One of the easiest ways to get the right sounds for making beats is to purchase some drum kits and sound modules.
When purchasing drum kits, there are a few things a beat maker should consider:
- Make sure you find kits that have more than just a few samples of each type. For example, unless you are sure you only want clap sounds, do not purchase a claps only kit. You want a decent variety of kicks, snares, hi hats and other percussion.
- Make sure you buy samples of CD quality or better. CD Quality is 16-bit, 44.1 Khz WAV files. MP3 files are not CD quality. There is an old beat maker saying: "Garbage In, Garbage Out". Don't start with garbage and you won't end with garbage.
- Samples should also be chopped and when appropriate, looped perfectly. Samples that start late or end early are the sign of a sloppy kit. As a beat maker you can fix some minor errors but what are you paying your hard earned money for?
- Finally check the cost and compare. Buying a small kit of say 100 samples for $40 is way overpriced in my opinion. A good balance of cost and quantity is around 500-1000 samples for $30. As a beat maker you owe it to yourself to listen to demos of the kits and read reviews (hopefully from other beat makers) to get an idea of the true value.
Be sure that when making your rap beats you don't always try to put the sounds together to sound exactly like a well known beat maker or producer.
They way you put together your sounds from your drum kits and instruments will define your style. This will evolve over time but do what sounds good to you and don't be afraid to experiment. Once you become the beat maker known for a specific style (ala Dr. Dre or Timbaland) you will have a corner on that market.
