BKLYN
GearIQ 427
Joined Nov 2014
Boom Bap music and culture is my life...
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Create your EquipboardDrum Machines 22
Once again, Behringer knocked it out of the f**king park! It's only been 4 days, but this is one of my very favorite drum machines thus far! It sounds great, feels good, and is loads of fun to program! I can't wait to make some new records with this thing!!
I'm a huge fan of Kurtis Mantronik and his use of the Roland TR-909 on records by his group Mantronix, as well for other artists such as Tricky Tee, Just-Ice, and T-La Rock. The TR-909 drum machine has an amazing sound that sticks no matter what situation you place it in. This is what I consider a Holy Grail of drum machines.
Then comes along Behringer with the RD-9, which is a faithful recreation of the TR-909, This was my opportunity to finally inject that sound into my records so of course I jumped on it as soon as it was announced and I'm so happy that I did because the RD-9 is so punchy and it has a great feel. Behringer did their homework and delivered!
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I never owned an original Roland TR-808 but Howie Tee had one and Chubb Rock showed me how to decay the kick at a studio we were working at. Flash forward decades later I bought a Roland TR-8 and although I love it despite it being a digital resemblance of the original, I knew I had to get the Behringer RD-8 and I'm glad I did.
The weight and punch of this analog drum synth is a wake-up call from the 808 gods themselves. Believe it or not, Behringer made a better 808 remake than Roland who obliviously doesn't care about chasing the analog ghosts of their legacy, but thankfully Behringer are rebels who are bringing back some the gear that was out of my reach as a teenager.
Back in the 80s, I bought a Boss DR-110 from a tiny music shop on Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, two blocks away from Kings Plaza. I had tons of fun with that little drum machine, teaching myself how to record demos until someone stole it, and I bought the Casio RZ-1.
The Behringer RD-6's sound reminds me of the DR-110, but it's a lot better because I can change the tone and texture using distortion. I also love its individual outputs for the kick, snare, toms, clap, and hat for greater control during the tracking process.
It's a very simple straightforward drum machine that doesn't require any instructions or tutorials to learn.
Have fun!
I knew Phil Collins used the original Roland CR-78 on the 'In The Air of Night' record, and I knew J-Dilla used it on a few records, but I never knew that I wanted one until Cherry Audio released their plugin version, which I must admit is amazing.
The thing is, on Reverb, the Roland CR-78 goes for anywhere from $1,800 to $5,000 and I'm not going to spend that much on a drum machine that could die on me and I will have to spend thousands on servicing. Thankfully, six months ago, Behringer announced that they were releasing the RD-78, so I pre-ordered it immediately!
I already own the RD-6, RD-8, and RD-9, all of which I'm very happy with, so this was a no-brainer for me.
Behringer never misses. The RD-78 sounds INCREDIBLY GOOD!
I you have an opportunity to buy this drum machine, don't hesitate!
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Samplers and Synthesizers 31
I've been using MPCs since the MPC-60II, and this, by far, is my very favorite model!
Back in the '90s, I used the MPC-60, MPC-3000, and MPC 2000 and the MPC X is hands down my very favorite. It sounds great and I never grown tired of it as it continues to get better with every firmware update. The MPC workflow has always been my favorite way of creating music and the MPC X never disappoints...
Ayo!
Let me tell you something, I've been using my new S2400 for 2 weeks now, and although that's a very short time, and I can positively say that this is hands down my very favorite sampler in my studio.
The 12-Bit classic mode sounds amazingly good, the filters are beautiful, the swing is ridiculous, and the metal build is solid! Don't think of this as an SP-1200 clone, it's beyond that, this is a modern sampler with modern features that supersedes the SP-1200 and Emax samplers of yesteryear.
The really cool part about the S2400 is that it's future-proof as there are plans for additional FX and audio engine expansion boards.
I almost blew it by canceling my first order out of impatience and then ordering it again months later when I realized I was making a mistake. I'm glad I changed my mind, this is a great investment, and I can't wait to release new music created with the S2400...
After a long hiatus from all things MPC, I came back after becoming greatly frustrated with Maschine. This was about MPC 1.8 and after I realizing how I missed working with an actual MPC there was no going backward. My Renaissance stays in its original box nowadays since I have my MPC X to work with but every now and then I bring it out for a little fun.
I still sample with my ASR-X-Pro but I'm mostly using it for its onboard synthesizer these days. The synth engine has always been slept on for some reason, which is insane because the way it sounds is beautiful.
One of the things I never liked about the beatmaking community is the fact that cats flock to the SP-1200, and the MPC because of whoever their favorite producer is used that gear on a record or two they liked, so they are greatly ignorant to the power of the ASR-X-Pro which is one of the dopest samplers ever created.
I also own the ASR-X so there's a lot of history for me with these samplers. But if you come across any of these joints, don't hesitate, get it!
Ensoniq samplers have a certain sound that you can't get anywhere else especially when it comes to sampling from your vinyl collection. Programming on this is a lot of fun and chopping up your samples is actually easy. I also own the ASR-X-Pro as well the ASR-10 Rack and the Mirage, it's all about the sound for me and Ensoniq always delivers what I want...
I was first introduced to Ensoniq Samplers back in the '90s through my friend Eric Roache who owned an EPS-16+ a couple of years later the ASR-10 arrived and I bought one of the first ones that arrived at Manny's Music in New York City and it's been a magical love affair ever since.
Most are seeking the S-950, because of the time stretch feature, but what they don't know is the S900 is a secret weapon itself with it's digitally controlled analog filter. It also has an uncanny sound that works perfectly for drum and percussive sounds. I still use my S900 to give certain types of samples that dry 12-Bit grit. This is one sampler I will never let go...
When it comes to sampling kicks, snares, hats, etc, the Casio RZ-1 is one of my secret weapons to get that authentic lo-fi drum sound. I bought this when it first came out in 1985 along with my Casio SK-1, I was 15 years old then and I produced my first record Choce M.C. "Let's Make Some Noise" on idlers/Warlock Records with it.
Lots of people don't know that I still use it to this day and it hasn't let me down, especially since I found a certain sweet spot on the RZ-1 that gives my drums it's own distinct flavor that's unique to my sound.
In 1985 I was 15 years old and I produced the A-Side of my very first vinyl release Choice M.C. "Let's Make Some Noise" on Idlers/Warlock Records with the Casio SK-1 and Casio RZ-1. It's not the greatest sounding sampler, but it has its own character and I used it again on the sequel record "Let's Make Some Noise Part 2" released by 12-Bit Records. This sampler some consider a toy has blown up in the circuit bending movement, and strangely enough a few boom bap producers reached out to me to ask if I really used this on my earlier records and my answer to them is often "I still use it"...
I got on board with Maschine at 1.7 when Native Instruments were making all sorts of promises, Nearly a decade later and Maschine is still usable, but not inspiring enough to work with on a daily basis due to its clumsy workflow and lack of features. I still use it as a virtual instrument within my MPC X's software, but my controller is in a box.
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I almost made the mistake of buying the Korg Odyssey, but after being disappointed my Korg MS-20 Mini's 1 MIDI channel, I jumped ship and joined the Behringer revolution which is the winning team if you didn't know. It sounds great, works great, it's just great!
I hope I don't sound like I'm bashing Korg, but if you own a Korg MS-20 Mini and use a sequencer, then you should understand my disappointment. The Behringer Odyssey is seriously a beautiful synthesizer that fits my musical lifestyle and I'm grateful for having one in my home studio.
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I've had my Behringer Model D for months and the way I see it, I've been training for my Behringer poly D which literally landed on my doorstep yesterday for months.
Yes, that is correct, my Behringer Poly D arrived yesterday and I'm writing a review today, and once again Behringer has not disappointed me one bit. This polyphonic tribute to the MiniMoog is AWESOME! Not only is it fun to play and create patches with, but it's built like a tank and all the knobs and switches are sturdy AF.
I knew going in that this was a 4 voice polyphonic synthesizer, which is cool for me because I mostly play triads and 4 notes in my chord progressions and I love that I can switch this to the monophonic mode for my bass and lead parts. The action on the keys, modwheel and pitchbend is really good.
Behringer did a great job as per usual and I'm glad because I plan to bring the funk, jazz, soul back into my music with it...
I bought my Korg MS-20 Mini because I liked the way it sounds. It's lots of fun to create sounds with and it's playable, but this thing only has 1 MIDI channel. Why Korg? Why? I barely use it since I got my Behringer K-2 which not only sounds just like it, but performs a lot better and best of all has 16 MIDI channels. I don't know what Korg was thinking, but it made me apprehensive about buying their ARP Odessy and I'm glad I did because I have the Behringer Odessy and it turned out to be great. MIDI channels matter...
I don't use this synth as much as I used to when I first got it. At first I was super excited for this, but then Aaron '25-Keyz' Wilfork introduced me to Roland Cloud and then I realized that the System-1 is basically a physical plugin. All the plugouts for this synth is in Roland Cloud and sound exactly the same. I'm basically using this as a controller for my Roland Cloud instruments, so it's not a total waste, but it's kinda a disappointment after the placebo effect wears off...
A lot of people have this idea that the Behringer Deepmind 12 is a Juno-106 clone, I'm going to have to disagree with that, it's more, and this is something else, and it's dope AF! I've only had this synth for about 2 weeks and I'm still learning it, but it sounds beautiful and it's allowing me to do some wonderful things with it. I plan to make a lot of records with this synth, a lot!
Okay so I got my Korg Minilogue XD yesterday and maaaaan, let me tell you that this bad boy is no damn joke! It has a big warm beautiful sound and it's super easy to use. My Korg MS-20 Mini was a disappointment but this makes up for it in many ways. I'm hoping that the Korg Wavestate will have a desktop version because I will definitely buy that one too.
I love, love, love my Arturia MiniBrute. It's brash, warm, punchy, bold, and just straight-up dope! I don't understand how it's so underappreciated by the synth community, this thing is dope!
Studio Equipment 44
DAWs 5
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Hey Apple, I don't know what's going on with the Logic development team, but Logic is not the G.O.A.T. anymore. You guys fell the f**k off. What happened to the stability that we could depend on? What's up with the past 5 updates being prone to impeding bugs and sometimes overwhelming issues? The logic I used to know and love was smooth. I could just work with no problems, but now? Trash...
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Software Plugins and VSTs 24
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Other Gear 1
DJ Setup 4
Wishlist 0
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