mighty hungry.

von's new joint(s)

donwill's new joint(s)

elzhi's new joint

t3's new joint

50 cent's next joint

i'm going to get a new laptop.

i'm thinking that i'll run soft synths & FLstudio with Battery 3 primarily off this machine.
it will also double as my "dj" laptop when i try to go for some small gigs by this summer. once i get a suitable midi controller (here) i'll try to put in 40-60 hours of study time with traktor and get my blends to a solid level... haterous real djs can get the diddick.

eventually i'll move on to the vestax midi jawn, but for now.

secondly i'm going to add an mpc to the mix. a full blown, sampling midi production center.
i've been subconsciously longing for a machine that consolidated the pieces i use some. like i hate having to sample into the computer, save the sample, then chop it, etc etc... i mean honestly i'd like to try out the mpc for a week before i BOUGHT one but hey. in this business you take risks.

the desktop is going to get a new motherboard and 2 350-500GB drives in RAID, windows xp pro and a clean wipe down. 1-2GB of ram. hopefully i can get rid of the 19" crt monitor i currently have and move toward a 17-19" LCD. i'm going to get an external 300GB drive for the laptop so i can store my music on it.

i figure once it's all done, i'll be looking at a $2k or $3k bill.



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http://www.midweststereo.com/catalog/Screen=PROD&Store_Code=midweststereo&Product_Code=AKAMPC4000PLUS

i mean of course, this would be the central set up, preamps, mics, mixers and etc else would complement this.

but wow. the duende coupled with the mpc makes me the most erect... it's all hearsay, but all the experts say that the duende is as close as youre gonna get to a $100k SSL 4000.

i'd like a big studer tape machine to track everything on out of protools, but that's another extra that i don't feel like searching for pics of or even imagining the price for. it's a beautiful piece of machinery, though.

i'd probably stick a Numark TT-1x or two in the mix for good measure, a Rane TTM going straight into the MPC...

man. it'd be a complete and utter wrap. macbook pro with a set of 500GB externals paired in RAID...

jeez. that's a clean $15k. well spent though.

2k for the protools, 2600 for the macbook pro, 1600 for the duende, 2800 for the mpc, 3k for the virus, that's $12,000 right there.

i love doing lists like this, perhaps a bit too much. MEH! anybody that's paid out the booty and looking for a good cause to donate a few grand to, get at me! you won't regret it, the return is unfathomable, that's my werd! © ghostface

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i been in a funk. the lack of response after circulating my third beat cd has taken its toll on my creativity. i cant help feeling like i need to be utterly formulaic and that's stifiling my desire to take time to push my own limits and be funky as i see fit. i didn't bargain for any of this. it's confusing and frustrating. especially considering the timeline and deadlines that exist now.

i had to take a step back from it all and regain some kind of perspective on the entire situation. talk to some comrades and let them smack the cobwebs out of my head...or at least let 'em remind me that i'm not alone in the struggle. in all honesty i probably need more time to REALLY get to the bottom of my issues, but it's time that i just don't have, so whatever. hopefully this is training me to cope quickly and be more adept to get back on track sans long periods of stagnancy. is that a word?

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i got a course book and listing for the spring semester from community college today at lunch. i know, its kinda too late for spring semester, but i'ma see what can be done. them piano classes are honestly out of my budget, but its a sacrifice im thinking i'm willing to take.

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i wanna be a producer, b. not just a beat maker. i wanna be in the studio telling cats what to do and where to stand, conducting the entire orchestration. i was reading about some of the classic production teams, like holland/dozier/holland and the corporation (mizell/perren/richards/gordy)... gamble and huff, etc. man those dudes were amazing. the bodies of work they compiled in their heydays, that's the kinda legacy i wanna leave. outside of hiphop. i wanna be the kind of cat, and collab with the kind of cats that, when you see my/our name on the production credits, without even knowing the artist you can prepare for something amazing.

i spent a few hours digging through old 45s monday afternoon (didn't go to work). i picked a few really good records out strictly because of knowing the producers and the label. its so dope how you can get a good clue and read on an unknown record with that little bit of knowledge.

"oh wow. so and so produced by the mizell bros. in 1975? i'll take it."

i pray i'm there sooner than later.

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i wanna go home! 2 more hours.

peeze...!

wishlist for '07 time!

#1- new laptop.

MUST get a laptop this year. i've got 3 budgets worked out- ranging from moderately workable to strenuous- which will have me kitted out in the flyest portable power no later than march '07.

i'm looking for something dual core with a big drive and a lotta ram. i found this HP for just over a $G that has pretty much the stats i'm looking for.

i'm thinking i'd partition the drive (the hp's was around 120 gb) for a dual boot; use one boot for business stuff, email, web, movie watching and everyday whatever, and the other would strictly be for beats- that means no AIM, no Firefox, no resource hogging apps sitting in the ram and fingerf$cking the CPU. just FL Studio, Wavelab and the drivers for my external gear (usb midi/audio interface)

i'd want to get a pair of big external/portable drives too- somewhere in the 250-350gb range- for my downloaded music and movies and samples.

#2-bigger keyboard controller.

yeah i'm thinking in the 61-76 key range. something with semi-weighted hammer action keys, something with playability and real multioctave range.

#3-music theory and piano class.

man, as i've gone deeper into the pop aspect of production, it's one thing i've realized without a shadow of a doubt: the rodney jerkins and neptunes and jermaine dupris and everybody else that puts together bonafide r & b tracks can play. and they have the pop concept down, automatically audible. i wanna know how they do it.

#4-M-Audio Firewire 410/1814.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire1814-main.html
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire410-main.html

i don't think i'd need both. probably one 410 and maybe a lesser box for the laptop. see, i wanna upgrade to protools. i think it's best i start learning it now. the plan is to start making my beats directly on the laptop, and then track them into the desktop which would be running a DAW strictly. since most (if not all) studios are running protools, having native protools files to walk into the studio would be a really good look, plus knowing the system is fantastic; theoretically i won't have to employ too much in the way of engineers when it's time to really mix a beat. it's killing 2 birds with one stone.

if you didn't know already, m-audio runs protools m-powered, which for all intents and purposes is protools LE. i'm sure it will do everything i ask of it. and by the time i start turning over some real dividends with this stuff, i'll be able to afford a real LE (or better) system.

#5-17-19" LCD monitor for the desktop.

lol i need this so very bad.

i have a 19" CRT monitor at home, and it just dominates everything i sit it on. it's stupid. i hate it! i love the screen size but it's just way too big and heavy and space consuming. wow... breathing room on my desk... i wouldn't have to hold my keyboard on my desk!

wish me luck.