Diggin Newb with some ?'s for you Digger Vets!!

*Warning* (a fairly long read)


Ok well I have always been an MC at heart been rappin since a kid but since I feel I some what "mastered" my craft in that department I wanted to broaden my horizon so to speak and venture into producing....

for the last couple months I have just been getting myself familiar with equipment, hooking things up, learnin the terminology and trying to get familiar with how to find my personal approach and workflow....

this forum as been great with trying to soak in knowledge, so when questions pop up this is the first place I tend to turn...

let me get to the point here, even though I was always just rappin' (no producing) I always knew Vinyl could be an asset in the future so for years I have been collecting Records any where I could pick em up fairly cheap....

Started out many years ago when my grandfather passed away and left me with a couple records, my mother had some from when she was young she gave me, I have cleaned out many thrift stores as well as hit plenty of garage sales etc. and pick up thier whole lot wether it was 10,20,30+ records I'd just tell em' I'd throw 5-10 bucks for the whole lot and most of time I would walk away with them....

So here we are years later finally getting into the producing and putting this bookcase full of vinyls to use....PROBLEM IS!! I don't have a clue of what I have..lol...

all these years I have just collected and collected with no regard as to why or what other then in my head "I'll use em to sample shit one day"....so my questions are how can I find value or where do you pick up the diggin technics or tips? Like what to look for or age, label, names etc. not just for my present collection but for future diggin as well.... I can only imagine what my collection will be like once I actually start diggin with a point lol..

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated, its hard when you go from one thing that you are VERY familiar with (vocals) to something you really dont have the first clue about (beats) but i'm on a venture in hopes to really bring my creativity to the next level.....so I'm ready for the ride, I hope you vets can help shed a little light....or any info you may feel could help me along my journey.....

Good post.

I came at this production thing from the same sorta angle, except I was rubbish as an emcee and my boys weren't really up for looking for stuff to sample so I started trawling for records in a similar manner to yourself.


So my coupla tips are:

Listen to EVERYTHING you've already bought. I know this takes time and can be incredibly tiring on the ears but you NEVER know where that ill sample is.

And don't pass up on stuff if the cover looks good. I've discovered bands with huge afros and mixed race groups usually have the dope ish. Read what type of instruments are being played on the back cover and any familiar names.

I'm sure EDE and 4000XL will be along shortly with some more advice but until then get listening!!!


Peace

I'll throw in my two cents:
It's a pretty safe bet to buy any Soul or Funk records that are pre-75...that's where the vast majority of the samples you've heard in beats have come from... however, I would also recommend listening to your favorite producers and ask yourself "What style of music is he sampling?" If you don't know what it is, ask! You'll discover pretty quickly that just about every style can be flipped to make a dope beat, and that it's really just a skill you develop over time.
Unfortunately there aren't really shortcuts, you gotta develop your ear. That being said, I would urge you not to be afraid to make beats! Even if they are wack, you learn something from every single one and before you konw it you'll have your own style and you'll be spittin knowledge to beginners yourself.

funk, soul, r&b are good starts. but you have to remember that everybody is doing that. try to find samples on records that you would think that others would pass on. i found a test tone record and it had some nice little tones that could be chopped and made into a synth. there arent really any rules as far as im concerned. sample anything and everything that you can. and when you go through all of your records, go through them again and again and again. backwards, pitched down, sped up. its ridiculous the amount of samples that can be found.

and try to just listen to the music too. i mean while cleaning the house or playing a game or something. throw on a record and chill. you will hear things you didnt when you were actively trying to find samples.-

Yo first off I gotta I got mad respect for the fact that you recognize the craft. Alot of cats that get into beat making, especially from the mc side, dont really understand that it is in fact a whole nother craft they have to learn.

I got given all my records (not that many) from a friend that moved away and it was basically the stuff he didnt want or had doubles of. I've always been kind of good at writting so this is what I did.

Cop a notebook, and bust out the records. As allready stated just listen to everything. I would right a page for each record, with these things in mind:

1. Title, Artist, Genre, Label & Year
2. The Musicians, Producers, Arrangers, Engineers, whoever was involved in the album.
3. What you think about the album. What sounds you like, what you dont like, your favorite songs.
4. List tracks that you can find breaks or open instruments and approximatly where in the record it is.

I think I used my notebook maybe 10 times tops before I learned most the stuff in it pretty well. But every time I cop something new I bust it out and write in it. It helps you remember, and it becomes a good reference down the line.

Hope that helps

One

Lo

jonny scratch - yea man I been going crazy like I have been addicted to records just playing them all at random I dont try to take any opinion to cover or anything I just grab a small stack and lay the needle blind folded...

I must say I've came across alot of garbage and my ears start to bleed but damn when you hit that sweet spot its like music to ya ears aint it? Wakes you right back up...I've been catching some raw samples from vinyls I really wouldnt of gave a double take based on cover etc. here it is 1:30 im twisted and takin a break gettin ready to grab another stack and start rippin....lol...this could be a problem haha....

Mechp - haha yea well since my foundation is of an MC its tuff because even my boys are like nah man I'll make your beats you dont need to worry, when thats beside the point, no person can put down the exact sounds that go on in my head other then myself.....but they dont see that so they tend to be hush hush about how they get down.....thats why I'm here lol...

cozy - like I was telllin jonny, I just been grabbin records and playing em' since I don't know much about them I said F'it I'll play every last one if I have to....and so the mission starts lol....

but I hear what your sayin 2, I have been playin random records non stop pretty much and it does help...because my ear is so conditioned as an mc that I tend to over look shit if it aint "hot out the box" a draw back from trying to pick up 2 crafts but you gotta take a step back to get 2 forward right....Im investing in myself the way I see it....like a long term stock pimpin! lol...

Lo KI- wow thanks for the pointers, now thats what I'm talkin bout....sounds tuff as shit and the thought of starting over from all the records I have already went through frightens me....but i may need to start a similar guide so when I see similarities I can make notes inturn try and find thoese particular records....nice....

I appreciate all the help and thank yall, and please by all means keep droppin ya thoughts....I'm still awaiting some tips from the infamous EDE and 4000XL....

If your used to writting alot (some MCs right continuously some dont) It aint so bad. If you smoke the weed deffinitly helps. I dont notice a different listen to music high except for that I can pick out the individual instruments better.

Have fun

One

Lo

Well thing is man, I do write ALL the time but you see thats also one of the reason's for me wanting to take on producing...so I can give my brain a lil break from all the thinking and writing....you grow somewhat stale when you just write and write and write....atleast I do and I knew I needed a lil break from that, but I love making music so much that I couldnt just take a break all together....so I jumped into production in hopes that during my vacations of writing I will be bangin out beats....then once come back from vacation not only am I rippin ready to write but the fact that the beats would also be made by me just gives me much more insperation....

Ohhhhhh!! and YES!! Bob marley get much respects around this way lol....I tell you what man, maybe it doesnt work out for you but after a couple touches of some nice primo kush wheeeew I blow the dust of them records and just go in the zone....makes me really focus hard on sample catching etc. its also helps with my patience cause going through records is mad time consuming and takes patience and thats something I don't have alot of, but after lil primo boooom I'm laxxed back in the lab 2 steppin' to some ol funky ish....

I love it man I been going through vinyls nuts lately and its so wild when you come across something sick OR when you hear something that has been sampled....

I kno its been sampled like crazy and I normally dont even look at covers so when it plays its gonna be random...I came across the original record to the female that has the Godfathers love theme on it....I was like oh shit thats raw!! lol found a sample Bone thugs used...

I dunno I'm just ramblin now, but its cause Im gitty lol This is like a whole nother world for me and so far Ive been lovin it....Honestly dont know why I didnt try and take up producing alot earlier guess because of the work load I already have on my shoulders but F'it I'm gonna try and make it happen one way or another lol...

You sound like you got a real love for this.

Keep up the listening and who knows where your beats will be in time?

I like your attitude, its a nice change from the usual bull on here.

Peace

my advice is that just keep buying records for whatever reasons, cover, style, breaks, era... don't forget to pick up shit you would never buy (like those "love song instrumental collection" shit, you never know... might have a string section you can use later on). don't forget to buy records just for the good music!!!

make beats and have fun with it, if youre rambling a little, don't worry about it. you can use some already sampled stuff and try to recreate the beat it was used in for practice sake.

usually it takes a couple of years to get the right sounds down so that the process is fluent and the sounds are nice. anyone can make an 808 drum pattern and go with it.

first off welcome and i'm sure you know what this is a disease that once you start your goin to get in trouble, but i love it tho...

anyways back to your topic, well as most of these guys have mentioned there all good tips,
i would just like to add DONT stick to just one genre or certain genre's,
OPEN you mind and listen to every kind of music classical, to yes even counrty sometimes, i hate country but i have some stuff that is good and has some really ILL samples.
you must first train your ears to listen to everything youll be surprised.

next go through what ever you have in your shelfs(what ever was givin to you or you bought before llisten to the all and put the ones you dont want to the side and donate those to the thrift store NEVER THROW RECORDS AWAY.... DONATE!!!!!!!
then the ones you like listen and write notes as to whats on it BREAK<SAMPLE<LOOP<HIT<STAB<ONESHOT.then file those you dont want to collect to much records that you aint goin to use or listen to they become very over welming and hard to move latter on why you thnk your buddy gave you those records to begin with.

other then that have fun while doin it and allways keep an open mind

yeah EDE is right, listen to every kind of music you can... Everyone should be doing that already, but especially someone looking to make beats...

Hey thanks for the added tips fellas much appreciated...

and yea now the way I see it, it was almost perfect how my collection came together and honestly I think i am going to keep it this way I really like it....

like my collection is so random and I love that, I go through a buntcha records from all different styles and genres and can just explore so much more musically by having such a diverse collection....and I feel like a kid in a candy store because I never really know what the next record may bring....

when I started this thread I was more thinking I would search and buy vinyl by name, age, label, artist or any other tips I could find, but the more I get into my collection I think I am going to sway from that (for now) and continue to buy records in random packs like I have for years....

you just never know what you may find and I love that thrill of picking up the strangest looking vinyl and getting one of the craziest samples you ever heard....

and EDE thats exactly what I have been doing 2 piles, one is pretty much for the garbage that I didnt like or get anything from and then the other pile is of all the records I sampled something from....I figure I will hold on to all the records I sample just incase I ever wanted it in the future...

but yea I have alot to learn and honestly I think the sickness has already set in lol, I think I'm already at the point where theres no return...

wish me luck hahaha, I'll see u guys round the forum....

HARRY HUSTLE wrote:I came across the original record to the female that has the Godfathers love theme on it....I was like oh **** thats raw!!

i recently bought this at a guitar shop for $.50

i need to go back there. thanks for reminding me.

^^ oh word? can't beat that price either lol....

it was just sweet hearing it, cause like I said above I just put records on at random and worry about details later (if theres actually something on it I like or want to sample)

Since Im not familiar with alot of these old records its cool as shit to hear something familiar or when I hear something I know has already been sampled on a track, I mean as far as im concerned once a sample is used and I personally know it was used, its off limits to me...maybe thats just the mc in me from never "biting rhymes" that I feel trying to use a sample thats already been sampled is kinda like jackin some one elses funk...but regardless its still tight as hell to come across them and hear them in the raw form of vinyl prior to being chopped, freaked, mixed and mastered etc....

good stuff man, good stuff...