computer or mpc?

i'm a music newbie and want to make beats that my friends can rap over. haven't dj:ed or anything but i listen to a lot of music, mostly hiphop.. i want to buy some music gear, and was thinking about getting cubase or reason, since i already have a computer. but a lot of people seem to use mpcs instead of computers so i thought i check it out. what's the difference? does mpcs sound better, or are easier or more powerful or what? if i get a mpc, how do i record vocals and stuff? do i still need a computer for that?

lots of questions the main thing i want to know is whats better with an mpc than working on a computer?

thanks!

Lampdog wrote:http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=52203&start=0

Lampdog you the realist! "lol" I feel you, Welcome I was once a target.

OK, i (a self confessed newbie), ask you (the experts) a question on a forum (a place for discussion and learning) about what is the difference between computers and mpcs and i'm told to figure it out myself. OK thanks a lot for the help.

I'm not that interested in the techy stuff, i just want to make music. If you were in my shoes, knowing nothing about the craft but being passionate about music, what do you think would be a good starting point?

Grind from the bottom to the top then you will learn to appreciate it. This is serious no games we can filter the bs from real talk, but to say creating your own sound from the bottom up you got to start from the bottom up then start asking questions that's showing that you have tried on your own instead of the basic one's like computer or mpc? without a doubt MPC this is the MPC forum and no other.



Much Love Lil Bro! Don't take it personal, it's just music.

start out on the computer man. download the free version of Acid at www.acidplanet.com

it is a basic sequencer with 8 tracks. it is very simple. almost as easy as using MS paint. all drag and drop, cut and paste type editing. Go to your local library and pick up as many cd's as they will let you take, pick the music according to what kind of music you want to make.

start importing audio in from the cd's into acid and adjust the L and R points of the loop until you have a working loop. get some drums(off of cd, or download)

**edit: you may want to start with a drum loop and play the cd music over the drums until you find a loop you like.

once you get a good loop/drum pattern going, copy it out for several bars.

this will give you the cheapest easiest way to start messing around with it.

some folks just shouldn't produce, and you shouldn't go drop a bunch of money on an MPC or an ass load of PC software until you know a little bit about what you're doing.

if you feel like continuing, get on here and start reading all the threads, build up a basis of knowledge, and then ask more questions.

good luck bro!

Do you want to make beats by Bangin' em out on drum pads, or make em with mouse clicks.
Reason is a kick a$$ program, as wel as ACID, Live, etc.

What kind of computer do you have? ie Laptop, Desktop, PC, MAC.
Do you know anything about MIDI?
Do you want to play Live, or just in the Lab?

You'll find what works for you, and your situation.

Pe@Ce

First off are you on a budget or what? Its totally up to you to decide which will benefit you. I prefer hardware over software and its a bunch on here who prefer software over hardwar or they like both. We can all sit here and tell u what we feel will work but what if 1000 people respond and they all give their opinion. Where does that put you? You will be in a biased mode tryin to still decide which is right for you. What i recommend is download some of the trial or free software and mess around with it and see how u like it. You can get midi controllers(keyboards with no sounds) and drum pad controller(mpd16, trigger finger...) and use that with software or you can just take the chance and invest in an mpc. To me the mpc is the easiest sequencer to use.

But you have to decide so go out and test an mpc if you can if not then read up in the comparison section and other threads on the board to get a drift of what goes on.

If u do decide to go with an mpc just go downloads its manual and start reading.

In the meantime read the guide below and start your journey young man.

Nicole

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

beatpoet wrote:OK, i (a self confessed newbie), ask you (the experts) a question on a forum (a place for discussion and learning) about what is the difference between computers and mpcs and i'm told to figure it out myself. OK thanks a lot for the help.

I'm not that interested in the techy stuff, i just want to make music. If you were in my shoes, knowing nothing about the craft but being passionate about music, what do you think would be a good starting point?

I was in your shoes when I first bought my ASR10, I read the manual inside and out. I played with every little function I could find in the menus, I pushed the buttons as I read along in the book. I made little experimental beats to see what did what. After I was comfortable in knowing many of the different functions and features then I started imagining different sounds I could make. I started to try and combine those different functions and features to get “that sound” I was searching for. It worked, after some practice, much practice I got what I wanted.
I went ahead and learned the technical stuff too, why, because it’s my gear and I wanted to know everything it could do and what it can’t so that I may be able to create with total knowledge and freedom iaw it’s features and functions.

“I’m not that interested in the techy stuff, I just wanted to make some music”
It’s that techy stuff that will save you from headaches and get you ALOT farther than “just wanted to make some music”.

Lamp, had you ever made a beat with any other platform before you got your ASR?

i just get the feeling that this dude hasn't had any experience making beats, and you're right, its that techy stuff that gets you ANYWHERE with beatmaking.

you need to understand EQ and timing and groove before you even try to learn how to do all that on a complex machine like an MPC or and ASR.

thats when people ask questions like "i just bought an MPC, where do i get samples? "

i make music on PC and cant wait to get my mpc, the pc shit is not form me, probly cuz my PC is shytty. I just rather have hardware then some programs, but to start out on the PC is a good idea, just make sure u dont spend alot of money on it.

you can get the akai pads to plug into PC and them some software, but by the time you done that, you could have got a Mpc. I got my mpc 2k off ebay with a zip drive for 400. about average really, the 1k is real good too for newbies as you can use it along with your PC and just drag and drop.

Cap_Ill wrote:start out on the computer man. download the free version of Acid at www.acidplanet.com

it is a basic sequencer with 8 tracks. it is very simple. almost as easy as using MS paint. all drag and drop, cut and paste type editing. Go to your local library and pick up as many cd's as they will let you take, pick the music according to what kind of music you want to make.

start importing audio in from the cd's into acid and adjust the L and R points of the loop until you have a working loop. get some drums(off of cd, or download)

**edit: you may want to start with a drum loop and play the cd music over the drums until you find a loop you like.

once you get a good loop/drum pattern going, copy it out for several bars.

this will give you the cheapest easiest way to start messing around with it.

some folks just shouldn't produce, and you shouldn't go drop a bunch of money on an MPC or an ass load of PC software until you know a little bit about what you're doing.

if you feel like continuing, get on here and start reading all the threads, build up a basis of knowledge, and then ask more questions.

good luck bro!

Co-sign like a mutha, try to figure out whether you really like making beats, by using some free software tools. Don't buy any hardware until you figured out whether making beats is really your thing. A computer and a free copy of renoise will already get you a good idea whether you really like to make sample based music.[/url]

beatpoet wrote:i'm a music newbie and want to make beats that my friends can rap over. haven't dj:ed or anything but i listen to a lot of music, mostly hiphop.. i want to buy some music gear, and was thinking about getting cubase or reason, since i already have a computer. but a lot of people seem to use mpcs instead of computers so i thought i check it out. what's the difference? does mpcs sound better, or are easier or more powerful or what? if i get a mpc, how do i record vocals and stuff? do i still need a computer for that?

lots of questions the main thing i want to know is whats better with an mpc than working on a computer?

thanks!

It depends on what you want to use. If you wanna use a computer to make beats thats dope too, but i like the MPC cos i like banging shit out on drumpads instead of just clicking a mouse.

I think you should get sum free software tho or maybe ejay, Music 2000 for Playstation or whatever to see if making music is really your thing. Don't waste your money on an MPC if you wanna do sumthin else.

get e-jay volume 2. Its the simplist layout possible. figure out the basics of making a beat then practice. learn to make beats with limited options first. Then when you get hardware or better software you will have basic knowledge of what to do.

also figure out what u want to do- if u wanna be a sampling artist ,make sure you have access to records or any kind of sample material first.
-if u wanna make lil john style beats you might have to save up for a nice keyboard.

Just remember there is no rush