Producer Statik Selektah discusses his transition from DJ to producer, move from Boston to NY, and evolution from hardware to software based production.
I have a MPC, but it’s one of those coasters I was talking about it. It just sits there. I use everything in Pro Tools, I got a Motif. For real, I haven’t used the MPC since like ’06
…
Gotta love mpc though
i love this dude sound and to learn that he dont use no mpc?? thats crzy!!
I feel him…
But I hate when guys in a influential position say sh*t like that in public though…
it gives the software geeks ammo to run their mouth and continue tryin to sh*t on hardware…
and dilla was using protools like that for YEARS…same with RZA…
nothing new…
hes just saying the truth…
my thing is i use all of that: mpc, reason, garageband (yup. perfect for when i’m on the road)… whatever i have access to, i use. plus, the way i work, sometimes i’ll feel more comfortable chopping up a sample on the mpc than with recycle. or i may start a song on the mpc, dump that in garageband, mess with it, add synths, keys, etc. get to the crib, drop it in recycle, chop it up again and add it to reason. he’s playing himself calling the mpc a coaster. he may have moved on, but that’s it. evolution is always good. but with music, you’re always living in your rearview mirror…
I agree wit ya Kurt. I use everything. Software and hardware. I learned to use as much as possible because it keeps my creation growing and my interest peaking as I can jump from Pro Tools to Reason, FL Studio, and more recently Cubase. That’s jus the software side. I still use my MPC whether midi or audio cuz I get that swing and drum syncopation from it that keeps the tracks swingin. But honestly I switch it up. I learned to sample jus as deadly in my Fantom X6 lol. It’s really limitless. Jus gotta cook up the heat. I’ll make a beat wit 2 sticks and somebody’s mama’s bottom lip my dude!
Production 4 Life!
He said that he uses Reason with PT or not?
I love the MPC. I hate that these guys are giving up on the mp. All things must end though. I just don’t want to give mine up.
even though i quit using the mp the lessons i learned from it are invaluable to what i do today i think every producer that wants to do hip hopesque tracks should start out on one but time is money and reason and pt just streamline workflow
I tried making a beat the other day on an MPC and all it did was remind me why I sold it. I still bang pads.. But I think you fail to understand…
When Ableton Loads. It starts with CUSTOM PRESET SETTINGS. A 4 preset synths. a 909 kit, an 808 kit, Aftermath kit , Chamillionare kit , Jay-Z kit, and a Pete rock kit. At the press of a button, I am playing any of those sounds on my pads. i tried to count and its over 30 different snares, 26 different kicks, 15 different cymbals 24 different hi-hats and a shit ton of sounds. ..
Thats all on my screen after the program starts. I can also set it to load my favorite VSTs… That means if I hear a sample I like or in the part of a song. I can crank out the beat with in 10 minutes. No zip drives.
I can sample right into the program, and view it while I am sampling, transpose, change key, or tempo. on the fly.
I respect the MPC just like I respect Thomas Edison, but its time to move onto LED. More energy efficiency, Speed, and less time consuming. The MPC is a status symbol.
Its like comparing PS3 or XBOX 360 to ATARI 2600 or Intellevision.
ABLETON LIVE IS IT!
“4 preset synths. a 909 kit, an 808 kit, Aftermath kit , Chamillionare kit , Jay-Z kit, and a Pete rock kit. At the press of a button, I am playing any of those sounds on my pads”
LOL ! listen 2 this clown!
“I respect the MPC just like I respect Thomas Edison”
GTFOH! You know how dumb you sound?
you think your gonna GAIN respect by using jacked drums and cheesy presets on a program that does everything for you?
LOFL!!
when you DONT sell, or you sound like everybody else, or you DONT make any progress outside of your small cirlce, dont wonder why man seriously…
your acting like this production thing is in the bag for you cause you got ableton live! lol @ u!
talk about boxing yourself in SMH and your proud about it!
you and every other microwave producer who goes around using other peoples drums got alot of nerve yo, you need to be paying better attention on creativity! go watch that fred wreck vid and tell me what you see….
how could you even be into hip hop and WANT TO sh*t on ANY analog drum machine, especially when software is dying to emulate analog tape saturation and warmth now? lol…
This is what happens when you give cats with no respect for the culture some 1-2-3 software with everybody elses sounds in it, they think nothing else matters anymore and you start tearing down history for your sorry ass tracks…
Word dont ever talk shit about my MP!I use software sometimes too but i wouldn’t wipe my leather cheerio wit no Chamillionaire drums!LOLKits like that jus get mangled and personalized by me in my MPC!Observe the rules of the culture!NO BITIN!
I think there is something to say for both ways of working, yes workflow is better on ableton but my hardware homestudio setup will not sound like the other 1.000.000 people using ableton. Of course there are people who will make dope things i ableton but most users are preset skippers with preset drums. Nothing great will come from that imho.
LOL my point exactly!
You cant beat an MPC for chopping up samples and sequencing those chops. Software is obviously a better option for making your own compositons.
I personally use both. Depends on my mood.
I would never ever get rid of my MPC because chopping up samples and making beats on one is just too much fun.
I make sampled beats so I like to use software to just add the finishing touches.
Ace Fadal February 9, 2010 at 11:00 pm:
“Aftermath kit , Chamillionare kit , Jay-Z kit, and a Pete rock kit. ”
????????!!
Ace Fadal February 9, 2010 at 11:00 pm
” Its like comparing PS3 or XBOX 360 to ATARI 2600 or Intellevision. ”
No it ain’t. Thats a really shit analogy.
Yo.! To each his own. I thought long an hard about that analogy.. that hurts yo..lol.
I do know that I got a link to my beats. I ain’t afraid of critics either.
All I use is Ableton. How about this. Vinyl is to MPC as Serato is to Ableton. Think Traveling and doing Live Shows? I know I can DJ and smash pads on stage with Ableton. Seamlessly with my crew… With my whole set loaded on screen. Triggered by any MIDI controller (USB) and room for VSTs and Kits to perform Live improv shit, With out a doubt, what the people want to see. Grant it. I live watching Kev Brow, Sample and Chop, but I was sitting back imagining what it would be like if he was using ableton. Cycling different .mp3’s in his library via ableton. choosing that sample and copping it….ALL On the FLY. Its “Live” shit.. Girls panties have gotten wet watching me chop a beat on stage in real time, and other producers/beatsmiths always got mad questions after shows… Saying How You can’t do that on an MPC. Whatever.
All this was made in, engineered in, recorded in, and mastered in ABLETON.
Still learning…
http://crushproofstudio.bandcamp.com/
Respect and Peace!
I like how you responded to their comments, not in a neurotic zealot manner, but common sense. You wasn’t shitting on hardware (well…Atari was reaching) but you was speaking the truth about the streamlined effectiveness of Ableton and Serato etc. Not gonna speak much further on that but a fine rebuttal nonetheless.
BB$ Workshop
Sooo if everybody on here makes beats why dont we have a something on here where we download a sound packet and with basic drum kick snr hat and you can do whatever after that (and im not talking about in a forum or something those never seem to work out and not a beat battle those suck online too) just where we can upload get some feedback and everybody could vote or semantick pick the one he likes and they get their own post on the site im sure it would increase traffic.
Disclaimer: i dont want to step on anyones toes this isnt my site obviously its just an idea cuz these endless debates about software and hardware are fcking ass .
lol it’s all opinion, though. i think it’s a matter of the end result. you could make b.s. with the mpc the same as you can make b.s. with ableton, reason, logic, etc. it’s a matter of how you hook it up and produce…
to each his own. whatever you can make your stuff bang on is what you should use no matter who co-signs for it. imo
“Girls panties have gotten wet watching me chop a beat on stage in real time”
haha, you’re an idiot, straight up.
“To each his own” is the way I look at the whole situation for real. If I was a kat making beats since forever using hardware it might be cool to experiment with new technology to add some icing on the cake. Beat making wise is like being a chef. If I’m trying to make a dish I want to make it from scratch with the best ingredients possible, so if it takes me longer cuz I need to prep and get it all together 9-10 it’s gonna taste better. Analog equipment still has it’s place in music because it’s meant to be HEARD to be made, not SEEN. Without analog we wouldn’t have feedback, reverb, dissonance etc. These “mistakes” created new possibilities and streched the boundaries of creation further.
On a personal note I would never use a Aftermath,Jay-z,Chamillionare kit. I think at some point things will go back to the roots.