For beganer...?

[What]

What would be the best rythm machine or best anything to get, to make good beats? That don't need extra instruments.

I know that theirs all kinds of rythm machines out there but can all of them make the sound you want ex. Hip-Hop or do they have some for different catergories?

[What]

Ok thanks, before I call maybe you could help?


I was looking for something to make hip hop instrumentals so that I could add some words and hopefully produce a good song.Any idea what I would need?
See my cousin said one of his friends all he us is a key board? I heard his stuff before and it sounds good but I don't know if that's all he really uses cause my cousin does lie alot and I don't trust him to much.

Also could you explain alittle bit about the drum machines and what their basically for?

[TeeCee]

What:

I'll try to give you some basic info...

A drum machine of the basic sort comes with a bunch of snare, bass drum, cymbal, sometimes toms, and percussion sounds built in. These sounds may be adjustable for pitch but usually little else. What Roland/Boss/Zoom/Alesis puts in the machine is what you get to work with. A drum machine should also have a sequencer built in so that you can build and play back full beats.

Some drum machines also include bass sounds (not drums - more like keyboard notes). These may be sold as "rhythm boxes". I think Zoom does this. Emu sold the ProCussion with this (a rack mount sample based drum synthesizer - no sequencer built in).

Some drum machines (not many - only the Korg ER-1 that I know of) are based off of analog modeling drum synths. With these you create bass drums, snare drums, and all kinds of weirdness. The ER-1 also includes a clap, closed hat, open hat, and crash sample to round out the pattern building. Making that perfect bass sound should be possible on this type of device, but I have seen someone say that the ER-1 couldn't make good bass. This person needed help.

Old rap beats were often made (or said to be made) using the Roland TR-808. This drum machine is best replicated using Propellerheads ReBirth 338 software. The 808 as represented by ReBirth has basically a bass drum, snare drum, closed hat, open hat, toms, cowbell, and maybe a few other sounds, all with some degree of tweakability (add more click to the start of the bass drum, adjust the pitch of the bass drum, adjust the decay of the open hat). To get the musical bass drums of something like Sir Mixalot or some D.O.C., you would need to sample the bass drum from an 808 so that the bass drum could be played back at the notes you wanted (much easier than trying to tweak the pitch knob in real time). Many sample based drum machines have an 808 set built into them minus the tweakability of the original 808 and ReBirth. There is a decent 808 sample set available at http://www.hyperreal.org/ somewhere in the something machines section.

Some keyboards come with some drum sounds. These will all be samples like the sample based drum machines. The keyboard you buy will have to have a built in sequencer if you want to use it to create the beats. It has to have the ability to record and playback your patterns.

I have heard several budding/amateur hip-hop producers swear by the Akai MPC-2000 which I believe is basically a sequencing sampler that has touch sensitive pads (for tapping your beats into its sequencer) and *possibly* some factory sounds. The video for DJ Shadow's "Midnight in a Perfect World" shows his MPC-2000.

Good luck,

[What]

Thanks