Getting Started

Hey everybody

Hope one of you guys can help me i really wanna start making some hip hop music. I don't have any experience with making music, i have only been scratching mixing and Beat juggling. I can't decide what to buy I know i wanna use a mpc(maybe add a microkorg later on) I have the money for a 2500, and i really think this is something i wanna do 100% not just for a year or two. Don't know if that would be overkill to start out with no experience ? also don't wanna buy a machine and then 6 months later have to sell it and upgrade ! (Also scared of buying a faulty unit don't know what to look out for, i really wanna a stable product ! it seems is lttle 50/50 with a 2500 when it comes to getting a unit with no problems. And whats the whole thing with jj os is that nessary to ge a stable machine) i have watched all of this nice guy (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p ... 1F07E41B07) hope i can managed to make some beats after watching his
tutorials. He was the reason i was won over and thought maybe i can do this and make it work ! I have been reading a lot in this sublim forum but it seems i only get more confused there a lot of different opinions of what to buy. Really hope some of you have time to help me !


Sorry for the bad English i am from Denmark

Thank you very much in advance

Jakob

I would go with either a 1000 or a 2500. The 2500 has a few more bells and whistles than the 1000.

Make sure you pick up the JJOS. It's more refined than the Akai OS and has a much better workflow.

If you are buying used, make sure the unit has been fully tested. I wouldn't call any of the MPCs "faulty" but the earlier models do have more issues than the newer ones -- so you may need to replace a few parts if you have an older unit.

My advice to you is to try to make beats with software first, then you can decide whether you have any musical talent worth pursuing.

Stick with it for a while until you understand the basic process of producing a beat from scratch.

Once you've done this then you may decide to get hold of some hardware synths and samplers and get a bit deeper into the process of constructing beats and shaping sounds.

Always try products before you buy them if this is possible as mistakes can be very costly.

If you have any friends that make decent beats you can learn a lot of useful stuff from them too.

Good luck!

I'd recommend just diving straight in there. If you splash out on an MPC, you won't lose much money as newers models tend to hold their value quite well.

Like you, I was a DJ (scratching, beat-juggling etc) before I started making beats, and I think the hands-on approach of manipulating vinyl sets up your mindframe for tapping out drums and samples on the 16 pads of an MPC.

I've tried software, but moving sh*t around with a mouse is nowhere near as satisfying as banging out a dope drum line yourself.

Don't worry about lack of experience too much - if you have real passion for music, and hip hop especially, then you will stick with it. You didn't become capable of scratching, mixing or beat-juggling overnight, and the same should be applied to making your own music. It will take time, lots of practice, digging through your stacks of wax, and patience.

As for what to buy, I'd recommend the "Black" MPC 1000 with the JJ OS. It's close enough to being the 2500, with a few features less, but is cheaper. It's been a year since I upgraded from my old 2000 and I haven't regretted it at all.

I bought mine on eBay, and it's pretty much 99.99% perfect. That's always a risk, of course, but if you are able to buy a secondhand MPC from somebody, I would suggest meeting the seller somewhere so that you can see the unit working.

Things to look out for: make sure all the pads work, make sure the screen doesn't have any lines or burnt pixels running through it, make sure the sliders work, make sure the audio inputs/outputs work, make sure each function (Record, Trim, Save, Load etc) works when you try to access it, make sure the hard-drive (if there is one!) is working, make sure the jog wheel is working, and the cursor buttons are working, make sure the power button is still in place (and hasn't fallen out).

Oh, and make sure you read the manual (which should come with the MPC), otherwise you can always download it (including the JJ OS manual). You can always visit these forums for help, but if it's something that "WE" know you can find the answer to in the manual, that's what we'll tell you to do!

Anyway, that's pretty much all I can think of right now. Good luck with your decision, and I hope you find something soon so you can start making beats!