what to get??

im in the military and im overseas right now. im planning on going to full sail for recording arts when i make it back from my deployment. im debating on what setup i could use to get me familiarized with making beats and also thats simple. i was thinking of buying the akai xr20 or the mpc 500, mini keyboard, and fruityloops for my computer. any suggestions???

i would ditch the xr20, probably get a mpc and a macbook. the macbook will most likely be a requirement at full sail if you goin in for music.

ok now i dont have any knowledge of the mpc's. do you think the 500 would be good enough??

The 500 is better then the xr20. If u use a 500 in combination with a laptop, u can do almost anything.

nubi4life wrote:i dont have any knowledge of the mpc's. do you think the 500 would be good enough??

The 500 might seem more appealing because of it's portability and what not, but if you ask anybody around here about going the 1k w/ jj o.s. route...you'd be stampeded with an all thumbs up.

nubi4life wrote:im in the military and im overseas right now. im planning on going to full sail for recording arts when i make it back from my deployment. im debating on what setup i could use to get me familiarized with making beats and also thats simple. i was thinking of buying the akai xr20 or the mpc 500, mini keyboard, and fruityloops for my computer. any suggestions???

You do realize that the "Recording Arts" course has nothing to do with making beats right? That course is more geared toward engineering and/or sound editing. I've visited them recently with a few speakers and recruiters, and honestly I feel you'd do yourself more of a service by investing in learning Pro Tools, Logic, and getting familiar with sound processing device (EQ, Compressors, etc), mixers, Mac OSX, the production process and the studio side of things. Why? Because this is what you're going to use there as a student. Of course it doesn't hurt if you do get your own setup and make your own music! I'm just making it clear that an MPC or such isn't a prerequisite for the course. All knowledge is beneficial and if you want to make beats the knowledge of recording won't hurt, but honestly if you just want to solely make "beats" then that course is really going in a whole different direction! If you're not already banked on this course, try looking for a Electronic Music Production, General Music Theory, or equal type of course.....which would be more applicable.....even maybe a composition or music theory course (not the brief theory one Fullsail teaches). Unfortunately, Fullsail doesn't have a course like this.

Most everything you named outside of the keyboard/controller are completely moot and unrelated at all to this course. Just a heads up. Also, they are going to give you a computer with the required stuff under your loan or payment program, which will be a Mac and so forth. At least this is what they told us when we was there talking to students and faculty.

I personally wouldn't go to school to make "beats". If you want to be an engineer, sound designer, operator, foley recordist or such.....you're going down a good path though.

Audio schools are scams.

poundaproblem wrote:Audio schools are scams.

Have you been to one? I'm just curious because that's a little strong toward the biased.

I see a lot of people on forums these days who bash schools and say things like "just go work in a studio".....but ironically non of them work in a studio. Not to mention "just working in a studio" is not what people often expect. See my post here for a longview. I didn't go to school for audio, I came up from the "work in the studio camp".....but I do know a load of people who did go to school who are doing great right now. Not to mention I'm getting to know a raft of students who are now working as assistants in studios I frequent who are stumblingly adept and knowledgeable.

It's like this, if you go to school and don't put in the work, you fail or end up mediocre. That's your fault, not the school's. Even more so, what I don't get is how people who "make beats" can say that schools are scams or such, when most of these schools cater to career paths to be "profession engineers" not beat-makers. Potatoes and oranges friendo! The only gripe I have about these schools is that they need to up their talent requirements and graduation requirements and stop letting any kid who says, "I want to make music" into programs.

Not to mention almost every individual working professionally in film and most in games went to school for audio. Check the facts.

And of course I'm speaking generally, but make of it what you want.

I say that because I own and operate a commercial studio as well as manage 6 others in my building as well as the four rehearsal rooms. Audio schools are businesses FIRST. Their goal is to get as many students in their programs and increase revenue for the business. When you graduate from that audio school that degree is only worth something if you happen to find a studio without an engineer that is willing to put you in the engineer seat as soon as you walk in. Ask around and see how many people with these degrees work in studios. Most of them will tell you that they are broke, in debt and have been getting pizza for the engineer. Its an obvious fact that going to an audio school will not increase your chances of making it. I make a real decent amount of side cash without trying. I have my studio in which there is a fulltime engineer who is basically the breadwinner of the business. My partner, myself and the engineer all DROPPED OUT of audio school yet we currently operate one. How many dudes with degrees ever make it out of burger king? Honesty? I have not purchased any studio related equipment out of my own personal account for years now. The studio pays for it all. I personally have been working in studios since '95 and have never been judged because I did not have an audio degree. Trust me that wasn’t just a statement that was based on what I have been through first hand over the last 13 years. Audio schools are scams.

Now if you want to work in the scene doing audio work for TV shows and radio then yea I can see a Broadcasting degree helping out a lot. But If you home with an MPC working on boom bap joints and that’s where you want to be forever then don’t dump $25,000 on a sheet of paper. Rent out a commercial spot, get a good team together and set up a real simple easy to run business that can pay for itself. THEN you have a studio that YOU run and can work in whenever you want. No engineer with an "I RUN THE WORLD" attitude making you get red bulls at 2am and peace of mind knowing you didn’t get shafted.

hey guys i didnt want to start a debate, but i appreciate you guys actually listening out there to what us newbies have to say. i could feel the passion you guys got for this art. ive been on 3 deployments to iraq and served my time in the military. my dream was always to produce and make beats in the music industry. i was always that kid that made beats in school with my hands stompin on the desks and people would freestyle to them. i know i got the talent, just need to learn how to put it down on a track! what school do you recommend on me going to really help me with the direction i wanna go?

I think you mistook my question. I'm not really interested in "credentials", I'm more questioning the credibility of someone assuming that they could proclaim that "audio schools are scams". Now unless you've dropped out of various audio schools, I don't think that your experience with one school defeats all schools as a "scam". And of course they are businesses first, but that doesn't correlate to the quality of a curriculum. Would you say that the services of your "studios" are compromised by the fact that your operations are a "business" first? Do your service suck or are subpar because you charge for them? I hope not. Money and services are not quantitative, they are simply elements of an equation, homie. You try maintaining the gear that these schools have to, and paying for the newest equipment and ideally competent teachers that they employ and not have to charge money to stay afloat.

Ask around? I can name just as many people whom I know personally working in studios right now who went to school as those who didn't, actually. And as far as being "broke or in debt", most of the largest most reputable studios in the world are "in debt". Maybe our opinions of what makes a professional studio are different though -- a computer, mpc and an audio interface and a few mics is not what I mean by pro studio, regardless of if people pay someone to record in it or such.

If someone graduated from audio school and is getting pizza for an engineer, it's not the school's fault man, it's theirs. You're out of school, IN a studio, and you can't manage to show your worth? What makes you believe that these type of people would be any different if they didn't go to school? It's the person, not the school. I'm afraid you've likely been mislead or have a minimal perspective. And as far as the "Burger King" comment. How many people can you name that didn't go to audio school that still works at Burger King? Ok, I can presume that that point was kinda irrelevant then. Because you and a few associates had a bad experience or chose to "drop out" of schools does not mean that there aren't just as many people doing much better than you who did finish school. I'm sure there are equally as many who are doing worse also. It's a lot like saying, "Hey, look at me...I quit school and now I get paid to read and count money everyday......high school is a scam".

I know that people often try to justify their statements or opinions by throwing around "personal status" cues, but the term "commercial studio" does not validate an opinion.

For clarification and completeness, you don't go to school for a "Broadcasting" degree if you want to work in the film industry my man, unless you want to do mechanical or visual side of things. You go for audio and production, if you plan to do anything along the lines of ADR, foley, any of the other modes of recording and/or mixing and/or sound design. 9 out 10 people composing for film also went to school, albeit for music composition.

And on a side note, there are lots of schools who have great programs to assist students in finding jobs post school.

But If you home with an MPC working on boom bap joints and that’s where you want to be forever then don’t dump $25,000 on a sheet of paper.

Again and again and again. Why would a person who wants to solely make beats go to school for audio engineering? So, I don't get your point. I wouldn't go to school to make beats, and don't know a nutcase who would.

Rent out a commercial spot, get a good team together and set up a real simple easy to run business that can pay for itself.

Kind of a oxymoron. A business that makes money renting out it's time and space to pay for itself is available at all times for the owner/investor's personal frolics? Cool!

nubi4life wrote:hey guys i didnt want to start a debate, but i appreciate you guys actually listening out there to what us newbies have to say. i could feel the passion you guys got for this art. ive been on 3 deployments to iraq and served my time in the military. my dream was always to produce and make beats in the music industry. i was always that kid that made beats in school with my hands stompin on the desks and people would freestyle to them. i know i got the talent, just need to learn how to put it down on a track! what school do you recommend on me going to really help me with the direction i wanna go?

If you want to make beats, I'd say don't go to school. Practice hard and learn from your peers. These schools are oriented around audio engineering.....meaning recording, mixing, mastering or work for sound to picture. People often confuse this and defeat the idea of schools. Making beats is not the same thing. Want to make beats solely? Just do it and read and do it more.

As for the above, I'd like to believe that we're just having a conversation with differing opinions. I can't take the internet seriously enough for debates, especially not about something like this. Let's just hope it doesn't turn into one of those hilarious "dick measuring" contest. You know, "My Pro Tools is longer than yours" typed things. We aren't all kiddos bashing on rubber pads, so hopefully no one is assuming yet.

Before anyone else jumps in and gets this thread locked its not a heated debate.....




Back to it, I see your point but theres but the numbers dont lie. They all CLAIM excellent job placement and yet a majority of the graduates never get a chance to see a studio thats a fact. You cant say that it is all on the graduates fault to get an engineer spot. A substantial amount of people who work in studios are there based on a who you know basis. That piece of paper is irrelevant. Im sure we can go back and forth over this endlessly however my statement remains as is. Audio schools are a scam. Until you can show me an accredited audio school with superior placement I wont believe otherwise. There are also a significant amount of forum members who have learned this first hand. I would like to ask you two questions. Do you have a degree and have you worked in commercial studios before?

I've already expressed my views, so no need to repeat them. So...

poundaproblem wrote:Do you have a degree....

Nope.

and have you worked in commercial studios before?

Yes.

^^^ ...whenever i read your posts, i imagine it actually being anton chigurh

but as for the original question

"what to get?"

the 500 is sufficient.
the 1k with jjos, as someone mentioned earlier, would be better.

the xr20 is a waste if you plan on getting an mpc because
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=100564
save yourself the $300, get a mixer or something.

as for mini keyboards. i (along with 90% of the music community) have a microkorg. and as far as small synths go, i think its pretty versatile and handy.

and macs are great, but don't feel obligated to get one because you're doing music. there still are people who do well from pc (fourtet/kieran hebden is proof enough for those of you who might be fans). you mentioned that you wanna get fruity loops. if thats a program you're comfortable with, i say go for it.

i don't really have any info on the music school thing. i'm a freshman in college and i do music on my own, self taught.