Hardware vs Software

[Paze]

I was planning to get a lot of hardware to use IN software like an MPD or M-Audio trigger finger. I then started watching producers rip off vinyl and record into their MPC with a Alesis (I think) mixer. The main dude I was watching had really dope shit and he was workin with samples of bass on his MPC into his midi controller and the chopped up sample loaded up onto his MPC pads. His laptop was barely used
He then recorded all of his stuff into his MPC, routed it off for EQ in his mixer and mixed everything with the faders on his mixer including a couple of effects tracks he had.
this is niiiiiiiiiiice
[YOUTUBE]KVzP7UuHHqI[/YOUTUBE]
Dope collab
[YOUTUBE]efDw7rErS4o[/YOUTUBE]
Non-sampled but wow
[YOUTUBE]Lx51M51HZzs[/YOUTUBE]

One of my opinions is that this seems more fun and probably better to make videos of yourself lol... hes actgually doing something rather than just clicking about. It gives the viewer somethin to look at and when people listen to your music theyll probably find it more fun - knowing you did that instead of select the "randomise beats" or whatever its called in FL.
Whats everyones opinion on this?
My main opinion is that I worked with mainly software until now because software can be stolen basicly... its harder to steal hardware and I was poor. But now Im gettin an income I wanna start workin with hardware and make sampling fun. I heard Kris say it was no fun anymore a while back... but for me this would make it more fun and hands-on. The MPC would also take some strain off my computer if I had a big project with a lot of midi, vsts and samples I could just keep the samples in the MPC. I already have turntables, a mixer and Im about to get a better interface. I basicly wanna try this shit but the MPCs start at $500 I think... I need Zed to loan me that shit lmao

[Kris Cain]

the samples wont be what is gonna add "strain" to your CPU...
lol
everything else is what is gonna strain it out.
and a MPC is a expensive "sample tracking" toy...
i mean, cuz that's what it'd be from what you describe yout trying to do... something you load samples into and just track back into your cpu.

hardware and live instruments are always gonna be funner to use than just software and clicking everything.

and yea, i think sampling is boring... but the thing is, I still do it. I just approach it completly differently, i use a sample more like a instrument now. I dont make it the main thing in the track anymore, it becomes just an element.

I'm about to buy more hardware, a korg m3 module, motif xs rack, a andromeda a6, and a roland v synth gt...

and some live instruments when i get the money... I need a violin, bongos, congas, a new cymbal set for my drums, a pocket trumpet, and an electric guitar.

[Paze]

Word... Im just making excuses cause I want 1
I think Id even sacrifice my laptop for a MPC1000... and I found a dude sellin a 1000 for a music laptop. I offered mine to him even though mines worth $150 more cause of upgrades
but yeh... I wanna atleast give this mpc a go. I need to find more ways to produce... and I see this as 1 way. It might take me a while to learn though

[Kris Cain]

i think you should find one that someone has that you can try out before you buy it.
Dont just buy it cuz it is a MPC... i been there, done that. Bought a MPC2000xl, and watched it collect dust cuz learning it was slowing down the work flow drastically. Plus everything is soooo much easier to do on the comp. Sampling, drums, all that.

Battery3 and a MPD24 or Trigger Finger kills a MPC all day.

the only thing battery doesnt do is independent sampling. But Battery comes with12gbs of sounds out the box so that more than makes up for it not sampling. Not to mention the bevy of sampling software and programs available for the computer. I cut samples with adobe audition for precision.

[Opie M.]

well as far as the MPC being more fun... that could be true. That's pretty much whatever works for you. Basically, if you feel like you need a change just to keep shit fresh then you have a valid reason to change shit up.

On the technical side, you really don't have a lot of control over your mix. You don't have a bunch of inputs and outputs. You'll have to create on the MPC then transfer everything over to the PC for mixing. even the 2500 only have 8 outs on it. and even if you could stream every track to the PC that would take MORE cpu power than playback on virtual tracks in your computer because you record at a lower buffer size to avoid latency and instead of the audio just streaming from the HDD it has to write to the HDD (or memory if you're just monitoring) then playback.

The interface is simple. The structure is very similar to FL Studio in that it has the same "patterns" and "sequences" format. It's not too pretty to edit midi on tho. you basically end up relying on quantize if you're not accurate with the pads or an external midi keyboard.

theres really no technical benefit to using the MPC. there's a lot of technical downfalls involved as well. If you get an MPC itll only be because you thought you needed it. but if it helps you keep shit fresh then find one used ad try it out. if you dont like it then resell it.

[Paze]

Word... Ima head down to sound control on thursday and try out as many samplers with pads as possible. I know I want 1 though... I know that
I want to atleast be able to have fun with sampling. Normally I only feel like Im having fun once something is complete Im listening to it back - where as creating a beat from scratch is normally fun from start to finish for me.

[Opie M.]

yea definitely try it out first. bring a cd with samples.

[Paze]

Good idea

[Chris Black]

I don't get into the producer discussion shit because I don't know enough, but this guy is ill. Wow@the beats. I think the mainstream will stay away from it. The second beat is godly though. You hear the phase "ahead of his time", but, sadly, he may be behind his time. I don't think mainstream artists will fuck with this shit, and it's sad. It's definitely dope.

[Kris Cain]

yea, he is good.... but he's about 10 years too late. His sound is REALLY dated. But that's not the point of this thread anyway... so i wont critique too much.

[Paze]

Word... he gets a lot of sales though. and hes sorta sayin "fuck most of the mainstream" with his music. He can make it but why should he just to get on MTV? His passion is for oldschool & underground type shit... "real" hip-hop and hes gettin known by a lot of people. He - like Pete Rock is a producer's producer but I think this dude can appeal to most people in his videos because hes quite funny, and he has talent.

[Kris Cain]

Word... he gets a lot of sales though. and hes sorta sayin "fuck most of the mainstream" with his music. He can make it but why should he just to get on MTV? His passion is for oldschool & underground type shit... "real" hip-hop and hes gettin known by a lot of people. He - like Pete Rock is a producer's producer but I think this dude can appeal to most people in his videos because hes quite funny, and he has talent.

i think that whole "real" hip hop moniker is gay as fuck.
who dictates what's real and what's not? Just cuz it's on MTV it aint real? Just cuz it dont sound like it was made in 1993 it aint real? That shit is just a cop out to me. A cop out for dudes that dont want the sound of hip hop to change. Im not sayin that this dude is one of those people that run around like "i make real hip hop, fuck this other shit"... cuz i understand his style, I can do his style. It's called "makin a old school" track. I got no problem with old school sounding music, I just got a problem with people who imply that I make "fake" hip hop.

[Paze]

I like your hip-hop tracks... I like your pop joints too. I see very little hiphop - even in hiphop charts. As 2Pac said "Once you start talkin bout money and a load of other shit; thats rap. Not hip-hop"
2Pac made both rap and hip-hop and he actually told good stories and shit. Most of the rappers out there makin money are rappers who dont make hip-hop cause the only stories you hear from them tell is the amount of diamonds on their chain and how much (he wishes) every girl want to suck him off. Fuck that shit... I couldnt be dealin with listenin to a full album of that
This isnt about preference... Im stating fact. Hip-hop is what it is... it was built up as hip-hop and became a load of other stuff based around hip-hop - just like metal is around rock. But theyre different and the attitude is different in them. A lot of people would confuse metal and rock just as hip-hop and rap are confused because of something similar - guitar and in hip-hop & raps case its spoken lyricism. But theyre different genres that are often confused
and yes something can be hip-hop and rap just as a song can have a classic rock edge with some metal overdrive in there but yeh... for the 50th time... theyre different lol

[Kris Cain]

hip hop is a culture not a genre

rap is a part of hip hop
grafitti is part of hip hop
dj'ing is a part of hip hop
breakdancing is a part of hip hop

krs one does rap music
soulja boy does rap music


by your logic the sugar hill gang wasnt' "real hip hop"...
neither was will smith, or young mc.

you can't exclude acts, or alienate acts from being hip hop based off of your preference of what you think "real" is. When the fact is, ITS ALL HIP HOP. From Rakim to D4L.

I feel like over time the definition of what hip hop is has been forgotten. It's been kidnapped, and held for ransom by elitists, and extremist who declare anything outside there circle of presence "not real"... or "just rap music"...
it's the most retarded thing ever.

[Paze]

I understand what youre saying but Will Smith etc. did have some hip-hop tracks. anyways I like many genres of music... and I live hip-hop.
I tried out the MPC for a tiny bit today... its overrated - especially if you have a good computer and sortware to chop the stuff up. I then tried the trigger finger which is ight. My best so far is the Korg padkontrol... and the MPD 16 was pretty good too- and I never tried the 24 - I dont need that many pads!
Ima try them all again soon - this time not being taught how to do everything on the MPC before using it lol.
Anyone else like the Korg padkontrol? I just left the pads easier to hit basicly... the Trigger Finger's felt too fragile compared to Korg's and the MPD's was similar to Korgs.