pro samplers (i.e S950) & mixing

I have an MPC, Triton, DJ mixer (Vestax 05) and a CD recorder. I want to learn how to mix because my set-up is pretty ghetto right now. I come straight from the Vestax into a SONY CD-Recorder to make my beat CD's for people to hear.

I know I need more equipment so this is what the post is all about. If I get an S950, does the MPC become just a MIDI controller for the S950?

Do the 8 outs on the S950 serve the same function as the MPC's 8 outs (if you have it installed)? And would I need to get a mixing board like the Mackie 1604 or does PROTOOLS serve as a mixing console also?

Will someone please explain the gear I should get so I can start professionally mixing my tracks? People like the beats I have...So I want to start selling them but if I do...I want it to sound as good as possible so thats why I am contemplating all these options.

I was thinking about getting a G4 w/ PROTOOLS but is that all I need, along with the 8 outs on the MPC? Or should get a professional sampler (S950) also with this set-up? Is a mixing board necessary if you have PROTOOLS?

I appreciate any input on this subject, I am new to the whole mixdown process and where to start. I know the MPC and TRITON very well but I feel like I am missing out on the whole recording/tracking out process. Thank you.

Here are some of the beats and songs I have done so far:

http://www.thecawz.com/Tunes%20-%20Rick%20Reed.html

dont buy anything else, why do you need a s950? the triton's sampler is mustard.

no filters...Plus, I want to learn mixing and applying the multitrack recording process.

sigh. cant you use the filter in the mpc then move the sample to the triton? or edit the sample, filter it on a pc then send it to the triton? it done make sense to spend 150 bux on a s950 to get it just cuz it has filters.

Peeps really dont need to cop mad gear to get good sound. Pete rock makes all his beats with just an MPC. the tools dont matter, its the material. I dont care if you use a rock to pound nails into a house as long as the house is solid, ya dig.

but to ansawer, no with protools you wont need a mixer there is a software one. Digi 002 has a mixer console so if you must use a board get the oo2.

The s950 is a nice sampler, but with a triton and MPc the s950 is pretty useless. there isnt enough memeory to do complicated multisample patches and you have a triton AND an mpc for drums so there is no real need to have an s950 unless you just want it.

I do not have a PC, yet...Thats why I was stalking about getting the G4 instead of PC. As for filters on the MPC, the only one I know of is the Freq. filter, which you can turn down to 0 to get a good bass sound...I want a filter for high's AND low's.

What software is good for filtering on a PC? I use no PC at this point, I do not even have one in the same room as my equipment. Plus, the S950 has a different, crunchier more warm sound the the MPC...I know other heads feel the same because I have seen posts on here that say the sampler on the MPC isn't that great.

Thats why I posted to begin with...Trying to find out which direction I should go for a good mix...either a mixing board OR Protools? I use the MPC now, along with the triton straight to a DJ mixer, and from the DJ mixer into a CD recorder to make my CD's...

I am tired of this method, I want another way of doing things with a bigger sound. The CD-Recorder I use seems to compress the hell out of all of my stuff, in one big chunk....I want to have control over what is compressed and what isn't.

Plus, the sampler on the TRITON is a lil more complicated than the MPC...so I don't use that much. Get at me, thanks for the help so far...

I wonder what is wrong with the filters on the Triton. The Effects banks have filters also. This board and it's sampler can keep sync with your tempo and all filters & FX's filtering are automatable and with the arpegiator you can go even further. As far as programing and doing any thing SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!! I don't know of any thing else with that many options. If you are going to waste money give it to ME or better donate it to the MPC-Tutor at least that way the money gose for a great cause and or service.

Dr.Foo wrote:dont buy anything else, why do you need a s950? the triton's sampler is mustard.

The s950 is a 12-bit sampler, that's what makes the "crunchy" sound, you can't get that out of any modern 16-bit boxes outside of effects and they don't sound the same, I've tried it. You can run the 2000 and the s950 together, sample on both, sequence on the MP, if they both have 8-outs you have to use a mixing board or else the outs are useless...cheapest thing is to get a regular 3-channel DJ mixer, mix the stereo outs from all three to the mixer, then the out from the mixer to your recorder, anything past that is $$. Get a computer, str8 to CD will keep on sounding like ass....

If you want 12 bit crunch or worse (1 bit etc.) get a frostwave Sonic Alienator.

[url]http://www.frostwave.com

[/url]

They also have nice analog filter boxes and shit.

I saw one of those, they look nice, but cost about 2X as a used s900/s950...

easier interface tho...

Since you want to learn how to multitrack you music, just buy a recorder. You can get a roland vs-1680 cheap nowadays, or even a vs-890. There are many other kinds out there, but judging from the gear that you have, a 1680, or an akai DPS/12 or 16 should be good enough. As far as buying the s-950, it's not going to help you out that much. If you need filters there are 1000 other ways to do the same thing, and spend less money. SOme turntable mixers even have them built right into them, as well as kill switches.. the MFC-42 module for the MPC has filters also. If you want a 12bit sounding sample, you have the solution right under your nose, without spending any money. Pitch the sample up from the source (mpc or triton) and when you sample it, de-tune it.. if you do it right, you will hear the crunch. I usually have the tune the sample up by at least 10 steps. Anyways, hope the info helped, if not, holla back.

PS. If you still want a 12bit sampler, I would look at the E-MU Emax.. not the emax II but the first one. It sounds almost identical to the ledgendary SP-1200, and the analog filters cannot be beaten.. plus, you can get em for less than $200.

.dyrtrax. . roxstar. ..

THe Emax sounds great but has serious reliability issues. Sometimes it will read your disk other times it won't, your hard drive might save, but will it get corrupted when you reboot?

When you say de-tune the sample, are you talking about going into the params screen and just turning the tune up by 10 or so?
Have you ever played with the MFC-42 before? Is it cool?

So far, with the emax, I don't have any problems with it. Some of the disks that I use are the original ones that came with the sampler, and there going on almost 20 years old (came out in 1987 I believe). I'm sure some floppies will be corrupted.. I've had a few with the MPC, but I don't save anything to the emax, I just sample, and then send it to the MPC, so as long as you have a good startup disk, your ok. As far as the detuning goes, that's exactly what I mean. Speed the sample up from one machine and sample it, then detune it back to the original speed. You will have to play with the settings depending on the samplers your using. I use the ASR-X, so if I speed the sample up 10 steps on the ASR, I know I have to detune the sample by 100 on the MPC. The results will surprise you if you have never tried it. Forget all the bulls#it about needing such and such 12bit sampler. This technique will give you variable grit on your sounds, and even removes certain mids from the sample. You can even buy a cheap Boss sampler and get the same effect. The more you speed it up, the more dirt you'll recieve, and it's cheap too!

. ..roxstar. ..

"Have you ever played with the MFC-42 before? Is it cool?"

Only for a short time in Guitar center, but I'm waiting for the price to drop. It's nice, but not worth the $300+ price. The filters do their job, and you can control them via midi. So instead of just simply applying a filter to a sample, you can slowly raise & lower a filter while the sample is playing. That's something I liked about it, but definately play with it first. Just the fact that the brackets for the MPC cost an extra $50 puts me off buying it, but if I can find one for $150, I'll grab it.