Blog for Big Grime

Is music going to die? Here's the hard truth Vol. 1

2010-07-08T07:53:57-04:00

To give you a short answer. Yes! Yes technology has given us things that musicians, engineers of the past would of dreamed of having. Really think about it. The music industry is flooded with bad music. Bad music was always there but, with everyone and their grandma having the ability to record and make a beat. There are a lot pf people who are not good at all and have no passion for making professional music. If you want to make beats. Honestly as long as you have a computer, a $100 or $200 computer program or download for free and you are set. Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=293947797#ixzz0t5haWw8oBefore you had to spend money. For those who were not serious about music would not spend a decent amount of money to make music so a lot of them did not toy with the idea of getting into music. Now it is too easy.
Music is no longer something you have to pay for. It is free. You have the choice in if you want to buy it or not. I have talked to many young people and they have never I mean never bought a CD. Only people in the mid 20's and up will buy CDs and a lot of the people in they're 20's don't buy CDs. If you are in your 30's you are used to buy tapes and CDs. Whats going to happen when this new generation grows up with the mind set that music is free? Who will buy hip hop music? Hip hop depends on the young generation to thrive? Yea Nas said hip hop is dead. Nas didn't tell you what is next to die.
Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=293947797#ixzz0t5haWw8o

Stop being a VST hoe

2010-03-22T14:24:14-04:00

Stop being a Vst Hoe

Now Vst software have been a life saver for a lot of producers and engineers. You are now able to do things that was not possible before Vst or it was just too dahm expensive. However do we really need all these different kinda of Vsts? I get KVR newsletter in my email all the time about the thousands(maybe not much) of compressors and Eqs and synths that are released all the time. Do I really need 10 different Eqs? Sure the gear is going to give you different sounds but, come on you are being pimped. They are coming out so much because its easier to produce and make money. If you wanted to release a hardware synth it would take more resources then a soft synth. Then you have companies like (Waves) who are not even creating original shit anymore. Its just remakes of old gear. Do waves stuff sound good? Yes. It would be nice to get some new shit that sounds good too. My point is this. Choose what u like and use it. Don't buy or download the latest Vst just so you can say you have it. What sounds good this year will sound good next year. Stop being a hoe.

Created by Big Grime

thought process in making a beat

2010-10-21T00:07:23-04:00

People ask me a lot what is my thought process in making a beat. I first start out in a mood. That mood sets the tone for what the beat is going to make you feel when you hear it. Music is suppose to make you feel something. So then I think of a song title that fits that mood. I start with a melody that further put you in the mood. Once I got that main melody down I have to give it a back bone with some drums. The drums give the beat shape. I will play that for about 10 to 15 mins. Just collecting ideas for what I can do to this beat. Also I am imaging a artist on the beat cause ultimately that is the goal to get a artist on it.(If that is the goal) Once I have collected my ideas. I make it happen on the Korg M3 and spice it up to start sounding like a finish product. Once I think I have a nice base. I save it and work on the next beat. Why? cause what you thought was hot that day may be wack tomorrow. It's just what I call resting your mind. When you wait until the next day it give you fresh ears. Its it good to you then I add things and make changes, break, bridges etc... When I am done I tracking out each sound in Cakewalk Sonar. Then I begin to mix and master the beat to what you hear on my site. In general that is it. Thanks for reading and look out for more.

Should I sign to a small record label?

2009-12-31T12:56:55-05:00

It all depends on what you are looking for. Some small labels can be a benefit if they are really making moves. I
have seen some so called record labels and they didn't even have a business licence. So just check to make sure
that they are for real. There are some quick ways to find out if they are for real. Ask to speak with the lawyer that
represent the label. If no lawyer then they can't be doing nothing major cause no business would do contracts
without a lawyer or someone who knows the law and can read contracts. If they talk about releasing your work
under the label ask them what type of budget they are working with. If they give you a number. Ask to have it in
writing. People will tell you anything but, will not put just anything on paper with a signature on it. How many
people is on the label? If there are more then 3 and none of them have a record out then I wouldn't sign just
because they already have 3 artist before you. For a small label that is a lot of people.
Never record any songs in a small label studio until you are sign with them or have a written agreement that the
studio time is free and you own the work. If you pay for the studio time then you are fine. Ask what are the goals
of the company in the next 5 years. Ask for a time line. Yes shit happens and it can change things but, you want to
do business with someone who has a clear goal. without a goal you increase your chance of failure. These are not
the only things you need to look out for in thinking about signing to a small label but, these things will cut out a lot
of bull.

Is site like soundclick and myspace good for producers?

2010-10-22T12:17:37-04:00

Is site like soundclick and myspace good for producers?

There's a ton of websites that allow you to upload your music, pictures, videos and other things to they're site for free. I see a lot of fellow producers using these site as the main website for they're beats. Yes these sites allow you to do many things for free however these websites will never beat having your own site and I am going to tell you why. First off you have to think what these websites were designed for? They were not design for you to be successful. They were design to give people a play ground to play in so they can advertise to you. That's it! They know they have to give you toys to play with in order to keep you coming back everyday so they can advertise to you. Is that a bad thing? No cause they have to get paid too. They can't run a major site like that giving away everything for free. So they charge for advertising. Now these site such as social networks are good because you do meet people that otherwise would never had met. Now that's what social networks and website like soundclick is good for. The first contact. Don't try to cram pictures, videos, and music all on one page. Put a few things on there just enough to make them go to your real site. Get your own site! That might be scary for some people who don't know coding but, there is templates at many website hosting sites so you don't have to code. You might be thinking it must be expensive. What! I just went to soundclick.com and and saw you can upgrade to there VIP membership and is $9.95. I can show you how to get your own website with your own domain name, 1,000 email address(yes it can be useful), unlimited space(You could use it as a unlimited hard drive) and many more features for $4.99. This is special going on from 9/10/09 - 10/08/09. Even without the special lets say you don't get a chance until after 10/08/09. You looking at $8 to $12 a month. Use those site as a marketing tool to your own website and be your own soundclick or myspace. Go to my site. scroll down to news and you will see where to get that deal.

Written by Big Grime for biggrime.net

Hardware synths Vs Software synths VST for making beats

2010-10-20T23:58:54-04:00

This is for my beginners or someone who might be thinking about switching for one to the other. Both hardware synths and VSTs have advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately different kinds of personalities will want to use more of one then the other. To give you a straight answer which is better. Neither one! They both sound good. You can make hits using both. So why do people always say one is better then the other? Its human nature for a person to say that what they use is the best. What they really mean is this is the best for me or better yet this is the best I can afford. When I first started "2002" everybody was talking bout the hardware workstations and how you had to have them. I shortly found that wasn't true. At the time VST were not the best sounding but, since I was just starting out it was fine for me. As time VSTs was getting better and better. People started peeping it out. Now its like the standard. People ask me what VSTs I use not even for a second thinking I might be using a workstation. The point is since everyone is using the VSTs now that's what they are going to tell you to use. Just like back when I started everyone was on the workstations such as the Korg Trition. I say demo them both. When you do demo them. Ask yourself. Which is more fun. Cause if its not fun. Whats the point? Some people like the hands on control of the hardware synths and some people like how flexible the software is. That's the biggest difference you will see with software and hardware. Hardware has the hands control and the software you can go deeper in and customize to your liking. Don't get me wrong the hardware can be flexible too but, not like the software. Software sometimes depending on the software may require you to have a powerful computer to get good use out of it. Hardware you don't have that problem. You get hardware still sometimes you find yourself still needing software and a computer so you could skip the hardware and go software. The software companies have tried to give you the hardware feel with midi controllers and controls surfaces. For the most part the ones that have done a very good job in doing so cost a lot. There's a lot of arguments that can be made. No matter what you choose. Make sure its fun. If its not fun then what's the point?

Big Grime for biggrime.net

what is most important to an artist when searching for a beat?

2009-03-25T14:14:02-04:00

Is it quality?
Is it quick download?
Is it how popular the producer is?
What do you think?

how i got started producing music.

2009-01-06T11:05:27-05:00

When I was in high school me and a few friends use to crack jokes on each other. It got so bad we would go home and think of jokes just to have stuff to say when we got in class. Well I had a boom box. It was small. The boom box have two cassette tape decks in it. One that plays tapes and the other could play and record. The box had a special feature. It had a hole in it that was a mic. It had a button so when you press the button you could record voice only. Some how it was defected and it recorded the tape player too as i was recording voice. So i started making songs cracking on them. People thought I had a studio. Back then yes if you had a studio at home it was impressive. Very few had home studio then. Even tho it was crappy recording I got a positive response. In short that's how I got started.