Abyss -
obviously you have a computer. I'd run with it.
check out these sites :
www.audiomelody.com --->freeware audio gear
www.sonicspot.com ---> freeware & shareware
www.thepluginlist.com ---> plugins for audio, you can search just the free ones easily.
between those three sites, you should be able to find freebie recording, sequencing, and sound generating software that can get you good results.
as far as what you *need* to do hip-hop... "Public Enemy #1" by Public Enemy was done with no sampler. The backing track was made by recording the "sample", hitting pause, rewinding the sample again and recording it, hitting pause... until they had enough to use as a backing track.
to do hip-hop tracks, I would want the following:
- a multitrack recorder (there's a good one called Audacity that just came out, freeware, do a Google search on it)
- a source for drum sounds (many drum synths and samplers out there - if you want to roll your own sounds, try Stomper)
- a synth to generate bass tones, melody lines, etc. (you can actually do a lot of that in Stomper if you play around with it, otherwise there's tons of freeware synths around).
- an audio sequencer to arrange the sounds (for a good companion to Stomper, check out Little Drummer Boy - decent software, and you can export .wav files from it and import them to your multitracker)
with that stuff, and some source material to sample from (maybe), you should be able to make some tracks.
Also check out
- Amen - cuts up and rearranges .wav files. Made to turn drum beats into jungle/drum 'n' bass cut-ups, but works well for slower tempos too.
- Acid from Sonic Foundry - I believe they have a free version of this, it's worth it - very easy to play around with and work up a quick arrangement from drum loops, samples etc.
- Pro Tools Free - I don't care for it myself, but it is the industry standard. Free version lets you use 8 tracks of audio and 16(?) tracks of midi.
*above all - patience, practice and good ears.*
hope this helps. good luck.
- housepig
