Lookin to dive into some hardware

to mimikoctopus- well the virus tabletop version is going to cost you about a grand and the keyboard version about 2 grand. while i think we'd all like to be able to splash out on something like that (or a moog voyager - again in the 2 grand region) the reality is that most of us simply cannot justify spending that kind of money. for a grand you can have komplete 6, fxpansion synth squad and still have some money left over.

in regards to spending a lot of money on a computer. well my laptop is basically a piece of crap and i can comfortably run reason+record (they are after all very CPU friendly..), renoise and a host of plugins.

re: xabiton. yeah i think a lot of people who started on hardware learned a lot that i think people who started with software miss or simply take for granted. i learn so much about working within limitations. i learned how important it was to pick good sounds and to make different elements work together. but i'm different to you in that i didn't get into synthesis until after i got into software. i only had 2 synths in hardware form. microkorg (now sold) and alesis micron (horrible to program). when i moved to software i was able to experiment with extremely powerful forms of synthesis at a fraction of what it would have cost me in the hardware realm.

finally to damayor... i know what you mean and it can be annoying. when somebody asks for advice on what hardware to get the last thing they probably want to see is a load of people telling them NOT to get hardware. but i think it's really just people giving their honest advice. a lot of people here started on hardware and are now using software. therefore they know the advantages and disadvantages of both. if a friend approached me and said he wanted to get into beatmaking and he was wondering which MPC should he get i feel i would be doing him a disservice if i didn't mentioned the benefits of software over hardware.
 
^^i think u touched on a great point that I agree with. I started on software went hardware and now Im moving back to software because I got tired of the headaches that come wtih hardware. not that hardware is bad. I am not selling it kuz sometimes ill probably want to take my gear back out and make beats with it again but for the most part software is the way to go imo. Id rather have a dope controller with Reason at this point vs having most of my hardware on a consistant basis just due to ease reasons plus kuz recalling beats with hardware can be a headache if you have a bunch of different pieces. Its hard to have just 1 piece of hardware. You buy a Mpc well what about when you arent sampling so you buy a keyboard. Or if you buy a keyboard w/ sampling if u have a hard time programming drums on keyboard keys you end up buying a mpc then if u want more sounds u buy racks and racks and end up spending a lot of money. Software realm not so much. I bought Reason 2 for $400 then 3 for $130 and 4 for $130 and Im buying Record for $150 for the free Reason5 upgrade those all have new sounds and I havent spent close to the price of any new hardware. Then when I do just need new sounds $50 gets me a new bank. Can't do that with hardware.
 
Xabiton said:
^^i think u touched on a great point that I agree with. I started on software went hardware and now Im moving back to software because I got tired of the headaches that come wtih hardware. not that hardware is bad. I am not selling it kuz sometimes ill probably want to take my gear back out and make beats with it again but for the most part software is the way to go imo. Id rather have a dope controller with Reason at this point vs having most of my hardware on a consistant basis just due to ease reasons plus kuz recalling beats with hardware can be a headache if you have a bunch of different pieces. Its hard to have just 1 piece of hardware. You buy a Mpc well what about when you arent sampling so you buy a keyboard. Or if you buy a keyboard w/ sampling if u have a hard time programming drums on keyboard keys you end up buying a mpc then if u want more sounds u buy racks and racks and end up spending a lot of money. Software realm not so much. I bought Reason 2 for $400 then 3 for $130 and 4 for $130 and Im buying Record for $150 for the free Reason5 upgrade those all have new sounds and I havent spent close to the price of any new hardware. Then when I do just need new sounds $50 gets me a new bank. Can't do that with hardware.
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im gonna make the main beat on the hardware and track it into the computer to do more intricate editing

what do y'all do?
 
i dont know about any of you cats but im more of a hands on type of dude and making a beat on a computer just doesnt really do it for me i need something to touch and interact with. i mean i do have me a midi drum controller but all you can do with that is play out the chops and you have to do all the other stuff with a mouse and just isnt very engaging. i dont know, maybe im dumb about it and would end up hating the mpc but i just dont feel that fun feelin makin a beat on a computer and isnt all this about fun in the first place?
 
d-rock07 said:
i dont know about any of you cats but im more of a hands on type of dude and making a beat on a computer just doesnt really do it for me i need something to touch and interact with. i mean i do have me a midi drum controller but all you can do with that is play out the chops and you have to do all the other stuff with a mouse and just isnt very engaging. i dont know, maybe im dumb about it and would end up hating the mpc but i just dont feel that fun feelin makin a beat on a computer and isnt all this about fun in the first place?
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its all about which controller you have too. I used to feel the same way. I use Reason with a bcf 2000 the buttons double up as controller functions inside of Reason. I almost never have to touch the mouse. For the one or two functions i do have to do away from my controllers i do it on the qwerty keyboard. I also still have my hardware (Ensoniq EPS 12bit sampler, Akai S3000, Akai Mpc 2000, Korg Trinity rack, Korg m1 rack) I don't feel a big difference between the two. What controller do you have?
 
Xabiton said:
its all about which controller you have too. I used to feel the same way. I use Reason with a bcf 2000 the buttons double up as controller functions inside of Reason. I almost never have to touch the mouse. For the one or two functions i do have to do away from my controllers i do it on the qwerty keyboard. I also still have my hardware (Ensoniq EPS 12bit sampler, Akai S3000, Akai Mpc 2000, Korg Trinity rack, Korg m1 rack) I don't feel a big difference between the two. What controller do you have?
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i have a mpd 24 that i use with fruity loops. its a good controller but its limited in that all i can do is bang out melodies with the pads.
 
Playa, use what you want to use and makes you happy whether it is software or hardware. They both have their good and bads. I use mostly hardware with a splash of software.
 
i think ill just stick with the software now for a while and see how it goes. i mean i already got the setup goin good so ill just work with this right now
 
youngjboy said:
The software Army has prevailed and scared him back:p
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na i aint scared its just that the more i was looking into it the more im not sure if i wanna drop a grip of bills on a piece of hardware when i can do the same thing on my little laptop. i just need to get in and put in some work. maybe disconnect my internet so i dont get distracted
 
The Tone Ranger said:
It really depends on if your a sampler or a composer. If you use an MPC..... tracking out your song is a process. I'm sorry, I know this may offend alot of die hard hardware fans but.....get out of the stone age. It's drag and drop time. The Maschine is killing the MPC in 2010. Hell.....you can make beats with an Itouch now. I have spent many days and nights peering at little screens. I'm strictly midi drum pad/keyboard now. Totally mobile, upgradable, and cost efficient. I spent $3,000 on my TS88. I'm selling it for $750. It's a new mobile beatmaking era in the 2010. Again.....It's drag and drop time. The man makes the beats.....and he makes them with ease.
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I think that's so funny that cats think tracking out is such a long process. like its soo much extra that has to be done lol.

---------- Post added at 03:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:31 PM ----------
say it terror said:
i could never go back to hardware. i always see newcomers saying "i want to be away from the computer". but tbh i find it more enjoyable staring at my laptop screen than at a tiny LCD.

10 years ago software sequencers were just really starting to get popular. 5 years ago they had surpassed what hardware sequencers were doing and today i don't even think it's a real issue which is better and more efficient. the only reason i keep the bit of hardware that i have is for sound processing, and even that can be a ****ing pain sometimes that i just end up doing most of it in the computer.

when you start off producing it's obviously going to be frustrating but i think a lot of people start off on software, get frustrated and then think that hardware is a better option. keep working with what you have. if you're using software now and you get an MPC you will be taking a step backwards.

buy a MIDI controller. much cheaper. staring at the tiny screen on the mpc ain't going to make you creative all of a sudden.
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There really isn't much staring at a screen when it comes to mpc's maybe when chopping but that's about it. that's not that long of a process if you know what your doing.
 
HAHA tracking out takes like 3 seconds more then exporting a wave from FL and importing it. I track each sound (ie drums one track snare one track) for 9 seconds each then loop the bars in my DAW so i can take out the snare and drums and pianos on certain measures later in the mix when i compose it. This process is 9 seconds each tracks that is not a long process.
 
d-rock07 said:
Been messin with fl studio for a minute but i been noticing that i dont feel that spark or creativity when using a computer to make music. Doesnt feel right so im looking for some opinions on what hardware i should look at. im thinking either an mpc or an asr 10
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I'm an MPC user so im a little bias. But I would definitely recommend that if you are looking to go hardware. Its very different from FL studio plus you can always integrate it into your software setup via midi so you can still get the best of both worlds.
 
The Beat Pharmacy said:
I'm an MPC user so im a little bias. But I would definitely recommend that if you are looking to go hardware. Its very different from FL studio plus you can always integrate it into your software setup via midi so you can still get the best of both worlds.
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how is it different than fl? just the workflow or what?
 
there are a lot of things that make hardware different from software i mean at the end of the day its just a different means to get to the same place. Do you want a motorcycle or a truck? both are fine and both will get you to work on time but they are just different ways of doing it. FL imo is a bit of a hassle to intergrate with hardware but then again I think most daws are with the exception of Sonar and to some extent Cubase though I think Sonar does this better.
 
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