looking into making beats, need info from all helpful souls!!

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OnMyWay781

New member
Hello music family. I'm looking to get into making beats. i have ZERO knowledge in this, but its something I've been wanting to do for years. i'm constantly make beats in my head, but to lay them out on a keyboard, computer or mpc, I'm 100% clueless. i guess thats why I've been waiting so long to actually get started, lack of knowledge. i have a friend who makes music, he's a rapper. i want to be a part of what he's doing but not on the rapper side. plus there is a lot of other people from my city and state who are up and coming that id like to work with. we are on the verge of something. plus i know people in other states who do music, I'm sure all i need is the drive and connections all around to really make something happen.

my question here is, what type of equipment should i get/do i need to start off with? i have a spare room in my spot so I'm going to be using that space to work. i want to use FL studio, but I'm currently on a Macbook pro. i don't think the 2 are compatible. I'm going to need a different laptop. what type mpc or keyboard should i get. what other equipment should i get to start off with? after i get all this equipment, what are some good tutorials to watch? pictures of some of you guys set up in your house would be good too. any and all info is helpful, thanks in advance to anybody who replies to this and helps me out!
 
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macs use bootcamp for that If not mistaken.[Windows/linux guy forever]
Audio interface [Kills Latency]
good headphones/earbuds.
Vsts.
Reading the manual/watching youtube.
 
Where's your rapper friend's music and what city are you from/in?

You have a MacBook so look into GarageBand, Logic Pro, Reason, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Ableton and Pro Tools. Unless you have prior experience with an MPC and intend to sample, it is not a necessity and if you play keys and don't noodle on them as there is a huge difference between doing the two, look into keyboards that can be played both standalone and with a computer. Controllers have no built-in sounds as they only control VSTs within DAWs.
 
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his music is on YouTube, i will post some later. I'm from Lynn,MA about 10 mins from Boston. Are those software for music production that you listed?
 
OGBama said:
Where's your rapper friend's music and what city are you from/in?

You have a MacBook so look into GarageBand, Logic Pro, Reason, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Ableton and Pro Tools. Unless you have prior experience with an MPC and intend to sample, it is not a necessity and if you play keys and don't noodle on them as there is a huge difference between doing the two, look into keyboards that can be played both standalone and with a computer. Controllers have no built-in sounds as they only control VSTs within DAWs.
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his music is on YouTube, i will post some later. I'm from Lynn,MA about 10 mins from Boston. Are those software for music production that you listed?
 
KonKossKang said:
macs use bootcamp for that If not mistaken.[Windows/linux guy forever]
Click to expand...

Bootcamp is simply a boot switcher - which allow you to install Windows and choose on startup which OS to use. As said, there are plenty of great DAW options that work on OSX (well, now again called macOS) natively so I'd look into those unless you really really want to use FL. MacOS also has a really nice audio engine that works pretty well even without an audio interface.
 
If you get into FL Studio your gonna need sounds... So your gonna have to invest in VST's in the long run (That's been my experience) I use FL and the Piano roll is pretty much the best out right now so If you cant play the keyboard its a good thing... Other programs like Reason (Which I now use most of the time) have sounds that come with it and you can make pretty much any sound you want... But the piano roll might take getting used to... again personal expirence... Every DAW has its pros and cons you just gotta find the one that works for you.... What I would say to you is look into all the DAWs you have available to you and if you can demo them... And find which works for you...
 
AfroThunder said:
If you get into FL Studio your gonna need sounds... So your gonna have to invest in VST's in the long run (That's been my experience) I use FL and the Piano roll is pretty much the best out right now so If you cant play the keyboard its a good thing... Other programs like Reason (Which I now use most of the time) have sounds that come with it and you can make pretty much any sound you want... But the piano roll might take getting used to... again personal expirence... Every DAW has its pros and cons you just gotta find the one that works for you.... What I would say to you is look into all the DAWs you have available to you and if you can demo them... And find which works for you...
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i was thinking of using FL studio but now I'm thinking of pro tools since i have a macbook already. or i might run FL with the bootcamp others were talking about in this thread. I'm still reading up on the bootcamp program. do you have a plug in keyboard that you run with your DAW?
 
With most DAWs its recommended that you get a midi controller (keyboard) Sometime I use the keyboard sometimes I pencil my midi notes in... Its all personal preference... FL studio can be easier as it handles working with midi really well, you don't even need a keyboard... Even if you start out with FL and use the piano roll when you first start out you might find that its easier to use a midi controller to get your thoughts down quicker... It all comes down to how your workflow is, which you will find out as you go...
 
OnMyWay781 said:
i was thinking of using FL studio but now I'm thinking of pro tools since i have a macbook already. or i might run FL with the bootcamp others were talking about in this thread. I'm still reading up on the bootcamp program. do you have a plug in keyboard that you run with your DAW?
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I'll say it again: Bootcamp isn't some magic piece of software that allows you to use Windows programs in Apple's operating system; it simply allows you to install Windows. It will be a regular Windows PC, but you can also switch over to macOS.
 
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