Help With New Studio Rig In Unfinished Basement

Before I start, I'm a hiphop head, i live and breathe hiphop. I want to make hiphop beats using the mpc1000 and other pieces of gear that I'll list in a little bit. My goal is to have a recording booth, and an area where i make the beats. Here's the equipment I currently own.

MPC 1000
Rode NT1-A Microphone
Behringer 4channel mixer the Z-blah blah, it has a built in mic preamp with phantom power.
a Pair of Truth Studio Monitors.
My MPC has the 128mb ram upgrade.

So, here's the deal. I moved into a new house and we're doing the basmenet. I've haggled with my parents, and because im covering the entire cost, they've agreed to let me have a room in the basmenet especially for my hobby. So here are my somewhat organized questions:

1. I intend to, in addition to the MPC to have a BEASTLY computer (Desktop) with dual screens that i will directly record vocals/samples into through the mic. (I also might use a sampler in the PC and i know the MPC can do that for me, call me greedy). Where can I get the bestttttt computer (up to $2000 around) that will have everything I need to get a quality sound. I've heard of websites that help you assemble it piece by piece but I really don't know where to start looking. And since im spending this much money I wanted to get your expert opinions

2. I want a keyboard, not a roland fantom keyboard, but a controller (i did some reading from teh guide, im hoping i get my terms right). I want to be able to play any kind of instrument on this keyboard conroller (drums, piano, flute, bass, guitar etc.). I read and learned something about synths? but im still shady on the subject. TO be fair, there's so much to learn that it's hard to absorb everything from the guide. So what keyboard controller should i get, let it be 88keys, and how do i get it to play all those things for me .

3. What turntable should i get? (it will go in the mixer which will then go into the mpc. also might get a cd turntable thing lol excuse my lack of terminology.

4. It's a basment and I have no clue how to build the room. My recording booth will be a rectangular shape space, what should i do in terms of soundproofing it?

I know that some of these questions, perticularly the last one aren't very clear but do your best. I'm on a short scchedule and have to get this done soon. THANKS GUYS

HERES THE DEAL...


Most hip hop heads record in spare bedrooms, converted garages, and basements.

I hang out with some pretty big names, and only one of them has a really respectable rig of their own for a studio.

DO NOT spend 2 grand on a computer if you want to live and breath hip hop. thats just f'n ignorant. (no offense).



- spend 2-300 on craigslist for a computer with 4 gigs of ram and around a 2.8 or higher cpu (you can always add ram if it doesnt.

- spend 150 for a technics 1200 in any miserable working condition.

- spend 70 for a shure n447 cartridge.

- spend 1-300 on a DJ mixer. (get one with an eq of hi/lo at least)

- spend 2-300 on corner dampers and other acoustic devices (to help flatten the rooms response)

- spend 2-300 on a better mixer (and sell that one as soon as possible.. and older is better for mixers... you can get 24 channel mixers on craigslist for 200 bucks. chances are, that the pre on the old mixer sounds better for your mic.






~then spend the next 10 years collecting records, and perfecting your craft.


cheap, affordable, hip-hop.

^ you forgot to tell him to get an mpc3000, an mpc60 or s950, and an sp1200

I figured that I'd let him find that out the hard way... that would mean he stuck with it long enough to know whats up instead of buying ableton or the maschine

if i wanted to build a computer id call on lampdog

if you wanted a turntable id get me a technic 1200

if you want a keyboard id go with the motif

if your trying to make real hiphop record your vocals in a little no wall booth then cover it with blankets

as for the keyboard -- any midi keyboard can be used as a controller.
for the price of a new controller you can buy a second synth that is touch sensitive and has after touch. so you get a synth and controller. or buy a sampling keyboard.

Start reading here:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/laboratory/index.html

that will answer most of your questions

mpc1000user wrote:2. I want a keyboard, not a roland fantom keyboard, but a controller (i did some reading from teh guide, im hoping i get my terms right). I want to be able to play any kind of instrument on this keyboard conroller (drums, piano, flute, bass, guitar etc.). I read and learned something about synths? but im still shady on the subject. TO be fair, there's so much to learn that it's hard to absorb everything from the guide. So what keyboard controller should i get, let it be 88keys, and how do i get it to play all those things for me .

the keyboard controller just sends a signal to some instrument that says "play note C4 now ... ok stop playing it now" (it also sends some other info called velocity, which refers to how hard you hit the key). the sound you get depends what instrument that signal is sent to. it could be a sampler such as your mpc1000, so it can trigger any sampled sound, or it could be a hardware synth, or it could be a software synth on your computer, or a sampler on your computer, or ... anything.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/MIDI_keyboard_controllers.htm

mpc1000user wrote:4. It's a basment and I have no clue how to build the room. My recording booth will be a rectangular shape space, what should i do in terms of soundproofing it?

http://www.tweakheadz.com/acoustic_room_treatment.htm

The Grublet wrote:HERES THE DEAL...


Most hip hop heads record in spare bedrooms, converted garages, and basements.

I hang out with some pretty big names, and only one of them has a really respectable rig of their own for a studio.

DO NOT spend 2 grand on a computer if you want to live and breath hip hop. thats just f'n ignorant. (no offense).



- spend 2-300 on craigslist for a computer with 4 gigs of ram and around a 2.8 or higher cpu (you can always add ram if it doesnt.

- spend 150 for a technics 1200 in any miserable working condition.

- spend 70 for a shure n447 cartridge.

- spend 1-300 on a DJ mixer. (get one with an eq of hi/lo at least)

- spend 2-300 on corner dampers and other acoustic devices (to help flatten the rooms response)

- spend 2-300 on a better mixer (and sell that one as soon as possible.. and older is better for mixers... you can get 24 channel mixers on craigslist for 200 bucks. chances are, that the pre on the old mixer sounds better for your mic.






~then spend the next 10 years collecting records, and perfecting your craft.


cheap, affordable, hip-hop.

The computer will be used for more than just my hip hop hobby. i want to ahve a beast computer, and since im buying one i figured id get one that also has all the best parts i need for my music and to plug my mic into it and record into it instead of the mpc (its more of a hassle to do it in the mpc then save each recording and export to a computer). SO i guess ill be contacting lampdog unless someone else has more input on this

I will find a brand new technics and buy it thank youuu for that recommendation. I like buying new when i buy. the cartridge, is that someothing u recommended because of the old technics, in other words will i need to buy it if i buy a new technics?

Dj mixer - whats the difference between my behringer mixer and a dj mixer? also do you have any specific ones you would recommend for the equipment i listed above?

To the guy that suggested the motif keyboard, what model exactly did you mean? Also, what synth wshould i get (per recommendation) a hardware one or software? and which specific ones would you recommend?

THANK YOU GUYS

only dumb people buy 2000 dollar computers... they are worthless compared to the new technology in a year or two. (no offense lamp )

unless you are planning on taking over nasa by hacking their gigabit firewall, then im saying... don't be a **** premadonna and think your a hip hop head because of it. if you got money to waste, then by all means, spend it on retarded shit all day... but if you want to have a rig thats workable, complete, and sounds hip hop... your windows 7 crap is dead doggie.


you should spend 1000 on a mic and 1500 on a preamp first before you think that way about a damn PC for gods sake.

tecs are discontinued... so if you want to buy a pretty new one... get it soon.

a dj mixer has a scratchy scratch wikki/ wackki crossfader... i thought you said you lived and breathed hip hop?

The Grublet wrote:tecs are discontinued...

wut?

damn...

at least I know mine will last forever

The Grublet wrote:only dumb people buy 2000 dollar computers... they are worthless compared to the new technology in a year or two. (no offense lamp )

unless you are planning on taking over nasa by hacking their gigabit firewall, then im saying... don't be a **** premadonna and think your a hip hop head because of it. if you got money to waste, then by all means, spend it on retarded **** all day... but if you want to have a rig thats workable, complete, and sounds hip hop... your windows 7 **** is dead doggie.


you should spend 1000 on a mic and 1500 on a preamp first before you think that way about a damn PC for gods sake.

tecs are discontinued... so if you want to buy a pretty new one... get it soon.

a dj mixer has a scratchy scratch wikki/ wackki crossfader... i thought you said you lived and breathed hip hop?

all you did there was talk shit? STFU. i asked for help. u didnt say anything helpful untill the end. and that was followed by a smartass remark.

k so first things first. a lot of you seem to have this misconception that hip hop is all about cheap and ghetto shit with a nice ghetto sound. no, hip hop is about putting thought into the lyrics you write, talking about real shit, day to day shit, shit that takes thought and time to write. i can have good quality beats, high quality sound, and still make hip hop.second, i didnt say im a gea head, did i? clearly im a noob at making the beats and the gear associated with it so no i didnt know what a dj mixxer was.. what i meant by i breathe hip hop was im listening to it 24/7, constantly reading about it, constantly writing lyrics 24/7 throughout the day. I want a 2000 dollar computer, i have use for it, i have my reasons, so please all you cocky **** outthere dont even bother commenting if ur not planning on helping me out with what im asking for. i dont "think" im a hiphop head because i want a 2000 computer, dun be ignorant. like i said, the 2000 computer will be used for much more than just music, im an electrical engineering undergrad, i do a lot of work with computers. i want a really good one. thats my personal preference. i dont know much about the GEAR associated with making BEATS, thats what i need help with. i need to know what computer parts i should look for that will allow me to hook up my mic to pc and record directly into it with quality. if i need some intermediate device so be it. tell me about it. dont just tell me that im dumb for wanting expensive shit.

did you read any of the links I suggested?

as for what's different about a dj mixer, try wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_mixer
the answer is in the very first paragraph

everything you're asking can be found at the links I suggested or via google

if you don't like the sarcastic answers, don't ask questions that you should be able to answer if you did 5 minutes of homework

you wouldn't expect to learn EE by asking one or two questions, right?
you need to figure out the right questions (which you're doing, that's cool) and then when given pointers to reference material, go and study

Edit: and practice, obviously. but if you want to make music with hardware then there are things that you should learn to make it easier. then practice. lots

I'm still at the practising stage, and still making very bad music, but I'm glad I read the manuals and learnt the basics of what I was trying to achieve

all you did there was talk ****? STFU. i asked for help. u didnt say anything helpful untill the end. and that was followed by a smartass remark.

k so first things first. a lot of you seem to have this misconception that hip hop is all about cheap and ghetto **** with a nice ghetto sound. no, hip hop is about putting thought into the lyrics you write, talking about real ****, day to day ****, **** that takes thought and time to write. i can have good quality beats, high quality sound, and still make hip hop.second, i didnt say im a gea head, did i? clearly im a noob at making the beats and the gear associated with it so no i didnt know what a dj mixxer was.. what i meant by i breathe hip hop was im listening to it 24/7, constantly reading about it, constantly writing lyrics 24/7 throughout the day. I want a 2000 dollar computer, i have use for it, i have my reasons, so please all you cocky **** outthere dont even bother commenting if ur not planning on helping me out with what im asking for. i dont "think" im a hiphop head because i want a 2000 computer, dun be ignorant. like i said, the 2000 computer will be used for much more than just music, im an electrical engineering undergrad, i do a lot of work with computers. i want a really good one. thats my personal preference. i dont know much about the GEAR associated with making BEATS, thats what i need help with. i need to know what computer parts i should look for that will allow me to hook up my mic to pc and record directly into it with quality. if i need some intermediate device so be it. tell me about it. dont just tell me that im dumb for wanting expensive ****.

This dude straight up wanna battle me.


look master ace... your clown shoes will be worn for some time now... so exhale before you burst something.


why don't you buy reason 9.0 and STFU.

If you didn't have sand in your vagina, you would realize me and master told you everything you needed to know.

sounds like your bichoass would rather complain, or dream, than do work on your own.


good luck with that.

The Grublet wrote:sounds like your bichoass would rather complain, or dream, than do work on your own.

I think that's just how people react on web forums. instead of reading the bits of an answer which are helpful and ignoring the insults, the usual reaction is to ignore the helpful bits and get all bent out of shape about the insults, and start trying to out-insult the other person

I've been on every side of that sh!tstorm but pffffft. life's too short

but that's one reason why I think people should read more and post less - me included

I didnt try to outinsult him, in fact i didnt really try to insult him. if you neglect the censored profanities that is. IM just telling you that i posted asking for help, so if you dont wanna help, then dont post. and telling me that unless i wanna hack nasa i shouldnt buy that 2000 dollar comp isn't the advice i asked for. My knowledge of computers is most likely MUCH greater than yours. I only needed help with the musical gear components. So keep your smartass comments to yourself. Having said that, thank you for the parts of your replies that were helpful.