do a websearch and see if you can't find the homepage for a program called Rebirth, it simulates a possible set up one would have for techno... there's a demo version at the website (something like
www.propellerheads.com) that you can tink around with, the only thing is you can't save with it...
using that, you should get kind of an idea of what yer looking for, otherwise you can just go down to yer local music store and ask about what you need to make Techno music... from what i have gathered, one thing you definitely want is a 303-type synth... there are more updated versions of a 303, all the way up to a 909 and 1010, probably more beyond that even...