Beat Maker Tip - Make Beats on a Budget #1

One of the hardest things beat makers have to overcome is buying quality gear. Yes, making beats can be an expensive hobby or profession.

Luckily I have a tip that very little people know about that can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars on gear. Things like Audio interfaces, MIDI controllers, DAW software and more can be purchased LEGALLY at huge discounts using this method.

Once I let this information out, every beat maker looking to save some dough will be able to benefit. :)

The method is to use something called academic discounts also known as student discounts. There is a little known sector of the software and hardware industry that sell products at discounts for students and teachers.

Most of you out there probably are students or know people who are students. If you do, you can qualify for these discounts.

So what kind of discounts are we talking about? Lets take some real life examples:



Those are some pretty decent savings!

When you decide to buy from an academic pricing site, be prepared to send them a scan of your student or faculty ID. Also be sure to check which items are available to students only versus teacher only.

Now not every software or hardware will be available at a great savings, but if you're a smart beat maker in search of gear, you will take the time to research other sites before you buy.

Audio Production Tips - Fixing Samples

Those of you using programs that can play back WAV samples like FL Studio may have run into the problem where som WAV files play back in loop mode or pitched to a certain key when used in the pattern but sound perfect when previewed.

This is caused by cue points, tempo and root note information being stored in the sample. It is ignored by the previewer but used in the sample player.

There are a few ways of correcting the problem. First you can disable the various settings in the FL channel properties that use these cue points, tempo and root note data.

Here is a video from Warbeats that shows how it's done:




the second way is to run a program to remove the points and resave the sample without them. This would be very useful if you find that a drum kit you are using has a lot of these embedded points.

Enter the freeware Wave File Stripper. A free program from Optostudio to remove these unwanted cue points and markers. Simply drag audio files onto the GUI for processing and continue working.

To make a great program even better, you can donate to the developer and he'll send a proceed of that money to the relief effort in Haiti. How great is that!

Download WFS from Optostudio

Free VST - Spectrum Analyzer

A good spectrum analyzer is a tool every beat maker needs when mastering. By using a spectrum analyzer VST you can see problem frequencies and target your final mix to be well balanced, thus sounding good in a variety of venues (car, club, home, boom box, etc)

Seven Phases have released a great and configurable freeware spectrum analyzer VST plug-in.

Click on the link above to check out the specs of this fine little freebie.











Click here to download the Seven Phases Spectrum Analyzer