Frustrations of a boom bapper

Sup, its my first post,

Ive been beatmakin since somethin like 7-8 years... Basically i started accidentally with the Fruity loop demo... Then i got into it real bad and i ended up hustlin myself an mpc3k...

First, id like to break down where im musically from.. so u can get my point... hehe

Im kind of a drum head... im into Dilla, Neptunes and Timbaland stuff a lot... (who isnt:P)

I started out trying to emulate pete rock and stuff like that... grimy boom bap stuff.. eventually... i realized that this golden stuff is NUTZ ... but nowadays... we have the right to use sterophonic and clear sounds...

So i fattened my kits.. left the straight 8bars-chunk-sampling and the chopping behind.... and strated messin around with Oscillators, loose drum patterns, electro glitches... flangers... etc

Nowadays... i try to get ALL OF THIS TOGETHER so i can make ur girlfriend dance....
Yet... my sound remains rugged like shit... partly because im not a forum medieval-messyasspproducer (which is good )... but also because i have NEVER FOCUSED ON THE WHOLE COMPRESSION MIXING LIMITING ISSUE.

When u focus on rythm.. u deal with a lot of low end... and some high ass flangus synths...

My drum seqs are ok... i mean... i can make it bounce (and i know i still have a lot to do). But there's a point when u need to make ur kick pop (and im not talkin bout layers) and ur hats sound cristal clear so each and every sound does the right job to make ur head nod.

and i wont even talk about exporting my beats to a computer (i have absolutely no special audio interface... just a 12 track mixer that links my 3k to the 1/8 phono jack of my pc:P)

So basically.... Where do i start... what do i do.. to have a clearer sound...
-do i buy myself some high priced ass keyboard like a triton or a whole lotta shit of units like a Moog and an 808 (and end up sellin my own ass)
-do i invest in a soundcard
-do i dont care and send it to professionnal studio so they mix it for me
-do i take sono lessons

WHAT DO I START WITH!

seriously im pissed off.. i feel like i creativly have what it takes to put a banger together... but technology got me sick

i know its abstract.. sorry but any help would do! And ive spent a whole lot of hours on tweakheadz and stuff.. i just wanna hear from MPC heads

so basically you want to get post-production house sound right out of the box?

I just want to make everything myself ahaha

No seriously... basically, i just dont know as much as possible about the part thats not puttin a drumline together...

I dont want to be told ''dang.. ur beat will sound like a basement beat anyways, ur sampling is whack from the start.. sorry boy''

But if u tell me u know how ahaha... just explain lol

I would step up to an interface. That 1/8" jack on your PC is killing your sound. Having an MPC3K and then like a tritor on moog running into an 1/8" stock mic jack makes no sense at all. Stepping up to a nice USB/fire wire interface would be the next logical step in my opinion.

Does your mixer have direct outs? Or did you want a mixerless setup?

-You can get an audio interface wit multiple inputs and a daw program to mix your tracks. But it sounds like you just need to read up on DAWs and mixing in general. I wouldnt try to get that mixed sound straight out the box.

hey you will be selling your azz if you sent your stuff off to pro, . real talk get you a DAW man and then go from there, also invest in some good 1/4 inch cable cuz those 1/8 just aint gonna cut it, you talking bout the old school walkman headphone 1/8 set up right?

i cant even imagine not being able to see my audio how do you str8n out stuff when its off on that 12 track?

yo man step up your interface, it doesn't even have to be that big of a step. i recommend the delta 66. i love mine. you may want something with more ins, though, this has 5.

then, start tracking your beat out into a daw program. i recommend reaper. it's $50. in reaper, you can do far more in terms of mastering and narrow, killer adjustments that make your beat sound better. more powerful eq, better reverbs, etc. all of which can be found free online, freeware plugins are really really good these days.

realize that you're not going to get the same sound out of your mpc that an artist whose beats go through thousands of dollars worth of post-preduction. it's like you're a shotputter going up against a cannon otherwise.

realize though that you CAN create some damn good sounds yourself. maybe then you'll have an opportunity to hear your beats post-produced!

in my opinion it's all about doing the best you can do in your current state of skill level, and then seeing how you can improve that state.

I'd like to hear some of your work. I like it gutta. To me, that's Hip-Hop. Using what you have and making the most out of it. Making a pro-tools cat take notice is a nice compliment if your setup costs 1/10th of his. I use the 1/8th jack on my computer. I use the stock soundcard that came with my dell computer. I use a free program called audacity and downloaded a free plug-in that gave me 90 additional plugins. If a tracks quality sounds bad, its not because of my computer, or the software, it's me. My first joint on my myspace page came out low, the second one much hotter, this was my fault (I don't care to fix it either) but I have friends with Mac Book pro's, pro-tools etc that come by my spot (I call it 'Pakistan' cuz my studio is a dirty mess) and they have all asked how I get my drums etc a certain way. I honestly don't know what I'm doing that they don't already know, so my usual response, "I dunno!"
To get back to your original question, multi-tracking is always going to get you the best results. tweaking each track, eqing, etc..it can't be beat, but it also takes time. Syncing up the machines, recording a few tracks at a time, etc.. if your like me, that's not fun at all. The trial and error of buying and learning new software/hardware isn't fun either, but anything cheap and easy can take a few losses, I mean, if you spend $35 on a 4-track and don't like it, what did you lose? If anything, you can learn what you like, and what you need in something better. Reaper is free so by all means try it. I like free.. costs nothing! That's super fresh! Cream's kinda style. I wouldn't reccomend a 4-track, but I'd recommend an 8-track.. 16 is really nice, but that depends on your budget. Just remember that any recorder will sound good. If you go the cheaper route, using audacity can add a lot of additional features that outdated equipment doesn't have.
So keep it gully, and keep some cash in your bank. Hip-Hop is 2 turntables and a microphone. Expensive equipment and governmental regulations are something else.

^ Word!

I know a lot of fools in here hate on it, but get yourself Pro Tools factory bundle.

It doesn't matter whether it is a m-box mini, or a 003, just get it. The sound quality is immeasurable.

I do boom-bap shit too.. and focus on making it rugged as hell, yet make it play correctly on everything it plays on, due to correct compression, limiting, and the like. You will be able to take your shit to a whole new level if you are running TRS or XLR inputs from your mixer...

you can even mix everything down on your mixer and two-track everything in. then just mix and master the stereo tracks you have already saved on your zips. All of my really rugged boom-bap shit is two track mixes only!


save about 3 billz, and go to GC, they will bargain with you for a Mbox2 or something similar. If you have th extra cash, get something with MIDI in and out.

roxstar wrote:I'd like to hear some of your work. I like it gutta. To me, that's Hip-Hop. Using what you have and making the most out of it. Making a pro-tools cat take notice is a nice compliment if your setup costs 1/10th of his. I use the 1/8th jack on my computer. I use the stock soundcard that came with my dell computer. I use a free program called audacity and downloaded a free plug-in that gave me 90 additional plugins. If a tracks quality sounds bad, its not because of my computer, or the software, it's me. My first joint on my myspace page came out low, the second one much hotter, this was my fault (I don't care to fix it either) but I have friends with Mac Book pro's, pro-tools etc that come by my spot (I call it 'Pakistan' cuz my studio is a dirty mess) and they have all asked how I get my drums etc a certain way. I honestly don't know what I'm doing that they don't already know, so my usual response, "I dunno!"
To get back to your original question, multi-tracking is always going to get you the best results. tweaking each track, eqing, etc..it can't be beat, but it also takes time. Syncing up the machines, recording a few tracks at a time, etc.. if your like me, that's not fun at all. The trial and error of buying and learning new software/hardware isn't fun either, but anything cheap and easy can take a few losses, I mean, if you spend $35 on a 4-track and don't like it, what did you lose? If anything, you can learn what you like, and what you need in something better. Reaper is free so by all means try it. I like free.. costs nothing! That's super fresh! Cream's kinda style. I wouldn't reccomend a 4-track, but I'd recommend an 8-track.. 16 is really nice, but that depends on your budget. Just remember that any recorder will sound good. If you go the cheaper route, using audacity can add a lot of additional features that outdated equipment doesn't have.
So keep it gully, and keep some cash in your bank. Hip-Hop is 2 turntables and a microphone. Expensive equipment and governmental regulations are something else.

real talk

^^^^^

realest ish spoken...

Werd to alloyall! i feel what u mean...

my friend has an interface with MOTU.. and it sounds SO COLD... i kinda fear that... but i dunnow if its his tweaking or ... the machine itself... does anybody knows about that...?

I know the MBOX exists... i read about it on Tweakheadz and i know cats like Juss Blayze use them... how expensive is it? are there a lot of versions out there? (cuz i know pro tools offer like 23489023483029 possible setups...)

U talkin to someobody who doesnt even know what TRS is (i know xlr)... but i dont understand how they different from a phono jack...

I know what midi is also... !! dope sheeznit but i need some advice on Audio !

If u could just... gimme details on shit i might need... like for lets say a 800 $ budget *then we might raise it up*

-------
Special props to Roxstar and all of u who dig what hes sayin... ur my conciousness ahahah ... yet id like to step it up (i promise i wont lose that focus)

Ill update some of my stuff as soon as i get the internet at home (my life is grimy bboys... so grimy... and my gf's birthday is rushing at me like a cheetah that drank 2 galons of adrenaline:P)

Peace out , keep on posting!!!! and if u got some... musical questions... just post.. im part of it

roxstar wrote:I'd like to hear some of your work. I like it gutta. To me, that's Hip-Hop. Using what you have and making the most out of it. Making a pro-tools cat take notice is a nice compliment if your setup costs 1/10th of his. I use the 1/8th jack on my computer. I use the stock soundcard that came with my dell computer. I use a free program called audacity and downloaded a free plug-in that gave me 90 additional plugins. If a tracks quality sounds bad, its not because of my computer, or the software, it's me. My first joint on my myspace page came out low, the second one much hotter, this was my fault (I don't care to fix it either) but I have friends with Mac Book pro's, pro-tools etc that come by my spot (I call it 'Pakistan' cuz my studio is a dirty mess) and they have all asked how I get my drums etc a certain way. I honestly don't know what I'm doing that they don't already know, so my usual response, "I dunno!"
To get back to your original question, multi-tracking is always going to get you the best results. tweaking each track, eqing, etc..it can't be beat, but it also takes time. Syncing up the machines, recording a few tracks at a time, etc.. if your like me, that's not fun at all. The trial and error of buying and learning new software/hardware isn't fun either, but anything cheap and easy can take a few losses, I mean, if you spend $35 on a 4-track and don't like it, what did you lose? If anything, you can learn what you like, and what you need in something better. Reaper is free so by all means try it. I like free.. costs nothing! That's super fresh! Cream's kinda style. I wouldn't reccomend a 4-track, but I'd recommend an 8-track.. 16 is really nice, but that depends on your budget. Just remember that any recorder will sound good. If you go the cheaper route, using audacity can add a lot of additional features that outdated equipment doesn't have.
So keep it gully, and keep some cash in your bank. Hip-Hop is 2 turntables and a microphone. Expensive equipment and governmental regulations are something else.

true.

I would say get a sound module like a protues or roland module just so u got some clean sounds that u can put into ur 3K.

you dont need to worry about about mastering i think u can get a good sounding mix right out the box at least get the relative loudness of sounds in the mix and making sure each sound fits to gether well.