How many of you . . . . .

are from the days when you didn't know what to do w/ an MPC ? I mean, of course you had a basic idea (probably wouldn't spend more than a G if you didn't) but the only way to find sh!t out was to listen and experiment (and the trusty manual, of course) . When I 1st got my MPC there were no tutorials, forums or even that many people who had 'em so I had to figure everything out myself . This topic comes from a video clip I saw in the off topic section of a guy doing his thing live on the MPC . If people are instructing people on how and what to sample how is thier music gonna be purely creative ? Are these things guiding more people's production techniques to a "norm" than giving room for fresh ideas ? I'm not saying that this is good or bad, it's just a thought .

well often its technical ability that stifles creativity- cats like goldie needed peeps like Rob Playford to show him how to transfer the sounds in his head to actual processes on gear and if he hadn't we may never have had 'timeless' or moving shadow records- so i cant possibly see it as a negative thing....

in fact the engineering side is what lets my tunes down...musically i feel ok but technically ive got a lot to learn and would love to work with someone who could show me some more pro techniques.....of course ill carry on trying to work it out for myself but just because someone has taught you doesn't invalidate the resulting musical expression- you had to 'learn' guitar or piano if you play them and that generallly means someone showed you how to play it (and even if you claim to have taught yourself you must have seen how they were played before otherwise wouldn't necessarily know where to put your hands...

greg

Well, I always read the manual, so I never didn't know what to do with the mpc, but as you explore different functions you come up with other uses. The same goes for engineering, if you want to get good, try mixing other people's music, it will open up your skills for when you do yours.

Most of the questions people ask here are answered in the manual, but sometimes they are not, and there are so many ways of doing things in the MPC that reading about how people do it can let you know of the possibilities and maybe lead to better techniques.

Agree^ I just started mixing my friend's stuff. It's amazing how different his music is than mine. No two steps are duplicated.

if taht was case everyone who taught themselves guitars would be the musical geniuses...

i don't think people learn exclusively by these forums. they still learn a great deal from personal experience and just caressing them pads.

no not if you understand me right, people who taught themselves like me still had an element of being shown or watching what to do

greg

WORD!

remember digging through mad magazines for production article?



Remember when rap pages was in newspaper form, and Phil Most's World Of Beats articles?


Remember reading mad hip hop liner notes, to find sample permissions?


Remember digging through mysterious record wharehouses that smelled like madd cat piss? Just to find that one truck turner breakbeat?


Remember traveling 100 miles to the nearest record store when you lived in a town with no record store? (moved as soon as possible)?



Now, all that digin' I did is paying my rent? World wide diggers need records too.

Torrenga I don't have to think back I'm still doing it but the pieces are starting to fit! PEACE!

i taught myself guitar, and up to today, still learing, i have developed so mant bad habits, i never practiced with any one nor a metronome, so u could imagine how my timing is, but at the same time after listening to muddy waters and hendix, i could play a riff and it would sound like three guitars, playing three different parts, so it has its ups and downs, u got to strike a balance, learn on your own but at the same time, read the manual to confirm what yur doing isnt some long winded procedure that can be done by pushing a single button.

I learned all the basics of sampling and recording w/ my ASR10, only had a manual and discman for sampling. No help, alone, out in Norfolk Virginia that year..