Tons Of Video Tutorials at tunetorials.com

Hey guys. I just found this link in my endless search for info on music production. This is a really nice collection of tutorials for basically every music program on the computer. i watched a few of the Reason and Fruity Loops ones and they looked helpful. Check them out and tell them is sent you!!

Here's the link : http://www.tunetorials.com/

Happy New Year!!

-Cheebs

New Beats Up!!

Hey everyone! I just uploaded a few new beats up on to my Myspace beat page. They are called "Thuggish Soul" and "Fat Albert".

Here's the link : http://www.myspace.com/sloppyrecordsbeats

Keep checkin back and Happy New Years!!

-Cheebs

Can you tell the difference?

Here's a chart that I found that will break down all the freq. in a beat and basically in any song. It tells you what makes what sound how it sounds and what to add or take away to get the desired effect. Just check it out, its very helpful.

Here's the link : http://www.recordingwebsite.com/articles/eqfreq.php

-Cheebs

Instrumentals

A good way to make a beat sound a curtain style is by listening to a few beats that are the style you are trying to mimic(DUH). I found a nice site called GetSomeShine.com. The guy has a sample pack uploaded, has a section of beats he has made as well as about 4 pages of popular instrumentals that you can listen to and download. This iswhere I downloaded the beats I am using for my "Global Warming" Mix Tape that will be out early 2009. Stop by and tell him I sent ya!!

Here's the link : http://www.getsomeshine.com/instrumentals/index.php

Happy Holidays!!

-Cheebs

Free Plugins @ http://kubton.com

I found a great free VST plugin page at http://kubton.com so I wanted to share it with you guys. They have all the types broken up into categories and each VST has its own description. Enjoy!

Here's the link : http://kubton.com/freeplugins.html

Check back often!!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Knockin Kicks

I just put together a pack of kicks real quick. These are some of my favorite kicks that I use, so enjoy them.

Here's the link : Knockin Kicks

Happy Holidays!!

-Cheebs

Tip - The Imporance of Ear Training

What's up everyone? Today I would like to talk about one of the things that a lot of Hip Hop producers overlook these days, but is one of the most important things to be able to do. What I am talking about is the ability to recognize different frequencies and differentiate between notes. Not having the proper training can take a otherwise good beat and just make it seem "off" when everything is finally put together.

People will speed up a sample, throw it over some drums and put bass over it. But do you know how to EQ the sample properly? Do you know exactly what frequency is making it sound harsh, bassy, or just out of place? Do you have a favorite track you want to try to make sound cleaner or more commercial but it still seems dull? If you know what frequency you are looking for and tweaking, it will make it go much faster and you will end up being more productive in the long run.

I found a dope site that offers many kinds of ear training software's. I used one when i went to school and its really simple. The one I used just played white noise and turned up different frequencies and you write down what one you think it is. After a few min you start to be able to tell the difference between the frequencies and get more answers right. I don't know if that's what all these ones do, but any of them are great to check out.

Here's the link : http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/cat/EAR_TRAINING/

I also want to say that the entire site is very helpful and has a ton of stuff that has to do with multiple kinds of audio and video software. Just browse around and I know you will find something else you really want or need to download.

Here's the site link : http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/

Happy Holidays!!

-Cheebs

Review - M-Audio KeyRig 49

I tested out this little baby and loved its simplicity. IF all you need is a midi keyboard, this is the one for you. It only has a usb output, no midi cables on this baby, so don't get it if you only use hardware.

Within 2 minutes it was plugged in, installed and working. It really doesn't get any easier. If you have a basic knowledge of usb midi inputs, you are all set.

The keys are semi weighted and feel pretty good. Mod wheel is nice and so is the pitch wheel. No bells or whistles, just basic midi.

I saw it from between 79.99 to 109.99 in places so shop around and check it out.

Breakdown-

Interface : 10/10
Sound: n/a
Ease of Use: 9/10
Value: 8/10

Overall: 9/10

For specs check out http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyRig49.html

Keep checkin back for more!!

-Cheebs

Hip Hop Makers

Hey everyone! I kinda posted quite a few posts today, but so what? I just wanted to let everyone know about a site I found called Hip Hop Makers. This is a great site and resource for anyone that is into Hip Hop production. There are tons of great articles, interviews, tutorials and resources for you to check out. He updates it frequently, so keep checkin back every week or so for any new jewels he decides to drop! Check the site out in my links or just go to http://www.hiphopmakers.com

Tell him I sent ya!!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Hi Hats

I put together a small pack of Hi Hats. I know how it is when you cant find that perfect hat to fit the rest of your drums, here is my attempt to mix a few together. Enjoy them and keep checking back!!

Link - Hard Hats

Happy Holidays!

-Cheebs

Review - Propellerhead ReCycle

The reason I picked up ReCycle was because I had heard it made chopping samples easier. One of my production buddies used it with Reason to cut up guitar riffs and drum loops he recorded. I decided since I was dabbling with Reason myself I would give it a try as well.

The install went very fast and it is a pretty straight forward program. I liked the layout, and I liked being able to see the wave form. It was a little difficult to see at first so I was pleasantly surprised to see you were able to change the color configuration in order to view the waves easier. I loaded up a drum loop and started messing around.

I first started with the "Sens" slider. It was very accurate in finding the slice points I needed. I think it being just drums made it easier, but that's not the point. Once you see the slice you like and hear it you can select the "Lock" tool to lock the slice into place. Once they are all in the right spot you can take the "Sens" slider all the way down and just your selected slices remain, quite easy.

After that you can have it recognize the amount of loops and add other effects such as EQ, compression and a stretcher option that makes the slices seem more natural and not so abrupt. You can then export it as a .rex file(for Reason), or as single wav file slices that can be used in any hardware or software that uses wav files. I made the .rex and closed the program and messed with the loop in Reason for awhile.

When i was shopping around I saw a few different prices for it from $199.99 all the way as low as $99.99 at some sites, so make sure you shop around.

I didn't make a song with the loop I chopped up because I did not make anything worth showing anyone, but I still use it today to slice drum loops and samples up to import into Reason and even Fruity Loops as well as on my MPC.

Breakdown-

Interface : 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Ease of Use: 9/10
Value: 6/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Check out ReCycle at http://www.propellerheads.se/products/recycle/

Happy Music Making!!

-Cheebs

Review - MPC2500

The MPC2500 is an amazing piece of gear. When i first took it out of the box and took the plastic off it I was excited. The weight, the pads, the sliders and knobs, they were all so solid. I glanced through the Quick Start manual that came with it and was up and running in no time.

The stock sounds and songs were pretty good. A lot of the drums were dance and hip hop oriented and I liked that because that's what I would be using it for. After I browsed the basic layout and the many menus I started a fresh song to test out the Chop Shop function. I found that setting the input to mono instead of stereo I was able to record more samples off the record and have more to work with. Once I got the pieces recorded I found it was very easy to cut the remainder off the samples and make the loop clean with the sliders on the left side. Although I did not find the Chop Shop useful for this first attempt I saw how useful it would be in the future. The fine tuning took too long and I just wanted to get at the beat.

Laying down the drum pattern and the samples was also very easy. I had a rough beat after about 10 min and it sounded pretty decent. I found the auto quantize and toggled it to various settings as well as off. I found the mixer easy to use and the stock FX were decent. I did not find the FX very useful though because there only seemed to be 2 that you could program in at the same time and I wanted to use more. The 8 outs were nice though and made it able for me to bounce all the tracks separate. My only problem is it was stereo outs and used up 2 of the channels at a time, I was not able to get it to only use a single channel. The overall sound was warmer than I expected it to be.

Overall I really liked the MPC2500 and recommend it to anyone that uses hardware instead of software. It's easy and fun to use, it sounds good and it's a solid piece of equipment. I only felt limited by the samples, not the machine.

For the sample I used a Bob James song. The mic I used is a Rode NT1a in an enclosed sound proof vocal booth. Tracked into Pro Tools LE 7. Here's the link to the song - Sick Rap

Breakdown-

Interface : 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Ease of Use: 8/10
Value: 9/10

Overall: 8.25/10

Check out the MPC2500 at Akai Pro : http://www.akaipro.com/mpc2500

Happy Holidays!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Real Drums

Sometimes when your making a track you want a raw version of what every hip hop kit has to offer for drums. This is as raw as it gets! This is a pack of real drum samples to be used in any production you choose. I have used these drums many times and am not letting you get your hands and ears on them.

Here's the link : http://www.mediafire.com/?nlnwz2mxvm4

Keep checkin back

-Cheebs

Free Album For Download

There has been a album we made but have yet to release from a year ago. The name of this album is called "Knuckle Phux Vol. 2". It has production from myself, MCG, Sutch n Sutch and Conclusion. You can find links to all these people on my Myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/cheebs)

"Knuckle Phux Vol. 2" : http://www.mediafire.com/?sjzgmtytvjy

Visit the groups Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/knucklephux

"Knuckle Phux Vol. 3 : Brown Out" is currently in the works and will be released mid next year. Let me know what you think and keep checking back!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Cheebs Groove Drum Pack

Here's a lil drum pack that I threw together. Not too much stuff but its got some cool drums as well as other goodies. Enjoy!!

Link : http://www.mediafire.com/?dmavmhrmdi2

-Cheebs

Fruity Loops Tutorials

Hey everybody. This is my first real post so its pretty exciting for me!

So I found quite a few Fruity Loops tutorials on YouTube the other night and i thought I would share them with you. They are made by a guy named NFX. These tutorials are very very good and he goes into some really deep details. I do have to warn you he really is redundant at times and it gets annoying, but other than that they are dope as hell. I have been using Fruity Loops for years and I really think it is a great program regardless of the name. It has everything you need to make music of any kind and these tutorials will help you get the most out Fruity Loops if you use it.

Heres a sample of one and the link to his YouTube channel. Enjoy!!



Link : http://www.youtube.com/user/nfxbeats

Peace Out

-Cheebs

The Cheebs Beats Blog Is Open

Whats up everyone? Ive never tried to do this blog thing before. Basically I'm going to dedicate this blog to Beats and the essential pieces to make them. Everything from samples, synth's, tutorials, programs, equipment and other things that i think of along the way. Ill be uploading my own vynal rips as well as feature ones off other sites. Stay tuned!!!

Check out my myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/cheebs

PEACE

-Cheebs

P.S. if you have requests or anything feel free to let me know!!