Trying to make a home studio (need some suggestions)

Hello all, this is my first post.

I am trying to make a studio, where I can record some rap music. It doesn't have to be crazy expensive, but I don't wanna buy any cheap shit


I currently have...

2 Turntables
1 mixer (4 inputs, and 2 mic inputs, maybe more),
2 computers

I plan on buying...

1 MPC 2000XL
1 Digital Turntable (cause I have so many damn CDs that I don't wanna buy on vinyl)
2 mics

What else should I buy? Should I get another sampler? Do I need a keyboard? Which one? How about a drum machine?

Sorry if someone already asked similar questions, I looked through alot of the forums and couldn't find exactly the answers I needed.

I'm willing to buy a few things.

Thanks in advance.

Well, you plan on recording? You're gonna need something to record on/with. i.e.-computer based recording software or a hard disk recorder. If you plan on buying a MPC 2000xl, then there's really no need to buy a drum machine IMO...Since youre asking about equipment, you might wanna do a search. A lot of cats on here talk about their equip. and suggestions are also given. Best bet, try a search on the forum first...you'll come up with a lot of good ish ...peace

why dont you buy a 2kxl or a 1k and then buy alot of vynil. Then after you get used to your machine, then buy the recording equipment. Take sometime and figure out what you want. Go to a store and try somethings out before you buy anything.

I gotta agree with 247 on this one, get an MPC2000xl or 1000, and some wax and some sound libraries on cd rom or whatever... then when you get the hang of making beats get a good sound card and some computer multitracking software. You don't need a keyboard or sound module but later on you might want one to experiment with some new sounds... keep it basic at first, simplicity helps you learn alot more about what you have and what you can do on it.

Thanks for the replys, help is much appreciated.

Just to add a little thought:

You may not need a CD truntable if you are not scatching them live. You can just strip the songs off of the CDs on your computers and save yourself some money. If you have Macs, Quicktime does this well. SoundApp and other Sample Editors do it better.

Peace.

Cool, thanks for da info, but I definitely want digital tables. Just one actually (since they are expensive).

What other pieces go good with an MPC 2000XL? I read about the 8 outs that everyone says to get, what about other add ons to the MPC.

/bump for suggestions

Definitely a zip drive and maybe an external 1GB or 2Gb SCSI hard drive too.
After that, it should take you a bit to get acclimated to your stuff and then you'll know more about what you need to get.

Peace.

buy one of the mpc models.
i can personally vouch for the 2000xl. i dont have the others.

also check into getting some good moniters to start with.

nothing out of hand like mackies. maybe 400$+

and buy vinyl like everyone else suggested

I say monitors, something flat that you can hear clearly on. I am constantly struck by huge investments in equipment playing through $300 monitors. Your work will only be as good as what you are able to hear, Sampling and sound design is a critical interest.

I also suggest one equpment purchase at a time. Learning curves are not conducive to making music.

Rob

my suggestion is.GET A MULTITRACK SOFTWARE SO YOU CAN RECORD AND MIX UR TRACKS SINCE U GOT 2 COMPUTERS,2ND COP A BEAT MACHINE SO U CAN START MAKIN UR OWN BEATS.COP THE 1K.3RD COP SOME GOOD SELF POWERD SPEAKERS.SO U CAN HEAR STUFF LOUD AND CLEAR. NOW BEFORE I GO ON UR GONNA HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION WHAT KIND OF STYLE OF BEATS U WANT.IF U WANT TO BE A SAMPLE TYPE OF PRODUCER COP MAD VINYL SO U CAN SAMPLE CRAZY WITH UR MPC 1K..BUT IF U WANNA BE A KEYBOARD PRODUCER COP THE TRITON LE...............................SO THATS BASICALLY THE ESSINTIAL TOOLS U NEED TO ACCOMPLISH UR NEEDS..... AFTER ALL THAT LEARN AND MASTER EACH OF UR TOOLS..THATS THE HARD PART.......[PEACE]

Just ordered an MPC 2000XL Studio Plus Sampler with external zip drive. I downloaded the manual and was reading through it, damn that seems complicated.

How many months/years does it take to learn how to use it?

52ftBuddha wrote:I say monitors, something flat that you can hear clearly on. I am constantly struck by huge investments in equipment playing through $300 monitors. Your work will only be as good as what you are able to hear, Sampling and sound design is a critical interest.

I also suggest one equpment purchase at a time. Learning curves are not conducive to making music.

Rob

I have good headphones that I use with my turntables, do I really need speakers?

you could just link up your mpc's output to a line in channel of your DJ mixer.......thats what i do.

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I have good headphones that I use with my turntables, do I really need speakers?[/quote]


I tried this before i bought my monitors, it didnt work too well for me. the bass never came out like i wanted it. i bought some m-audio studio monitors for like $300, it made a whole world of difference