ok....first off you need a akai mpc of some sort without a doubt, they are the workhorse of the hip hop community. We've got a 4000 and wouldnt trade it for for all the bling in a pall wall grill! the display and user interface are far beyond any of the other mpc's, we've used several and the 4000 is untouchable (but it should be ((untouchable)) of course). We are using a triton at the moment and also have been very pleased with it, the extreme series looks really great also and i would prob. be willing to get one in the near future (but im saving up for a oasys :shock: ).... we did some work for some guys who had a motif and i wasnt very impressed by it at all...dont get me wrong it had its strong points, but nothing that made me go out and buy one. the thing with keyboards is that they all have certain things certain ppl are gonna like and dislike about the other....your best bet is to try before you buy! Prob. the best investment we made was the $900 we spend on a vintage roland tr-808.... i dont care how good your samples of the 808 are they dont touch the real deal... point blank, period. thats all i have for now, hope it helps.......

Peace,
BEN

12g's spend as follows:
mpc4000-$2500
triton extreme 61-$1800
motif es rack-$1100
fantom x rack-$1400
nord lead 3-$1900
dave smith poly evolver rack-$1350
-not quite 12g's, but its a solid start. maybe im forgetting a piece or two, but if i was blessed with the money, thats what i would get.
oh yeah, youll need a midi time piece.

wicked

yah that sounds about right... I have a midi sport 4x4 already... that is one wicked beat making setup tho... So the Tritons are nice? Ive had beat made for me with triton patches, i liked em...i wonder if they are only a handful of good patches in the triton?

wellll...im gonna most likely buy the setup piece by piece.. but i figure another 12 G's is all I need for now....

any fantom X users?

I don't usually post too much but since you're gonna drop some change I'll do my good deed for the day

My take:

1) I've have owned the 2000, 3000, and 4000. Everyone has their favorite. 2000 is mine. The only people that use 3000 are people that made hits on them back in the day and just can't let them go. I loved my 2000 so much I never used the 4000. It had a bunch of things on it I didn't use.

2)I LOVE my triton extreme. Great Sounds. Only negative point is the keys are the most un-piano like of the Big 3 so if you're a keyboard player you might end up using it just for sounds. Motif=great sounds not as great an interface. I have the rack. The Fantom X is great all around. ASAP by TI was made entirely on that unit. My strong advice is to only buy one of the three. I could get completely blasted for this but b/c they all have USB and can read a variety of file formats you are wasting money by considering buying all three. Store sounds on a firewire drive and import them in.

3)The Nord Lead is the shit. Many of the "King of Crunk's" signature sounds come straight from this.

4)Drum sounds-vinyl and cd's. find isolated drum hits and grab em.
Its not the amount of sounds you have but the quality of those sounds. I see hits made off the same shit over and over again. Find 100 of the best drum sounds you can get. 10 GREAT 808 kicks, snares, hat, etc. and tweak them from the samples into your originals and go to work.

5)EMU makes a lot of cool racks that are cheap. The proteus is probably the most popular but I think one's like the Dance, Planet Phatt are great. Check those out.

6)Buy an external drive and organize sounds. Sample from different pieces of gear and store them. Then sample them into your triton, phantom, or motif.

Ending: I know people with all the gear in the world who turn out shit and people with an mpc and a keyboard that are making hits. Its how you use them.

if you are looking into an akai mpc then check out the new mpc 2500, lots of improvements and nice price!!

i also second about any korg keyboard. a good investment.

If you ask me the 2500 is over priced when you compare it to a 4000 for just a few extra duckets........ If youve got 12 g's to spend dont short yourself by going with the 2500 (plus i dont think they are on the market yet), the 4000 has alot more to offer...... the expected price of the 2500 is around $2100.00us..... the 4000 is around $2700.00us........ compare the two and see if you think the 2500 is such a great deal.....to me the screen on the 4000 is worth the extra $600 or so!!!

Peace,
BEN

You're right Ben. If you're going to make that steep of a purchase, go with the 4000. The 2500 is a major upgrade from the 2000 but it still carries over a lot of its core charateristics. How do I know... I own the 4000 too. But I do research and comparisons as well. If the money becomes a bit tight, I'd take a look at the Triton Rack. With the rack, you have to give a little, take a little. Yes it does'nt have the touch screen interface and the keys, but it's the only triton that offers the most expansion. And of course... I own that too. Most of my keys are of the rack variety, except for the ASR10 and the controller (roland A-70). Through the years I've learned a great deal about audio & midi. Midi has intrigued me so through using various programs such as Cubase, Pro-tools, Cakewalk Pro/Sonar and such. Keep in mind, you want to stay compatible. If making purchases off of Ebay is'nt a bother, I'd check them out. My friend found his 4000plus that way for a hell of a lot less.

fair enough if the US price is so close between the 2500 and the 4000 i only know the UK price and that's a big difference... unless they went down with the 4000 recently.

a.

OK

I have like 50 gigs of drum samples...anything u can think of. If I wanna make an African beat with a Indian girl, rain dancing, playing a flute on a 808 drum i can!! lol...

I have all my samples on a external Maxtor drive 250 gb... i wud like to buy a lil 60 gig harddrive just for my samples for importing to my Fantom X and MPC...

I think it makes sence to just buy the Fantom X (T.I. 's ASAP is crazy!) I may buy the Triton Extreme and the fantom X.

I want a Nord Lead as well... they are crazy ive heard...

Yeh i definately need a MPC...I use to drag sample in pro tools to makethe drum pattern... now im beating in the drums on a little midi keyboard i own. the keys suck to bang on... I definatle need that MPC... maybe a 2000XL...being that i like to keep it simple, might not need all the features of the 4000. MPC2500???? imma check that out.

I want to learn some of the sampling techniques that producers use with the MPC.... i was thinking just for beating in a beat...but now i see you can sample vocals...old records...everything... Swiss Beats sampling style is crazy!!!! check Cassidy - imma Hustla... DJ style...

Peace