I got A Million quetions

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jay8

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okay,just when i thought I had it figured out I keep finding things wrong with the combonation of equipment I want to purchase.Before I start I just wanna get this clear,I WILL NOT USE A COMPUTER. Theres nothing wrong with it ,I just don't want to,I don't own a computer and I'd rather just spend my money on the recording equipment. I have a super low budget,(I can only work part time,i'm 17 still in school)I'll be making hiphop music so there will be no need for any live instruments or anything like that.I just want a good drum machine,4-track,and i need some piece of equipment that can keep the final beat that i create.
I didnt see anything wrong with buying a drum machine and a keyboard until

1.I was told (by a guy over then internet)that if I was serious about producing that i should purchase an MPC2000. true or false?

2.Then I was recently told by another guy that I should only buy a keyboard that doesnt have built in speakers because all the ones that have them are toys. true or false?

3.then that means I gotta pay about 1,400 for the mpc2000,over 1,000 for a keyboard?

4.then I havent even mentioned 4-tracks yet.
Should I get an analog for about 340-400? which model?or should I get the lowest priced digital one?

5.I know the analog uses tapes but what does the digital use?

6.If I use the mpc2000 for drums and stuff,then i use the keyboard for piano and stuff,then what piece of equipment is available for me to be able to save both halves of the beat together.the finished product.

7.I know I can record intrumentals to 4-track,but I also want it stored in memory.Can I play notes on the keyboard and save it?

8.How many seconds can I do that for.Can I keep that in memory?

I'm sure you guys got all the answers,if ya cant answer all of them just type the number of the question you have the answer for and maybe someone else will come through with some other answers.Thanks
 
hey buddy here you go.

1. not neccisarily , but the cool machines i mean you got drums/sampling/sequencing in one box.


2. some are it all depends does it have midi?
does it sound good? use you're ears.


3. no you dont.

4. get digital if you can aford it or get the best analog.

5. eather mini disc(this is common) zip or hard drive..

6.not sure what you mean.. do you mean the finished audio or the info like settings and such?

7.if you buy a really expencive one or a sequencer.

8.it usualy goes by how many notes you play.

hope i helped.
 
look into the ensoniq asr x pro ( $1000 ) or the yamaha rmx 1 ( $700 ) ...they are called sequencers... they are costly...but they are good... and you might be able to put off buying a multitracker...because the asr and yamaha do all the layering and looping... all you need to do is add vocals ... to do that you would just run a mic into a typical dj mixer along with the asr...run the mixer outputs into a tape deck , and then record.. then take the tape over to a friend with a cd burner , have him record it and burn it onto a cd... and voila.. your first cd...and if you want even better fidelity , mix into your vcr .. it will sound even cleaner.... that should keep you busy fooling around for a while... and you can take the money you saved from not buying a digital multitrack and put it towards a new computer :D... and thats when the real fun begins...

- eddie -
 
1. Good choice this can sort of be the heart of you're system itll keep all you're keyboard aragements on a disc(removable).

3. Sequencer! or get a roland jx-305 goove synth there like $600 now and a great deal.

4. Cd Quality? not in the lower priced models! go take a look at the web sites of the varius models you are thinking about buying.

6.Im still at a loss for what you're looking for hear.?>?>?>

7.This can be done using the sequencer in the MPC2000.


hope i helped a little more.
 
heres my advice... buy a computer...lol.. i know you dont want to hear that...but if your serious about this , its your best bet.. i make hip hop , and nine inch nails sort of electronic metal... my basic set up is as follows :

compaq computer ( ick )

yamaha djx keyboard ( its a toy , but with midi capabilities )

acid music loop creation software ( excellent program ,i can record my own beats , loop them and just keep adding tracks , not to mention i can sample from any output device for as long as i want... and then mix..and it will synch up perfectly.. ive put metalica riffs with brian mcknight beats... ive put roy orbison over limp biscuit...silly stuff like that..try doing that with a four track...)

basic home stereo system

cd - burner ( i can make my own audio cd's from my new work ,and THAT really impresses your friends )

when i do decide to get totally serious , which will be soon , i plan to add a high performance computer , serious multitracking software, a really good sound card , a mixer , a few mic's , and maybe the asr x pro , yamaha rmx 1 , or the e mu planet phat...and any one of those devices can be controled with my djx keyboard because of their midi capabilities.. ( for example , with the asr x pro , instead of using the 13 trigger pads ,i can use my djx to trigger the sounds , this way ill have 61 trigger pads...rather then 13 )once i have all this , ill be able to produce great almost studio recordings at home ...and have cd's to show off with...

dont tool with analog...especially if your doing hip hop... 4 tracks is nothing in the hip hop world... youll be bouncing tracks all over...and ewww the noise from analog... save you money for a computer... besides the producing benefits , you can surf the web , type up reports for school... or visit this site more often...

have fun
- eddie -
 
Alright,you guys are great,we're almost there.I know alot of people suggest getting a computer to make music but I look at it like this.If I buy recording and producing equipment with my money I'll be able to start making music and even be able to get some stuff on CD by January or February.If I go the computer route It will be until about late 1999.I cant wait that long.I absolutley cant.But your idea would be perfect if I had any patience. okay here we go

1. I'm getting the mpc2000

3. I was gonna get a DJx keyboard until I recieved the musiciansfriend.com catalog.Now I dont know what keyboard to get.I need one where you can layer sounds.I dont wanna just have the same piano or whaterver I'm using,I want to be able to have numerous sounds from the keyboard playing simultaneously.And I want to be able save alot of that.what model?How much should I spend?a few hundred?1000?

4. I'm going digital,so how much can I get a "CD quality"digital 4-track for?

6.I mean the finished audio.Let me explain.Ya know how the drum machine can save the drum patterns,and the keyboard can save the notes,I need another piece of equipment that will save the final arrangment.I know the 4-track records this,but can a digital 4-track keep it stored in memory?

7.I absolutley have to have a keyboard that can save notes because I need it to be able to loop,I cant stay on beat with the drums for the whole time so I need it to play by itself over and over after I have saved it.


thanks
 
#6) you can use any MIDI storage system to
save 16 tracks of MIDI on a single MIDI port.
Computers just happen to be the easiest way to handle MIDI because the speed at which they handle data far exceeds the capability
of most synthesizers to process this data.
This leaves processing power unused which can provide useful display information during playback, like a full score in real time.
 
jay,

i've seen people use both the computer setup and the dedicated module setup and my theory is that you get good sounds from both , but my suggestion is you use what you feel you will be comfortable with.

i do a lot of hip-hop and underground production and i use a setup which includes an mpc2000, a roland xp-80, and a fd-4(fostex digital four track) and then dump everything down to minidisc. i haven't heard any complaints about the tight sound that i get(although some of my tracks might have been laughed at sometimes.)

i'd say that an mp is a pretty good start cuz you have drums/sampling/sequencing all into one. hip-hop, especially underground, is very sample heavy anyway. so to start, that could hold you down until you get enough loot to purchase a good controller board. (roland or korg are usually good for hip-hop...roland for the expansion and korg for just the overall good sounds.)

if you do get into an mp, be sure you max out the ram(memory) in the box so you can have more sampling time. (32meg=3 minutes and some change in stereo.) and also be sure to look and getting a zip drive to save all those phat samples and drum kits. ($100) disks are ($10)

and as far as saving your keyboard loops, that is where the midi comes in handy. the sequencer in the mp handles all of this. if you play a loop into the mp, it will keep that loop the way you played it on a midi channel and a virtual track in the box. be sure you save your work though. sorry this was so long but i thought i might be able to help some cuz you sound a lot like i did about 2 years ago.

smoov
 
hey im getting into doing more sampled music like Nine inch Nails and groups like that but im not sure forsure that the mpc is for me its pretty cool but i need more info on sampling and how it works as well as sample cds how they work and if they say on a cd that its a sample of a Rhodes or wurlizer can i use it as a key board sound and change pitch with my key board or what and what the dif between the MPC2000 and the MPC2000+ studio?

sorry to ask on someone elses post...
 
2.okay,can the 700$ pretty much do everything or most that the $1000 sequencer can do?or will i miss out on some big options if I spend 300 less bucks?

4.I dont think I should put off getting a 4-track.There;s no way I could get a dj mixer or acess to a cd burner.I was just looking at the fostex FD-4 multitrack today,that's what I was thinking about getting.And now that you mention it smoove, I hope you could talk to me a little about that later.

6.So,does that make the mpc2000,the piece of equipment that saves drum patterns from itself and the notes from a keyboard that combine with each other to make the beat that i'm talking about?

Could this be the answer?

sequencer

4-track

mpc2000

all of you have been really helpful,smoov,After this topic is over I'll open another so that i can talk to you a little more because it seems like my studio setup is gonna be very similar to yours.

7.
 
i suggest knowing more about having a studio before you buy ANYTHING... you seem to be rushing a bit... you need to understand the importance of midi ,and where it comes in...you need to understand the equipment and its functions more...no one becomes puff daddy overnight...take your time and do the proper research... haste makes waste... be patient before you end up wasting your cash...

- eddie -
 
If an MPC2000 is $1400 and you can buy a nice computer with a decent sound card for $800 including monitor, why aren't you even considering the computer...especially when a computer can record digital audio (replacing a 4-track bigtime), be a drum machine, and act as a sequencer (replacing everything but the basic keyboard)?

Also...ever try browsing the Web with an MPC2000? :)


[This message has been edited by Dragon (edited 09-21-1999).]
 
well,actually all I need is a hardrive,I already have a brand new monitor.

Well maybe I will consider a computer.But one small problem.

What do I do about the keyboard? I gotta have this.
How do the computer mics match up against regular mics.Vocals,I need to record vocals.

those were my two main reasons for getting a 4track.And since i was gonna get an mpc2000,then that would have completed the studio.So I would actually save by going the computer route?
 
oh yea,I forgot to mention,I was told that if I went the computer route the beats would sound like 'video game beats',needless to say this scared the crap outta me.
 
jay8:

Please know that the comment about the sound of electronic drums controlled by a computer being inferior to those available on a drum machine is discordant flatulence. The computer isn't making any of the sounds (although it could); it merely handles the control commands sent to a synthesizer. The built-in synths in drum machines have some pretty good samples, but certainly don't represent the end-all in wavetable sampled drums.
 
The advantages of the digital fourtrack and mpc2000 are that if you travel at all or go to friends house alot you can take it with you and not be carying grand central station with you thats why i just got a Vs-1680 and a keyboard i can take it all in my car and still get all my lugage in to.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>How do the computer mics match up against regular mics. Vocals, I need to record vocals.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Er, I realize you're new here, but you might want to use the search and read the FAQs (see the announcement at the top of the main forum page). Nobody uses computer mics for recording, we all use professional recording mics plugged into mixers.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I was told that if I went the computer route the beats would sound like 'video game beats', needless to say this scared the crap outta me.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I suspect you were told this by the MPC2000 salesdroid. Ask him what makes the MPC2000 sound so great, and he'd probably draw himself to his full height and say, "Why, there's a microprocessor inside!". In other words, a computer. Keyboards are simply small computer systems with built-in sound cards!

As the esteemed drstawl has mentioned (using multisyllabic language), a computer can be used to either make sounds (with a built-in sound card, and don't kid yourself, some of them are dynamite) or to make them happen (when you use it as a sequencer). So you could buy a keyboard with the sounds you like and run it off your computer, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Not everyone is comfortable with the user interface of a computer, which might be very important to you.

But if money is the most important thing, a computer-based system will give you far and away the most bang for your buck as well as being very easy to expand and change later on. Ask any of the folks with the Roland or other hard disk recorders who are now faced with paying $600 for a CD recorder, when you can add one to a computer for $250 or so.
 
Mixers?no one mentioned this before.
okay.Since I'm going to be getting an mpc2000 and a keyboard,does that mean that the computer will essentially become my digital track recorder?
 
Yes, but just because this thread is getting so long, I did some research on this MPC2000 thingie. I had thought it was a keyboard with sequencer in it, and it turns out it's just a sampler/sequencer, unless I read things extremely wrong.

In that case, you could replace the MPC2000 with the computer as well...there are boards specially made for sampling, I believe. Somehow I think you're overspending, and it doesn't sound like you have tons of spare money to do that with.

I strongly suggest doing more research and reading more catalogs and product web sites...don't get talked into anything by a salesdroid...we have nothing to sell you here!
 
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