I am a total noob (fo' real)

allright first thing i wanna say is hi everybody. Im new to this forum and im a total noob.

I rap and all , u know in the streets, clubs and basements ect. I recently thought of being able to record my stuff. so i thought of building my home mini studio.

I wanted to be able to make my beats ect. by myself cause i dont wanna work with someone that might backstab me or whatever.
anyway i got a pretty high budget here.

I thought of getting the MPC2500. But reading the specs gave me headdaches, cause i have no idea wassup?

Can someone give a simple explanation (without them technological complex words) of what the MPC consists of.

I used to use HipHop ejay 5. Im expecting a lil something like that but with hardware.

basically it's a sampler so you can record different audio sources, eg from vinyl, cd's etc etc. You send the samples to the 16 pads of the MPC.

You can then take these samples and lay them out in a sequence to begin creating your beat.

When you hit record and play together, you hit the pads in the order you want to lay down your beat.

It's quite hard to explain so just check out some MPC videos and you should get the idea.

http://malefactor.org/beatmakingvideos/?C=S;O=A

The just blaze one is probably a good place to start as it shows you him sampling from vinyl into the MPC, then laying out the track. Also Kev Browns and Pete Rock's vids.

They're not using the 2500 but the concept of all MPCs is the same.

Omg thank you man, But are they any samples allready intergrated in the machine , cause im not intending on getting a midi or a turntable.

Thnx for the reply

There are a few samples in the machine but really not enough to keep you going for too long. If you're not going to get a turntable you can download a free program such as audacity to load up MP3s, convert them to WAVs then transfer them to your MPC.

Or with the 2500, you can buy a cd drive that allows you to sample direct from a CD. That could be a good option for you.

Check out this link for a maxed out 2500

http://1226354.estore.networksolutionsd ... eFront.bok

If you've got the budget, that's where i'd go for sure. Full RAM, cd drive and hard drive.

I just watched the Pete Rock vid myself, anyone know what song it is he plays at the end around the 5 minute mark?

hhhm thanx man, im starting to really understand how things are now. So if i have to do your 1st method, which is to convert my mp3's into wave then put em in the MPC. Where are they going to get stored?
wavs can be pretty heavy.

blackwestcoast....sampleKINGS hav a moderately priced video that walks you through production on an MPC. Its like 20 bucks, thats in the budget.

its simplistic, which is why its great if you've never touched an MPC before, and you can see exactly what the machine is capable of, through tutorials of its basic functions (sampling, sequencing, laying down drums, MIDI, home studio, etc.). you can find them on the net...

Thanx alot for the suggestion, I kind of got an idea on how to do some of the stuff, but i just need to know some of specification but in a way where it will a lot simpler for me to understand.

If I turn my mp3's into wave then put em in the MPC, Where are they going to get stored? is there a hard drive intergrated inside.
wavs can be pretty heavy , so would you say it will be enuff space to put in my own samples?

u can store ur samples on a cf card (mpc 2500 or 100)
or instal a harddrive on the 2500.

Does the MPC2500 include a Compact flash card?

Is it necassary to install a harddrive? what are the advanges of them over a compact flash? Obviously more space, but what do you do with 80gb of space?

i don't suggest you get into production unless you're willing to learn years worth of technical/musical terms and implimentation.

producing is a LOT harder/more expensive than getting into rapping. i suggest finding someone who won't "stab you in the back" to make beats for you and concentrate on learning how to record yourself.

however, if you're bent on making beats and you're willing to put forth the massive ammounts of time and effort, go for it. but you've been warned - this will take over your life if you're serious about it.

^^^ I see what you mean partner, but is what it is. I am dead serious on doing that stuff, im only seventeen so i got the whole time in the world. Instead of hangin with my ****** round cornershop drinkin 40z and cause none but trouble I'd rther spend days and days in my basement workin the stuff out.
I am aware of how hard it could be , but training makes perfect, it's all about being patient and that I got.

Thanx for the suggests, but back to the technical questions.

Does the MPC2500 include a Compact flash card?

Is it necassary to install a harddrive? what are the advanges of them over a compact flash? Obviously more space, but what do you do with 80gb of space?


thanx for the replies, really apprieciated

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Thanx fam, I am kind of new to forums. Thaanx for the advice man.

alltho is it possible to save my finished songs to the computer via USB without having to save it on the Flash card?

because im planning to just put songs in the flash card, to take samples from them, u kno.

You'd need to save them to a compact flash card or hard drive first i think, then you copy it ot the computer after.

The 32mb card is probably big enough for this to begin with. serious though, for the price of a 1gb CF card you can get a 40gb hard drive.

If your budget is really big enough. Why not just expand it fully (i.e., cd-burner, ALL ram.. etc)??


Also..why wouldny you get a turntable? I mean... sample cd's are fine... using a computer to sample sounds is fine... but youre gonna need SOMETHING to put sounds into the MPC. Its not a machine that makes sounds by itself.. all it does (simply) is arrange sounds that you put into it...


Oh... as far as saving... yes, it comes with a flash memory drive.. might wanna buy the 512 mb disc instead of the standard 32 or whatever it is... its enough to save pleeeenty.. also, with the cd drive, theres that option.. and the expanded hard drive has some capabilities as well...



I HIGHLY suggest you check out and buy at least one or two beatmaking tutorial videos.



HIGHLY. Honestly.. if you dont even know what an MPC does (i.e., having sounds internally, etc), you are gonna have a hard time learning this stuff without someone walking you through it initially.




ronJ