A lot of you have been asking me which beat making software is the best so I decided to make a post that is a break down of the price comparison and the features of the top industry standard beat maker software suites.  Here are the top 4 I’ve come up with depending on your budget:

• Pro Tools (costs up to $10,000 for the HD version)
• Cubase (costs around $500)
• Reason (costs around $300)
• DubTurbo (costs around $40)
• Magix (cost around $40)

Pro Tools

This is by far the industry standard for recording software applications.  It’s the most widely used in commercial projects.  However, recently many other quality recording products have begun to level the playing field a little bit due to their easy of use and affordable pricing (with nearly the same quality as Pro Tools).

Cubase

This a great software and an incredible price.  The main problem with Cubase (as well as Pro Tools) is that you have to purchase an expensive audio interface (costs around $400) and a midi controller to bang your beats out on (costs up to $500).  So all in all you’ll going to have to pay at least $1200 for this type of beat making software if all you have is a computer and ideas for beats.

Reason

To make beats with Reason you’ll also need an audio interface and a midi controller.  The great thing about Reason is that it comes with quite a lot cool beats with a lot of different styles of drums.  The downside to Reason is that I found it quite difficult to learn.  They have it setup with two screens and a lot of little unmarked buttons that are extremely important.  You almost have to be taught the basics with Reason to start making beats.  The other thing about Reason is that I’m not sure the sounds are legally copyrightable. In other words. I’m unsure if you’re able to sell the beats you create with Reason or license out the rights of your music to other artists, Television Shows, Movies, etc.

Dub Turbo

This software has come along way.  You can actually make completely unique, professional beats with this software and you don’t even need to buy an audio interface or a midi controller!  Unless you already own an audio interface and a USB or firewire beat machine I highly recommend you give Dub Turbo a try.  It’s really easy to learn from their video tutorials, it’s loaded with incredible sounds, and you can use your own computer keyboard to bang your beats out.  Dub Tubro also has some amazing iPad apps that you get free with the software. To learn more about Dub Turbo watch their how to make beats with Dub Turbo video.

Magix

Magix is a company that creates many different types of software applications.  As far as audio recording is concerned they have fallen behind quite a bit.  I used their software a bit to make some beats for a while and they were pretty good but the production value wasn’t good enough to use the tracks I made for placements or to sell to rappers or singers.  The good thing this software is good for it s creating quick ideas for beats that you can later record on one of the other beat maker software packages.

Final Thoughts on Picking a Beat Making Software

I’ve used all of these software applications and they all have their strong points.  If you have an unlimited budget and time to dedicate to learning to become a recording engineer than I would suggest going with Pro Tools.  If you have a few grand to spend and quite a bit of free time to learn I would suggest you get Cubase and Reason and watch a tutorial about how to put them together.  If your budget is less than $1000 (or even less than $50) I would definitely recommend Dub Turbo.  It’s by far the quickest way to learn and create beats.  If you download it now you could have your first beat done 10 minutes from now.  And the first time you sell one beat you’ve already payed for the software.  After that you can focus on releasing an album, selling more beats, or even licensing your music for Television and Film.  But the first step is getting beat making software and there’s no better time to start than now.

Download Dub Turbo Now

Before I get right into hip hop beat maker software I want to make a quick note to let you guys know that this kind of software can really make beats, or music for almost all different genres.  I’m just explaining hip hop beats in particular for this.

I’d like to first write out what you need from your beat maker software and then go more into detail for each.

1. You need to have quality sounds
2. You need to have a mixer to change volume and panning for the sounds
3. You need to be able to sequence the sounds out into a pattern
4. You need to be able to layer tracks on top of each other
5. You need to be able to mix your tracks down to MP3 for exposure

Quality Sounds

Without quality sounds to work with you will rarely have any success making tracks.  You could possibly get lucky tweeking one out just right but the odds are stacked against you from the get go.  And that’s not good. When you’re looking for sounds for your beat maker software you need to think about what sounds good now – and what classic sounds they have.  Because in music, just like any art form, it is constantly changing and you have to anticipate the fact that the sounds you love now might sound god awful 5 years from now unless you look at it from a classic sound point of view.  808’s, retro synths, clean guitar and piano are a few examples of classic sounds that will in some way or another always be in style.  The best chance is to go with the program with the most sounds… or at least a lot.

Mixer

The mixer is how you control the different aspects of the hip hop or rap beat maker software.  The reason you need a mixer is so that you have control over the individual parts such as volume.  For example, if the snare is so loud it hurts your ears no one is going to want to listen to your track.  So you go to the mixer and turn it to just the right volume.  It’s called the mixer because it’s how you “mix” the sounds together

Beat Sequencer Software

Most beat programs will come with beat sequencer software.  If it doesn’t have it than you can’t do much more than loops.  Not that I have anything agaist loops…. I just need to have the freedom to move the kick, high hat, snare, bass, and whatever else to the right beat.  If it’s locked in stone you can’t do.  That’s why a good, easy to use, sequencer is of vital importance.

Track Layering and Overdubbing

Track layering, or overdubbing, is one of the most important aspects of beat maker software.  Most producers try to use less than 16 tracks so that the song doesn’t get too “busy”.  That is a common mistake for amateur producers.  It takes a long time to master this.  But I’m going to try to give you as many tips as I can to get your tracks up to par quickly.  When layering tracks it’s important to put each instrument in it’s own sonic position.  You can do that with panning and frequency ranges.  Once you have everything in it’s own sonic position nothing is fighting and everything is perfectly audible. You can hear every part separately. I never consider a track finished until I have achieved this.

Mix Down To MP3

If you’re trying to make a living off of creating beats or if you’re just thinking about purchasing online beat maker software it doesn’t really matter because you’re still going to want the ability to share your tracks with people you know.  And the reason you absolutely must have the ability to turn your song into an MP3 via your audio software is because you can easily email an MP3 to any one with an email address.  Now, I wouldn’t recommend sending an MP3 this way unless you know them or they have requested it.  But it can be a great way to send an artist a track to see if they want to get on it, or possibly even buy it from you.  Also, emailing tracks is a great way to collaborate with other artists or producers that are across the country or the world.  I have a friend in Tokyo and we email tracks back and forth regularly. Either to collaborate or just critique.  This business is all about connections and MP3’s are your business cards. And sorry for that rant if you’re not looking to pursue music as an income opportunity.

Well, these are the main aspects of the software you need.  Also, there is online beat maker software which enables you to work with a website online.  This can be incredible because you have the ability to work on your tracks anywhere and also you have access to the vast online sound banks they maintain.  I’ll talk a little bit more about this in my next post.  Until then, PeACe oUt

First off let me say that every beat maker software package is different. Some are similar in the way that they work or the sounds they have, but generally they are all quite different.   Some have sequencers and some only have premade loops.  Now, personally, I would highly recommend a program that has a sequencer.  What’s a sequencer you say? Well, it’s the part of the software they lays out all the sounds.  For example you can have the kick drum play on beats 1 and 3 and have the snare crackin on 2 and 4 or whatever you want if you have a sequencer.  If you’re working with software that only has the ability to make loops you can’t actually alter any of the different hits (kick, high hat, snare, piano, etc.).  So as you can see that can REALLY limit what you can do as a producer.  And that’s not really the route you want to take unless you just wanted a quick beat to jam a guitar, piano, or flow over with some friends. And when we’re making beats in my studio we definitely take the time to jam out a bit.  It’s an important part of the composition process.

Another thing that I would highly recommend you stay away from is free beat maker software.   This is a pitfall that many of my friends have gotten caught up with. If you get the software for free it’s either going to be junk or it’s stolen and you can’t use or sell any beats made with stolen software.   Also, the FCC has been cracking down on illegally downloaded software.  It’s just not worth possibly going to jail for illegally downloading something like fruity loops beat maker software. I’m not going to get into exactly which software you should purchase right now but lets just say that you can get a professional grade system for under $50 now.

When it comes to the basics of beat making the number 1 most important thing that you must do over and over again is LISTEN.  Listen to the music that you like.  But don’t just listen to it the way you normally do…. start dissecting it in your mind.  You’ll start to realize what they are doing and how many producers are utilizing the same musical concepts and slowly and carefully branching them out into their own unique styles.  And that is the most importand part of becoming a producer – your own style.  Think of any of your favorite artist and notice how they don’t sound like anyone else.  They may have a similar style but that’s only because they probably have been influenced by them.  The important thing to understand with beat maker programs is that if you don’t tweek out the sounds enough you run the risk of someone else using that same preset… and then you’ll have the same sound.  It’s one thing to be influenced by another artist and it’s another thing to copy their sound. And this is one of the those areas that will just get better with time.  The more you write the more you’ll be able to walk that fine line and discover your own true style.