Review - Fruity Loops 8

My view is a little bias on Fruity Loops because I have been making music with it for years. I don't remember what version I picked up first, but it is what I learned to make beats on.

First of all let me say, Fruity Loops is a great all around program for the low price. It has everything from a sequencer, piano roll, recording capabilities and many other aspects I could spend a hour and a half describing each one. But I digress, on to the review.

When you first open FL, it opens with a demo song to show you the range of abilities this software covers. Once you are done listening to it (if you even did) you can open up a new project and start.

The menu on the left side is easy to navigate through, and easy to customize. If you have a sample folder all you have to do is drag the folder into the list and it will automatically link the folder to the list. All you have to do then is click the folder and search for the right sounds. To audition a sound you just click it. If you go through it with the arrow keys on the keyboard like I do sometimes you push up and down to pick a file, and to open a folder or play a sound push the right arrow while the left closes a folder.

The piano roll is very straight forward, and has its own list of options such as quantize. This is helpful because I never play my melodies perfect.

The drum sequencer is also straight forward. Within 5 min you before aware of the basic in and outs of it.

What I really like about FL is you can load VST FX and instrument plug-ins. This makes it a much better weapon in your music making arsenal as opposed to Reason that does not support VSTs.

The patter sequencer is easy also. You just draw out each bar of each pattern and create the sequence. Not much more to say about that.

All in all, this is a great overall production machine. Recording vocals is even clean, but I think the record function is more for live instruments rather than vocals.

You can pick up a version of FL 8 for pretty cheap, just shop around and don't be afraid to download the demo to test it out.

Here is Image-Line's Fruity Loops Web Site : http://flstudio.image-line.com/

Breakdown-

Interface : 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Ease of Use: 8/10
Value: 9.5/10

Overall: 8.625/10

Check back for more and don't forget to give me feedback and subscribe!!

5 Sample Loaded Sites

I put together this list of the top 5 places I go when I get bored with the drums I have. Some of these sites are more than just samples, so give them all a good look around and get as much out of them as you can. What's the point of free stuff if no one takes advantage of it?

Sample Swap

This site is full of break beats and loops as well as drum hits. There is also a section where people upload songs they have created for other people to download. I go here every few weeks just to see whats new.

BAP

I stumbled onto this site on accident. I was just looking around and clicked on a link. It threw me off that it was in french, but I found out where the samples were and downloaded some of them. Its basically just enough to get anyone started in making beats. There's some drums, instruments and loops to pick through. It's nothing too special, but I like something about it.

Sample Craze

This site is cool because it has a lot of drum kits for sale. But me being cheap, what really makes this site cool is there are free sample packs to check out of each kit you could but. If you spend a little time and download them all, you might find some cool sounds to inspire you. It might actually make you wanna buy something. it happens to the best of us.

Sound Zone

I haven't used them for quite a while, but soundfonts are pretty cool. It's basically a synth that is played in any soundfont player. A lot of good bass, piano and other synth are put in soundfonts and sound pretty good. It's also a good way of having a lot of sounds without having to get a bunch of CPU munching VST's.

KB6.de

These guys have tons of vintage drum machine samples. Everyone knows about the 707, 808 and 909 by Roland, but there are a ton of other really grimy and dope drum machines out there. I love hardware, but computers are the wave of the future, so I sold a lot of my drum machines. This way you get the milk and don't have to buy the cow, or something like that.

Don't forget to leave me comments on what you want. Most of these posts are requests.

-Cheebs

3 Links Stuffed With Music Production Tips

Hey everyone!

As you know, this is a blog that is about music production. I look all over the internet to find tip and tricks for my own self, and I have decided to show you a few of the sites I go to when I'm confused or in trouble or just hungry for knowledge.

Tenth Egg

There is a lot of good stuff here from mastering to production. All of it is helpful and good to know. The more you know, the more you can do. Check this page out and bookmark it while you are at it.

Create Digital Music

This site is full of all kinds of info. It's a site like mine with a little bit of everything. I will one day be like these guys. Check it out and check out all the videos.

Remix Blog

This is a blog created by Remix Magazine. They have a great mag and this is a great blog. Check them out and be sure to check back often because they update all the time.

That's the links, use them or lose them.

Don't forget to comment if this was helpful!! I love the feedback.

-Cheebs

Dope Beats For Sale - By ME

I have just opened up a new blog to showcase my beats. This is a way to prove I make the music i say I do. Beats like the kind T-Pain, Jeezy, Soulja Boy, Ludacris and T.I. might use. All are mixed and mastered to sound full and clean.

The beats are 20 to lease, 50 to buy. If you really like something, buy it, because if you lease it you cant have exclusive rights and someone might use it too.

Check out the beats at : http://cheebsbeats2.blogspot.com

Free Samples - I Got Da Clap

Hey everyone!

There are 2 groups of people who produce beats, those who love claps and those who hate claps. I love me a good clap every once in awhile. I have put together a pack of 231 different claps. This should be the last clap pack you would ever need.

Here's the link : http://www.mediafire.com/?2wdejklnyx0

We gunna clap back......

-Cheebs

3 Great FREE VST Plug-In Bundles

There are tons of VST's all over the place. You can get them all the way from free to thousands of dollars for a program that helps you shape waveforms. In fact, a PC, Fruity Loops and a hand full of VST's can make a whole studio out of a bed room and no one would know any different.

In my search for Vst's over the years, I have found a lot of shit and a lot of really good stuff. I have filtered through the shit and shoveled out a couple really good packs of VST files from different companies that are really worth getting. You can never get enough VST's, don't forget to pack these on top of the rest!

1: TWEAKBENCH "Nintendo" style bundle pack

This pack is great. It has VST's that replicate everything you would need to make a NES soundtrack. I mean it, EVERYTHING. The plug-ins are free, they offer the complete bundle in a sing zip for a small fee. Get these either way.

2: The Fillet bundle from digitalfishphones.com

This mini bundle has a few really cool dynamic plug-ins. I use the compressor quite often. The "Spitfish" is a really good de-esser, I use that one a lot too. You can navigate back and check out the other plug-ins they have also, it's worth a peek.

3: The VST pack from jeroenbreebaart.com

I just found this pack. They are all user friendly and sound real clean. Get these and try them out on a track to switch it up a little bit. Some good limiter and compressors in this bundle.

That's it for today. Don't forget to check the older posts and tell your other friends about this blog is you like it. Also leave me comments to tell me if this was helpful, I love the feedback.

-Cheebs

Tip - How To Tune Your Kick And Bass

Hey everyone! So many things have been happening recently, my head is spinning. I am putting out my first solo EP among a few other things such as school starting back up. But I sill am here to drop a new tip on you guys.

I know this has happened to you before, you're making a beat and you have the kick and bass together and it just doesn't work. There's either distortion or it just sounds weird or off and messes up the whole song. To get around this you can do a few things. You can play the bass so it doesn't hit the same time as the kick does. You can put a slower attack on the bass and a faster release on the kick so they barely touch each other. Or you can tune them together and make it sound more natural.

Here's how you do it

Pick up a kick that you like. EQ it, compress it, distort it or whatever else you want to do to it til you like how it sounds.

Next find a guitar or bass tuner plug in. Guitar Rig has one built in, but I downloaded one called C-Tuner that is a very basic and straight forward plug in.

Now run the kick through the tuner and take note of what key the kick is in. If it is a sharp or flat, or just a solid note, make sure you remember what it is. If it is a little bit off and you want to mess with it a little, you can pitch shift it slightly until it is in the key you want it.

Next match the root note of the bass you are using to the same key as the kick is in. This should help cut down on the distortion as well as make the kick and bass sound more natural together.

Little simple things like that really make a difference on tracks. So try this little trick out next time you are throwing a beat together and see how it works.

Check back soon for more stuff, as well as my album release!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Vintage Roland Drum Machine Pack

Here is a pack of vintage Roland drum machine samples. I have ones from the 707, 808, 909 and other ones. Download this pack for the old school hip hop sounds, or just for the cheesy cow bells.

Here's the link : http://www.mediafire.com/?r2yeh2mz1tg

Also don't forget to pick up your copy of the Knuckle Phux Double Disk here : http://www.mediafire.com/?dyi0mgumzcy There has been 300 downloads this week alone, don't get left out!!

All the best!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Tweaked 909's

A few people asked me for a few more tweaked drum kits. I put together the "Tweaked 909" kit for everyone who loved the 808's! Don't forget to check for other samples in older posts!

Here's the link : http://www.mediafire.com/?hye2oztnqmi

-Cheebs

Knuckle Phux Double Disk

The Knuckle Phux Vol. 1 and 2 have finally been smashed together into a single download for your listening pleasure. The collection of production from Bad Planet members such as myself, DJ Sutch N Sutch, and MCG. The lyrics are laid down by myself and MCG with guests along the way. Check out Knuckle Phux Vol. 1, the album that started it all and Vol. 2 where we last left off. Vol. 3 is in the works and will be on its way soon enough.

Here's the link : http://www.mediafire.com/?wxzdmm4jetj

-Cheebs

Top 5 Albums You Want But Don't Need

I have been listening to rap and hip hop for almost all my life now. I went through phases of other musics, and I didn't grow up on LL Cool J being from a white area and having white Parents. But once I was able to choose my own music, i always go back to rap and hip hop over and over again. Some say it's the beats, some say it's the words, some say it's the marketing, I say that I like it and that's all there is to it. But there are people who are just brainwashed and don't know what's good or bad for them. In this post I will touch on 5 albums everyone "Had To Have" but can live without.

1: 50 Cent - Curtis

First of all, I used to really like fiddy. When I first heard Get Rich, I loved it and listened to it over and over and over again for months straight, no joke. I knew, and probably still do know, every single word that is on that album from start to finish from lyrics to just talking. I don't know how many times I have said "G-G-G-G-G-G-Unit!" while partying with my friends. All that aside, Curtis is terrible album. After Dre stopped working with him and holding his hand, he went down hill. His stuff before Get Rich is better than Curtis. On this album all he does is talk about how much money he has and how he spends it on retarded shit as well as sound like he's falling asleep while doing it. After "Magic Stick" cam out I knew we were in for trouble, but this has gone too far. Stop it Fiddy, Stop It.

2: Lil Wayne - The Carter 1-3

I know everyone loves Lil Wayne, and I know everyone will call me a hater for putting these albums up, but I don't care. I don't get how this guy is so popular. His lyrics are whack as hell, he comes up with some of the most ridiculous punch lines i have ever hears as well as just some of the dumbest shit period. And now he's putting auto-tune on his rap?! What the hell is this?! I was annoyed by the robot voice when singing, but I can kind of understand it because there is pitch and notes there that go all over the place. But putting auto-tune on just regular rap vocal is just the last straw with the whole robot voice. They need to put it to bed, and Lil Wayne needs to take it more serious or just stop. He is not the greatest rapper ever, I'm sorry.

3: Kanye West - College Dropout

Again, like 50, I listened to Kanye's first album over and over again a thousand times. I think that will forever be his best, as I feel almost every ones first album is their best because they have had a whole life to prepare for that one album. Everyone one after that is on deadline to get done and be just as good. I even kind of liked Late Registration, but College Dropout is just Kanye bragging about how he is the best for the most part. And when it isn't on a song, it's him acting like a baby when people don't "understand" what he does. Fuck you, Kanye, you are good but you are not the best. I'm convinced him being that way is a act, but who knows.

4: Snoop Dogg - Ego Trippin'

I pick this because all of his albums sound the same now, so no one really needs this one.

5: T-Pain - Thr33 Ringz

Like I said, I understand it's kinda cool to have the auto-tune robot voice thing. But give it a rest, it's just been over done. T-Pain is the king of auto-tune, he wears a hat that proves it. It's too much. No one needs this, it's making people dumber just like ordering by numbers when you go out to eat. I don't really want to talk any more about it

Those are the ones no one needs.

-Cheebs

Tip - How To Figure Out BPM Of A Song

I don't know how many times I've needed to know the BPM of a song. Sometimes it's for a accapella that I want to remix with my own beat, or maybe I recorded a song to a beat someone else made and I want to remix that. Maybe you are a dj and want to get a set together and need to know the BPM of a song to see the best song you can mix into it.

Whatever your reason for needing to get the BPM of a song, here is how you do it.

First you need to have a clock or a watch with seconds on it. It doesn't matter if its a stop watch, a wrist watch, the clock on the wall or your computer clock. Next play the song you want to find the BPM of. Next you wait for the second hand to run across the minute mark, 30 second mark or whatever mark you can easily reference in order to get a perfect starting time. Now all you have to do is count the beats. If you don't know what ones to count, the beat is where the first kick hits and usually where the snare hits. Some drum patterns are complicated and hard to figure out for some people, so it might take you awhile to get it sometimes. A easy way to know the beat is to just count at the time you nod your head, that's usually the beat.

Count the beats for either 10, 15, 20 or 30 seconds. The longer you count the more accurate it will end up being in the long run. Then you multiply the number you got after the seconds are up by how the amount you would need to to make the seconds a whole minute. For example, if you did it for 15 seconds and you got 20 beats in that 15 seconds, multiply 20 by 4 because 15 seconds times 4 is 60 seconds, and 60 seconds is a minute. So 20 times 4 is 80. The beat you just listened to was 80 BPM roughly.

Sometimes you need to mess around and find the perfect BPM because producers might arrange the tempo around the sample and not just a round number for the BPM, so that takes a little more time and effort.

There are programs you can use and application in other programs that try to detect the beat, but these programs aren't always accurate. I also found a link to a page that has a lot of songs BPMs already calculated and recorded. You can find the site here : http://www.djbpmstudio.com/index.html

Hope this was helpful! Let me know if you want me to touch on any subjects by dropping me a comment or email at cheebsbeats@gmail.com Take care!!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Cheebs Drum Loops

I don't usually use drum loops in songs, but sometimes they are just what a beat needs to give it that specific feel you cant seem to create with the drum samples you picked out. Adding a whole loop or just a piece will spice up a otherwise boring drum pattern in almost any song. Here's a set of loops I put together for you to have. As always its free!!

Here's the link : http://www.mediafire.com/?1wzzxmwwwzr

Album reviews coming soon!

-Cheebs

5 Of The Best Hip Hop And Rap Forums

What's up everyone! In this article I'm going to let you know something that some of the more hardcore Hip Hop heads might not take advantage of. There are a lot of forums on the internet that offer a lot of help, criticism and advice from people who have had the exact same problmes you might be having. Going on a forum is a good way to also network with artists and producers from all over the world who no one knows about yet. I have met a few really dope producers on forums in the past and I still work with them. Here is a quick list of 5 of the best forums I have found on the internet. Go sign up, browse the topics and maybe post something of your own.

Real Rap Talk : http://www.realraptalk.com/

Jee Juh Forum : http://www.jeejuh.com/forum/

Rap Battles : http://www.rapbattles.com

Underground Hip Hop : http://www.ughh.com

Rap Music Dot Com : http://board.rapmusic.com/

You might learn something

-Cheebs

Do You Want To Sing?

Do you sing? Do you want to sing? Do you know someone who wants to learn how to sing? Do you even know where to start? Why is the sky blue? Do I need to ask so many questions?

Ok, I'll get to the point....

I found a few quick tutorials on a site called Expert Village. This site features a lot of tutorial videos that touch on a lot of different topics, not just singing, so after you learn to sing you might want to learn how to make sushi. Who knows?

On a side not, I can't sing at all. Here's the proof, listen after 1 min 13 sec : http://www.mediafire.com/?3m4ygztnnyu

Here's the link : http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/586_voice-lessons.htm

That's it for today!

-Cheebs

Review - Shure SM58

Anyone who is into the Hip Hop scene at all and has been to a show or been on stage, the Shure SM58 is a staple microphone that has been used for a number of years. You can see them being held on stage, in CD booklets and musician profile pictures. They are used for anything from slam poetry to rock shows.

I have used them many times at shows and know how they are a sturdy work horse that will live through anything.

Being a Dynamic mic there is no need for phantom power. A Dynamic mic, for those who don't know, is basically a reverse of a speaker. There is a cone that picks up vibration from your voice, moves a tiny magnet that is surrounded by fine copper wire that converts it to an electrical current. They are can take much more abuse and are harder to make distort. That's why they are used for more live shows.

One of the only down sides of these is they are a little "muddy". The mids and high mids are louder, which is good for cutting through a live mix but is not very good for studio production.

Overall, it is a very reliable and sturdy microphone. I recommend anyone buy one who uses their own gear for live gigs. They are also good to have just to practice. Pick one up and keep it in your gig bag.

Breakdown-

Interface : N/A
Sound: 7/10
Ease of Use: 10/10
Value: 9/10

Overall: 8.6/10

Check the Spec's out at : http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM58-CN_content

More free drum samples are on the way! Check back soon!

-Cheebs

6 Dirty Sample Blogs You Must Peep

Hey everyone!

I was just checking out some of my favorite blogs I look through to get samples from. I know it took me months to filter through all the crap to really find the best of the best. I wish they updated more often sometimes but beggars can't be choosers. I decided I would show you guys a few of the ones I go to the most. They range from Soul to Jazz and beyond.

36 15 Moog : A blog dedicated to albums that are mainly composed with the Moog, a classic synth that everyone who makes music would love to own just to brag about it.

Dust 2 Dust : This is a blog I always check first. It has some of the best albums I have ever sampled. Vinyl ripped albums.

Orgy In Rhythm : I just found this blog and just happened to find some good albums on it. Check them out.

Milk Crate Breaks : This is a site that I guess is mainly geared towards Hip Hop and break beat samples. I get a few good ones of this page from time to time.

Never Enough Rhodes : A really nice blog with Rhodes flooded albums. I can never make the Rhodes sound like these guys can.

A Pyrex Scholar : This is a blog that is a lot like Milk Crate Breaks. It is just really good albums that have a lot of gems to sample. Check them out

A little side note about the downloads you get from these sites. A lot of the blogs that upload albums you can check out use rapidshare. This site only allows you to download 1 album at a time if you dont own a premium account. I strongly suggest you pay for either a 1 or 3 months subscription to save you time in the long run. Now rapidshare also make syou wait a number of minutes between free downloads. I say just pay and downlaod all the sample syou could ever imagine.

Let me put it this way, it's cheaper and easier than taking a trip to your local record store to buy these albums, then listen to and record to your computer. It took me a few months to realize that, so learn from my mistake.

Until next time!!

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Tweaked 808's

This is a pack i threw together that has 808's that have been distorted or tweaked in other ways to not sound stock. There are some really dope kicks and hats and snares in this pack as well as a few other sounds off the 808. It's really a nice accent to some hip hop tracks that need that dirty bassy feel to them that you cant get with normal 808's.

Here's the link : Tweaked 808's

Don't forget to check the older posts for more free samples.

-Cheebs

Free Samples - Boomin Bass

Here is a kit of Bass stabs that can be used in all kinds of Hip Hop as well as other types of production. There is a style of bass for almost any track. Get them while they're hot!!

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

Don't forget to check out the other free downloads I have in my older posts!! They are all sorted by catagory on the right side of the blog under Samples.

Check back soon for more good stuff!!

-Cheebs

Review - KRK Rokit 8

Hey everyone!! Time for another review!!

I picked these up because I've heard so much about them. I have also seen them in many pictures of studios all over the place from magazines to internet pages and even books.

I got 2 of them for 499.99 from my local music store. When I got home and got everything set up I was surprised at the amount of sound that came out of these little speakers. When I went to sound engineer school we used a lot of Mackie, so I wasn't sure they would sound as good. The seemed to sound as good to me, so I cranked them up higher.

I used the XLR connection off the KRK 10" sub I bought and the two were very accurate from what I heard. I did quite a few cross reference checks between my production and songs that I wanted my stuff to sound like, and after going back and forth a few times I was able to match up the quality very well.

I always say, if you want to make real music, you need accurate monitors. These are extremely accurate, affordable and they look kinda cool.

A little side note on these is one of them ended up burning out after about a year and a half. It started blowing fuses and KRK didn't replace it for free because it was too far past the warranty. Other than that I am extremely happy with these and I think if you are looking into buying monitors, consider them in your search. For the price, you cant go wrong!

Breakdown-

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

Overall: 9/10

Check these out and other KRK products at : http://www.krksys.com/

Have a safe and happy new year!!

Check back for more!!

-Cheebs