i'm just getting started .. someone please help me out here

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NathanM036

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i'm a former emcee(rapper) so i have a little experience with music because i used to mix my vocals with instrumentals and burn em to cd. But now i'm getting into producing hip hop beats. What should i do first. I've been looking at cheap keyboards at walmart for some percussion, string and brass sounds, and i've checked out a couple of drum machines but i have a pretty low budget as of now, and what do you think i should do first???
please someone help
e-mail me at nathanm036@aol.com
thanx
 
The most important question posed to you is...
What is your budget???
 
Then after you've figured out your budget, send half to MISTERQCUE and half to me.
 
Yo MO of 36:

Don't let those rascals get you freaked out.

But, if you are looking for a keyboard, what kind? They come in ALL PRICES and some will let you program drums, and some will record what you do with a sequencer, and some have wonderful sounds, and some you can send to hix-mix and the other rascal.

Besides a keyboard, you will need Shemp and Curly; small pun.

You will need a recording device, speakers, an FX box...well, the list goes on and on.

You need to shop around, listen in to other units, studios, and then figure out your budget and go for it. Whatever is left over, donate to the retired English teachers' fund.

Hee Hee Hee,

Green Hornet
 
well like i'm getting a keyboard for christmas and i don't want to spend more than $150 on it. I know i probabaly can't get a professional keyboard with it, but i'm just gonna try to get one from wal-mart, you know with like 100 instruments, and i'm gonna make sure it at least has a drum kit. I have experience with working with cool edit and i been using HammerHead Rhythym station(a computer drum machine) for drums. But i just need some piano, violin, guitar sounds. I think i'm just gonna probabaly mess around with some cheap stuff, and if i get serious about it put some more money and get some equipment. I have a little experience with using sound editors and computer drum machines, and mixing with computer programs, but i dont have much experience with real equipment
i'm only 15 and i dont have a job yet so what do yall think

what kind of keyboard should i get for less than %150?
probabaly a cheap ghetto keyboard huh?
 
oh yeah, and in the trading post, i saw a used casio dum machine for $65. Do yall think that would be a good idea to get?
 
oh yeah and that one dude that said i need to get a shemp and curly, whats that? and he said an fx box.. i kind of have an idea.. but what exactly is an fx box?
 
on this site somewhere i saw that an fx box has reverb, flanger, echo... etc. is that what it is?
and i don't know if yall know who RZA is, but he produces all the beats for the Wu-Tang Clan, and he says he uses analogs to make his drums sound "dirty".. is that something that is essential?
oh yeah and people like DJ Premeir, he makes the some of the best beats and he uses turntables
is that another option?
what are all the techniques for making hip hop beats?
i wanna know all the information you guys have.
oh yeah and i always wondered if you guys know what Dr. Dre uses to make them dope beats for himself and Eminem. I know he uses a 72-channel mixer, but are those sounds coming from keyboards, drum machines or what?
 
Yo MO who isn't 36:

Moe, Shemp, and Curly = The Three Stoodges.

FX = effects boxes which creat reverberation, delay, flanging, etc. etc. etc.

If I were you, I'd take the 150 bucks and see how long you could rent a good keyboard from one of the big merchandisers like FULL COMPASS, Zzounds, or any of the 800 numbers you can call.

I think you'd be wasting your time with a rinky dink keyboard upon which your fingers won't even fit.

But, keep going whatever you decide.

Green Hornet
 
I beg to differ!
Moe Howard, LARRY Fein and (Curly/Shemp/Joe Besser) were the 3 stooges.
I just bought a cheapo keyboard, but the price was $300, not $150. It has very credible drum sounds, 76 velocity sensitive keys, an onboard sequencer and a cute display that shows the notation in real time as you play.
Yamaha PSR-GX76.
The main problem with synth/keyboards in this price range is the poor signal output facilities. Just the headphone out and that's bound to be noisier than you want. I just use the MIDI out and plug the headphone jack with a resistor.
 
About the beats

What's up Nathan? I've made plenty of beats just for fun. When my band goes on tour I bring a 4-track, a Roland MC-303 and a Boss Dr. 202 Sample machine. I'm a big fan of Dr. Dre and all I can say about his stuff is that he uses EVERYTHING. The heart of his sound is sampling. He'll sample drums from an old record, then go over to a keyboard and add some funky stuff on top of the drums with that, then go to a Moog and add some hi-end stuff with that, then bring in a bass player and have him play a bassline...and it goes on and on to make a big full layered mix. Now you mentioned RZA from Wu-Tang and the interesting thing is that Dr. Dre's mixes are very clean for rap music. Listen to his records and then compare them to a Wu-Tang record. RZA likes his beats more gritty and dirty like the old school stuff. He uses effect units to get that gritty sound. It's just a matter of tastes. BUT for you, I would reccomend going to a music store and checking out an MC-303...or even on ebay (i've seen em for like 2-300 on there). This unit has EVERYTHING you need (except vocals) to make a complete rap record. It's easy to use and for the price it sounds pretty good. Then later you might want to check out a sampler (you could probably find a dr.202 for 1-200$) So that's just some advice from my personal experience...good luck! RyanV
 
thanx for all your help, especially the last guy who responded.. well i'm gonna shop around for a while and see what i can get. i know for sure that i'm getting a cd burner for christmas, because even if i can't do anything with beats, i'm still good at mixing haha, or at least that's what my friends say, they send me acapella verses and tell me what instrumental (already used by signed artists)to mix it with and i mix the vocals with the beat ... and i'm going to start burning them, and when i get my equipment i'm going to be making the beats, and i've been thinking about starting rapping again, and mix my own vocals with my beats.
so i will let yall know, and i'll be sure to post some real audio or .wav files so you guys can hear the results
thanx for the help
peace
 
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