Where do I go from here?

[Soulja]

Whats up, I have a couple questions and you guys seem to know everything about hip hop producing so this is where I came for the answers. I've been wanting to get into making beats and just producing as a whole for a while now but never had the money to get any equipment. So I decided to sign up for some music classes this fall at my local community college(Intro to Music Tech. & Audio Engineering). Which I thought would be a good start.

The second part of my question has to do with what equipment to buy.
My cousin was also trying to get into music producing and had the means to buy the equipment he wanted. He didnt know anymore about producing than me, but he had money and always wanted the biggest and the best so he bought a MPC 4000(i'm not sayin this is the biggest and the best but he heard it was so he bought it). Well he was killed about two weeks ago and his father gave me his mpc 4000.

Ok so my first question is what do you guys think about taking these type of classes at a community college I was suprised to see that they even offered them but they
actually offer alot of classes that have to do with producing. Is this pretty common for a community college?

My second question is now that I have an MPC 4000 what other equipment should I get to use with it?

Thanks, I have alot of respect for the guys posting on here and you all seem very talented and Intelligent. I value your oppinions.

Thanks,
Bishop

 

[Freakwncy]

take a look at the show your setup thread...there you can get some nice ideas...

 

[God]

Soulja:

I'll try to give you a list that will minimise any utilisation of unnecessary ancillary production programmes.

But, let's look at your MPC 4000, because it is an extremely powerful
The MPC 4000 has an 80GB drive, a depth of 24 bit recording, a capability of 96kHz sampling rate (I personally don't prefer it). Furthermore, I think it has something like 192 filters, and a myriad of filter types. It supports .wav files and is compatible with PC's because of its FAT32 disk format. Oh yeah, you can also burn disks with it, it comes with a good LCD screen (for an MPC). It has great polyphony, and I love the ability of creating incredibly intricate multisamples. It also is an editor... Basically, it's a producer in a box, if you know how to use it.

I believe that spending a large amount of time with this machine will make you appreciate it even more than you do now. It is very powerful, and for you to not be able to understand all the intricacies of its capabilities would truly be deconstructive. Get to know this machine better, if you don't already. However, I can suggest other things that the MPC does not provide:

1. Synthesiser capabilities. Address this through the purchase of a softsynth solution like Native Instruments' Reaktor. This software program enables you to buiild or use a great many forms of synthesisers, as well as off-beat music making machines, hybrid samplers, etc. It is one of the best solutions but also takes a bit of time to learn.

2. Advanced wave-editing. Yes, your AKAI is an editor, but I always favour a stand alone wave editor like Peak, Soundforge or Cool Edit. These give you more control over a multitude of variables involving all the aspects of sample manipulation which can later be dumped into the AKAI. These are also effective mastering solutions (if you know how to use them... mastering is tough.) Also, the multitrack Cool Edit enables you to record vocals into a computer or other samples recorded through a microphone of your choice.

3. Sample Libraries. This is obvious. There are many ways to get these, or you can make your own from synthesisers. If you want realistic sounds, perhaps finding the right sample library, and effective manipulation of the sample will suit you well. If people recommend you a Triton or a Motif, I'd say no to them, since these are subtractive synthesisers utilising base samples and filtration systems much the same way the MPC 4000 manipulates base samples.

THE UNDERESTIMATED PORTION OF YOUR STUDIO, BUT PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT:
4. A good condenser microphone. I highly recommend the purchase of a good condenser microphone. You should shop around on various internet site to see if any will fit in your price range. What would be your price range? Also check for preamp deals as well (for the mic.)

5. Decent monitors. Good studio monitors will give you a balanced representation of your music, which will in turn, supposedly give you better mixes. Try a really good pair of Hi-Fi speakers for now, because most studio monitors that give great balanced signal representation are very expensive.

I'll leave it at that. I could start recommending off-beat hardware synthesisers, but that would be beside the point.

As for university, unless they are offering courses you like, try an apprenticeship with someone. You tend to learn a lot more that way.

Sincerely,
God

 

[Soulja]

God, thanks for the advice on gear. Also, this audio engineering class I'm taking, is it going to help to understand my MPC. I don't have the manual so I'm kinda lost right now. There is also a class callef drum programming. I am planning on taking both but what should i take first. I'm already enrolled in Music Tech. and also Audio Engineering. I'm starting to think that maybe I should take Drum programing so that I can utilize my MPC now.

As far as an apprenticeship I already have one setup at a studio here in the Lou.

Also, god how do you know so much?

Thanks,
Bishop

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

I know that this post will anger a few people, and to be honest I don't really care...

Concerning the schooling route:

I just had dinner with a few friends this evening, we spent about 2 hours debating the pros and cons of Pro Tools and audio schooling, one of the people at our table went to The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (http://www.cras.org/).

A very enlightening discussion, we were split up into two camps: those who fork out $15,000 to learn about micing, mixing, mastering, arranging, writing, etc., and then there were those who bought books, researched the internet and talked to people to learn about micing, mixing, mastering, arranging, writing, etc.

What the schools offer is an environment in which you sit down with other people, learn theory and techniques, and get to practice them on really expensive equipment. You work usually under the guidance of someone who has been in the business in one form or another, just having someone there showing you what to do is great for advancing quickly.

What I've found that they DON'T offer is originality in production, the 'job placement' programs they offer are often just apprenticeships in studios, and they seem to be focused on traditional types of band recording...I have yet to see someone leave a class knowing how to properly program a sampler or synth, which is probably the kind of thing you'll get into if you want to produce hip-hop music.

The three people I've met who went to CRAS currently work at Guitar Center, just waiting for that Big Break. They're all certified to run Pro Tools, they all know how to mic a kick drum in a live or dry room, they all know how to run a Neve or SSL mixer...they don't have a clue how to write an original song, though, and I get the impression that this is what you might want to do.

As for community colleges, though, classes are so damn cheap that it wouldn't be a bad idea at all to try one of them out, if nothing else you'll get to meet people who like the same sort of things and you'll get some exposure to hard and software which you mightn't have access to if you did it alone.

I don't think that many people here at Illmizik have been to any of these classes, yet if you listen to some of the music they've written you'll hear that they've done a pretty good job using minimal amounts of gear by just trial and error, reading from sites like Illmuzik.com, and a little imagination.

How many of your favorite hip-hop producers went to school?



As for the classes you want to take:

I gave a course to a Music Tech class at a high school last year, they just learned the basic concepts of analogue v digital, multitrack recording, waveform editing, effects, mixing down, mastering, burning to cd, etc. At a college, hopefully it will be a little more involved than that. We worked with Cool Edit Pro, you'll probably work with Pro Tools LE.

Audio Engineering will probably be a little more technical, you'll learn about how to run mics, plug everything into a mixer, routing stuff to and from different kinds of effects, recording to different mediums, mixing down, etc. You'll probably learn about the 'science' of acoustic and digital audio (frequencies, dB, sample rates, bit depths) and how to acheive results by manipulating these things using gear.

I have no idea what the Drum Programming class will be like...why not just get stuck into it? You can download the MPC manual off the internet, just load some samples into it and mess around...

To learn how to program your MPC4000, you should probably take an MPC4000 class. Seriously...

What will probably happen is that NONE of these classes will relate directly to your MPC, but rather you will walk away with some basic concepts about programming and audio science which will help you understand how to use the functions the MPC has to offer.

My two cents,

Nick

 

[Soulja]

Thanks

Hey Nick,


Thanks for taking the time to give me such an in-depth reply people like you are ther reason I love this forum and why i will keep coming back. I think I will go ahead and just take some classes at the commuity college(since like you said they are so cheap) and go to this apprenticeship at the same time. I will also download the manaul from akaipro.com too.

Thank,
Bishop