As a beat maker, there are other tools to consider to get to the next level once you’ve chosen your sequencer (or DAW). First, before I continue, I would like to remind you that you will always hear others claim that a certain tool is better than another. As I mentioned earlier, it’s kind of like Mac vs. PC Discussion: It Never Ends! The same goes for beats, be it MPC vs. MV3000, Reason vs. FL Studio or Cubase vs. Logic. There is nothing better; only the best for you. Try not to get sucked into all of that, because in the end it all comes down to your ability as an artist to use his creativity to create something, while effectively using the tools at your disposal. A good producer must be able to become a master of his own tools.
A good way to determine if you’ll need to expand your production arsenal is to look at what you already have and the style of music you intend to create, and then figure out what limits you. This is the best way to gauge whether to buy new equipment because software and hardware are not cheap and investing in one or both can mean a couple hundred or thousands of dollars spent. This free guide is all about making beats on a budget, so I’ll detail what I did and strictly outline some costs incurred as a result. When I did this evaluation myself early on, I realized that the most limiting factor was the variety of sounds I had, which told me what I needed at the time, which was more sounds to work with.
sounds:
In addition to containing almost all the tools you’ll need to start making beats, FL Studio also includes some standard sounds to kick start your production game. Included with FL Studio are some drum kits, bass tones, and various other sounds such as strings, synths, percussion, etc. While these sounds can get you started, you’ll soon find that they are quickly used and reused and you’ll need to load up some newer sounds to keep getting creative.
Sampled sounds:
Obtaining new sounds can be done in several ways. A common technique is sampling from old records and has been popularized by producers like Kanye West, Pete Rock and RZA. There are several techniques that are used when sampling music. While some people loop grooves and breaks, others choose to segment or “cut” components of the original loop to create something completely different from the original. A master of this technique is DJ Premier. Studying DJ Premier’s sound, you’ll see that he barely repeats his samples and cuts them to the point where the original is barely recognizable. The key to sampling is having a good ear for knowing what to sample. This is why record hunting or “box digging” is a complex art unto itself. Record collectors, also known as crate hunters, are constantly searching for records for a unique sound or combination of sounds to create their beats. Whether it’s a twitch of a trumpet, the sound of an ethnic instrument, or a drum break, as a hip hop producer, you must develop a keen sense of collecting, using, and transforming sounds. FL Studio has several tools to do exactly this. You can record sounds in FL Studio with your own sound editor or by using the mixer in FL Studio. If you are a producer who plans to do a lot of samples, you may want to consider buying a turntable and mixer. And don’t forget to save some money for the records you’ll be sampling from!
sound modules:
Sound modules are electronic instruments that contain a bank of sounds that rely on an external interface (such as a keyboard controller or sequencer) to trigger their internal sounds. This is usually accomplished via MIDI, a protocol typically used in electronic music. An entire book could be written on MIDI, its features and benefits, but since this guide is supposed to help you get started rather than confuse you, I’ll keep it short. Simply put, MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and is an industry standard communication protocol in electronic music. It is used for communication between interconnected electronic music devices via MIDI messages (no audio is transferred), sent from the sending device to the receiving device. So, relative to sound modules, MIDI messages are sent from the sequencer or a keyboard controller to trigger sounds in the module. In essence, these MIDI messages can be sent in the form of musical notes and typically dictate how the sound module will play them. An example of the properties that MIDI messages can send are things like velocity, volume, beats, etc. Sound modules, in the form of a rack, are a good choice because they are often cheaper than buying the keyboard version, which essentially contains the same sounds, such as drum kits, bass, and other instruments.
For example, the Yamaha Motif ES sound module is several hundred dollars cheaper than its keyboard counterpart, but it lacks some features that the keyboard version can offer, notably the keys, sliders, and knobs, and a smaller screen. While sound modules can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, there is another solution for us trying to stick to a tight budget, and that’s where the world of VSTs comes in handy. Now, if you’re thinking, “Damn, another term I have to remember,” but you’ll be glad to know this one. VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology and is basically a software replacement for real hardware instruments. Many instrument companies that have traditionally made hardware instruments are now releasing them in software as VST plug-ins. These VST plugins can be loaded as a channel strip in FL Studio and played as if it were a hardware device connected via MIDI cable. E-MU, which originally came out with the Proteus 2000 hardware sound module, no longer produces it and has now come out with the Proteus X, which sells for around $150. The Proteus X features the same Composer sound bank as the Original Proteus 2000 created in 1999. Additional sound banks can be purchased through the E-MU website such as Mo’Phatt and Planet Earth for just $50, both popular hardware sound modules.
Sound Libraries and Sample CDs:
Last but not least, another potential source of new sounds is the sound library CDs. Sound libraries are usually a bunch of sampled sounds such as drum kits, bass tones, percussion, stabs, or sound effects collected and compiled by the vendor, usually in .wav or .aif format. These vary widely in price and can range from $10 to several hundred dollars, depending on the quality and how extensive the sound library is. While I have never purchased CD sound libraries before, I have heard from people who are very confident in them and have no doubts that they are useful. A very intriguing sampler CD is one called “All the Breaks” which contains 300 drum breaks on a single CD for your sampling or cutting pleasure. With the wealth of all these new sounds at your disposal, you may need a more efficient way to hear and play them. This is where having a MIDI controller can come in handy.
