N-E 1 out there who DOESN'T use MPC or Korg in hip-hop/rap?

[MISTERQCUE]

.......Everybody I know who is into rap uses either an MPC and a Korg Triton/Trinity! My brother has them both in his studio,members of the Wu-tang Clan swear by both,rappers who want to lay some tracks in my modest studio always ask "MPC dawg??" (No! I use either my Boss Dr202,Alesis 16 or if needed,I'll break out my Old
Ludwig Drum set with Zildjians and the original Ghost pedal).
My question is, does any-1 else use a different brand of "canned drums" and modules other than the prev 2 I have mentioned?
Peace
Mr.Q
(B-4 any-1 thinks that I'm,in a way,think that the MPC
and Korgs are crap,you are mistaken. Fully expanded,the Triton provides you with access to over 2200 programs,incl 144 drum kits and 256 GM programs
of which 9 are GM Level 2 compatible. My only complaint against the MPC's are,it doesn't take a genius to program a phat-syncopated rhythm. The MPC has a sort of "Quantize" function where if you are programming a beat,say in 4/4ths time and you miss a beat,the MPC will quantize it to the nearest beat. So you can f#ck up all day programming and still come up with sumthin' sweet! Sh#t,come to think about it,I want 1 too!)

[robert jaybird]

I think a lot of guys have used the ensoniq asr 10. And im sure a few use the asr x(isnt it confusing?).

Also, I think people into more advanced sounds may use an akai s6000 with their mpc 2000, or mpc 3000. I dont know who uses emu or roland emu samplers though, I personally use an emu esi 2000. Id love to have an s6000, or an emu ex4t ultra with their phatt/orbitt rom- Id take that and an access virus using logic audio to sequence.

If you want an affordable box for beats check out the electribe s. Its a phrase sampler and sequencer.

For canned sounds theres the e-mu mo phatt. Or the new phatt command station by emu.

[I-AM]

I don't think that a MPC or Korg is necessary when making Hip Hop or R&B type music.
All that is really needed is an idea and a desire to do make a phat beat.
All I use is a groovebox and Alesis QS6.1. The more I learn about my equipment, the more at "One" I am with it, and I can manipulate it to come up with what I feel.
And once I integrate my Midi software to the whole setup, the sky is the limit.
One thing I find common with Hip Hop, and society, is to do and go where everyone is swearing by, when we do what comes naturally for us, then we can only succeed.

I-AM

[BK MANNY]

I dont use anything like that to make beats...I cant afford real equipment yet!
all I use to make my beats is "REASON" if ya want to listen to what it can do go check me out
my link is in my profile.Im still learning how to use it and Im getting prety good with it.
soon with enuff money I will get my self an MPC and a sampler but right now all I have is my computer a 49 key midi controler and the software called "REASON"

[LongBongSilver]

Nearly EVERY sequencer has a quantize function on it.

It seems to me that the main reason people swear by the MPC is because it's a simple all-in-one, even though it's sampler is VERY limited. I see on boards like this people crapping all over the ASR-X all the time.

I find that some people in hip-hop tend to sacrifice creative possibility for simplicity. While sometimes simple works, I only hope that we don't deliberately stifle progress.

[robert jaybird]

Hmmm,
What are the ethics of quantization? I havent seen hip hop production go any far leap forward since the early 90's. The biggest change I've heard is from that mpc sound to that triton sound.
I listen to a lot of other electronic music as well. Check out like autecture, or amon tobin. Theres creative hip hoppers as well though.

[LongBongSilver]

What I tend to do is sorta incorporate stuff that I've learned from other electronic genres. It makes for good "seasoning". Imagine the look of shock on the average hip-hop head's face when they're listening to the beats and weird FM noises come in outta nowhere...

"Ethics of quantization"? Well, sometimes the programming is slightly off and if you want to sorta nudge it into place a little then that's all fine. But when people lean on quantizing as a crutch, and just bang away at random knowing that they're going to just quant the crap out of it then that's being lazy IMO. Of course, in most cases we won't know whether they quantized or not anyway, so it's kinda a moot point.

[MISTERQCUE]

LongBong, that is exactly what I'm talkin' about! I've seen WAAAY to many people create grooves at various studios and either they have no sense of rhythm,timimg or can't tell a 1/4th note from a 4/4th rhythm pattern where the quantize function is used,hence correcting the "BEAT" to the nearest value. When this function is performed it can turn an individuals rhthmic vision into
a pattern that comes out sounding like everything else you've heard. Plus,since the damn thing is so easy to use most people tend to always rely on it's use.
That is why my question in re to who doesn't use a MPC is to simply find out whatother drummachines/samplers people use!
I for 1 would like to see a return to actual uses of drums.
Such as the late band from NYC,Pumpkin and friends, who recorded music on many of the earlier GrandMaster Flash and the Furious Five and also with the Funky Four plus 1 more.
Most rap beats all sound the same after a while!

[SPINSTERWUN]

What's up MISTERQCUE.

I am not trying to start a debate , but....

If you use live drummers, you will have more money to split and disburse once you get a record deal.

Plus, a lot of inner city individuals never learned how to play "live" instruments.

Also, a large amount of these "new' dj's can't mix 2 songs that have have been produced with a live drummer. one reason being is that they don't know how to ride the pitch control on their technics 1200's.

Peace...

spin

p.s. what's up with our HOMERECCA party this fall.

[vicevursa]

I tend to agree with Misterque's original post... I use my Alesis QS6.1, DM-5, and/or a session drummer (I can only play the drums in my mind - not in reality)and my DSP1000pro for my beats. Sometimes, I wish for the MPC being as I used one before. But, I like think the care and attention I have to put into my tracks make them better. But that's for me, I guess. Because the feedback I get is either, " 'That track is nice!' " or that the beat still needs some work. I try to keep my sound as original as possible. I like the tweaking using equipment other than MPC and Korg. Although, I will probably pick up both when I find extra cash. But, cash seems so elusive though...

[2Sick.com]

In reply to the original question, I do use a Triton, but I also use an Ensoniq ZR-76, JV 1080 and a Proteus 2000.

[Brad]

I don't even know what an MPC is.

Then again, I am not really a rap/hip hop kinda guy.

But when I have done that style of music, I have used a Roland PMA-5, a Boss DR-770 and an E-mu Planet Phatt - either alone or together. They worked okay for me.

I really should rap more - for some reason when I rap I just naturally jump around and shake my money maker - I end up really breaking a good sweat. I need the exercise. Instead of doing a commercial for Slim Fast or Jenny Craig, I can do one endorsing weight loss through rap/hip hop music making.

"6 months ago I was a fat ass, now after rapping everyday, I'm a phatt ass!"

[Trak]

Originally posted by SPINSTERWUN
If you use live drummers, you will have more money to split and disburse once you get a record deal.

I'm not trying to start a debate either, but from my experience using a live drummer was considerably more expensive to me than buying my MPC-60. I must have gone through 4 or 5 drummers and their egos, their showing up half an hour late at the studio, or taking an impromptu coffee break whenever they felt like it, not to mention their playing in the wrong style half the time.

Roger Linn saved my life!!!!!

[Jamal]

I gotta use tha mpc. I was working on a korg workstation not to long ago and it wasnt the same

.2sick.com another b.a.r.t playa to the board. whats crackin mayne

[Redeye]

I use mostly PC-based stuff for production:

Cakewalk, Gigasampler, Acid, Sound Forge and an ishload of plug-ins.

Peep:
www.mp3.com/daveredeye

The first beat on there was done in Acid, with the cuts and stuff added on VS-880.

The other thing on there is all turntables.

peace

dave redeye

[muzicman8739]

Live drummers aren't always that bad, but they are an extra cost. For my drum tracks, I use either loops or sampled drum hits. My sampler, is kind of wack though, it's a Yamaha su700. I got fooled into thinking it could compete with an MPC, but after working with one, I don't think so. I'm not sure if this is where your question is going, but to make your drum tracks hotter, the best thing you can do, in my opinion, is listen to tracks with the hottests drums and study them. Then listen to somebody like Questlove from The Roots, or anything else with live drums. Memorize the rhythms by banging it out with your hands and then...just make that shit funkier. Somebody mentioned the point that a lot of hip hop heads don't have access to drums, and I don't either. The best drums I got are benches, table tops, walls, my mouth (beat boxin', I love the old school) and anything else I can bang on. Sorry for going off on a little tangent, but I'm just in love with hip-hop (music & culture).


peace,
da muzicman

[czar of bizarre]

the reason why they have grown and seem "industry standard" is because almost everybody has them. sorta like the yamaha ns 10 speakers. its not on the machine. its on YOU. i use a dr 660 ,every piece of pc software known to man (i get em free) and a fully blown xp 60 and i sometimes use the sp 202 to sample. i use the pc as a sampler also. oh yhea the proteus is used also. knowing that 869860987549175865876235825854875 people in the rap game own an mpc/trinity combo i stay away from it. i want my own sound and 90% of those who own those machines are NOT tweeking the sounds. so no i dont own those machines. never will have an mpc in my setup. NEVER. i have my midi connections just fine and i can control from the pc,ROLAND VS,xp and anything else in the lab. i dont need the mpc as a sequencer either. i have a 17 inch monitor and every program for that. all in the 24 bit realm. compared the 16 bit mpc. all with 64 or 128 and even ulimited polyphony(in some programs) compared to the mpc with 32 voices........


the triton trinity thing is cool. however i dont think it can compete with a fully blown kurzweil. thats just my opinion.



have a nice one


czar

ps have you ever heard music that you thought was live but it was actually clever looping,sequencing and great sounds and recording technique?

[MISTERQCUE]

Yo czar, i'm feelin' you there!
SOOOO many new artists in rap use the same formulaic standards of beatz that they almost ALL sound the same!! Where's the originality in that. MPC's and Korgs
are used so much it's stagnating the the musical portion of rap!
Digable Planets, who rapped with LIVE instruments
produced a HUGE hit in the early 90's. If n-e 1 is readin'
this and wants to produce the next BIG, RAP HIT!
Be a individualist. Don't just go with the flow, be creative and be different! i'm not advocating a return to
LIVE instrumentation, but be creative! BE DIFFERENT!
There's a whole world of gear out there besides these
2 fine pieces of equipment.
Peace
Mr.Q

[Wallycleaver]

Q! I agree with your agreeing! Make your own samples, program your own beat, play your own instruments. HECK YES!

[MISTERQCUE]

WallyCleave....AMEN!
Now don't get me wrong,their are some peeps out there
who do produce original compositions using Korg/MPC,
and if fully explored,slammin',hellacious beetz and melodies can easily obtained thru thorough experimentation with both pieces of gear. Like I said
b-4,my younger brutha',who's album now will debut late
August early Sept,lucked up on a original beat that caught the attention of A&R peeps at Universal (OK,spam time; keep a lookout for my bru's c/d titled
"Chris Collie Sez") otherwise he would have followed the
same pattern of tite hi-hat,hi-kick wit' rim-shot snare in the same syncopated rhythm,that you hear on East,West,Southern and even European coasts!
In the old school days of hip-hop/rap, we didn't have the technologies that's available 2-day, just 2 turntables
and your mom's and pops vinyl record collection which was used to produce mixes and cutz that was pure buttah' baby!!
There is a wealth of hip-hop/rap talent out there
with phatt original lyrics and music,but to many upcoming rappers try to emulate already established styles and lyrical flows which just produces a glut of
the same-ole-same-ole! Be YOU!
I'm sorry, I just have 1 last issue to rant about.
Being Old School ( Grew up with GrandMaster Flash & the Furious 5,Funky 4+1 more,Grand Wizard Theodore,
Afrikka Bambaata, and the TRUE ORIGINATOR and Father
of what we call Hip-Hop/Rap,KOOL HERC and the HERCULORDS),too many of my bru's and sistah's rap about packin your "9" or "Tek",blowin' a _igger away,let
the"bee-otch" or "ho" give you madd head,benjamins,bling-bling ice,beemers,benzo's,lex,pullin' the "cream" from the suckaz itchin' for drugs,gattin' a bodega store owner for his dollaz',etc,etc,etc ."One to all my dawgs upstate or in the Pen"" Yeah money,jus' keepin' it real"!
"Wanna inform the masses how it really flows in the hood"
My peoples, I was born in the ghetto.Suffered,sacrificed,
scorned and family skuttled from tenement to tenement.
Seen crime,did crime,no time and got mine! Myself and a whole lotta po'@ss muthaf#cka's of all races suffered thru the B.S, of the "hood!That's some sh#t you'll never 4-get,but a lotta of us strove for a better life and succeeded. The past makes your present strong and your future powerful.
However, don't rap about how hard it was cummin' up
if you never experienced hard-ship:No lyrical flowing
on being a gangsta' when some of you attended private schools from kindgarten to 12th grade of hi-skool; Don't tell me that crap that you busted a cap in some-1's @ss
when U don't even know how to load a BB gun;Scrambled drugs in the hood when you can't even scramble eggs;Got the ho's workin' for U which means you got your younger sister sellin' your annual skool kandy sale; driving a Beemer,Benzo or Lex when the only thing U driven is your mom's crazy 'cause she want's you to get your own apartment; and last of all
tellin' me how life is Really in the 'hood when you have no idea what myself and MANY others have truly experienced.
Teach Knowledge,not gun's! Teach Responsibility not aloofness,Teach Reliability not dependence,and most of all Teach Respect.
'Nuff Said!
Sorry 4 the long post!
Peace-1
Mr.Q

[SPINSTERWUN]

Mr Q, that was a great post.

spin

[MISTERQCUE]

...Just,ummm..."Keepin' it REALLY Real!!"

[creaturebeats]

i agree with MISTERQCUE but 2 throw my 2 cents in, I had more fun making beats when all i could afford was a straight hand turntable and a cheesy keyboard i bummed of a friend.

Now i have a full 24 track digital studio setup including the MPC and i spend more time problem solving than knocking out beats.

i think the MPC is a good machine and the Korg has great sounds but when it comes to making original music i try using thingz (sounds and shit) that i am pretty sure no other producer has access 2.

If it's studio standard i don't want it! I use my brain to create a beat, than da instrument (whatever it is) to compliment my idea.

1
creature

[BigBee]

Wasn't early HipHop done with stuff from companies who maybe didn't even know what HipHop was all about ?

BigBee

[MISTERQCUE]

Hip-Hop was formed basically by us inner city youths in the late '70's who did not have money for expensive musical eguipment and recording gear. Kool Herc of the South Bronx harped on the need to add extra presence to the party by using 2 turntables and combining the played records drumbeats to extend them into virtual, long-playing drum-solos which created new beatz, hence the term "BEAT-BOY" dancer which eventually evolved into HIP-HOP! With the use of a microphone to give shout-outs to the "Homies" or the "CREW" and to make simple ordinary announcements of upcoming parties and to urge the crowd to "get off the WALL and onto the FLOOR" and "WAVE your HANDS in the AIR and SCREAM OH YEAH" led to the party's"M.C." which again evolved into more complex rhymes and stories of braggadocio, hence the "RAPPER" was born!!!
Proud to say I was there when all that sh#t started in the South Bronx, NYC!!