Your new music thread **formerly 'Music Production Thread'

[jonny5]

Now just to find the time to learn it

NICE!

curious why you got that rather than an MPC? price range is in line with an MPC1000, but how does the hardware/software compare?

ive heard mixed reviews on it, but the main complaint ive heard is the workflow sucks compared to working with an MPC....and it doesnt have many of the tried and true features/selling points of an MPC....after all, maschine is just a controller for 'MPC styled software', but missing some stuff that really make the MPC great....when i work with an MPC i fly through stuff because its all there and the interface just flows nicely....i find as soon as i involve computers it slows me down to a crawl

ive basically stepped away from using software and computer based stuff for my music production....the endless tweaking with vst's and shit are just time wasters for me.....too many options, too many distractions....im much happier and productive working with just hardware...i just use the computer for recording now, and im actually looking at some multitrackers to get rid of that too

i know with the kind of tunes you work with, computer based production is kinda key, but for me i love being able to do everything without having to even turn on a computer

hardware ftw!

but ya.....let me know your thoughts on it once you have put some time into it

also, if you havent worked with an MPC before, watch some tutorial vids (so you get the basics of the interface) then go try one in store.....me thinks you will be impressed with the ease of use and how much it can actually do without involving any other gear or software



<moved select posts from the Awesome stuff you've just bought (+pics please) thread to the new discussion thread Udderdude made (originally starting here). -inc.>

[GaijinPunch]

curious why you got that rather than an MPC? price range is in line with an MPC1000, but how does the hardware/software compare?

Well, it's called the MPC killer. It works like an MPC, Step Sequencer, Sampler, supports VST so you can use it as a plugin to Abelton Live, etc. etc. I've never used an MPC really, so I'm going from a clean slate. I've read a few of the complaints, but the pros far outweigh them...even workflow related ones. Who knows. If it doesn't click, maybe I'll check it out. The 5GB library was pretty nice though, I must say.

I do not have the space for an all hardware solution. Well, I could, but I'd have to trim down the game hardware, which may or may not happen but not for a while. I'm definitely more software oriented, as long as I have some knobs to work with. Badump Tssh.

EDIT: Watched an MPC500 video. The idea of being able to stick one in my bag and dick around with it at work w/o having to cock w/ the software is nice. Might try to pick up a used one on the cheap.

[jonny5]

curious why you got that rather than an MPC? price range is in line with an MPC1000, but how does the hardware/software compare?

Well, it's called the MPC killer. It works like an MPC, Step Sequencer, Sampler, supports VST so you can use it as a plugin to Abelton Live, etc. etc. I've never used an MPC really, so I'm going from a clean slate. I've read a few of the complaints, but the pros far outweigh them...even workflow related ones. Who knows. If it doesn't click, maybe I'll check it out. The 5GB library was pretty nice though, I must say.

I do not have the space for an all hardware solution. Well, I could, but I'd have to trim down the game hardware, which may or may not happen but not for a while. I'm definitely more software oriented, as long as I have some knobs to work with. Badump Tssh.

EDIT: Watched an MPC500 video. The idea of being able to stick one in my bag and dick around with it at work w/o having to cock w/ the software is nice. Might try to pick up a used one on the cheap.

for sure.....especially used, the mpc500 is a bargain!

i recall reading about a fellow who used just an mpc 500 and one of those pocket pc dealies with a few audio sampler/audacity type apps for all his stuff...they are pretty beefy

and considering you can get a used one for like $350-$400, cant go wrong...even just to get a feel

i think its more a personal thing....for me, im way too easily distracted with vst's and software and stuff...like i will lay down a track controlled by the mpc....and then i will tweak and try it with 500 different patches, and after like 5 hours not have accomplished fuck all

i like the limitations of hardware....less tweaking, more productivity

again...i think this is just more an issue for me im too easily distracted

although, we are making very differnt music...you like dance music.....i make dark grindy hiphop and 'zombie music'....and chiptunes....

analog is less distracting for me...

[GaijinPunch]

I don't mind hip hop... I just don't follow it. I'd really love to see more like this (Miminol: TT's Remix <-- the first one). Nice groove w/ some old school hip hop samples. In terms of a single artist right now I think Reset Robot has the best sound. Izumi on his latest EP is class A retarded.

[jonny5]

I don't mind hip hop... I just don't follow it. I'd really love to see more like this (Miminol: TT's Remix <-- the first one). Nice groove w/ some old school hip hop samples. In terms of a single artist right now I think Reset Robot has the best sound. Izumi on his latest EP is class A retarded.

ive gotten bored with hiphop as of late tbh....both from listening and production stand point.....its just....limiting

and i dont have any mc's to work with on a serious level.....even the sickest hiphop beat can start to sound repetitive without rhymes over it

ive recently started working with gameboys and im having a blast...the channel and sound synthesis/sampling limitations are kind of nice, because it forces me to think outside the box to make the most of what i can get out of the hardware, rather than endlessly tweaking 5 badgillion patches in vst's for hours because they are there

in the end the important thing is the music being created...regardless of the hardware/software involved, the creative output is whats important....to each there own.....

i like the tactile flow of hardware....software opens whole other realms, but i get lost easily in other realms

[Lordstar]

I could never get close to any MPCs in college, music uni in 2001 big waste of time for me.

But the thought of hardware scares the shit out of me its pricey for a start and getting stuff can go on for ever and ever. So the idea of getting the NI maschine and using the sync option in traktor really appeals to me. I was like 5 mins away from getting myself the American audio VMS4 but the reviews have been coming in and even though it would get me started I know by march i would want the NI.S4 or the Allen & Heath Xone DX I think im leaning towards the S4 despite me not really liking how NI lock down their hardware. You would think midi is plug and play but i had a fucking nightmare trying to get my X1 to work with my version of traktor. yeah it was a copy but blowing 170GBP on a controler by native you would think they would let it slide with a naughty copy of their software. Not the case.

I do love my X1 though even if i cant afford a good soundcard for my PC tower to really get the use out of the software. I am all over the place with my DJ'n im using version 3 of tracktor when i was playing in a bar tonight on my mates mac and i cant use macs for shit, but when im at home im on my Traktor pro. All this swaping and changing is screwing my head up. The sooner i sort a nice laptop and get that fucking sound card I will be tearing it up. Right now im just banging my head against a brick wall with the lack of cash. Im oldschool so i really need a physical controller to manipulate shit thats happeing on screen. Then there is my two Pioneer 1000 decks just kinda gathering dust.

I am a DJ! have been since 2008. I am going to get my pinky toe wet in production eventually. I hang out with this really cool group of DJs/producers who put out a lot of good music from across the world. Ive sat in on a couple of their sessions. learning lots too

[emphatic]

im way too easily distracted with vst's and software and stuff...like i will lay down a track controlled by the mpc....and then i will tweak and try it with 500 different patches, and after like 5 hours not have accomplished fuck all

Better to "explore" the software when you have no inspiration whatsoever and save lot's of patches, sounds etc and really build a nice library of your own taste. So when the inspiration is turned up to 11, you can pick and choose from your small, finely tuned library. This way you
a) limit yourself
b) won't have to to think (maybe there's a better sound/fx somewhere) right around the corner

i like the limitations of hardware....less tweaking, more productivity

QFT. I remember reading some interview with the guys from Daft Punk, and they started each project with as little stuff involved as possible. Whenever some element was added to the track it would REALLY have to bring something great to the table so to speak. I make trance music, so I always start with something kinda great (a hard, techy groove) but then ruing everything with lots of stabs, strings etc.

[cools]

Gah you lot are making my itch to get back into making music even stronger.

Should probably get some hosting going to throw up some of my old stuff for mockery though

[ZOM]

Gah you lot are making my itch to get back into making music even stronger

Seriously.
I quit Dj-ing Minimal&Detroit ages ago...

[cools]

Gah you lot are making my itch to get back into making music even stronger

Seriously.
I quit Dj-ing Minimal&Detroit ages ago...

DJing != production. Also, highly unenergetic genres.

[ZOM]

^^Well, my "DJ-ing" was slightly different; I used 3 Technics MKII coupled with different Roland hardware for messing around in realtime while mixing. While I'd hardly call that "producing", I'd say it was near the live-act domain.
Let's call it "Live-Remixing"

I have to slightly disagree about the "unenergetic" tho. Like I said, I'm not more into this sorta thing, but to have an idea on what direction I took, check out Cristian Vogel's Byte & Scratch.
I noticed stuff that people usually call energetic is kitschy trance, which I absolutely despise (sorry emph)

[emphatic]

I noticed stuff that people usually call energetic is kitschy trance, which I absolutely despise (sorry emph)

I have no problem with different taste. As long as the music comes from the heart it's all good in my book. Of course it also has to be well produced.

[Octopod]

Gah you lot are making my itch to get back into making music even stronger

Seriously.
I quit Dj-ing Minimal&Detroit ages ago...

Minimal and Detroit techno along with real early electro are the only genres of edm I can even stand.

Unless you count industrial I guess.

[GaijinPunch]

DJing != production. Also, highly unenergetic genres.

I've heard some tunes at 120 BPM that have more "energy" than the 150BPM junk. It's all how the DJ layers it... an with 3 decks, you can do some lovely stuff.

EDIT: I went and saw Dubfire last night, and sure enough, on stage with him was a Maschine (amongst other gear).

[cools]

Ahh 3 deck stuff? That's different and indeed provides a far more interesting sound.

When I say energetic examples would be what my friends lovingly refer to as "steam train" techno, psytrance, gabber, where both pace and relentless beats are a fundamental core.

It's probably my growing desensitization to anything soft buggering up my appreciation for anything else.

[GaijinPunch]

Well, the current state of electronic music is that it's relatively slow. Slower than before, I should say. Dubfire's techno would be considered hard as nails by some, but he keeps it at under 130 BPM. I saw Oliver Ho a few months ago, and his was pretty much the same tempo - maybe a bit faster. Minimal is generally far slower. Tech house tends to vary a bit.

Having said all that, the music that can be played super fast is generally not inviting to more than 2 deck mixing. With digital DJing, looping and fucking around w/ a 3rd deck has reinvented the hobby for me.

We should make a separate thread.

[Udderdude]

Yeah, I'm just gonna start this and hope a mod moves the posts from "Awesome stuff you've just bought (+pics please)" to here.

Anyway, post stuff you've made, software/hardware used, photos of your awesome gigs, etc.

Here be some MP3s :O http://rydia.net/udder/mods/phantasm/

I'm only using MODPlug Tracker and FL Studio 8 w/ VOPM at the moment, possibly will buy some hardware in the future (maybe a mini keyboard? mixing stuff too).

[szycag]

Nice jams. I'm gonna make somethin worthy of putting in this thread!

[GaijinPunch]

Some old mixes

Need to put some new ones up.
Here, this one is technically better than those other two, but it's got a fuck up in it.

[ZacharyB]

For two weeks in May of last year, I tried to teach myself how to compose some music. I had a couple of games in production and I wanted to make sure I would be able to provide music for them.

Save for a few drum lessons in high school and standardized recorder use in grammar school, I didn't know anything about music. But with a few internet searches I was able to understand the basics. The most helpful page, a page on key scales, is gone now, but I found a couple of suitable replacements:
http://method-behind-the-music.com/theory/scalesandkeys
http://www.howmusicworks.org/

I also took a few notes, in case anyone else wants a starting point:

Chords have to do with keys, a scale of seven notes from lowest to
highest. Sometimes there are eleven notes, but they have to be the
right ones.

All notes being played in a key have to track along that key's scale.
If a note leaves this range, it sounds "out of key". It has literally
left the range of notes that define the key.

Major chords for keys are three notes: the base note in the key,
another note four steps up, and another note seven steps up. Because
it is three separate notes, this is known as the key's "triad".

Minor chords are the same, except the second note is only three steps
up instead of four. The difference is subtle but striking--it's called
a dominant chord because it wants to land on a major chord to resolve
it.

This time, I wasn't paying as much attention to the key scale as I
should've, so it sounds a little discordant, where some notes are
going out of key.

REMEMBER: To find notes, use famous song:
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do (The last "Do" is the first note in the next octave up)

A Key chart is attached.
( http://www.nofna.com/key_scales.png )

That got me going on something resembling the right path.

For composing software, I used Little Sound DJ, in ROM form. It is a steal at $2; totally worth it. This allows you to compose music using the Game Boy sound chip.

Other interesting choices are Famitracker, which allows you to compose music directly for the NES, and TFM Music Maker, which which allows you to compose music in the style of the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive sound chip. Both are free.

Here's my final experiment in a series of nine, a short loop: http://www.nofna.com/gb9.mp3

[crithit5000]

I make dumb futuristic/noise/synth hip-hop and I've been known to scratch a record or two.

[lilmanjs]

heh, I really want to get a midi keyboard or some drum machine of some sort to help me out with my music. currently all software with FL Studio 8, though I seem to get ideas from playing around on my piano downstairs.
all my music stuffs:
http://www.soundcloud.com/lilmanjs

[Udderdude]

Here's my final experiment in a series of nine, a short loop: http://www.nofna.com/gb9.mp3

It's like if Dead Space was a Gameboy game. :O

[cul]

All in the box with only a waldord blof ... com/lunat3

http://www.youtube.com/lunat3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8xBQUlYK3A

[charlie chong]

MY MPC 700000000 IS BIGGIE THAN YORZ
JUST LIEKE MIE E PENUS
3------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>
STICK THAT IN YOR EYE
I TRIGGEUR IT LYVE

[KBZ]

Yeah, I'm just gonna start this and hope a mod moves the posts from "Awesome stuff you've just bought (+pics please)" to here.

Anyway, post stuff you've made, software/hardware used, photos of your awesome gigs, etc.

Here be some MP3s :O http://rydia.net/udder/mods/phantasm/

I'm only using MODPlug Tracker and FL Studio 8 w/ VOPM at the moment, possibly will buy some hardware in the future (maybe a mini keyboard? mixing stuff too).

Cool stuff!

I was messing around with VOPM in FL the other day for the first time and got hooked big time. Went out and bought an Axiom 49 and haven't looked back. Coming from the world of guitar, it's so cool to just put together a whole piece in one sitting without relying on other musicians.

FL seems pretty easy to use, however I'm lost as to how all the functions of the midi controller tie into the software. Namely the beat pads, rotary knobs, and sliders.

Hoping little-scale comes out with a good midi interface for the GEN/MD.

Edit: took a picture!

[Udderdude]

I was messing around with VOPM in FL the other day for the first time and got hooked big time.

Louis G. has made an english manual for VOPM, worth checking out: http://www.gorenfeld.net/lou/VOPM.pdf

Hoping little-scale comes out with a good midi interface for the GEN/MD.

That would be pretty cool. It's almost sad how much the Genesis is overlooked in terms of it's place in videogame music history.

There's a good forum for FM Synth music here : http://www.soundshock.se/phpBB2/

[ZOM]

If only I could find my old DATs... (not that I'd have a way to convert them to mp3 now anyway)

anyways, planning on getting the full version of propellerhead's Reason 5 - already have a simple midi keyboard lying around somewhere. So, as soon as progress on learning the software bears small fruits, I'll make sure to remember about this thread.
Speaking of which, any "Reason" users here?

[emphatic]

Speaking of which, any "Reason" users here?

Hello! Never did upgrade from Reason 3 though. And my midi keyboard is behind one of my cabinets.

[cul]

If only I could find my old DATs... (not that I'd have a way to convert them to mp3 now anyway)

anyways, planning on getting the full version of propellerhead's Reason 5 - already have a simple midi keyboard lying around somewhere. So, as soon as progress on learning the software bears small fruits, I'll make sure to remember about this thread.
Speaking of which, any "Reason" users here?

Reason 5 is the dope.