One thing that you should realize is that there are quite a few beat makers out there that only target people that are brand new to making music and because of this fact they will not give you enough features to allow flexibility and uniqueness. If you really want to get to a point where you are able to make some money selling your beats and songs make sure you get a good piece of software that have the advanced feature and quality you need to stand out from the crowd.

Here are 3 things you SHOULD consider when buying a beat maker:

1.       Make sure is that the beat maker you pick  features uncompressed .wav files or aiff files as this allows you to retain studio quality and will make a big difference when you export and upload your song.

Make sure you get a beat maker that uses 44.1 stereo 16 bit master .wav files so that NO quality in sound is lost. If the beat maker uses compressed mp3 files as the basic elements in the beats, the final result will sound grainy and lifeless because most times you will go through another mp3 conversion when you mix your finished beat and send it out.

Since it is now the norm to make and distribute mp3 files from the original mix, if you start with using mp3 files as your source, the final mix will sound just plain bad, with low sample rates, no bass and cut highs!

So make sure that you get a beat maker that uses a minimum of 44.1 stereo 16 bit .wav files!

2.       Also make sure that you pick a beat maker that can create more than ONE bar of music at a time. If you just create one single bar lasting only a few seconds and keep looping that same bar, you will end up with a very boring beat no matter how exciting that one bar sounds. No one wants to pay for a beat that is only one bar. Get a beat maker that allows you to create 8-16 bars at least and you are already ahead of most other beat makers.

3.       Once you start to get into making your own beats using a beat maker you want to make sure you are able to expand with more sounds. Get a beat maker that allow you to use your own sounds and that can also be expanded with new library sounds. No matter how exciting the stock sounds are to you now, at some point they will get boring and you will find it harder to make fresh beats. Adding new sounds is the cure for lack of creativity. All in all, this will make your beats sound unique and is an awesome feature to have to make sure that your tunes never start sounding stale!

Which Beat Maker Should You Get?

Most beat makers with enough features and great sound quality will set you back at least a few hundred dollars. I love the Machine from Native Instrument. It’s a great piece of hardware and software that will give you unlimited possibilities. Unfortunately for most beginners it can be difficult to master and it is expensive. About 500 dollars.

DubTurbo

A few days ago I came across another option. A sweet little beat maker that have most of the features you need. It’s a brand new version and very cool. DubTurbo 2.0 is a very simple and easy beat maker to use for both beginners and more advanced producers thanks to it’s upgrades capabilities. Right now you can get the main program on sale for about 40 dollars and it can be upgraded with more sounds as you go along. That’s a real bargain for what you get. Of course it is not at the same level as the Machine from Native Instruments but it’s a great Beat Maker for beginners. And with more sounds and updates being added all the time, the possibilities are almost endless.

To learn more about DubTurbo, check out the new features in this VIDEO

PS: I heard that since they recently released their latest version 2.0, they are offering special deals on upgrades for a limited time only. Don’t miss out on those.

Grab your copy of DubTurbo HERE….

You can have the perfect recording, but if you can’t hear how it will translate to other systems, because you got crappy monitor speakers, you are not going to get a great mix.

So a quality pair of studio monitors is a must. But don’t get caught up in those huge monitor speakers with 12 – 15 inch bass. Sure they sound great in the store, because they have sound proofed the room, but at home without sound proofing it’s going to mess up your sound. The bass will bounce off your walls and ceilings, even with curtains and carpets installed. You need proper bass traps and measuring the room, adjusting with Eq to be able to handle deep frequencies well.

So unless you are prepared to do that, I suggest going with a small pair of good quality studio speakers. 90% of the time spend on mixing you will be focusing on the mid frequencies anyway. When you occasionally need to check the low frequency of the mix, use a good pair of headphones instead. Headphones can playback the low frequencies without problems.

But remember, don’t mix your entire mix using headphones only. They don’t translate well compared to when playing on speakers. The stereo perspective and depth is different on headphones, so you might end up with a mix that sounds great on headphones but dull on most monitor speakers. A combination of both is the best solution by far.

Happy mixing.

Johnny Jam

I suggest using a tube microphone to capture the broad frequency contained in a vocal performance. Or if your budget is small a condeser mic like the AT2020 can do the trick. You can find great microphones at awesome prices here.

The most important thing is to make sure the room you are recording in is not too live, meaning the refelxtions from the walls and celing are not affecting the sound too much. Hanging up some heavy curtains on the walls and put a carpet on the floor will usually do the trick.

To avoid pops when recording, use a pop filter in front of the mike. You can even get some that will connect to your mike stand for cheap. Check out the great selection here.

Good luck with you recording session.

Johnny Jam