Music Production Center

[Kody]

Anyone ever consider one of these. Rappers have been using these since the birth of rap. I'm not a rapper,lol!But, I've heard some of the beats kids are making on Youtube with these and I'm Impressed! This is the most modern/portable version. Roland also makes the SP-404, which basically does the same thing. I'm pretty sure you can multitrack with them. I'd like to play with one and see what they can really do!(Besides produce rap)  http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/Akai-Portable-Voice-Sampling-Sequencer-?sku=700344

[64Guitars]

A much cheaper (though less portable) option is the Korg nanoPAD ($60) or padKONTROL ($200) USB MIDI drum pad controller which triggers drums sounds through your computer using the included software.

[hewhoiscalledj]

i've thought about it. nothing wrong with experimenting with other beats to incorporate into my rock sound.

although personally, i think i would like to get my hands on an old Linn drum machine. I've been reading magazines like Mix and TapeOp and the Linn drum machine pops up as a very popular tool for beatmaking... in rock/pop and other genres. be nice to own a small piece of beatmaking history.

[64Guitars]

This looks like a nice controller for $300 US.

http://www.harmonycentral.com/blogs/News-Akai/2009/01/13/akai-pro-expands-mpk-keyboard-series-with-new-25-key-model

Although, I think I'd prefer the 49-key version for $100 more.

[Kody]

WoW! Speak of the devil.

I thought that was the MPK49 at first. Great... just what I needed- I've got serious GAS issues...

Yeah, here's a short video I found featuring the MPC500(and a microKorg)Its sounds like it's not recorded direct- because I've heard some videos have pristine audio quality, but this is pretty cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EkP9r9fHvA

[Kody]

You've probably seen this, but I had to mention that its only $179--Same thing? (as the new Akai) close enough.lol

[Kody]

I've always been a pretty simple musician.  Plug in guitar-plug in mic- play-sing.

But, with this damn internet- I get to see and here what alot of different people can do with all of this stuff. It's amazing- and now I want to do do it too- damnit.

[64Guitars]

Did you watch this demo of the padKONTROL at the Korg website?

http://www.korg.com/mediaplayer.aspx?md=1853&pd=414

What I like about the Korg is the X-Y pad and the way it can be used for rolls and flams, as demonstrated in the video. Pretty awesome for only $200. And even the $60 nanoPAD has that feature. But it seems to be missing in pad controllers from other manufacturers, so I don't know how you're supposed to do rolls, which are a pretty important drumming technique.

The only thing I don't like about the padKONTROL is the pink buttons. But I read somewhere that they look more red than pink on the actual unit (as opposed to the pictures on the web).

[Kody]

Yeah, I've actually seen that before. I watched it again though. That guy makes it look easy- I don't know..... I'd like to take the time to play with one of those. For some reason, the XY pad kind of turns me off. That's just me. Yeah, pink pads are for little girls.jk.

Another sampler that stands out to me is the Roland SP 404. I'm sure you've watched the video on Bossus.com so I won't post it, but if you haven't-oooh, it's pretty cool.  I could see myself finally being able to program backing tracks with one of those. Plus theres so much more you could do. Same with the padKONTROLs and MPCs. It's interesting.

I kind of want to stay away from being tied to the computer for one thing. But it's hard to say- they all have there pros and cons and I can't afford to have them all

[beleg]

A much cheaper (though less portable) option is the Korg nanoPAD ($60)

It will never happen, but how cool would it be if you could plug the nanoPAD into the BR and use it to program the drums? You would get the functionality of having a more robust recording tool, but the flexibility to still put a 4 track in your pocket and head to the park. I would buy that combo rather than one of the bigger BRs