Expensive Machines vs. Individual Talent

The Beatmean

The Beatmean

New member
I believe that, yeah, the more money that you pay for a piece of equipment the better the sound, but i also believe that you can make a hit off of any machine you use, as long as you have talent. Like Just Blaze said, "You dont' need a million dollar studio to make a million dollar beat..."
If you have the talent in you, then everything else will fall into place.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Really? That's what you think is it? Wow. Thanks. I'll remember that and tell all my friends. I was just thinking to myself 'I wonder what The Beatmean thinks about talent vs gear?'..

well now i know!
 
Jenre said:
Really? That's what you think is it? Wow. Thanks. I'll remember that and tell all my friends. I was just thinking to myself 'I wonder what The Beatmean thinks about talent vs gear?'..

well now i know!
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Your post was equally fascinating.
 
I have made some great tracks using a $20 CASIO SK-1 toy.

10 years ago I made many tracks with very little resources: Sound Blaster 32, sound blaster speakers (!), cakewalk, "mellosoftron" (some kind of eaaaarly software sampler).

What counts is THE WILL and THE PASSION.

Of course you need to put your list of priorities straight first... Getting the million dollar "pop" sound will not happen with a $20 CASIO, but great music? POSSIBLY!

I hope this helps :)

-mano

ps: you can read a review of the SK-1 by clicking on my "Reviews" number under my name, or from my MyPlace (profile) page.
 
its all in the talent and knowledge u posses. U can make a nice track then have it mastered at a high dollar studio.
 
Jenre said:
Really? That's what you think is it? Wow. Thanks. I'll remember that and tell all my friends. I was just thinking to myself 'I wonder what The Beatmean thinks about talent vs gear?'..

well now i know!
Click to expand...

Laughing out loud.
 
I'd much rather work with a dedicated individual - somebody who knew everything about a certain piece of gear - than some rich blowhard with "one ov everything".

This was demonstrated to me in spectacular fashion when I was working as an engineer. I used to engineer full time, and an act had booked a few days of time. On the first day, this unassuming little guy walks in with a Boss DR-5. Me, I assume the keyboard is coming, or the MPC, or whatever.

No way.

The guy says "Give me a stereo cable from this thing's outputs." All right; that's my job, so I do, and patch him into a tape track.

"Are you ready?" he says.

Um, okay. So I arm a stereo pair of tracks and roll tape.

The guy hits Play, and the music for the whole goddamn album proceeds to come out of that little drum machine! Pianos, strings, horns, breakdowns, beats... the whole thing!

Jesus H. Cricket!

I asked him later how he did it. "Man, I just programmed and programmed. I used a cassette adaptor and checked it in cars, in the home stereo, in boom boxes... I just kept tweaking and tuning it until it sounded good everywhere."

This went against all studio technique at the time (You know, track each instrument separately, do the mix later.) But this dude just rocked the fück out of it with that one little box.

I've done many, many more sessions where the guy has brought in mountains of gear, and sucked.

Gimme talent over gear any day.

-Hoax
 
The Beatmean said:
If you have the talent in you, then everything else will fall into place.

Just my 2 cents.
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not exactly.

in addition to that, you need to work , have strong willpower, dedication - blood, sweat n tears. ability to conquer your own ego will get you far too.

sometimes you'll have to eat s**t, endure all the crazy characters and losers in this biz, and today, probably even have the ability to bend over from time to time.
tongue.gif


and finally, you need to be in the right place at the right time. so, some luck always plays it's role.


unfortunately, talent by itself wont get you nowhere.



there, look at Britney, now there's a talented girl...
boring.gif
 
clusterchord said:


not exactly.

in addition to that, you need to work , have strong willpower, dedication - blood, sweat n tears. ability to conquer your own ego will get you far too.

sometimes you'll have to eat s**t, endure all the crazy characters and losers in this biz, and today, probably even have the ability to bend over from time to time.
tongue.gif


and finally, you need to be in the right place at the right time. so, some luck always plays it's role.


unfortunately, talent by itself wont get you nowhere.



there, look at Britney, now there's a talented girl...
boring.gif
Click to expand...

what kind of bending over are you talking about??coz if its some gay stuff{nothign against gay people!}thats where the line is!!adn i cant cross it no matter how much i want to make it!
 
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A talent won’t get you far on crappy gear. Just like expensive gear won’t get one with no talents far. Talent + expensive gear = success in the business! That combination is what the labels look for! That makes the dollar signs roll in their eyes!

Otherwise, you’ll be glued to the underground or to a lonely hobby, 4 ever.

The expectations are just getting higher and higher! The sound quality and mixing techniques is getting more and more advanced – developed by skilled and talented engineers. The money is getting more and more in focus. The business is getting more and more rotten each day that passes by. Demo-TAPE is a forgotten fairytale from the eighties. Knowing the right persons, having the looks and charisma, is what you’ll need to day for real success.

The whole music culture is changing. The real music is about to die! Now it’s all about being a COOL money machine.
 
I dont know about making great music on ANYTHING, but I feel I can do it all on software. I read so much **** about "hardware just sounds phatter" and I just think BOLLOCKS. You have to be a tweaker for sure, but you can do it all with software now. And Im not into having every softsynth under the sun either. I pick goods ones and I learn them deep. No hardware for me. And I totally plan to get released in the future.
 
de_v said:


what kind of bending over are you talking about??coz if its some gay stuff{nothign against gay people!}thats where the line is!!adn i cant cross it no matter how much i want to make it!
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haven't you heard the term "figure of speech" ?



Originally posted by Buddha
I feel I can do it all on software. I read so much **** about "hardware just sounds phatter" and I just think BOLLOCKS.
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i respect you feel so, but one question: did you actually record a song or album using big ole vco analog, vintage or new ? in case you haven't, you ought to try, then you might appreciate the difference between original and imitation. or with real rhodes for example?



however ,as far as sampling-based stuff, i agree with you, minus some grungy old 8bit and 12bit samplers/drum machines - they just have punch unobtainable on DAW.

some digital synths (like WS) are fine too. tho i've yet to hear a wavetabling synth that doesn't sound thin crap on VSTi. dunno why they havent made a decent one yet? keeping my Waldorf.


on a related note, a friend, producer in London just finished his album; he used only VSTi, tho he had each and every track played out thru some kind of vintage or high end analog pre/eq/tube/whatever, some tracks even went to a speaker that was miked, plus some room mics. then mixed thru an analog console and used lex n eve for space. that's more like it (100% ITB stuff makes my ears bleed), but lot of work to add some breath to software synths..

tho he said it was a budget-related , not really a production choice - he still weeps for his rhodes and obie he had to sell while cash was low and rent was high..
 
cubbyhouse said:
A talent won’t get you far on crappy gear. Just like expensive gear won’t get one with no talents far. Talent + expensive gear = success in the business!
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Exactly. Only talent won't get you far. Also only HQ gear won't get you far.
The combination of both is the magic key.
 
THM said:

Exactly. Only talent won't get you far. Also only HQ gear won't get you far.
The combination of both is the magic key.
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But don’t get me wrong! If anyone loves making music, there’s no reason to quit. It is a cool hobby after all. I still have interests for synths and do collect them, even if I never going to be an artist. Synths are the next best thing to a pretty woman and a nice lay. Excuse me for being some vulgar. :)
 
If you want to make a living as a musician, I think its 85% talent and 15% gear...also factor in luck and charisma. I personally know a guy who is getting decent offers left and right, and he has a Virus Indigo (the virus B version) and a recently acquired Moog Prodigy.
 
Well there you have another point: maybe still the most important factor - probably concealed expressly - are relationships. Knowing the right people at the right moment. I know people who were plenty of talent but they did't have the required relationships so they quit making music years ago, and I also know absolutely non-talented producers (however they're very good DJ's !!) who are top producers imho only thanks to their DJ relationships.
So luck and relationships are still the most important factor (like for everything in a human's life) - whether you want to admit that or not...
 
But what about making an independent record label? If you got some bucks, you can master and press a lot of discs. Then you can start selling it. It will not make you a millionaire, but you will be “signed” and have a status as a signed producer. ;)
 
Yhea I think most people overlook the hussler part that's required in the music bussiness.

There's a lot of hussle involved, and eventhough software can sound good, it sound cold alot of times. Not all boards are created equal .. but some of the new gear that is heading towards the future is computer bases ... just read the front cover of the OASIS ... it's a linux box with keys attached.

The LionsTracks guyz in Germany may have done it first, and for a lot less than KORG, (the OASIS does sound a little thin too), but the signal processing needed to make sounds more present was not as good in the MediaStation.

It's got to be both
 
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