good? I dunnnno

Mr Jon Candi · Post by **Mr Jon Candi** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:22 am

I'm just getting into synths and making music..I've been messing around with fruity loops for almost a year now, but its so limited. I found Roland MC 505 Synth/sequ+Roland MC 50 MK2 for pretty cheap and I was wondering if they are good for someone who is just getting into it.

I'm leaning more towards techno/ house and hip hop beats.

I'm also wondering whats a good keyboard / synth to look into. spending limit is about $500 for the keys

ps. also How would I go about transfering music from all of this to my pc? memory cards / recorders / cables? I've heard cables would be hard since its only line in

square_bubblegum · Post by **square_bubblegum** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:34 am

I have a Roland D2, which have the same sound engine as the MC505. the difference between the 2 models is mostly the interface.
You get a large variety of sounds for all styles - from realistic drums and percs to TR-style, CR blips. classical instruments - good pianos, eps, organs, as well as a very wide range of basses, synths and fx. all sounds are filterable, LFOable, loads of effects, 1 drums track + 7 tracks + 8 RPS (real time sequence), that means if you push the limits you can play 16 tracks simultaneously!
plug a midi controller in it and you have a competitive sound module.
a very underrated machine in my opinion.

I find it very good for HipHop and House beats.
for Hip Hop, you might want also a sampler...

Mr Jon Candi · Post by **Mr Jon Candi** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:14 am

now a sampler...I havent looked into those to much...actually not at all haha. I've seen programs for the pc that are samplers...would that be better? I cant sample off of vinyl which is what I want cause my parents have carts and carts filled.

square_bubblegum · Post by **square_bubblegum** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:37 am

like you, after getting bored of fruityloops, I bought my first hardware machine, a D2, and happily used it as standalone for a few years before upgrading my gearlist. I think grooveboxes are a good start, and the 505 is a good machine.

If you are a total newbie, I would suggest you not to bother too much with a big list of gear. get a cheap groovebox and start making beats. take the time to learn how to play your gear, and push the limits to overcome the limitations, then you will find more clearly what you need.

crystalmsc · Post by **crystalmsc** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:55 am

Since you are just getting into synth, and still confuse about many basic things. imho rather than spending on separate instruments, which I suspect will cost more than a grand (2 MCs + $500kb + sampler +cables, etc..etc..) take a look at something like the Alesis Fusion. It can be bought for about $800 and will give what you mostly need to get down to business at no time, plus much more..