1. Apple Garage Band
Comes free with ever new Apple computer as a part of the ILIFE suite of software. The software is very easy to get started with. A year down the road when you feel you have out grown the potential of the program you can move up to Logic Studio and all you session will still work. (Mac Only)

2. Digidesign Protools
The industry standard for recording. The most recnt version has mad huge improvments to its MIDI and production side. Protools is great for audio editing, recording and mixing. The biggest drawbck to protools is that it is heavy on your computers brain power. The proffesional Protools systems use expensive add on cards to your computer that prevent this and add tons of power. The pro systems are also very expensive. (Mac and PC)

3. Steinberg Cubase
Cubase is an excellent software program for recording and beat making on both the PC or Mac. Like Logic, Protools, Sonar and Performer it includes every thing you need to get started out of the box. The program has been around for many years and is consistently updated with new features. The endless features might seem a bit overwhelming at first but as your production technique grows the many optoins will begin to become more useful. (Mac and PC)

4. Apple Logic Studio or Logic Express
Logic Studio is a suite of production tools including, effects, instruments, and a massive sound library of over 40GB. It also includes all the add on goodies for Garage Band. Logic has long been a standard for producers and composers working in television and film. The Studio package also comes with Wave Burner, a standalone program for mastering you music. (Mac Only)

5. Image Line FL Studio aka Fruity Loops.
Fruity Loops was a program once laughed upon by proffesionals in the music industry. 9th Wonder’s use of Frutiy Loops to make a beat for Jay-Z’s black album quickly changed how people felt about it. The program containts everything you need to start making beats. Since its start it has grown huge in the online communities of up and coming producers especially genres like hip hop and reggaetone. (PC Only)

http://flstudio.image-line.com/

6. Motu Digital Performer
Digital Performer is mac only competitor to Logic and Cubase. Performer is very popular among composers and audio program gradutes from the 90′s. The program includes all the effects, and instruments needed to create your music from beat making to mix. The greatest benifit of Performer is that is made by MOTU . MOTU is a leading creator of soundcards and audio recording hardware. This combination offers great compatibilty with devices and less hardware trouble shooting. (Mac Only)

7. Propellerheads Reason
Reason is a standalone program for beat making that you can connect to other programs like Protools, Logic or Cubase. Reason comes loaded with sounds and effects that work very similar to hardware works. With its customizable setup you can flip the screen and move wires around just like you were in your big studio. A Limited feature version of Reason is also included when you buy any Protools package. (Mac and PC)

8. Cakewalk Sonar
Sonar is PC only competitor to Cubase, Logic and Performer. The program is very popular becasue of the included effects and instruments for production, mixing and mastering. (PC Only)

I have personally been using both Digidesign Protools and Logic in my studio for 8 years. Protools I use only for recording and editing. Logic I use for production and mixing.

Red Bull And Vodka song by Seldom Seen Prod. GNX Music from gnxmusic on Vimeo.

The Redbull and Vodka song featuring Seldom Seen was produced, recorded and mixed by GNX Music. This quick video was shot with 1 inexpensive minDV camera and edited using Apple’s Final Cut Express editing program. The video was shot at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, NY. Other artists performing that night were Renee Stakey, and Akon artist Colby O’Donis. A video of Renee Stakey, also a GNX Music client will be up soon aswell.

Once you get your sequencer going and got some sounds together its beat making time. How you do this will depend on what your using of courses when it comes to recording and programming this is a good method to follow.

1. Program some drums or get a sample drum loop going.
2 . Get a main melody or hook idea. This could be a melody you program or play if you have a keyboard. It could also be another sample or combination of samples.
3. Keep building your ideas making sure to put each idea on a separate track so you can sort trough them and mix them later.
4. Once your happy with your beat make a simple arrangement of it by muting or turning of certain parts off at certain parts of the beat to create things like breaks, intro and more.
5. Use your sequencers mixer functions to get an overall balanced sound of all the instruments in the entire track.
6 . Sell your beat to Jay-Z and become famous!

How long should my beat be?

Your main loop of your beat should be as long as you like. Many producers use loops that are 2,4, and 8 bars long and just repeat the loop muting certain parts to keep the track interesting. You can also add things to your main beat during different parts of your song to follow along the rapper or singers lyrics and flow. One thing you should keep in mind though is that hooks to most songs are 4 or 8 bars and most verses are 8, 16, 24 bars. Usually the more pop oriented a song the shorter the verses are. Example a Britney Spears or R. Kelly verse might be 8 bars and Jada Kiss or Mobb Deep verse might be 24. You are the one making the beat though so you can do what ever you want.

Using a keyboard or other midi controller with your sequencer.

At some point you’ll realize that programming beats with a mouse on your computer is not fun at all. This is when your equipment set up starts to grow. By adding a MIDI keyboard to your computer you can trigger the sounds in your computers sampler playback instrument or internal sound modules.

To do this you will need a few things:
MIDI Keybaord or controller.
MIDI Interface
The necessary wires to connect everything.

You can purchase a MIDI Interface and Midi Keyboard or controller separately or you can buy a device that has both combined. Some really good MIDI contoller keyboards to start out with are made by a company called:

M-Audio

Many of their MIDI controller keyboard feature USB ready MIDI interfaces and are easy to install and setup. They also sell models that have USB sound cards built in aswell. As with any thing else you have to see what wht works best with the equipment you are using. AKAI MPC users do not need a MIDI interface, a MIDI keyboard can connect directly to the MPC.

From this point on how you make your beats will depending on what you are using to make them. Sequencers like Reason, Fruity loops, and the Triton and Phantom series workstations al have loads of sounds in them to start. Others like Logic, Cubase, Performer and Sonar have some sounds standard but really excel as sequencers and recording. The Akai MPC must have sounds loaded into them.

The workstations like the Korg Triton and Roland Phantom feature hundreds and even thousands of sounds, ranging from drums to guitars, strings and anything else you can imagine. That’s is because they are not only sequencers they are also have what are called sound modules built in to them. Sound modules can also be bought by themselves as stand alone units so you can add more sounds to your setup as it grows.

There is also another device that it used for sounds. Its called the sampler. The Akai MPC series is one of the best samplers on the market. Samplers are used to record sounds and make them playable by you in your sequences so you can add them to your beats. Sampled sounds can be loops, drum hits, or realist instrument sounds like guitars or pianos.

Many of the computer based sequencers also have devices or virtual instruments to playback samples. They work similar to a sound module. The biggest difference between a sound module and a sample playback instrument is the sounds of course. With a sound module you are limited to the internal sounds provide by the manufacturer. Although you can edit them you can not take them out and put new sounds in. A sampler or sample playback instrument will play only what you put into it. Fruity Loops can use an add on device or plugin called the Sound font player and also can trigger samples other ways. Logic uses a plugin called the EXSmk II. Cubase, Resaon and Performer also have their own versions of these sample playback instruments. The Triton and Phantom also have samplers built into them as well.

I Have a sampler where can I get sounds for it?

If you have a sampler like the Akai MPC you can make all the sounds you want your self all you have to do is hook up a turntable or cd player to it and record all the sounds you want. You must be careful though because of copyright laws. If you use a beat, loop or recognizable sound from a CD or record you will have to clear it with the record company that owns it or risk being sued when your record hits #1 on the billboard charts. (Note; I am in no way offering legal advice, you can be sued long before that! ) But sampling and legal issues is a whole other article. When in doubt don’t get nervous until your getting paid for it.

For those of you that you are using a sample playback instrument instead you can also create your own sounds also but it will be a little trickier to record and program them for your sampler.

Don’t get discouraged though you cal always download free sounds from the internet and buy sounds that are already programmed for your sampler. Most producers use a combination of bought sounds and custom sounds they have created them selves.

Samples come in a large variety of formats and this is where things can get complicated. The format that your sounds plays depends on the compatibility of your sampler.

Where can I buy sounds from?

If your on a budget and looking for killer drum sounds the GNX Music Step Ya Game Up Vol. 1 CD-Rom is a good start. The CD has 500 drum sounds sampled from some of the hottest records in the game. It also comes in a variety of formats so it is compatible with most samplers.

Check out the CD here for more info:

GNX Music Sounds

There are also many other places that sell sounds such as :

Big Fish Audio (USA) – http://www.bigfishaudio.com/4DCGI/index.html
Time Space (Europe) – http://www.timespace.com/
Crypton Future Media (Japan) – http://www.crypton.co.jp/jp/ep/mp

You need a few basic things.

1. Sequencer
2. Sounds
Great optional extras:
3. A Keyboard (piano keyboard not the computer one)
4. Speakers or headphones so you can hear your beats.

What is a sequencer?

A sequencer is a program that records and plays back your ideas in separate parts. You need a sequencer because beats and instrumentals can have a lot of sounds in them. It would be impossible to play back every sounds in a beat by yourself. A sequencer is also used to hold your beats and ideas so you can hear them and play them later for other people or put them on CD.

Some sequencers are standalone devices, others are part of complete workstations and are combined with sounds, keyboards and other things like effects. Which sequencer you use will depend on many things: Budget, Preference, Production Style and much more.

Recommended Standalone Sequencers and Workstations:

AKAI MPC 1000
AKAI MPC 2000
AKAI MPC 4000
KORK TRITON Series
ROLAND PHANTOM Series

Recommended Computer Based Sequencers:
PC/ Windows compatible Computers

Fruity Loops
Cubase SL, SX
Sonar
Protools
Reason

For Macintosh Computers

Cubase SL, SX
Digital Performer
Garage Band
Logic Express
Logic Pro
Protools
Reason

There are others also but these are the most commonly used so tons of help and resources are available on the internet for them.

There are so many sequencers which one do you recommend?

Which one you decide to get is up to you.If you are new to producing and do not like computers I would suggest the Korg Trtion because it is very simple to use.

If you are a musician and want to be able to play a lot of parts and see the written music I would suggest something like Logic, Or Cubase.

If your are a DJ or would like to make your beats mostly from samples the MPC will one of your best options. Fruity Loops is also a good alternative in the meantime till you can get somethink like an MPC.

Can I record vocals and my voice into the sequencer when I am done with my beat so I can make a finished song?

With some sequencers you can. Computer based programs like Protools, Logic, Cubase, Sonar and Digital Performer are perfect for this. With the MPC 2000, Reason and Fruity loops you can not really do this. (Note this may change as new versions are released so please check the website of the manufacturer.)

This is what you need:

Turntable
DJ Mixer
Computer/ Soundcard an Recording program.
All the wires to make it happen.

If your Turntable isn’t set up already it should be plugged into the Phono Input of your DJ Mixer. Make sure you connect the ground wire from the turntable to the DJ Mixer also. This will help prevent buzz and hum.

Once you have the Turntable hooked up to the DJ mixer connect the Rec. Outs LR from the DJ Mixer to the inputs of your soundcard. The type of wires your need to do this will vary depending on your setup. When you connect the out put of your Dj mixer to your soundcard you should make sure your using the Line input of your soundcard and not the Mic Input. Depending on your soundcard there may be a switch to choose which input level you are using.

The next part really depends on what program you use to record. Good programs to use for this kind of recording are Protools, Cool Edit. Adobe Audition, Peak ect. Which ever one you choose jsut be sure not to let record the material too hot. You dont want it to distort.

First they get organized… You want to make sure the tracks that are going to be mixed are laid out across the board (analog or virtual) in an organized way. What does this mean? This means putting all the kicks together, drums ect… across the board. There is a pretty much standard order though at least for the drums and such.. If you were starting from Channel 1 on your mixer it might look something like this

Channel 1 – Kick 1
Channel 2 – Kick 2
Channel 3 – Snare Top
Channel 4 – Snare Bottom
Channel 5 – Hi Hat
Channel 6 – Tom 1
And So on.

Its important to get everything organized an together so this way you can look at sounds as individual sounds or a group of sounds working together. You wouldn’t want to be working on a mix wasting time scrolling back and forth across your window because you had one kick on Ch 1 and another Kick on Ch 23. It is very hard to get a visual representation of something your trying to blend when you get look at both levels the same time cause the faders at opposite sides of the screen or console.
Many people set up their mixes differently but like sounds or instrument families are always together. The same with FX and so forth as well. As a General rule FX are usually on the far right of the console.
Once your set up is better organized their are two ways of working.

The first on would be going through and soloing each sound by it self, then eqing, processing ect. till it sounds good. Then eventually trying to blend the sounds together after that. The down side to that is that a sound that sounds good soloed might not sound good with another sound playing at the same time.

The second would be working on the over all blend right from the beginning trying to make everything fits sonically, soling and eq ing and balancing till everything fits.

After a general balance and placement of things is together the automation gets turned on to bring certain parts out at different times in the mix and so forth. At this point Channels would also be automated to mute as when they are not playing. The same would go for FX. This is an important step on an analog board (unless you can use alot of gates) because the background noise from all the channels eventually adds up.

One automation is done… You listen to the mix and make sure you like it.
Then you record it to DAT, Bounce it.. what ever.

Last but not least you would make sure you notated everything you did incase you need to bring the mix up to make changes.. If your using only a program your pretty much covered by saving.. If you’re working in an analog environment you d have to right everything down on forms and diagrams called Recall sheets..

And just to give you an idea this whole process can take anywhere from 2 hours to a week. Depending on the amount of tracks, the artist, record labels suggestions and 2 hundred other variables. The good mix engineers usually pace them self at about a mix a day though. ( 8 to 16 hours a song )

A/B ing or comparing two sources is the best way to improve your mixes. Listening to tracks that sound good to you is a very good way to help you get your sound together.
What I suggest is taking 3 or 4 songs or that sound banging everywhere you play them and learning the sound of them inside and out, like he said listening to ever detail. Panning , Levels, Delays, Reverb and other things. It’s also good to do this because eventually you’ll be working in all kinds of rooms with different speaker systems. Having a recording or album that you know the sounds of will help you learn each room you work in. For example Your favorite track might sound great in your car or an ideal mixing environment but might sound funny at your girls house cause she has got one speaker in the corner with a chair in in front of it. At this point you would know well its not the mix that sound bad its the room or the speakers. The same things would go for one of your mixes. If your in a studio working on your mix and it sounds like shit and then you compare your favorite track in the same environment. If it sounds good… your mix sucks… if it sounds bad it could be the room making everything sound like crap.

Also listen to other kinds of music then just hip hop when your trying to find good quality mixes…
Here are some of the CDS i listen to that have insane mixes… Grab one of these tracks and dont listen to the music. listen to the mix…

Biggie’s Life After Death
Eminems’s The Eminem Show
Maddona’s Ray A Light
( I have listened to this more than a hundered times and everytime i hear something new in it… The mixes on that album are insane)
Staind’s Break The Cycle or anything mixed by Engineer Andy Wallace
Mariah Carey/ Boys To Men – One Sweet Day – a crazy mix with tons and tons of vocals.

There tons of albums with good mixes but those are some of the ones I use and i know in and out.

Bottom line is you need to give your ears a benchmark to what good sounds like. This way if it doesn’t sound like that at least you’ll know to keep on trying.

Mixing to say the least takes along time to learn how to do. Just keep at it.

[dewplayer:http://gnxmusic.com/remixes/So_Sick_GNX_Remix_Ne_Yo.mp3]
Note: PC Users having trouble. Right Click and Save Target As
Macintosh users can also use Right Click and Download Link to Disk or Open in Itunes