STUDIO GEAR QUESTIONS

yo whats good i been rappin for 11 years and being that i am currently in New Zealand shit is hard yakka, there is next to no studios and the studios that are around are some 80 year old homie that wouldnt know what an mpc is etc etc..

anyway i been working my arse off as late to hook myself up and go from there..
i had alot of drum machines and progs in the past but currently using the mpc500 as i move around alot and if i didnt move around alot i would still use it as have watched/done/heard comparisons with all akai machines and the 500 runs good game dont drop the akai-vestax crap on me please i do research. also if you just bought a mpc500 heres a jewell for ya, seach user "treblemc" on youtube hes some aussie cat that should be working for akai as the akai promoter himself is a bad teacher and this treblemc fella dont miss a single thing.
right to my point.. im starting to get the cash flow comin in and can afford to be a gear slut as mic vs prog aint the sound im lookin for.

im dont hold much knowledge of hardware because the net contradics everything the last post said and noone in south island NZ is doing this
i just need to know what im looking for as ill put the work in untill i learn it.

i wanna sample records i allready know how but i always question shit far to hard and endup with 100 outcomes..

(1) do i go Turntable with Dj mixer
or do i go Turntable with eg: Soundcraft mixer (or other brand big mixer)
i wanna mix on the table not on progs so i take it youll say "big table mixer". and also whats a good turntable thats cheap?

(2) when buying Monitoring speakers i get Active ones right?
what specs should i be looking for, as i will not be able to test before i buy and yes ill be going cheapist for quality.

(3) Soundcard.. again im gonna end up with alot of hardware.. how many outs and ins should i be looking at, and anything else i should know?

(4) midi controller, is the akai lpk gonna be legit to controll the progs i have?

i have a few old keyboards and what not that i have picked up along the way (none are midi) they will come in handy for some songs. we dont have EBAY here just TRADEME.co.nz and i see alot of m-audio/protools gear poping up that goes rather cheap.. anyway i could type for ever...

drop some jewells on me!...also mad love for this site thanks for helping everyone out.. oneday ill be able to give back a little.. peace!.

i have seen this.. http://www.tweakheadz.com/images/mpc-chart.jpg
but its missing some answers to my questions... thanks.

SARGA wrote:(1) do i go Turntable with Dj mixer
or do i go Turntable with eg: Soundcraft mixer (or other brand big mixer)
i wanna mix on the table not on progs so i take it youll say "big table mixer". and also whats a good turntable thats cheap?

(2) when buying Monitoring speakers i get Active ones right?
what specs should i be looking for, as i will not be able to test before i buy and yes ill be going cheapist for quality.

(3) Soundcard.. again im gonna end up with alot of hardware.. how many outs and ins should i be looking at, and anything else i should know?

(4) midi controller, is the akai lpk gonna be legit to controll the progs i have?

1. If it's only going to be for sampling then most brands will suit you. If I was you I'd save a little more and invest in something that will last a life time, and also a good set of needles. I use 1210s for mixing purpose, and a Stanton T120 for sampling due its ability to play at 33, 45 and 78. For needles I'd recommend Ortofon, I believe they even make a needle specifically for sampling purposes.

Mixer-wise, it depends if you intend to learn to DJ or not, but mixing desks are setup differently to DJ mixers, for example the steepness of EQ curves is often different, and of course you rarely get DJ mixers with more than say 4 channels. Don't forget you can connect a turntable directly to the MPC with the correct cables for the time being.

2. This is personal choice, but active takes the challenge out of finding a suitable amp which in itself can be a bit of a headache unless you know what to look for. Specs-wise there are really two types of monitor these days. There are accurate monitors which aim to have the flattest frequency response possible; they have a very neutral sound which allows you to really hear your music. Then there are "dirt boxes" which is a monitor that sounds quite rough, the idea being that if your music sound good on those it will translate well to most systems. Again I would suggest you save more and invest in something of a better quality. Buy cheap buy twice is my ultimate "jewell" to you.

3. Ins and Outs depend on how much hardware you think you'll have. Only you can answer that really. Try and future-proof yourself and think ahead realistically about the amount of ins/outs you will need, and don't forget if you are buying a mixer then that will increase the amount too... Have a look at some of the newer Mackie mixers, they come with built in firewire so that may solve all your problems.

4. You haven't told us what programs you have. But yes it should be fine to control any program that can be controlled by it.

thanks a million man, that put me on the right path.. i know about the majority of bad systems/machines/brands so all of what you have said is a big help. bless ya!

The LPK is only useful if you're going to use it with a computer, the MPC 500 is unable to work with it directly.

EDIT: You can't use it with the MPC 500 directly... you'd need to send midi through a DAW or something to get it into the MPC 500. The LPK doesn't have any midi outs... bummer.

EDIT2: You technically don't need a mixer, just the pre-amp to sample. There are some niceties about a mixer, but I use a Kaoss Pad 2 right now and the pre-amps and FX work pretty well.