Noobed out. Should I lay down the cash?

Hey, awesome site.
I've never seen or used a drum machine before, and theres no chance of that without me getting one off the net. but I think I will really get into it if I do.
So my question is: Should I buy one of those beatmaking software programs, just to test the water? Or are they shit?
Whats the best way to start out I guess is what I'm asking, because I cannot imagine all of you just thought one day "i'm just gonna throw down $800 to see what making beats is all about". right?
What should I do?

Hey, I'm in the same boat as you, as far as beat making is concerned. I have a lot of music experience behind me. I decided about a month ago that I really wanted to get into production, so I started by going to different forums asking questions and reading up on things.

I guess it depends on what type of music you want to make and what you would like to do. I went to my local Guitar Center and messed around with some of the MPC's to get my feet wet a bit, asked the people there what their thoughts were on certain things, and asking people on these forums as well. It's good to get different perspectives on things.

This is ultimately what I want my setup to be:

Akai MPC4000, waiting till end of Feb, but may wait longer to check to see if newer model is out in Summer NAMM

Pair of really nice monitors - probably JBL's, I love them

Dual Zeon, Quad Core, MacPro Desktop 2 gb, 23 inch Mac Monitor - Beast in itself

Logic Pro 7 - I think 8 is coming out at NAMM, I get Academic discount, although I heard the Academic doesn't sound as good as retail version

Technic M5G Turntable- Already Purchased with Ortofon Club S Cartridge - SICK

Keyboard - Going to research more and go to Guitar Center to test out before I go buying something

Hope this helps!

Hey, I'm in the same boat as you, as far as beat making is concerned. I have a lot of music experience behind me. I decided about a month ago that I really wanted to get into production, so I started by going to different forums asking questions and reading up on things.

I guess it depends on what type of music you want to make and what you would like to do. I went to my local Guitar Center and messed around with some of the MPC's to get my feet wet a bit, asked the people there what their thoughts were on certain things, and asking people on these forums as well. It's good to get different perspectives on things.

This is ultimately what I want my setup to be:

Akai MPC4000, waiting till end of Feb, but may wait longer to check to see if newer model is out in Summer NAMM

Pair of really nice monitors - probably JBL's, I love them

Dual Zeon, Quad Core, MacPro Desktop 2 gb, 23 inch Mac Monitor - Beast in itself

Logic Pro 7 - I think 8 is coming out at NAMM, I get Academic discount, although I heard the Academic doesn't sound as good as retail version

Technic M5G Turntable- Already Purchased with Ortofon Club S Cartridge - SICK

Keyboard - Going to research more and go to Guitar Center to test out before I go buying something

Hope this helps!

N2deep wrote:Whats the best way to start out I guess is what I'm asking, because I cannot imagine all of you just thought one day "i'm just gonna throw down $800 to see what making beats is all about". right?
What should I do?

one day at guitar center while shopping for a multitrack digital recorder i decided to get an MPC instead... i tried using software in the past but nothing compares to using an actual hardware sampler. the workflow, once learned and understood properly, is very fluid compared to clicking around on a screen with a mouse. using the MPC is far more inspiring to me than traditional recording techniques.

it took me awhile to really get into how it worked but once I did, I've been using it everyday for stuff (my main axe is guitar although i also play keys and use the MPC to sequence my synths for huge live soundscapes).

try and get a good deal on ebay; if you find you don't like the unit, you can resell it later....