Making Techno

Hey, i'm new to this forum, and decided to place a post (since i couldn't find anything on the subject) about making techno on a mpc2000xl (the stuff like you hear off of blade, with the crazy distorted analog synths and the beats). Is this hard or something? I'd appriciate any feedback.

Thanks,
Cody

Y would it be hard? Not hard if u know how to make beats. Of course u will need some synths or whatever but "hard"? Nah not hardly

Its not hard to produce techno on any of the MPCs (or other sequencers, synths, and drum machines). It's just very time consuming... and it don't matter if you use hardware or software. There's just alot involved in producing techno, depending on the elements you're looking for. The best advice I can give you is to listen to what you like very carefully and experiment like a lab technician. Learning sampling, synthesis, and effects are a must. These forums are full of information. Once you get used to the search engine, you'll learn alot of things.

Thanks for the reply guys, yeah, i guess i should. I just run into a couple problems. 1) should i get the EFX board upgrade for the MPC? I'm pretty much doing everything by sample CD's and the akai, so i need some kind of efx processor (even though i also have a microKORG). It's also a problem when you have trouble finding the genre you wish to reproduce. For some reason (i guess it's not popular?) I'm having so much trouble finding this type of techno, it's not drum'nbass, breaks is out of the question, it's not acid, and it's not trip-hop. More like The prodigy (aka. fat of the land), crystal method, chemical brothers. There's a few clippits on blade trinity that i really like (during a few of the action scenes) where there is crazy analogs and massive beats. Jeeze, i typed a essay, haha, well, i guess i need to just learn how to completly use my MPC and then use it to do the music. Just looking for some pointers, like what sample CD's sould i invest in, where can i get some crazy techno sounds sampled from. And also if someone could get back to me on the EFX board, that would be great.

Thanks,
Cody

Check out the Korg "Karma" - you will need an arpegeator and it has about the best for what you are doing....it also comes preloaded with the Triton soundset and you can add cards....both "Trance" and "dance" would be good additions....

My focus is techno, and I own the 1k and find it useful..
also this guy I know does a tight live techno set and uses a 1k check out www.mux.ca (i think its .ca).

however, using an mpc as your main soundsource isn't really the classic techno appoach: the classic techno feel is based off of a drummachine plus a stepsequenced analog synth, for instance roland tr909 plus tb303. It's the same way as hiphop cats say an mpc is classic for hiphop. both those roland machines are based around pattern sequences plus knobs you change to alter the analog synth parameters.

the mpc is good as the master sequencer for what you're doing.. and also use it almost like a recording device to keep sampling in different variations. but to make your setup more 'techno', you need to have some different pieces of gear, all playing back patterns at once, each gear having knobs you can tweak to vary the sound immediately in different ways. the microkorg is a good start and could be very 'techno' with the right adjustment. it could be good to supplement your sampled drumsounds with drums that are actually synthesized with knobby parameters:: korg er-1's are so cheap these days and could actually help you out a lot. or you could get more into software plus a midi knob/fader controller (not my preference though).

and yeah, the more f/x the better. it works well to get a mixer with multiple aux sends and put the f/x on that, so you can mix and match what feed goes thru what effect. since the mpc doesn't have many knobs, really working your mixer can make up for a lot of that.

just remember:: the mind set of techno is to work off a few basic sequence patterns, then create buildup and variation by changing the sound by knob tweaking. its a very handson vibe, really morphing and twisting up the sound until it screams.

good to see another techno producer here, sleepersriddle.

I've never tried to make a Techno track but from what i've heard(i use to be a big techno head)it doesn't seem easy at all.I don't think people really under how intricate Techno is.I think Hip Hop is pretty easy because if you can do a basic 4/4 beat you can make something happen.Techno is alot more complex so you might want to look intoo joining and Techno Forum and doing alot of research.Good Luck.


Welcome to the Fam.

2.

Thanks for all the posts guys. I don't have alot of money to buy any more than the mpc, techno is alot of sampling, so, i should beable to figure out a writing style for it.

Thanks again,
Cody

lcphr3ak wrote:Thanks for all the posts guys. I don't have alot of money to buy any more than the mpc, techno is alot of sampling, so, i should beable to figure out a writing style for it.

Thanks again,
Cody

Yeah for sure man. I don't advocate spending $$$$$$ all at once anyway...
I think ultimately it's not the gear its the Attitude, but it still helps if you keep in mind the history of the style and what gear has traditionally been used; it will help you take the right mental approach.

and yeah work that microkorg, you can do a lot with that. keep a line from that to the mpc's sampling inputs so that if you find a crazy sound u can record it right away.

cheers

" techno is alot of sampling"

I am not sure what the state of "techno" is now, but originally it was not about sampling or samplers. Most artists would use x0x drum boxes, and x0x synths, Junos, and many various analog synths. I did.

Before the Chemical Brothers became popular, they toured with MPC3000, Juno-106 and a few guitar efx. They would tote an SH101 with them but it appeared to never get used. One of the best shows I ever saw. Keeping it simple was the best. Prodigy is named after an analog synth and am not sure what they used for other sound sources. Hawton toured with a 909, efx and turntables.

But times change. Gigging with a bunch of cranky old analog synths is a pain in the rump. Digital (and sampling) was easier to maintain and setup. I found myself gigging with an MPC, outboard sampler and one synth, and the synth does not get used to much as most of it has been sampled.

lcphr3ak wrote:techno is alot of sampling

Hi - like mpc3000 said, Techno generally speaking is very synth based without too many samples. Clearly we can't generalise and account for every Techno writer out there but if we had to, they tend to avoid the over use of samples.

Regarding the Karma, I would imagine it would be very rare to find this is your average techno studio, along with any rompler. Once again, we can't say that a Karma has never been used in a decent techno track but it would be a rarity, and certainly not something the artist would admit to

Any MPC would be a good hub for a techno studio but unlike other genre's, you might struggle if this is all you have. You might need a few well chosen sound sources. You dont need to go for the main stream techno machines like a Pro One, 303, or MS20 etc etc. They do help but generally anything quirky and unique will give you a nice starting point. But you will need to look beyond romplers and samplers.

Good luck dude..

punkdISCO wrote:

lcphr3ak wrote:techno is alot of sampling

Regarding the Karma, I would imagine it would be very rare to find this is your average techno studio, along with any rompler. Once again, we can't say that a Karma has never been used in a decent techno track but it would be a rarity, and certainly not something the artist would admit to

Good luck dude..

I admit it!....I recently used the Karma to Produce and create a techno piece. It was actually the only sound source except for Drums (MPC4k) , a bit of guitar and vox....

I just won an mpc1000 off of ebay. I intend to use it for more hardstep techno and or experimental electronic music. A lot of what i do is sample based from just everyday things warped into rhythms. I currently own a microkorg, korg prophecy and an evolution mk-249c to control octaves/knobs. I think this machine will help me a good bit because it will allow me to get away from the computer. i can easily sit at the computer for four hours and only come out with two bars of beats. Thats why im after the mpc1k, so i can 'draw' out my beats and samples with a real physical machine rather than mouse and keyboard, then bring out the korg's for pads and etc. microkorg rocks by the way, you can make it sound like any thing your going for with minimal effort. If you get to know the capabilities of the gear you have, thats key. With enough knowledge you can get the mpc doing whatever you need it to. I can't wait for mine to show up

dosle wrote:i can easily sit at the computer for four hours and only come out with two bars of beats.

Sounds to me like you need Ableton Live!!