tips for a beginner
by Xandre

Wow man I can't believe no one answered you, its been 4 months. Well the best piece to start with is a sampling drum machine, like you mentioned. I recommend Akai MPC series samplers, MPC 1000, 3000/XL, 4000/XL in particular. Depends on your price range.

Drum machine samplers 'sample' sounds, either live, or from records/cds/tapes/other media and usually places them on various pads. With MPC's and you can truncate (cut/chop) the sound, reverse the sound, apply effects. You build a library of sounds and arrange each part into the sequencer that comes with the MPC. The MPC records this data and can also transmit it via MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) to other machines such as controller keyboards, a more detailed computer sequencer, effects processor, a digital recorder (4-track/8-track, etc.) or a mixer.

A mixer does not come included with these samplers. What a mixer does is process all the signals coming in from your equipment simultaneously so that you can adjust the sound levels, pan and EQ (adjust) bass mids and treble for each sound.

People be fiendin' for the E-mu SP-1200 sampler/drum machine because it has analog filters that are no longer commercially manufactured; this giving it a fat warm quality that has become lost to newer generation digital samplers with higher sampling rates and resolution.

There's cheaper and even simpler samplers on the market, like the SP-606, BOSS samplers, etc. I recommend frequenting music production internet forums and message boards, like NEVAHMIND, mpc-forums.com, futureproducers.com and others to pick up tips and see if anyone is selling gear. Als search on guitarcenter.com, prosound.com, sweetwater.com or on your local craigslist.org page for used gear.

You'll have to get studio monitors (speakers) and either hook into your home stereo or buy an amplifier. I recommend getting a mixer eventually. If your machine doesn't have a CD burner you'll need to get a recorder. And a computer with a sequencer won't hurt. As far as the music making gear an MPC will be all you'll need as a beginner.

Good luck patna, keep pursuing music,

Xandre