Equipment for recording my beats...???

[13th Disciple]

Aight, here's the deal.

I'm going to start working on my first official album, and I want this to be COMPLETELY legit. By saying that, I mean that all the beats are exclusive which I own complete rights to and can use on my own album without owing anybody anything.

Since buying beats from MP3.com producers is way too expensive for my budget, I've decided that I'm going to get into producing my own beats. I've owned a Roland XP-30 for a little over year now. But here's my dillema:

I couldn't hook it up to my computer properly. Whatever I did, there's always a problem. Cakewalk is just a demo version and couldn't export tracks to waves, Cubase doesn't record the MIDI, etc. etc. etc. I've given up on using my computer.

So now my second and possibly the only option I have left is to buy an external mixer/sequencer. If I only bought the XP-60 instead of this I wouldn't have these troubles, but I didn't. Anyway, the question is: what kind of mixer should I look for?

Should I buy a digital 8-track? Or should I go with an analog 4-track mixer? Do standalone sequencers for synthesizers exist? I'm thinking digital 8-tracks would be much better for making beats with a synthesizer, but if standalone MIDI sequencers DO exist, then I would go for that.

Help!!

 

[Ace_TX]

equipment...

-my nig...u need u a sampler

-now don't tell me "i am not gonna sample other peoples songs"

-by getting yo azz a sampler, you now have unlimited instruments and sounds at your disposal

-since you got that XP-30 you have you a staple of sounds already

-i ain't no big MPC bandwaggonner...but that XP30 may go well with that MPC2000 and u can probably get a used mpc for about $500-$800

-now by getting an MPC you now have a good sequencer and some sampling

-midi that xp to the mpc and that is now you production equipment

-now on the recording side...i would recommend at least 8 tracks...that 4 track stuff ain't gonna work....on average i use between 12-16 tracks

-IMO i would stay away from them digital portastudios for the simple fact that most of em will only record 2 tracks at a time....that may be fine for others but for me i record like 8 simultaneously minimum

-get yo ass a DECENT mixer...don't by Phonic and bullshyt like that...get you something like a Mackie 1402vlzpro

-also get you a used ADAT XT or XT20 with low hours...the LX's are kinda shitty, you can come up on one for maybe $300-$400

-and at minimum get you a low cost proven mic like Shure sm58 or something...you don't have to spend hundre$ on a Condenser if you recording at home....I got a good condenser mic, i tend to use a sm58 more at the house cuz them condensers pick up too much background noise and shyt and are real sensetive...more often i'll use the Beta58

-and get a compresor for ya vocals...i will give you to recommendations based on price:

sub $100 range: Behringer Composer Pro

sub $200 range: FMR Audio RNC

-these are barebone things i recommend to get you started and to get your songs down to tape

-i only fuckkk with hardware recording, so if you wanna go the cheaper software route then ask somebody else...late

 

[DJTonyMOMO]

Hey 13th. Whats up.............

First I agree with Pyssdog on a few things.

The purchase of the Akai MPC 2000 is a good idea. I understand you dont want to sample AND THATS COOL DAWG. THATS BASICALLY HOW I AM. I have no problem with producers that sample but its good to come with your own Ish.

Next. I produce a good amount of my beats on the Roland XP-80 which is just the big brother of the XP-60. Well on my XP-80 I use the available expansion cards. I have the Hip-Hop Expansion, and the Dance Expansion. With the JAzz and Orchestra ones coming soon. But anyway. I believe your xp-30 can take expansion cards. If it does take them, get the Hip-Hop expansion card!!!!! If I am wrong then Sorry.

Get a decent Mixer like a small Mackie or Behringer.

Next, Get at an 8 Track Recorder. I use the roland VS880. Its a really a great machine. You can pick one up on E-bay for a good price used.

Now I know this is alot to swallow at once, But if you want to make quality music you are going to have to save your dough up and buy wisely. Thats What I did

Hit me back man

 

[13th Disciple]

Thanks, you two.

Here's how I plan to make beats ::

- Record a melody
- Loop it over and over and record a drums over it
- Now I have the foundation of my beat. Save this to .wav or some shit, and loop that over and over and over.
- Add change ups as the song goes on.

Now my question is, what equipment do I need to do this?

With a mixer, I can record the melody but I don't think I can loop a track over and over.

With a MIDI interface, I can hook my synth up to my computer and do everything on Cubase or Sonar.

With a sampler, I can hook it up to the synth, record a melody, and export it to .wav in my computer where I can mess around with it.

With a digital audio workstation, well, I don't know much about it yet...but it seems like it'll be helpful.

-----------------

I just looked into the MPC-2000 and it seems perfect. But the price seems a little too steep for me (listed at $1,300 at Musiciansfriend.com), so I'm looking for more equipment like the MPC.

And yes, DJTonyMOMO, XP-30 CAN indeed handle expansion sets. Last time I checked, the suppliers were out of it and had no intentions of ordering in the near future. I'll check again though.

Pyssdogg, I only intend to purchase equipment dealing with recording beats. I do all my vocal recordings on the computer. So what I plan to do is finish an entire beat, and record on it using Cool Edit.

Question for you two: what exactly does the aforementioned equipment do? With the 8 track recorder, can I use it to record a melody and loop it over?

Thanks again....

 

[chalin27]

I got you dawg

Here's the deal.

There's a software program called ACID pro. I think it will run about 300 bucks. You can take the wav file you recorded and loaded onto that and loop it up. You can actually see your wav files in the program. It's similar to fruity loops but has 1000 times more potential than fruity loops. I have fruity loops and Acid Pro. With Acid you can loop as many tracks as you can record. The possibilities are endless. I create all my drum tracks in it as well as sampled music or music i created my self. This software can be all you need to make beats and it's cheaper than an MPC. If you wanted to take your beats to a studio to lay down vocals then an MPC is what you need. If you going to do the whole album at home then you have all the right equipment you just need the right software. I really recomend acid because quite a few pros use it.

As far as recording goes if you don't have the doh to get a mixer or a condensor mic then you will definitely have to invest in some mutlitracking software. somethin like Cakewalk or Sonar. I have Cakewalk Pro Audio 9. I export the beat I created in ACID as seperate tracks to wav format. I import them into seperate tracks into cake walk. Cake walk has a decent monitor/mixer window buit in. You can add effects like reverb, chorus, and EQ with the plugins provided with Cakewalk. As a matter a fact why don't you visit the Computer software/Soundcard section of this BBS. There is a wealth of Knowledge on this stuff posted there.

I like adding effects with outboard gear but if you don't have the ends cakewalk is you best bet.

I hope this helps.