Black Eyed Peas Music News: Tools of the Beats - dj and producer

Picking the right production tools is a very significant part of any producer`s journey. The safe that you have as a manufacturer will greatly depend on the tools that you use. So when picking your tools the first thing you have to decide on is what you want to go like. If you want to take a grimey old school underground hip hop sound, similar to Nas`s illmatic in the other 90′

than you should consider using a old MPC or ASR-10. You are going to want to get a large collection of vinyl records, and drum breaks. You will also likely want to get a synthesize of some sort that has a good bass patch to write your basslines with. If you are trying to do beats of this way and using a triton extreme you will get yourself wondering why you can`t get your beats to go like what you want them to go like. Similarly if all you are using is a lot a vinyl records and a mpc, and you`re trying to have pop records like Timbaland you will find yourself scratching your head. But this is common sense. Let`s talk most about specifics details. First let`s start with your drums. If you are doing anything in the pop world you are leaving to want to make sure you get a great 808 kit. The Roland 808 has been rung in pop music since the 80′s and it doesn`t look like it is going anywhere. As the Black Eyed Pea`s put it, the 808 is that Boom Boom in your trunk. There are lots and scores of crappy 808 sounds floating around the internet, make sure you eliminate the time to break through them to get a good 808 kit that is specific to you. They all technically come from the same intelligent source but if you listen closely you will get little idiosyncrasies in the different sounds. Not all 808′s are created equally.The job with the 808 is that everybody uses it. I look like the best way to be the 808 in your merchandise is using it sparingly, use the 808 kick underneath a different kick, or use the outbreak as a percussion instrument rather than your clap. Obviously there have been many producers who have made a lot of money using the 808 kit as their chief source of drums but to every pound that gets placed with the 808 as the dominant sound source there are ten thousand others that sound exactly the same. This is part 1 in series of articles about production tools. Visit my blog at gimmethattrack for more production tips and hints.