Aiiight. Studio Post time. I be telling cats "I got a state of the art studio" and then they come over and be like "WTF? This place sounds good??" and I laugh cause they dont know equipment. So..Ima go thru and break it down. Prolly be real informative for cats who wanna start recording at home but may not know how to proceed. First off...I came into the game as an MC. Years later I got into beats cause i didnt like the beats that were being produced for me. After copping my first equipment (akai s900...sp1200) I became a "gearslut" and ultimately an engineer as well.
Pic #1 is Producer extraordinaire, beer connoisseur, and resident hater, E tha 5th. E still rocks the SP1200 (the tried and true hip hop machine. freaked into hip hop history by marley, ced, pete, large pro, diamond, buckwild, beatminerz, etc etc) along with a s2800. "Dusty but digital" is how he calls it.
Pic #1 is Producer extraordinaire, beer connoisseur, and resident hater, E tha 5th. E still rocks the SP1200 (the tried and true hip hop machine. freaked into hip hop history by marley, ced, pete, large pro, diamond, buckwild, beatminerz, etc etc) along with a s2800. "Dusty but digital" is how he calls it.
Pic#2 is the heart of the studio (besides my bomb ass super computer) and I aint talking bout the MOTU 828. The UA2192 is a master audio interface super high quality a/d d/a (analog 2 digital, digital 2 analog) converter. Namely...all sounds we hear are vibrations and these vibrations are analog in nature. Computers only know 0s and 1s...so when recording audio digitally, the analog energy must be "converted" to digital. Now the 828 can accomplish the task albeit at a "prosumer" level of quality. The 2192 is a piece you might find in say Bruce Swedien studio (engineer for Thriller!). The audio also comes out the computer digitally and before going to monitors must be converted back. The 2192 makes sure what you are hearing is pure and accurate for proper mixing.
Pic#3 is my MPC2000xl. Loaded out with SMPTE, effects, card reader etc. The MPC is basically the sound of hip hop and r&b throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Some have began to move away from it, but most big boys still swear by it.
Pic#4 are the mackie hr824 active monitors. These are not the best and not the worst speakers you can buy. Alot of ppl skimp on speakers which is extremely shortsighted because the speakers are the only thing in the studio you can actually hear. Its very important to "hear" what you are doing when talking bout music...seriously.
Pic#4 are the mackie hr824 active monitors. These are not the best and not the worst speakers you can buy. Alot of ppl skimp on speakers which is extremely shortsighted because the speakers are the only thing in the studio you can actually hear. Its very important to "hear" what you are doing when talking bout music...seriously.
Pic#5 is the record, turntable and hardly used equipment section (see asr-x and emu planet phatt keyboard...YUCK...some nice bass sounds though). Anybody who is in the know, knows a hip hop producer is only as good as his records will allow him to be. All of these crated records are "BREAKS". Most of my joints are in storage. But..if you couldnt make beats with what i got here....you gotta quit the game! The ASR-x is a nice sounding sampler (i think the engine is better than the MPC 2000xl but...the sequencer aint so..I rocks the MP).
Pic#6 are my K701 headphones. These are the best headphopnes I have ever heard. They are open designed so you cant wear them while tracking vox but for monitoring/checking mixes they are unparalleled. Because my studio is in my living room and is not an acoustically treated space there are all kinds of refelctions and stuff that color the sound. i use these to check bass, reverb etc on the mixes.
Pic#6 are my K701 headphones. These are the best headphopnes I have ever heard. They are open designed so you cant wear them while tracking vox but for monitoring/checking mixes they are unparalleled. Because my studio is in my living room and is not an acoustically treated space there are all kinds of refelctions and stuff that color the sound. i use these to check bass, reverb etc on the mixes.
Pic #7 are the mic preamp and compressor, a Great River me-1nv and empirical labs distressor respectively. I cant stress how important a good preamp is. You can get a workable compressor cheaper than the Distressor (RNC 1773; dbx 160 series come to mind) but it dont pay to skimp on the Preamp!!! Trust me!
Pic#8 is my Shure SM7b dynamic mic. Alot of ppl new to recording run out and buy condensor mics which are clearer..more sensitive. BUT...when recording in an apartment in a non isolated booth you pick up room reflections, trucks driving by...etc and a dynamic will minimize room noise. They also just sound good on hip hop to me. I also have a condensor but it hasnt been getting much use lately. Oh and did i mention...mike jack used yes this $350 mic on Thriller!!! (through a neve preamp tho)
**Things you dont see...my ears :) (MOST important studio instrument of all). The rain recording 2.4khz dual core 4GB ram computer, waves SSL/Native/Renaissance maxx plugins....etc
Heres some stuff done right here in that lil' (but expensive) spot. They were mixed by professionals (mixmaster cus and superstar dave dar) though! enjoy...and get at us if you need beats/studio time in NYC area!!!!
Howard Lloyd feat. Just Divine: Every Word
Sputnik Brown: The Brownout (produced by E tha 5th...no download this aint out yet!!!!October!!!!!!)
DCNY: Soul Brother in two parts (beat 1 h lloyd; beat 2 e tha 5th)
1 comment:
Ooooohhhh...OK. Wow. I see.
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