Best hardware/software to make beats???

[patchesprescott]

I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction to start programming my own beats

i play rock music mostly, but have been thinking about mixing the rock guitar together with some hip hop, or acid jazz beats

I have no experience at all with programming rhythms

what would be the best investment as far as sound quality and ease of use?

something like an MPC2000?

or Reason?

any tips would be appreciated ... thanks!!!

 

[The Tone Snob]

I'd suggest FL Studio or Acid

 

[gixxerrock]

I use an Akai MPD16. Its kind of like an MPC2000, but just the 16 pads sending MIDI data into the computer and a fraction the price. On the computer, you will need DAW software and some kind of drum voice. Logic has a bunch of nice soft synths built in that many styles. Its sampler is a bit weak for traditional acoustic sounding drums, for that I love Addictive drums. The MPD has a great tactile feel.

The people I know that use an MPC, consider their MPC to be a full blown performance instrument. They sample, morph and tweak all their own sounds from scratch. It would be the way to go if you were going to invest years getting an authentic hip-hop sound and preferred to work on hardware as opposed to a computer. They only bounce to Logic after they have their sound sets together.

Either way, expect to spend a lot of time figuring out to program drums and tightening up your timing. Good luck.

Shawn.

 

[aaland_brian]

I use an Akai MPD16. Its kind of like an MPC2000, but just the 16 pads sending MIDI data into the computer and a fraction the price. On the computer, you will need DAW software and some kind of drum voice. Logic has a bunch of nice soft synths built in that many styles. Its sampler is a bit weak for traditional acoustic sounding drums, for that I love Addictive drums. The MPD has a great tactile feel.

The people I know that use an MPC, consider their MPC to be a full blown performance instrument. They sample, morph and tweak all their own sounds from scratch. It would be the way to go if you were going to invest years getting an authentic hip-hop sound and preferred to work on hardware as opposed to a computer. They only bounce to Logic after they have their sound sets together.

Either way, expect to spend a lot of time figuring out to program drums and tightening up your timing. Good luck.

Shawn.

You said it exactly how I feel about programming drums. I have been using an mpc2000xl for about 8 years now and have tried to switch over to reason, Recycle and Cubase a couple times but it's just not the same to me. I prefer programming 90% on the mpc and doing the final mixing in protools. No matter what, programming drums is a skill that takes a lot of time to learn and even more time to figure out how to get you own signature sound and build a sample library. I would recommend tring an MPC out before settling on a software setup. There are a couple MPC forums with a ton of information out there so I would start by doing some homework, I wish they were there when I first started making beats.

 

[tonefreak]

EZ Drummer

http://www.tonefreak.com/MP3/MJL-1.mp3

RMX Stylus

http://www.tonefreak.com/MP3/MJL-2.mp3

EZ Drummer

http://www.tonefreak.com/MP3/MJL-3.mp3

I also have BFD which has some really crazy control over the sound and performance.

EZ Drummer and RMX Stylus are for those super fast grooves.

 

[dorfmeister]

RISE OF THE MASCHINE!

http://www.native-instruments.com/newreleases/#/en/products/producer/maschine/

 

[Julia343]

+1 for Addictive Drums.

You can edit the drum patterns in the MIDI Editor of your host.