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1. boombip
   

   P fan #1
   Joined: Mar '10
   Posts: 818

   Posted 8 years ago #

   Hey yall, so I was stressing on how I could find info on learning to produce music, when I completely disregarded the fact that there are so many smart and knowledgeable cats on here!

   So since I have a month off of school, I wanted to start getting into something I have always hand interest for. Producing beats. My ex was always really into it and I was always fascinated by it. There are just so many ideas I have in my head that I wish i could get onto the screen. I am not very talented lyrically, or vocally or any of that but I have always wanted to contribute to hip hop/music some how.

   I know it takes a lot of time, work, money, effort, etc. I know that once school starts I wont be able to focus as much (until the end of the semester) but I wanted to start up on reading now. I do have the program reason and a half of a laptop screen to work with but I will hopefully get a new computer soon.

   ANYWAYS, enough rambling.. can anyone on here tell me where a good place to start would be? or things I should look up and know? I am reading all this info about MIDI but I still am sort of confused by a lot of the terms so I even printed out a 40pg sheet of terms that I should know lol. But if anyone could give me some advice, any websites, or videos or anything that would lead me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.

   Also, do any of y'all know if you can transfer a program you have on one computer... to another? Because my laptop is all messed up but I do not want to get rid of it and lose Reason. If not, I may just have to pay to get the screen fixed =\.

   Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks y'all :)

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2. waxcollector
   

   12
   Joined: Jan '08
   Posts: 82

   Posted 8 years ago #

   Hey Boombip,

   may i suggest you native instruments maschine. i think it's a nice piece of gear for someone starting into production and making beats. it's got the drumcomputer flavour and the intutive workflow but offers much more options.
   most important are the easy chop functions. when you start working with samples it will take some time to figure out how to flip them in the right way. i think native instruments new toys are pretty dope for this learning process.
   sonically they might not compare to the oldschool mpcs, but for a beginner they are still super dope.
   they also have midi options for later use.
   but at first try to concentrate on just assigning a sound to a button, get some rhytms going and make the loops flip.
   i heard they have a new maschine micro version which is even cheaper.

   Best whishes for your upcoming production career

   Peeeze!

   wax.

3. Ol' School Lover
   

   EP
   Joined: Mar '09
   Posts: 188

   Posted 8 years ago #

   Sup dudes. I just started making beats with my laptop only but just a few days ago i bought a korg padkontrol and i am awaiting my m audio keystation 49 to ship. I was messing around with the pads on the korg, having fun. Then when i tried to lay out a quick beat/drum pattern on fl studio 9 and i realized that it comes out very choppy and off beat. I got frustated. I want some tips on how to lay out a clean, smooth sounding beat on fl studio 9 with my korg pad kontrol and my m audio keyboard. Any tips would help. I do have a knowledge of beatmaking, but im new to using pads and keys. Thank you.............

4. djGUERRILLA
   

   LP
   Joined: Sep '11
   Posts: 394

   Posted 8 years ago #

   Yup, I can say without a doubt, stay away from all newer Akai machines. They're all garbage IMO. I'm saving up for an MPC3000 as the quality of the MPK25 I got is terrible. I use Pro Tools. One of my biggest tips would be louder doesn't equal better. Everybody is obsessed with loudness and not whether something sounds good. Focus on making your mixes sound good, then attempt to squeeze extra volume out of them. Oh and huge beginner tip: CLIPPING IS BAD. Look up some articles on preserving "dynamic range" and you'll get a good idea of what to not do. I went to school for audio engineering so I would love to help if possible. Just got done (pretty much) with my album I've been working on for like 3-4 months. I'll be posting it on Soundcloud when I get the mixes exactly to taste. Still a little fine tuning to be done.......

5. dextreFreeman
   

   7
   Joined: May '11
   Posts: 46

   Posted 8 years ago #

   djGUERRILLA said:
   Yup, I can say without a doubt, stay away from all newer Akai machines. They're all garbage IMO. I'm saving up for an MPC3000 as the quality of the MPK25 I got is terrible. I use Pro Tools. One of my biggest tips would be louder doesn't equal better. Everybody is obsessed with loudness and not whether something sounds good. Focus on making your mixes sound good, then attempt to squeeze extra volume out of them. Oh and huge beginner tip: CLIPPING IS BAD. Look up some articles on preserving "dynamic range" and you'll get a good idea of what to not do. I went to school for audio engineering so I would love to help if possible. Just got done (pretty much) with my album I've been working on for like 3-4 months. I'll be posting it on Soundcloud when I get the mixes exactly to taste. Still a little fine tuning to be done.......

   Alright, I got a question to pose to you - let's say, someone like myself who's been a pretty dope musician for the past ten years or so is lookin' to do some easy recording and create my own samples to make music. Any hardware or software you can recommend to me? I don't wanna save up mass moolah and get the wrong musical companion for my journey, so to say.

   Magical rainbow ponies

6. djGUERRILLA
   

   LP
   Joined: Sep '11
   Posts: 394

   Posted 8 years ago #

   I'd recommend Pro Tools (its just what I use though). There are many other similar DAW programs. I'd buy an interface on ebay that comes with the program. The other piece of gear would be a sampler/ MIDI controller of some sort (MPC, etc). They make a lot of fairly cheap sampler MIDI devices that had MPC like pads now. Those pads are really the key to playing beats back in with any feel. Some devices have really cheap pads, some better. I'd try to find a music store (Guitar Center etc) and try some things out before buying. I would think you could get out for maybe $500 or less depending on the deals you can find online and what not

   BEWARE THOUGH, THE CHEAPER THE DEVICE, USUALLY THE CHEAPER THE PADS, BUTTONS, AND "FEEL" OF THE DEVICE, MAKING IT FEEL LESS LIKE A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND MORE LIKE A TOY

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7. dextreFreeman
   

   7
   Joined: May '11
   Posts: 46

   Posted 8 years ago #

   Thanks for the tips, I'll keep some of that in mind.

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