Beat Machine Better than Fruity Loops???????

a friend of mine recomended Hammer Head 1.0 but its nowhere near as good as FL, but its freeware so i like that

Fruity Loops doesnt exactly copy a hardware beat machine like the MPCs in S.T.’s sig. If you want something that emulates a hardware beat machine u should look at VST samplers like NI, Waldorf Attack, Bojo Impulse, etc. These are like mini programs that work inside of your production suite like Fruity Loops, Live, Reason….
You can control the actions of the program with the mouse\comp. keyboard….but i prefer to use a controller – its much easier to tap out beats than to click tabs in a grid.

Korg makes a badass 25 key(?) midi controller with the 16 drum pads for around $300 – thats what i would get if i was buying new stuff.

Beats are about your rhythm & mastering your tool. The real trick is the overall sounds & grittyness to me. I can say in experience that production in software or hardware really doesnt differ too greatly in quality – in mastering i would bet on a hardware rack over a software rack but its mainly how you tweek the instruments & fxs.

You may make a beat that is tight as f*ck, smooth bass, crisp highs, warm resonating middles & all that but….why doesnt it sound as good as songs on the radio? – b/c it isnt amplified by 100,000 kW of electricity. Thats the only difference or advantage the "big boys" have – alot of studio time. My objective is to show ppl/executives/promoters that i deserve studio time.

Just to add to this, computers and software don’t make music! What ever tools you have, be it hardware of software, it won’t create music for you! Its producers who know how to use there software and hardware that make music.

You can make a "beat" on FL 6 that sounds just as good as something made on an MPC, easily. Because you have a computer, you instantly have access to a "virtual" limitless mixer, 100’s of compressors and reverb units, and a 30 band EQ on every channel if you need it!

With programs like FL, you have no excuse not to be able to make amazing quality tracks, but it takes time to learn how to use EQ and compression effectively. All I can say is to invest in a good set of monitors and soundcard (best you can afford!) and the program of your choice, be it FL 6, Cubase, Reason, Logic or Live! Its really up to you, they all have their strengths and weekness’s. I suggest you try the demos of some software try each one for a month of so and see which one you think allows you to create best, it dosn’t have to be the most popular, different programs suit different people. For me I use FL 6 and Cubase LE, bundled with a stack of free vst’s! But its all personal preference at the end of the day.

About samples, best bet would be to buy a generic sample cd for hip hop, then use EQ, compression and layering (using more than 1 sample at once!) to create a unique sound that no one else has. I have tracks with 3 kick drums all EQ’d differently to get the right sound!

At the end of the day, the track is only as good as the producer is, and a good track will still shine through, even if the sound quality isn’t great!

Tim.

tim.gosden wrote:

Just to add to this, computers and software don’t make music! What ever tools you have, be it hardware of software, it won’t create music for you! Its producers who know how to use there software and hardware that make music.

Amen to that

Check this baby out – Edit:- advertising link removed Peace

[quote:2nr8m6yy]
Okay, not to counter your point..but to bring about awareness on the subject, I must disagree to an extent. I think from a creative perspective..yes, you can make tracks on FL that rival other production methods…however, sonically it is a whole different ballgame.

Check it:
If I sample from vinyl in good condition with an Ortofon Club needle..run it through a Vestax or Rane mixer….run that signal through a good tube or solid state line preamp, capture that signal with a good A/D converter, then run it to my software via AES or SPDIF…The quality hands down is waaaaay better than taking a one shot kick or snare that was chopped out of a 3rd generation 128K MP3 burnt to a CD and copied 2 times. By some weird twist..you may degrade the sound and compress the data and get some extra punch, but generally speaking that’s a poor quality extract IMO.

People always wonder how the ‘pros’ get that ‘loud’ quality sound or whatever. The fact is it’s not any one thing that does it, but the sum total of the audio processing and routing that does it. From the source all the way to the mixing process, if you maintian pristine standards top to bottom you will achieve a very aggressive, loud, wide sound…even without any post mastering. [/quote:2nr8m6yy]

I don’t wanna get back at you either, but I didn’t ever mention the fact that you can’t sample from vinyl!! Infact, for some old school hip hop this is essential! Although I must admitt that if you want to use say a drum break from a track, why would you sample it from vinyl, when you could rip it from cd and then just add a vinyl effect or tape saturation?!

For those new to music, sound quality may not be the most important thing, learning basic production skills are much more important. If a track is REALLY good, a label will overlook the production and have it mixed or re-recorded properly!

Basically what I am trying to say is this:

If your new to production, don’t get to hung up in getting the best soundquality. I think its much more important to be a musician first, then a producer. Production is skill developed over time, some obviously better than others, but alot of it can be learned.

Being a muscian is a talent that very few truly have, and if you have it, you shouldn’t waste it!

Tim.

*btw, Battery is a very good piece of software 😉

[quote quote="anisina":n1e0ildl]Excellent point Tim. One thing a lot of people forget about is the idea, and developing an idea is often taken for granted, until we get a ‘block’. In my opinion, I would rather have poor quality sounds to write with and develop an idea rather than spending minutes looking for a sound and forgetting what the idea was.

What is vitally important, is the ability to get an idea into sound as quickly as possible, either by a portable recorder (dictaphone) or software, and once the idea is developed, then production and sound quality should start to be the priority.

Lets not forget the importance of ‘pre-production’.[/quote:n1e0ildl]Fully agree!

better is really subjective when it comes to making music. it’s more about what you are comfortable with, then which piece is "better" then another. I’ve been in the industry for 20 years and know people who have made great hits with very little knowledge and equipment, and vice versa.