While sound sources are essential, it's vital to start with the heart of the setup, whatever the budget or complexity of the project: the mixer.

You could make do with a tiny mixer with just two or three inputs, but that would quickly become an annoying limitation. 

Two line inputs (mono or stereo), one or two mic inputs and an effects bus (Send-Return) are a minimum. The presence of an integrated multi-effects unit is not necessarily essential, but will help out, especially for microphone tracks.  

The photo (credits: Alto) shows that this kind of small mixer is already very well equipped. Two mono inputs (microphone or DI), two stereo line inputs, a playback and audio return input, a USB connection to a computer for recording... It's exactly what you need to get started, while retaining a bit of upgradability for later.

This kind of small mixer will cost you around €110 new.

It's time to move on to the fun stuff: the little things that make sound. 

To avoid unnecessary expense, let's start by taking a look at what we might already have at our disposal. Anything that produces sound can become a remarkable source of inspiration and textures for Ambient Music.

Old cassette players and recorders (Philips or Mini format), audio file players (mp3, etc.), radios - anything is worth trying. But don't rush off to your usual second-hand site to buy an old-timer at a huge price. This type of equipment is interesting when it's already there and unused, but paying a fortune for a cassette player makes no sense these days. Unless you have a large collection of recordings to listen to.

Let's move on to the purchasing phase, starting with the essentials.

There are several ways of choosing small gizmos to produce Ambient with hardware.

Players/recorders, whether digital or analogue, are a really important category. Very useful for background textures and experimentation (ping-pong, looping, reverse playback...).

Drone sources, based on analogue or digital oscillators, are virtually indispensable for adding a tonal dimension to compositions. These are synthesizers so stripped of their usual functions that only the oscillators remain.

Sensors and microphones are probably the greatest source of sound and experimentation you can imagine. Here again, there's no need to go looking for the most expensive.

An audio player or recorder is a must for working with textures and soundscapes. From the simplest MP3 player that's been lying around at the back of a drawer since 2010, to the most elaborate multitrack recorder, you're getting to the essence. 

It's a microphone's best friend, and often the easiest texture machine to get to grips with. It's also often the most efficient. 

An audio recorder can be found for around twenty euros or more second-hand. The more functions you want, the more it will cost. You can replace it with a looper used by guitarists.

First of all, what is a drone box?

Most of the time, it's a box containing several oscillators. These oscillators usually have a common audio output and no envelope, LFO or filter.

You might think that this is limiting, but it's just a matter of making the initial sound material. You can easily add a small filter and, above all, effects to spice things up.

A reference in this genre is the KRISCHER Mini. It comes in 1, 3 and 4 oscillator versions. You'll also find an additional filter in the manufacturer's catalogue, in a bundle for around €110.

A small, affordable microphone is extremely useful for creating interesting sound material. There's no need to choose a top-of-the-range microphone; a budget mic will work just fine in the appropriate input of your mixer.

With a microphone, everything becomes a source of sound. And you can start by exploring whatever you have at hand: paper, cardboard, a coffee cup, a tube of toilet paper, your hand, your mouth...

Making sound quickly becomes a game. Turn it into loops or textures with effects, play it back in your audio player: that's it.

A noisebox is an easy-to-make instrument. Take an old wooden box, a few screws, springs, rubber bands... add a small piezoelectric sensor and you're good to go.

A real factory for producing bizarre sounds, the noisebox is both a percussion instrument and a random noise generator. As you make it yourself, you can give it any features you like. 

Ideally, you'll add a couple of cheap guitar pedals. This will make your noisebox an ideal companion for experimentation. Basic noisebox effects: distortion, delay, reverb.

Probably one of the most popular instruments for sound tinkerers: the toy synthesiser. 

A must-have since the return of low-fi sounds and a firm favourite with circuitbending enthusiasts, the toy keyboard is an ideal companion. 

But be careful not to pay more for it than it's worth. This kind of little sound generator is only of interest if you can get it for a few euros. A few dozen euros at most. Collectors will always ask for too much, so don't hesitate to fall back on the more recent models that can be found on the big online retailers.

Realism of sound is not important. What counts is its ability to generate several notes at once. As with the noisebox and drone box, the toy keyboard will reach its full potential with effects.

This may well be the cornerstone of an Ambient set-up.

Effects are particularly important in this musical genre. In fact, reverb and delay are an absolute necessity. They are what transform the slightest tinkle into a magical, spellbinding atmosphere.

Instead of describing the most essential effects in detail, here's an absolute reference in the category of affordable multi-effects: the Zoom MS-70CDR. There are more top-of-the-range, more prestigious effects out there, but this is already an excellent reference.

A second-hand Korg KaossPad (mk 1,2,3) will also do an excellent job.