mischiefmecha Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Hi, all! I'm looking to enter the world of hip-hop production, and I'm finding myself somewhat lost. I remember 8 or so years ago I wanted to learn graphic design, I went to the CompUSA to ask what I should buy, and I immediately received the answer “Illustrator”. So I bought the software and taught myself Illustrator. Then a couple of years later I wanted to learn orchestral composition. I went to Brook Mays to ask what to get, and was told, “Either Sibelius or Finale; just choose the one whose UI looks better to you.” So I looked at them, chose Sibelius, and taught myself composition. Now, I’d like to learn hip-hop production. Recently I went to Guitar Center to ask what to get, and was told, “Well…. There’s lot’s of stuff to get.” When I inquired as to what the basic essentials were, I could never get any more specific of an answer than “Well, it all depends.” Countless hours of research online has brought me to the same conclusion the GC sales rep gave me. So, here I am, at the realization that the popular music production workflow is, unlike that for graphic design and classical composition, almost entirely undefined and largely without industry standards. And that’s why I’m here. Regardless of whatever else I might get, I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting Logic. However, I really need advice as to what else I’ll need. I’ve got a pretty good idea of the things I want to be able to do, so I’m just going to describe them and maybe you guys could make some suggestions! I’m currently working with a MacBook Pro with an external cinema display, a 5 octave weighted MIDI keyboard, and GarageBand. I already have some awesome speakers as well as some Shure E4C’s. First let’s start with drums. I want to be able to take prerecorded individual drum samples and/or full songs, and use software to sample, modify, chop, distort, change pitches, add echoes, etc to the sounds. I then want to take those modified sounds and assign them to a MIDI input device, ideally a drum pad like the Akai MPD24. I want to work out a beat on the drum pad (or whatever MIDI input device I go with) and record that into a DAW (I’m assuming Logic) where I can then precisely line the sounds up with the beats, adjust the velocities of the notes, etc. I know the Pro version of Logic has UltraBeat and some sort of sampler, though I don’t fully understand the capabilities of either. However, I’m probably only going to be able to get Logic Express. I’ve looked into Native Instrument’s Battery, and it looks pretty good for sampling, tweaking, MIDI assigning, and beat-making. However, can Logic do it better? I’m not going to be doing much in the way of live instruments, so pretty much all instruments will need to be generated. I love the GarageBand instruments, and would probably just buy another Jampack to get a couple more of them. I’d like a handful of synths to work with, but I haven’t had enough experience with synths to understand why there are so many hundreds of them out on the market. GarageBand came standard with some synths that pretty much satisfy my needs, and if I’m not mistaken, Logic comes with a few more. I think those will do it. I also want to be able to record percussive sounds on the go. Whether getting a timpani roll from the School of Music or hitting a fence with a stick, I want to be able to record live sounds for sampling without my computer. I came across this but is there anything else out there? That little gadget comes with a little mic which can’t be all that great, but would be good enough for on-fly-recording when, for example, you just really want the sound that a stop sign makes, and don’t feel like getting arrested for stealing federal property, haha. The only problem is that I have the older Nano, and that recorder is only compatible with the newer Nano. So… what are some good stand-alone recording devices? I would also like to have the option of higher quality percussion recording. In addition, I need to be able to lay down some vocal tracks for my songs. For these things I I’ll obviously need a real microphone. I know that microphones can get absurdly expensive, but my checkbook isn’t prepared to dish out thousands of dollars. Basically, all the recording I’ve done so far has been through the microphone built into my MacBook, so pretty much any real microphone will be a step up. So, do you have suggestions for a mic that will sound pretty good for both vocals and percussive sounds? Also, do I need some sort of interface for recording audio when I'm at my desk? Or could I just plug the mic right into the line-in port on my Mac Book? Also, once I’ve got my vocals recorded, they’ll obviously need some tweaking. What sort of vocal editors are there in Logic? I’m assuming that a couple of simple filters and some good equalizer settings will be able to get me the vocal sound I’m looking for, but are there other features I should know about? When all of this is said and done it would be awesome to get the DAW software, any additional drum software (if necessary), a MIDI drum pad, a decent mic, a handful of drum samples, and a portable recorder for $800 or less. I know that's pushing it, but I'm only a college student. The Academic version of Logic Express is only $150. I think that’s most everything for now. I know I have a lot of questions, but if people could just leave suggestions for the things they know about, it would be much appreciated! Thanks a ton in advance! ~Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeDunn Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Pro Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Hey mischiefmecha What you think about this hip hop song? Was meant to sound down and gritty...cheap and nasty, college style. http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/6/740818/dirty%20one/BickBlackDickG.RaphaelRMx%202.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waterboy Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 oh my gawd! I got a hard-on just listening to the tune! It was better than my porno song that I made a few years back. Granted that song doesn't apply to me: I am hung like a freakin' green bean .. and am white as a ghost! But still very fun to listen to! 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Pro Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 oh my gawd!I got a hard-on just listening to the tune! It was better than my porno song that I made a few years back. Granted that song doesn't apply to me: I am hung like a freakin' green bean .. and am white as a ghost! But still very fun to listen to! 8) oh yeah, some guy got STD listening to it, better go to the doctor now!! And while you still got it check this one out g!, its got a bit of Snoop Dog.. http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/6/740818/dirty%20one/FukMeHard.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumbug1 Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Welcome! First - WOW - that's a very long description of what you want - you're going to have to make some sacrifices to fit your budget. I'm going to list what I view as "basics": Microphone - Shure SM57 - usually about $99 new - a great "anything" mic. - You'll keep this one until you die... This is a dymanic mic - so it doesn't require phantom power... Audio Interface - You need a way to get your microphone(s) into your computer - the consensus is that firewire is the way to go (esp. w/a laptop) There's a lot of options here - do a search on this forum for "audio interface" and you should find a great deal of discussion. You may want to think about trying something like the Zoom H4 - you'd have to compromise and use USB instead of firewire (I'm not getting into the pros/cons of an audio interface here - google it or search the forums!). This gives you a portable microphone to record your stop-sign - and then also a way to connect your microphone to your laptop to record in your 'studio space': http://www.zzounds.com/item--ZOMH4 For what it's worth - I've never used/heard one - I've just read about it and have a friend that's used (and wants to buy) one - I'm skeptical of it's quality because I fear those "it does everything in one tiny cheap box!" solutions - but it may work well for you. As far as Logic goes - I'm using Express - I like it - but I'm *dying* for Pro - I thought I heard somewhere that the academic version was $299 (I could be off - I've been out of school for a "few" years now).... anyway - if it's only a couple of hundred dollars more - you may want to consider using part of your $800 towards Logic Pro - the editing features and virtual instruments alone are worth it. Other general advice with audio recording gear - the little stuff adds up - when you're budgeting - remember cables etc! Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Pro Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 And also check out this track http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/6/740818/dirty%20one/DoubleOnU.mp3 2 on 1, like 2 for the price of one. , get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waterboy Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 .... this is why Al Gore invented the internet, huh? I will get my fix for porn by listening to music! Who-duv-thunkit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logic Pro Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 .... this is why Al Gore invented the internet, huh? I will get my fix for porn by listening to music! Who-duv-thunkit? this track (extreame Organisms) has logic's amazing tempo map in action, and builts up with pleasure http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/6/740818/dirty%20one/ExtremeOrgasm.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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