Keyboard Recomendations...

"Now if they learned to synthesize on a triton or motif they would ave some power there, but most guys I come across just want to hammer something out quick. presets are the reason they buy the keyboards mostly."

..which accounts for why there is so little interesting Hip Hop out there. Everyone following the same formula, using the same sounds, turning out slight variations on the last 20 years. I have said this before but here we go: I guarantee that the big boys and the interesting stuff is not being produced using a Mofit etc! Sure, some of them might use these as starting points or whatever but the tracks we hear that sound 'outside of the box' have been produced 'outside of the box'!

Reading between the lines I get the impression that a considerable % of the people in hear are not into the music but rather they are into the glam image of stardom. The very fact that someone is a 'Producer' from day one lends light onto what is the goal here.. And I think this accounts for the whole Mofit/quick fix thing - 'I dont care about artistic integrity, I just want something that is going to get me famous fast'. Dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Mofits etc (not my thing but hey..) its just the complete reliance on them that I question

YEAH BUTTA I GOTTA HAVE THAT TRITON FOOL UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i think the cat pic is a photoshop job

^^^^

never a truer word said- its even obvious when these peeps just talk about the presets the synth comes with- before this whole neptune/timbo/blaze sound people did their best to avoid presets...in this circle they talk about spending $700 but on a synth they are not going to edit- they refer just to the presets- if they instead bought a decent rack sampler they could not only copy the sounds of the peeps they are trying to emulate but also have scope for a much wider pallette of sounds....

it seems to be all the about the fame/cash/prestige than the actual enjoyment of artistic creation for too many cats in the genre- the only other genre i can compare it to is pop and the whole pop idol/8 year old girl market

greg

"it seems to be all the about the fame/cash/prestige than the actual enjoyment of artistic creation for too many cats in the genre"

Yep - good example was that recent thread along the lines of "if I dont make it within 3 years Im going to give away all my gear". Go figure! Where is the soul and passion in this argument? It is the equivalent of saying "if my children dont learn to ride a bike by 3 Im going to give them away". Your children will always be yours and you will always love them no matter what they do. If this is not the case then you should not have had them in the first place. Ditto with your music..

Paul

Somebody recommended the Edirol PCR 80. Don't know if it is good or bad, or really what I'm looking for. I do want midi outputs/inputs on whatever keyboard I get as to allow control through some computer programs I have (Reason, FL), and also control into my MPC. I don't just want some garbage keyboard though, with no room for expansion of sounds, or even a good preset library either. I think someone mentioned a keyboard without a sequencer in it, which makes sense, since my MPC acts like a sequencer and I wouldn't need it in the keyboard itself, right?

I'm sorry to keep babbling on but I've been making music for like 6 or 7 years now, and I've always used computer programs, or just mixed records. I just want to have something different to switch up my style a bit, and I always enjoy getting a new piece of equipment to expand my "studio" and to expand my knowledge and creativity. Producing beats is pretty much all I think about, even when I'm in class or at work doing something completely different.

Thanks all.

Peace

Also, someone mentioned racks...what is the deal with that? Is it a way of creating your own sounds, like anlog synths, etc., or just presets, or what? I looked up the few that were recomended, but I just don't even know what the hell they are, or how you would use one. Would I need to connect it to a keyboard, or to my laptop, or my MPC, and what do they do?
And, reading through some of the posts again, I'm not just trying to sound like every producer out there, or get famous fast. I mean it's dumb to say that you don't wanna get famous, because, obviously, most people would love to blow up and make it big. But, I just want to be able to make better beats and come up with cool, original ish...If I blow up in the process...word.

Thanks again to people hittin this post up...like I said, when it comes to all this hardware for producing, I'm pretty new, I've been confined to a computer for so long and I'm just starting to learn about all the different methods available to me.

elmacaco wrote:Rokuez man I gotta say I love your Avatar. You'd think a cat with a melon on it's head would flip out but homie just looks like he put it on himself and is about to go space traveling.

(a mellon 4 sho')

please u think dats something............................

I once Had a cat that put on a MASK AND THOUGHT HE WAS MF DOOM......................

.. .. ..




NOT...but THAT MELLON HELMET IZ REAL ILL THO'...

DJAwethentic wrote:Also, someone mentioned racks...what is the deal with that?

Rack module is like a synth without a keyboard, if that makes any sense. You know how you can use MIDI to trigger a synth keyboard and get notes from it etc.? Well, if you take a keyboard synth like a Motif, and cut off the keyboard section and mount the electronics in a rack-mount box, you get a rack module. You trigger the notes strictly through MIDI. People get 'em because they take way less space than another keyboard.

i hope they all quit in 3 years and never take producing seriously. more work 4 da god. don't forget aes ny yall, my crew will definately be in da building

heres a question... whats a good rack to start out with and whats the "Gotta Have" rack, and don't forget why. Im looking to make some of those Timberland type beats with "ORIGINAL" sounds

Alright,
So after all this talk, and browsing around, I think I like the Korg X5D...
I basically want a keyboard with a good range, good base samples, control capability, and no sequencer. This got 61 keys, some basic samples to start and practice with, and the ability to act as a controller to computer programs like Reason, and FL, I think???, then just input to the MPC which is already my sequencer. What does everyone think...is this something worth me buying??? Or does it completely suck and doesn't do what I want???

But there is also an Asr-10, or a Juno-D....

So out of those three (those plus the X5D)...what's for me...?

punkdISCO wrote:"Now if they learned to synthesize on a triton or motif they would ave some power there, but most guys I come across just want to hammer something out quick. presets are the reason they buy the keyboards mostly."

..which accounts for why there is so little interesting Hip Hop out there. Everyone following the same formula, using the same sounds, turning out slight variations on the last 20 years. I have said this before but here we go: I guarantee that the big boys and the interesting stuff is not being produced using a Mofit etc! Sure, some of them might use these as starting points or whatever but the tracks we hear that sound 'outside of the box' have been produced 'outside of the box'!

Reading between the lines I get the impression that a considerable % of the people in hear are not into the music but rather they are into the glam image of stardom. The very fact that someone is a 'Producer' from day one lends light onto what is the goal here.. And I think this accounts for the whole Mofit/quick fix thing - 'I dont care about artistic integrity, I just want something that is going to get me famous fast'. Dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Mofits etc (not my thing but hey..) its just the complete reliance on them that I question

yawn.

just jumping in on all this ramble.

****. It doesnt matter if you have a rompler or analog.

Just cause you have an analog keyboard doesnt mean your all of a sudden gonna be more original or whatever everyone argues. If you get to know your keyboard and use it to its fullest, your gonna kill anybody. It doesnt matter what you use you have to use it to its fullest. I think a rompler is alot easier to master and in alot of senses you have more flexibility.....and for industry hiphop, its a better choice. Plus y ou can always throw in some analog samples, so you get best of both worlds.

Your not gonna get certain types of sounds with analog without alot of work. Everyones got a good point about using samples......But for some types of sounds It would be hard to come close. there are some string sounds you can get with a triton that kill samples and kill analog. Combi mode on a triton layering string sounds and use arpegiator settings will kill most analog string sounds...........but of course, im talking in the g unit string type sound sense........or the "lean back" sense; some people preffer synth string sounds you might find in an analog.........

..all this proves is that people like differant shit. One of these analog guys might hate the cheesey sounding ruff rider beats made with a triton.....other guys luv the shit. I dont think anyone could argue that scottt storch isnt good. If thats the t ype of sound you like, dont feel bad just cause you want a rompler. Its the sound you want to accomplish.

Your not gonna get good aucoustic piano sounds using analog.

get the motif or yamaha or roland fantom. Dont get analog just because everyones panties are in a bundle because they are on some original bullshit. If you want that industry sound wether its scott storch, lil jon, west coast, etc.........get a motif or a triton.

Its not the keyboards fault people arent original!

the funny thng is euro techno dudes who think theyre better than "hip hop guys (lame) " cause they use a Virus or a Nord, get outta here mang. dont be quick to lump everyone up.