hz, you get just that—a 3 dB reduction at 250 Hz across the whole mix. But with Gliss, if you specify a 3 dB reduction at 250 Hz, you don't necessarily get a 3 dB decrease in gain. Instead, Gliss' filter acts according to user-set parameters, so the reduction will only happen when the parameter threshold is crossed. In layman's terms, let's say a snare is causing some unwanted resonance at a specific point in your track, Gliss will allow you to address it at exactly that point without impacting the rest of the mix.