some questions

hello everyone i been interested for awhile now about making beats but never have done so before in my life. i was wondering a few things and i figured someone here would be able to help me out. anyway im working on a pretty little budget but i was wondering exactly what i would need to start out ? im guessing either the akai mpc 500 or the akai mpc 1000, any suggestions ? im also guessing a turntable for the sampling ? what else would i need right away ? speakers ? anything else ? im looking for good equiptment but like i said im working on a not so big buget, i probally have like 1500 to 2000 right now ? with the 500 and the 1000 what would i be able to sample stuff from besides records ? im guessing a cd player ? also i was wondering are there inputs for guitars on the 500 or 1000 ? another thing how would you sample just the words without the music, or do you sample it all and chop it up till its just the words ? sorry if some of this makes no sense, hopefully someone can help me out. thanks

or the 2000xl

In My Opinion.. if u havent made any beats before u should start off by messing around alittle with Fruity Loops or any kinds of easy to use programs to get a better look of beatmaking. Cause i think that if u buy the MPC 500 or 1000 right away u be off scratching your head and wondering how to do things. Im not saying that u should not buy it but im saying u should try easy programs before going to the MPC, and save more money;)

but if your buying straight away then MPC, Passiv Speakers, Turntable, dj mixer is what u need.

i agree with Jay. I think that the mpc is easy enough to learn, but software can be used for free. the fl studio demo is unrestricted in every way, except you cant save a project.

before dropping $1000 -$2000 on gear, try making beats on software for a couple of months and see if you really want to do it. you wouldnt want to spend that dough on gear and regret it if you find out that its not what you thought it would be.

but yeah, mpc 1k, a cheap stereo component turntable, decent stylus and needle, phono pre amp and the cables to connect it all. then you will need either monitors or headphones, but if you have a stereo, you could use that instead of monitors.

i would say dont buy anything until you feel that you need it, otherwise you wont use it to the best of its ability.

i dont want to start any arguments but i tried all the software stuff i could get my hands on just to find out im an old schooler and wanted some real hands on type stuff,,,so i even went for the korg padkontroll and ended up selling it on ebay for quarter of the price 3 months later...i just couldnt figure out how to do it,and i tried daily,,,now when i got my mpc,i think i was a little more determined,because yes,it was difficult to figure it out,but "for me" it was much easier than any program i tried....

im rather new to the computerized music technology,so maybe its just me that couldnt figure those things out,,,but ultimately i wanted hardware that made beats,,,and the padkontrol is just a daw so it still depended on the computer..

now that ive had my xl for about a month i can do way more on here than i could on anything else,granted i did have to do a ton of reading,wich i didnt do for the daw's,,,maybe i was just determined!!!

either way go for what you think u would like more!!!!

sonseelye wrote:
granted i did have to do a ton of reading,wich i didnt do for the daw's

i think your point is valid up until you said this. the reason i suggest software is to get some basic understanding of beatmaking. the nuts and bolts. its cheaper (free) and a lot more intuitive. i dont make music on computers anymore because i enjoy hardware much more. but when i first started, it didnt make a difference because i didnt have a preference.

i learned that i wanted to make music because i tried demos, and felt that i needed to save my work. so i paid for the license. then i found that pointing and clicking wasnt very fun, so i got a midi keyboard. then i wanted to play drums on something other than keys, and learn something new because i thought my style was a bit stale, so i got a 1k. from then on, my style had changed and ive invested $1000's into hardware.

the point im trying to make is that by downloading a demo of some software, you can save your 2G's and see if you really want to make beats. ive met a few cats that said they wanted to make beats, they sat down with my mp and started and said that it was to hard. so i showed them software (fl studio), the said it was still to hard and they ended up doing something else. if they would have just went and copped an mpc and whatever else i would have told them they needed, they would have returned that stuff the next day or the next week.

if you want an mpc, but have never made beats, look at software demos as testing the water to see if you really want to jump in. thats all im saying.

good luck

dont forget,if you buy a 400 dollar xl off ebay today,you can sell it for 400 tommorrow..i wouldnt advise u to go buy new,,i actually lost money trying to use programs by investing in a daw..and right now i could sell my mpc for more than what i put into it..im not trying to argue by no means,,i actually think what u are telling him is a good idea,,,im just saying i went the same exact route and tried all this stuff first and could automatically tell it wasnt for me so i ended up spending way more than i wanted when i should have just bought the mpc to start with..as u would have saved urself some money also,,,..hopefully all the post help him decide!!

yeah, im not trying to argue either boss. these posts should help him/her make a good decision

peace

But the whole idea of the software is to see the basics of beatmakin. Me and Cozy are not saying that he should stay on the FL or whatever.. but try it for a few months before he buys the mpc. Its not about wether he likes it or not but about basics since he have never made beats before.

there are a thousand ways to make beats and hundreds of machines to help you do it. the thing is to find what way works for you. but you need to play around a bit to find that out.

chances are you'll think the mpc is the best thing ever made. but maybe not. do you have any friends who are into beats and have any equipment or software to play around on? can you get a demo at any stores?

nah i dont know anyone who makes beats. so i could download fl for free and do alot of the stuff i could on the mpc ? i watched a few of the videos on youtube for the mpc500 and it didnt look to hard to learn ? and like someone said, i could always sell it. i seen a refurbished 2000xl for like 750 or something, good deal ? well if i were to grab the mpc instead of the computer programs, i guess it would be smart to start with the 500 ?

also i was wondering are there inputs for guitars on the 500 or 1000 ? or the 2000xl

also if i were to mess around with some free software before getting the mpc, any suggestions besides fl ?