No Alias - In the Background

[naj_ahead]

What up! I've been lurking here for a while (shout out to Dibiase who hipped me to the site) and recently decided to create an account.

To briefly introduce myself, I go by No Alias (or just N/A - Naj Ahead is another alias, which I know contradicts me not having an alias lol.) Reppin' L.A., I've been on the beats for 10+ years, rhyming since before I got on the beats, but lately it's been more beats than rhymes. I've mostly been an MPC guy, but a freak accident blew out the outputs on my 2000XL, and though I also have an SP 505, it took me some time before I got the hang of it enough to make beats with it.

So my latest project, "In the Background", is the first I've done without an MPC. All the beats were made on the 505, with some tracking out and editing thru Audacity. Some beats were recorded straight out the 505, and I've also recently got a OG 404 that I've been using for effects. Hope y'all dig it!

http://noalias.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-background

Feel free to check out my other releases as well! Peace

[Calvinhobbes]

welcome man, glad to see you on the forums. favorite tracks were berry vibes (0:50-) thrill ride sloppy slap (1:43-) and upupandaway

[naj_ahead]

Thank you Calvinhobbes, I appreciate the feedback!

[dp]

Smooth brah! How you like the 505 been curious about buyin one

[naj_ahead]

Thanks dp! As far as the 505 is concerned, it's kind of difficult to say whether you'd like it or not without knowing what machines you have used and/or consider buying. As an MPC guy, I feel it has its pros and cons, and it all depends on your preference. I personally still prefer the MPC, but the 505 has cool features not available on the older MPCs that I'm familiar with (mainly, the effects, resampling, and having samples, songs and sequences saved even after turning off the machine.) My main gripe is the sequencing, although I appreciate that the 505 gives you 4 parts (tracks) to work with. There's a bit of working around the limitations, and I find it much easier to translate my ideas to the machine on the MPC. But if you can find a good deal on a 505 (I'm thinking no more than $200) I think it's worth it. Just make sure to get a smart media card which will greatly increase your sampling time (I believe the max is 128MB, which doesn't sound like much by today's standards but is suprisingly sufficient.)

[dp]

I have 404 303 202 the 303 and 202 are broke used to use that mp 1000 but ditched now I pretty much use the microsampler midid up with an mpd and my 404. Thanks for the time brah. Guess I should have been more specific, I was curious if you use the compress and vin sim compress compared to the 404. Is there more head room with it? Found one would come out to 230 with shipping. Kinda on the fence haha

[JACK BURTON]

head nodders

[naj_ahead]

I have 404 303 202 the 303 and 202 are broke used to use that mp 1000 but ditched now I pretty much use the microsampler midid up with an mpd and my 404. Thanks for the time brah. Guess I should have been more specific, I was curious if you use the compress and vin sim compress compared to the 404. Is there more head room with it? Found one would come out to 230 with shipping. Kinda on the fence haha

My bad for the late response. I get where you're coming from now. I've used compression on both and I can't really tell a noticeable difference between them. The major difference is having those 4 tracks to play with, to see the samples you're editing, and IMO better sequencing capability. Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think you can manually mute individual sounds while the beat is playing on a 404. Then again, I haven't really tried making a beat on it yet. If you have the $230 to spare I say you should get it to have another machine to collab with what you have now.