Fruity Loops Studio Tutorial (**New** John Legend remake!)

I wasn't really able to learn how to use Reason, that's why I went back to Fruity Loops, and I don't think the quality in my tracks have been compromised in the least bit because of it

www.myspace.com/mmacbeats

check out my new Kweli Remix, both sampling and original and simple synth programing together.

haha ... damn, you got me to visit that godforesaken site Myspace.  Had to check this out; you're pretty much the only competition here (that I know of) in the field of synth programing :P.

It doesn't seem like I'm ever gonna get your media player to load up, though (I dunno if Myspace is just tricky about who's media players load up for me, or if it's a matter of how many songs you have in the player, or what, but it seems like only one out of every four or so band pages I check out actually work ... just one of the many reasons I hate that site).

Oh, and looking at that page reminds me to ask; I know some of y'all were talking about selling your beats back in the WAYLT thread; just curious how you guys go about shopping around your beats; just Myspace?  I really have no interest in selling my own beats, but I'm still curious anyways, plus I'm sure other people here might be interested too ...

I bought the Behringer UMX 49-Key MIDI Controller. I got Ableton Live Lite 4 for free. 2 things...

1. Does anybody here knows how to operate Ableton?
2. Ultimate-guitar.com is for guitars, What about for keyboards?

I wasn't really able to learn how to use Reason, that's why I went back to Fruity Loops, and I don't think the quality in my tracks have been compromised in the least bit because of it

www.myspace.com/mmacbeats

check out my new Kweli Remix, both sampling and original and simple synth programing together.

WorstGameEver

[QUOTE="WorstGameEver"]

I wasn't really able to learn how to use Reason, that's why I went back to Fruity Loops, and I don't think the quality in my tracks have been compromised in the least bit because of it

www.myspace.com/mmacbeats

check out my new Kweli Remix, both sampling and original and simple synth programing together.

Soul-Alabaster

yes, quite well actually, and go ahead and add me.

I bought the Behringer UMX 49-Key MIDI Controller. I got Ableton Live Lite 4 for free. 2 things...

1. Does anybody here knows how to operate Ableton?
2. Ultimate-guitar.com is for guitars, What about for keyboards?

Thug_Online

Ableton is really made for people who plan to also play their songs live; it's so built around it that if you don't plan to do it, I'm not sure it's really worth bothering with (though I have to say I'm still really interested in using it ...).  I don't really know any rap producers that use it, though ...

There are alot of good guitar tab sites; I've used mxtabs for about six years now.  There aren't really any good piano tab sites unfortunately, though.  Buying sheet music is pretty much the only option.

[QUOTE="Soul-Alabaster"][QUOTE="WorstGameEver"]

I wasn't really able to learn how to use Reason, that's why I went back to Fruity Loops, and I don't think the quality in my tracks have been compromised in the least bit because of it

www.myspace.com/mmacbeats

check out my new Kweli Remix, both sampling and original and simple synth programing together.

WorstGameEver

yes, quite well actually, and go ahead and add me.

[QUOTE="WorstGameEver"][QUOTE="Soul-Alabaster"][QUOTE="WorstGameEver"]

I wasn't really able to learn how to use Reason, that's why I went back to Fruity Loops, and I don't think the quality in my tracks have been compromised in the least bit because of it

www.myspace.com/mmacbeats

check out my new Kweli Remix, both sampling and original and simple synth programing together.

Soul-Alabaster

yes, quite well actually, and go ahead and add me.

I use fruity loops' mixer to EQ it and mix it...

[QUOTE="Soul-Alabaster"][QUOTE="WorstGameEver"][QUOTE="Soul-Alabaster"][QUOTE="WorstGameEver"]

I wasn't really able to learn how to use Reason, that's why I went back to Fruity Loops, and I don't think the quality in my tracks have been compromised in the least bit because of it

www.myspace.com/mmacbeats

check out my new Kweli Remix, both sampling and original and simple synth programing together.

WorstGameEver

yes, quite well actually, and go ahead and add me.

I use fruity loops' mixer to EQ it and mix it...

Well, my computer finally kicked the bucket for good a few weeks back ... so I won't be posting here much.

More than anything, what's killing me is not being able to use FL ... haha, I didn't realize how much I was hooked on that thing.  Luckily, though, a chance run-in with someone has introduced me to a guy who's collected synths all his life, and he might be borrowing me some of his synths, which should definetely tide me over for a minute ...

So, I don't really have any idea how long it'll be until I get a new computer, so if this thread gets too slow and it's just taking up space to y'all, feel free to unfloat it while I'm gone ...

For sure man, that was one of the first songs I ever learned to recreate (the chord progression in that song is still genius imo). But, like I said a couple posts up, my computer crashed completely a couple months ago, so I don't have any way of using FL at the moment (let alone doing a tutorial).  Once I get a new computer, though, I can definetely post a tutorial for that, though (I'm hoping to have a new computer by next month; it just depends how expensive I want to go - I'd ideally like to have something powerful enough to seamlessly run both the Sytrus synth and Camtasia Studio at the same time, because I really only want to do video tutorials from now on).

And speaking of tutorials, if I can get the video tutorial thing going on, I want to do a much revamped compression tutorial (I understand compression a lot better these days, and I think I can explain it in easier terms than any of the other tutorials I see out there), as well as a complete series of synth programming tutorials (that's what I've been doing with my time without FL to keep my occupied ... I met a guy who collects vintage synths, and I've been spending my time on Moogs, Prophets, DX7's, and all sorts of fun stuff). 

Thanks man.

I'll try to get that tutorial up as soon as I can.

In addition to that, I'm aiming to get up a tutorial on remaking John Legend's "Ordinary People" (just because so many people here seem to be interested in composing on the piano ... I've almost got the whole song perfected, and I just need to find a better acoustic grand sound to work with ... the one he uses in there has some really strange little subtle characteristics).  Plus, and I think alot of people here would dig this, I think I'm gonna be able to pull off a remake of Will.I.Am & Common's "I Have a Dream" ... especially if I can find an instrumental.

How do you master. My beats either come of with too much bass or just the samples sound weird or the drums are to loud and I can't tell until I put it on a cd since my speaker on my computer and my computer suck. They sound good on my comp but on a cd and big speakers it sounds badesb617

To do it in FL, link every channel on the sequencer to a channel on the Mixer (seperately, one by one, and do not accidentally link one to the Master channel).  Then, manipulate the sounds of each channel by using the various filters and effects on the mixer.

It can be a little tedious at times, but it makes a difference.  Do you already know how to basically use the mixer in FL?  If not, then it may be hard to use at first, but mostly it would be in your mind, most people look at it for the first time and psyche themselves out.

[QUOTE="esb617"]How do you master. My beats either come of with too much bass or just the samples sound weird or the drums are to loud and I can't tell until I put it on a cd since my speaker on my computer and my computer suck. They sound good on my comp but on a cd and big speakers it sounds badSunJian18

To do it in FL, link every channel on the sequencer to a channel on the Mixer (seperately, one by one, and do not accidentally link one to the Master channel). Then, manipulate the sounds of each channel by using the various filters and effects on the mixer.

It can be a little tedious at times, but it makes a difference. Do you already know how to basically use the mixer in FL? If not, then it may be hard to use at first, but mostly it would be in your mind, most people look at it for the first time and psyche themselves out.

Yo, ITI if you need instrumentals try this site http://officialinstrumentals.com/Beats.html it doesn't have I Have A Dream, but it has a bunch of ish...fat_rob

Thanks!  It so much easier to remake beats without the words in the way ...

I hope I can find an instrumental of that song, though ... there are some parts where the vocals drop out and Will just lets the beat play, but it's not at the right parts for me ...

[QUOTE="SunJian18"]

[QUOTE="esb617"]How do you master. My beats either come of with too much bass or just the samples sound weird or the drums are to loud and I can't tell until I put it on a cd since my speaker on my computer and my computer suck. They sound good on my comp but on a cd and big speakers it sounds badesb617

To do it in FL, link every channel on the sequencer to a channel on the Mixer (seperately, one by one, and do not accidentally link one to the Master channel). Then, manipulate the sounds of each channel by using the various filters and effects on the mixer.

It can be a little tedious at times, but it makes a difference. Do you already know how to basically use the mixer in FL? If not, then it may be hard to use at first, but mostly it would be in your mind, most people look at it for the first time and psyche themselves out.

Yeah, that's the same problem I always had ... my computer speakers were ... perhaps not as horrible as I make them out to sound, but still, they never quite gave a good indication of what the song would sound like on other speakers (which is why most of my mp3's I uploaded here probably had waaaaaaay too much bass on them).  So I usually had to burn a cd, run out to my car and see how it sounded on those speakers, then come back in the house and tweak the sounds a bit, and repeat that process until I was happy ... haha.  But towards the end of my computer's life span I was getting pretty good at figuring everything out just from knowledge ...

One last VERY important thing, though - when you change an instrument's volume, make sure you're changing it's volume, NOT it's amplitude (which is what you, by default, are changing in piano roll).  The two are very similar, but NOT the same thing.  Amplitude is essentially how "hard" you play an instrument (how hard you hit a drum, how hard you blow into a horn, etc.).  Of course if you play an instrument harder, it'll be louder, but if you play it really hard, you'll probably end up with distortion ... it took me FOREVER to realize that ...

And lastly ... GOD I need a new computer ... I'm dying here without FL.  Anyone care to kick me a grand or so ... please? :(

I've just been trying to make do with Music Generator on my PS1; I've been doing hella remakes, and I'm pressed for time, so I can't list them all, but when I get a new computer, you can also expect guides on recreating (damn near perfect recreations, if I do say so myself) 504 Boyz' "Wobble Wobble" (regardless of whether you want it, haha) and Chamillionaire's "Turn It Up" (which I'm kinda proud of, since I tried recreating it a year ago and completely failed), in addition to the previously requested Dre remake.

Also, I'm getting close to recreating the song on Game's album after "Let's Ride" (it's the other Stortch track ... I forget the name).  I'm gonna be pretty proud if I pull that off ... the song is a lot harder than I thought it'd be ...

Lastly, I never planned to sell beats; beat making is just a hobby for me, but I'm so good at southern beats these days (I could seriously remake that new Lil Scrappy song ("Oh Yeah") in two minutes), and there's just such a market for them, that I think I'm gonna do it ... it'd be an easy way for me to get the money I need for the tools I need to make the beats I really want to make ...

Anyways, keep an eye out for this thread when I get that new computer ... BIG things are coming ...

504 Boyz' "Wobble Wobble" (regardless of whether you want it, haha)

IsThisIt_basic

[QUOTE="IsThisIt_basic"]

504 Boyz' "Wobble Wobble" (regardless of whether you want it, haha)

Orlando_Magic

haha, either that song hasn't aged that badly, or most souther rap just hasn't changed that much in the past, what, five or so years, because that song sounds like it could come out now and be just as big.  God, I loved that song when it came out :oops:

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I have a perfect recreation of Ice Cube & Snoop Dogg's "Go To Church" ... not sure if I'll be posting a guide to that one or not, though.

Does anyone here have the Root's "Homegrown" cd's (they're like two best-of cd's).  If so, are the older songs (stuff from "Organix" and "Do You Want More ?!??!" remastered at all?  One of the projects I was just starting before my computer crashed was that I was gonna attempt to recreate the entire album of one of those two albums (minus the vocals and Rahzelle's beatboxing, of course).  But things have changed over the years, plus those two albums seem to have been made on a real low budget - what I'm saying is, my god is the bass mixed really bad on those records.  Which sucks because basslines are usually my starting place in recreating a song.  One of the only songs where the bass is really present is "Swept Away", which I figured out the bassline in like a minute, but then of course Scott Stortch drops one of his most complex riffs.  But in any case, I've got a decent acoustic bass sound, I have good, real sounding drums (I know someone (thugonline?) asked how to get real sounding drums ... I'll give you a list of some choices once I get this back up and running), and I have good emulations of all of Scott's keyboards he uses on there, so it's definetely a do-able project ... I just need better recordings of the songs ...

Finally, here's one I'm really excited about - I'm gonna show you all how to create your own 808 booms from scratch.  You can find 808 boom sounds just about anywhere these days, but the trend seems to be putting more and more kick drum in the sound as well ... which is fine for southern rap, I guess.  But a perfect example of what I'm talking about is Gangstar's "Step Into the Arena" album ... every track on that album uses that sound, and I'm gonna show you how to make it.  Why should you care?  Because really, now all you'd need to do is go to phatdrumloops, snag a drum loop and loop it, and then put and 808 boom on it and you have a very useable (if somewhat simple) beat.  I know there are a number of rappers here in OTB that are making beats, and if you want to make something quick to rap over, this is all you'd really need.

the 808 kicks are pretty useful, and are great if you use em rightWorstGameEver

the 808 kicks are pretty useful, and are great if you use em rightWorstGameEver

Oh yeah, they're fine for southern beats; they're in line with what most people are using these days, and I suppose you could just EQ off the top end to get the 808 boom sound on those Gangstarr records (since you don't really hear any kick in their 808's ... just the bass), but you can do alot more with them if you know how to create them yourself ...

Just so yall know, FL7 is out now.SunJian18

had it almost a month now, the new EQ is dope as hell.

[QUOTE="SunJian18"]Just so yall know, FL7 is out now.WorstGameEver

had it almost a month now, the new EQ is dope as hell.

Yeah, it does have some really nice new features, and the look is a little more polished as well.

Yo, how do you make your own syntheziser? Scuervo

I don't know, I don't mess with synths too much, but maybe WGE or ITI would know.

Yo, how do you make your own syntheziser? Scuervo

Are you talking about hardware or software synths?  (software synths meaning, like, a VST synth such as 3xOsc or SimSynth.)

If you mean soft synths, I got a bunch of recommendations, but I'm at work and I'll need to flip through some of my magazines to get the names (I didn't find out about them 'till after my computer crashed, so I've never tried any of them personally).   I'll get you some recommendations on that next time I'm on.

As for hardware synths, though ... there are definetely books on it, but that's not really my thing.  I don't mess with hardware synths too much, since pretty much all the important ones are available as VST's nowadays anyways.

Yo, how do you make your own syntheziser? Scuervo

Alright, here are my recommendations ... there are obviously other choices, but I think there would be the two main ones to concern yourself with:

Synthedit:  www.synthedit.com

This is sort of the original synth creation program ... therefore, it's pretty basic looking and maybe not so intuitive, but you can create your own synths and then export them as VST's ... which is all you really need.

Synthmaker:  www.synthmaker.co.uk/

This one just came out, but, personally, this is what I'd recommend ... you can not only create your own synths, but also effects plug-ins.  Best of all, though, it just looks completely intuitive, and you can create some really professional looking products.  And I think it retails for only like $150 (not bad, considering alot of even subtractive synths retail for $200+).

Still, using one of the programs really does assume that you know alot about programming synths already ... you should know the difference between sutractive, additive, FM, and other **** of synths (so you know what you want to build ...), know about oscillators, filters, and amp envelopes, etc.  And really, it's really only useful for non-subratctive synths, since pretty much anything you could want in a subtractive synth is already available - and probably for free.

However, I would like to buy synthmaker at some point and create a free synth for you guys to download and use in my tutorials ...

Well, I finally got a new computer, so this thread is back in business.  Obviously I want to get to work making beats for myself first, but my first order of business for this thread is gonna be to do that Dr Dre remake that was requested a while back (I'm not even sure if the dude still posts here, but oh well).  Also, even better, since this should be permanent computer, I plan to actually buy FL Studio this time around, so I plan to upload FL Studio Project Files for all the tutorials I do, so you can see exactly what I'm talking about in my tutorials (plus maybe add a new sound or two to your arsenal).  I need to look into the different pricing plans for FL, though ... really all I personally need is just a basic version, since I have better alternatives to all the synths anyways.  Anyways, enough talking for right now, I've got some Young Buck remakes to get back to ;).IsThisIt_basic

you've been doing remakes for a looong time, I think it's time we hear some exclusives man, maybe even some beat making competition.

haha, I feel you on that man.  I feel I'm getting just about to the point where I want to post up some original beats ... and of course I'll battle anyone that wants to battle.  I guess the only problem is that most people here are probably gonna come with sample-based beats; I can do those too, but I don't really dig for samples, so all I have is stuff people have already heard a million times ... I could easily come with some club beats, but obviously people here are gonna pick a sample based beat over a club beat ...

Well, I finally got a new computer, so this thread is back in business. Obviously I want to get to work making beats for myself first, but my first order of business for this thread is gonna be to do that Dr Dre remake that was requested a while back (I'm not even sure if the dude still posts here, but oh well). Also, even better, since this should be permanent computer, I plan to actually buy FL Studio this time around, so I plan to upload FL Studio Project Files for all the tutorials I do, so you can see exactly what I'm talking about in my tutorials (plus maybe add a new sound or two to your arsenal). I need to look into the different pricing plans for FL, though ... really all I personally need is just a basic version, since I have better alternatives to all the synths anyways. Anyways, enough talking for right now, I've got some Young Buck remakes to get back to ;).IsThisIt_basic

That dude is still here ;)

Nice to see you're having your new computer and are willing to post that Still Dre remake.

haha, I feel you on that man. I feel I'm getting just about to the point where I want to post up some original beats ... and of course I'll battle anyone that wants to battle. I guess the only problem is that most people here are probably gonna come with sample-based beats; I can do those too, but I don't really dig for samples, so all I have is stuff people have already heard a million times ... I could easily come with some club beats, but obviously people here are gonna pick a sample based beat over a club beat ...

IsThisIt_basic

I'll battle you in Club beats, I bet I can make better "hyphy beat" than you :P 

Alright WGE, I'm down for doing a beat battle (and ignore my rambling, really, just make whatever style beat you want ... I don't even know what style I'm gonna go yet).  It'll be a little while, though, because even though I have a computer now, I don't really have internet, so I can really only get online when I can bum wi-fi off of somebody ... plus, obviously, I have a ton of other beats I wanna get to right now.  But yeah, I'll let you know when, and we can set something up ... haha, this should be fun ...IsThisIt_basic

haha, yeah, I still haven't heard anything since those two mixtapes you posted up a while back.

I've gotten really strong in certain areas, but I'm still lacking in others, so I'm gonna need to try to just find a way to combine all those strengths into one beat ... either way, I also have to say that whatever I post definetely isn't gonna sound like anything I've posted here before (not that I really posted much original content, anyways ...).

Oh, and as for that Dre remake above, look forward to that this weekend or next weekend ... just a forewarning, though, this remake is easily going to sound the worst of any of the remakes I'll be posting now that I've got a new computer.  Why?  Well, I know all the notes to the song; that's not the problem.  It's just that, more than any other producer out there, Dre's sounds are so customized that finding sounds just like his are pretty near impossible (especially with this particular sound ... I've seen people arguing  for years over what instrument he uses for the chords in this song; nobody seems to be able to figure it out).  Still, you'll get to see how the song is made, and get something sounding reasonably like the original, so look forward to it :).