Starting from scratch...

So I figured now would be a good time to purchase my first sampler and I'm pretty much starting out with nothing.

Essentially I am planning on the maschine being the centerpiece of my production 'studio.' Note that I'm not going to be recording or anything..only creating hip-hop beats using samples.

In the several videos I have seen, many producers using the MPC have extra accessories which make it a very stationary system, with drum machines and others all over the place. When watching videos of the maschine, none of these are visible? Will those not be needed if I purchase a maschine?

Also, I understand that you can't directly plug a record into the maschine, so what kind of adapter do I need to do so? I also saw a producer sampling from an iPod...


In short, my basic question is what will I need in addition the maschine in order to be satisfied with a home production studio for hip-hop beats that will last a good couple years, other than a computer?

Thanks in advance

 

a midi keyboard? you could play from the pads but i like having the keyboard to play some synths from

 

all you will really need is 1) a decent laptop (as you said you wanna be portable) 2) a sound interface (here is a cheap portable solution http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/393375-REG/M_Audio_9900_51076_00_Fast_Track_Pro_USB.html) 3) a midi keyboard would be a nice optional accessory. also if you wanna sample from vinyl records you will need a turntable (if your not scratching on it you can get any number of cheap tables) and don't for get unless the turntable has line output you will need a phono preamp or dj mixer. (and also some rca to 1/4" adapters to get into most regular interfaces unless you get something like native instruments audio4dj

 

As far as the MPCs having drum machines with them, or external synths, don't worry. They're in the Maschine.

I've had the Maschine for almost 6 months now, done tons of stuff with it, and have yet to sample anything. That's how much is in this thing.

 

keyboard , soundcard , decent monitor speakers ...... and youre all good
check out the pros [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgqPuEo19DA"]YouTube- Hip Hop producer and composer Needlz on Maschine[/ame]

theres lots of gear porn on u -tube

 

usb turntables are also a good tool to have with Machine if you're planning on sampling from vinyl

then you don't have to worry about the mixer/phono pre amp thing and you can just select the usb turntable as the input for Maschine.

Though I rarely if ever sample from vinyl anymore, I still have a bunch of records, so I may get a cheap usb turntable just for this.

 

if you dont sample from vinyl where do you sample from? i do not plan on sampling from vinyl often either and am wondering what sources i can use.

like right now ive just been downloading racks of .mp3's and fooling around with them on flstudio haha

so what's the alternative for maschine?

thanks for the responses

 

You can sample anything. Mac users can use Soundflower to sample internal computer sounds whether it's a DVD playing or CD or Youtube or .mp3 etc.

On PC I'm not sure the most effective way but you can use a program like Audacity (which is a free DAW) to capture sounds and export as a .wav and use in Maschine...you could load your mp3s in a DAW and extract the portions you want for Maschine as wavs...that takes away some of the fun of just straight sampling/chopping all through Maschine but it would work.

 

I mainly use royalty free sample libraries, old production music libraries, etc. I don't really do the whole sample from a song thing, I used to...hence the records. I may pull them back out for some bits and pieces in the future, but I like using royalty free resources so I don't have to worry about someone saying I owe them anything lol.

But yeah you can sample from whatever, if you're soundcard supports "record what you hear" you can sample anything that is playing on your computer.

 

thanks this has been real helpful

i'll probably purchase a mac sooner or later- right now i'm on a pretty new windows computer so I guess this will do. but how does the license agreement work..will I be able to install the thing on another computer?

so basically all i need is the maschine and an audio interface for the basics? what 'extra' accessories do you guys use along with the maschine?

ive got a solid pair of headphones so i guess I can wait a bit on studio monitors


sorry for all the questions..I just want to get this cleared up so I know exactly what I should get

 

maschine + audio interface + midi keyboard is everything you really need. the only extras i use are a couple of hardware synths and keyboards i got lying around. no need for anything else!

and the licence allows you two installs so you can have one on windows and one on the mac yes.

if you get maschine and the audio interface you will within no time work out for yourself how you want to work and what you need to make it perfect for you but for now stick with maschine and the interface

 

what cable do I need to hook up the maschine to the audio interface?

 

you dont connect maschine to your interface.. you connect the maschine controller to the computer via usb and then you connect your interface either by firewire or usb depending on what it is to the computer also..

remember maschine is software with a dumb hardware controller (dumb in the sense that it has no internal processing etc its just a controller)

 

As a newbie myself (since I've been away from things far too long) I'd co-sign the maschine+interface combo also for home use you may find some economical monitors (i.e. KRK Rokit 5, m-audio bx 5a dlux, edirol...etc.) depending on your budget. Actually a buddy of mine put together a diy pair for me which may not be for critical listening but they have a nice clean thump to them. Keep in mind hip-hop and other electronic based music genres have their roots in innovation, experimentation & expression (take Dub for instance) with that said there may be no true "clinical" recipe for things (do you my friend). Even the Samurai saw their swords as an extension of self, thus the same may be said about a musicians' tools , electronic or otherwise. However I would issue a word of caution...gear lust is addictive no matter wither it's hardware, digging for vinyl, plug-ins, sample cd's you name it. I just looked at my bank statement and was like how the hell did I spend x-amount of $$ this month! It looks like PB&J sandwiches at lunch on the job for me to compensate. :lol:

 

I'm pretty new to Maschine and had a quick q. If you are solely using Maschine and the MIDI keyboard, then what is the purpose of the sound card? I'm just to using these for connecting Serato to my turntables, so what do they do here?

 

well if your internal soundcard can handle maschine with good enough latency like asio can, then if you don't plan on bringing any other sounds into maschine (samples from vinyl, keyboards, etc) then you don't "need" the soundcard.

Most use one because it gives better performance than the internal ones, and also allows you to get other audio into your computer...therefore into Maschine.

so no you don't "need" it if your internal soundcard works well with Maschine to your satisfaction

 

this is a good thread. i actually had the same exact questions. but i was also wondering would I be able to hook up my sp 303 to Maschine with the MIDI? im new to producing and got an sp at first but ended up getting the Maschine. I kinda hate havin my 303 just sitting there

 

So I just bought the maschine.

I haven't gotten any other accessories yet though as I want to make sure I'm getting the right stuff.

I will probably invest in a Numark USB Turntable, but does that plug into the audio interface or the computer when selecting input from the maschine as the turntable?

The audio interfaces I've been looking at don't have a USB input..do I need some kind of adapter?


I plan on getting KRK studio monitors in the near future as I have heard good things about them

 

usb turntable will plug into your computer and you should be able to choose it as the audio input in maschine when you want to sample from it.

 

I would warn you away from the USB turntables, as they tend to be cheaply made, and the quality of the audio you get from them is quite poor. Any thrift store will have better turntables (get new needles though) and a stereo with a phono input, and some kind of output, which you can then use as the input into your computer.

Audio interfaces do not have USB inputs, they are to convert analog inputs into digital data. Whereas the USB turntables are using that USB connection to push an audio signal that is converted with the hardware in the turntable housing (thus, the low quality of the audio you get on a cheap turntable, they use a cheap soundcard and cheap Analog/Digital converter).

An audio interface simply creates an Input for any audio software to see and use (and usually has outputs as well). The reason for this being external is that it gives you choice in what you need (ie no microphones? no guitar? get a cheaper RCA or 1/4" input only, stereo output interface). Some newer PCs have very nice sound cards in them because they can run HDMI video/audio. If you have one of those, just try using a setup like I mentioned above, but run your RCA outputs into a stereo minijack, and that should plug in to your "audio in" port on your PC, or get a phono preamp, and run a stereo minijack out of there. Or, go crazy and buy a turntable that has a built-in phono preamp (there are more and more all the time, take a look at www.turntablelab.com they have great reviews and their selection is only stuff they recommend).

Hope that helps a little.