underground sound

New to the MPC production world? Got a music production question that's not really specific to any particular MPC? Try your luck here and get help from our experienced members.
 Reply Share on Facebook
User avatar

underground sound

By Chrome Fri Nov 07, 2008 11:08 am
Im still new to this and i just got my mpc today. Im practicing and trying to make beats like these:

OGC - Dangjer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9wLCr4ug8s

the roots illadelph halflife
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m7BvEeFnlM

I got two questions,

How can i get that older sound for my beats like the examples above^
I can't find the right kicks and snares, can anyone help me in the right direction or maybe some tips?

Thanks in advance
User avatar

Re: underground sound

By Nicky Santoro Fri Nov 07, 2008 11:59 am
Eq'ing and layering drums will get u that old school sound...i almost always layer my kicks...most of the time the snares too. For example...if u have a snare, u like the way it sounds but it just doesnt sound strong, layer it with another snare. The mpc allows u 4 layers to each pad. Play around a bit and try doing what i said...also with the equalizing and compression.

Re: underground sound

By Donlong Fri Nov 07, 2008 5:37 pm
eastcoast121 wrote:yea the main thing that will give you that sound is layering.


are u serious? i thought samplin in 12 bit was the key?
User avatar

Re: underground sound

By Jaytim3 Fri Nov 07, 2008 9:43 pm
Donlong wrote:
eastcoast121 wrote:yea the main thing that will give you that sound is layering.


are u serious? i thought samplin in 12 bit was the key?


LOl u will probably get the oldschool quality but not the same sound:P
User avatar

Re: underground sound

By Nicky Santoro Sat Nov 08, 2008 1:32 am
true.Also what i sometimes do is resample a kick with reverb and layer a 'harder' sounding kick over it...that gives a 'fat' sound too. Also, samething with the snares sometimes. It all depends what im working on and what i want,of course
User avatar

Re: underground sound

By Coz Sat Nov 08, 2008 1:49 am
In general, keep reverb off kicks and bass as it tends to mess up the low end. The right reverb can sound ok, but I tend to lay off it and save it for the mid and high frequencies.
User avatar

Re: underground sound

By Nicky Santoro Sat Nov 08, 2008 4:27 pm
yeah...true,but what i meant to write is I like to put just a bit of reverb on the kicks,not very much though. just to where you can barely hear it. Then, like i said, resample and layer with a hard hitting kick just so it has a 'phat' sound behind the hard hitting kick..but everybody has there different trick and techniques.
User avatar

Re: underground sound

By respect_mbs Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:40 am
No one mentioned the core of this sound. *Drums sampled from vinyl*.
User avatar

Re: underground sound

By Lampdog Sun Nov 09, 2008 3:48 pm
respect_mbs wrote:No one mentioned the core of this sound. *Drums sampled from vinyl*.


From vinyl, it's less work because they've already been processed and mastered. That would skip
the creation portion of the sound (the core imo).
Vinyl already has "that sound" that the Chrome is speaking of.

If Chrome wishes to "do it" himself then that is what everyone is suggesting.

For elitist, purist and newbs that wanna actually learn the ins and outs of every little thing then they'd rather
learn to create "that sound" themselves I'm guessing, and those that have posted are referring to that same self knowledge.

You could also layer vinyl with downloads, downloads with downloads, vinly with vinyl, whatever with whatever.
Whatever Chrome chooses, there are no rules.

Chrome will get better with practice and experimentation.

Re: underground sound

By Baby Gracious Sun Nov 09, 2008 11:55 pm
There is no secret trick, it's a style and process that's learned over years. Watch videos, read interviews of the old producers, get with a crew that makes beats like these and try to hang with them. Trying to find a secret technique or trick is never gonna work.
 Reply
Return to Getting Started With MPCs