For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
By kvee Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:23 pm
what mpc do you suggest for a first timer, good for learning and stuff, and tell me wehre you can get it good priced , is ebay a good choice?
User avatar

yo

By binger0 Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:28 pm
I would try to get a 2000xl with 32mbs of mem., 8-outs, and an internal zip drive. Prob gonna cost $1200. Then you need a source to sample from or just buy sample cds.

By kvee Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:35 pm
im going to use a turntable to sample from, oh and what is this pre amp thing? do i need it if i sample from turntables?


whats ur aim binger0?

By kvee Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:46 pm
thnx, whats ur aim ? and a pre amp kinda restores a record's sound quality right?
User avatar

yo

By binger0 Sat Mar 20, 2004 10:03 pm
I aint got an AIM. But okay it works like this, the turntable is not at line level. You need to convert this signal into a line level signal. Most turntables do not have a pre amp, which boosts the signal up to a level that you can hear. All dj mixers are pre-amps. You can put the table on channel of the mixer and than the MPC on the other channel. Really helpful. You can also buy a DJ or Phono preamp to run the turntable into then run it to the mpcs record ins.
heres an exp.
Line Level Signals
These are the High Level signals that your amplifier will turn into Speaker Level Signal in the next section. Line Level signal is approximately 245mV (millivolts), and is produced by your source components, such as CD, MD, Cassette, CD+G, VCR, etc. Line Level is the actual sound that you will eventually hear. The Line Level signal is usually routed through your Mixer. The Mixer is an infinitely variable Pre-Amplification device that allows you to control the amount of each source component signal that will ultimately be fed to your amplifier.


Phono Level Signal:

These are the Low Level signals produced by your Turntable and are approximately 10microwatts. These signals are extremely sensitive to RFI so you must use shielded cables. The shielded cables must be fed into special inputs on your Mixer. This will allow the turntable to be pre-amplified enough to match the Line Level signal at the outputs of your mixer and be fed down the chain to your amplifier

from the mixer you go into the MPC.
read more here: http://dju.prodj.com/courses/soundreinf ... t/c1a.html

Okay a good table for sampling is a cheap put relible one
http://www.zzounds.com/cat--DJ-Turntables--2462
heres some. Ones with digital outs can be used just on the mpc if you have purchased the 8-outs which come with digi ins. All mpc2000xl studio edition ones come with the 8-outs. The normal 2000xl dont so you need to purchase them.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--STASTR880
I own this one and I love it. Excellent features for a good price. You can plug it right into the MPC

Another big thing to consider with turntables is the cartridge. A cartridge is where the stylus (needle) these can range from like $50-175 for a good one. The better cartridge you get the better sound you will get when you sample. So dont skimp on cartridges. You might wanna buy a table with cartridges included. http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?form= ... cartridges

I would cop
a mixer just so you can play a record on channel one and mpc on two.
Think of a mixer as the thing that routes all the signals together. Then come with eqs which can equalize the samples and clean up your sounds. Also a mixer is cool if you want to add a synth, cd player, whatever. It links all these signals together in it then sends it out to your speakers, cd recorder, multi-track, pc...
http://www.zzounds.com/cat--DJ-Mixers--2458
I would at least spend $200 on a mixer.
You can also go with a studio mixer whichs gives you more tracks (channels) to work with at once. You can get a entry level one for like $200. http://www.zzounds.com/cat--Mixers--2846
Of yeah a bus is just a term for a group of channels that you can group together and send them out to the bus, where you can control the channels you sent to it, like volume, pan, etc..
Do some homework and grab a few books and learn about recording and mixing. An excellent book to help you understand this studio stuff is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 58-1276638 this is a really good book. Go through the production techniques forum and the Studio Enviroment forum and just keep readin. Also go to www.futureproducers.com and check out their forums also. Buy a few issuses of Remix, and a really good book to help you understand djing equipment and a little bit of production tips and overall DJ knowledge. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/searc ... 58-1276638 This will help you DRASTICALY in the beginning. And yo dont get discouarged. There is a lot of stuff to learn but over time you will get it. Just keep practicing and learning EVERYDAY. Oh yeah and one more time READ THE MANUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By kvee Sun Mar 21, 2004 7:29 pm
aight cool , so this is what im planning on doing:

1 turntable (belt driven, or direct driven?)
Alot of records , old records, random records, recent records
1 mixer
1 mpc2000xl


thanks everyone for help , I will still continue to do a little more hmwk, and play around with the MPC, the guy at guitar center when I called him said he show me how to work it and stuff and let me play around with it, So I can get the feel of it and stuff.

By homershines Sun Mar 21, 2004 8:52 pm
kvee;
I was gonna suggest the MPC1000, but reading yours posts and bingerO's response, I agree with him. The XL is a monster. If you can fin one for a low price and max it out, you'll have a tremendous machine.

Good luck.
User avatar

By MistaMike4u Sun Mar 21, 2004 9:20 pm
kvee wrote:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3712129885&category=38069 ... good deal?


nope...... it's a GREAT DEAL.... You need 2 get up on that....
User avatar
By binger0 Sun Mar 21, 2004 9:49 pm
Turntable=Direct Drive. DD turns run on a motor to revolve, belt drives run on a rubber belt, that usally snaps or wears down and makes the platter spin unevenly.
E-Bay
Thats a real good deal.
All you need is a power cord and it doesnt have the 8-Outs. I like the 8-Outs to isolate my sounds and fine tune (eq and vol and pans) em through the mixer (I have a 16track). You can purchase them later. You also might want to get a SCSI 100mb Zip Drive. You can save beats better and you can transport sounds to your computer, if you have a scsi connection. Floppy suck. You cant even usally save one beat on them. You'll have a beat thats on 4 floppys.

For Records I would just to the local record store. Like a little one. And dig through the discount bins. Youll find some funky records with good sounds.
What most people do when they dig is look for "breaks" a break is a solod out drum part of the song. Usally just a steady couple of bars of just drums. Take the Money and Run (Steve Miller Band) the very intro is a break Chic Good Times used in Sugarhill Gangs Rappers Delight is a breakbeat. Then you need to sample loops. A loop is just something that you can loop forever and perfectly. You can find records at the salvation army, good will, garage sales. Look for instrumentals like orchestral and old strings and classical guitars, or old brass, or piano records and old funk, soul, rock, anything that looks cool. In the begining I would goto www.mpc-samples.com and buy some kits. They are cheap and will provide you with some really good sounds. Tutors drums are dope. Get some Kicks, Snares, High Hats, and claps or some percussion noises. You should learn how make a drum beat before you do anything.
User avatar

By incurablebeatlust Mon Mar 22, 2004 1:50 am
word up to binger for putting it straight for the young guns..you put in alot of typing time on this thread....

By kvee Mon Mar 22, 2004 4:51 am
aight coo, thanks yo
User avatar

By Smoove03 Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:46 am
2000 :wink: