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Reason 7 Coming Soon! Some Amazing Updates & Changes From Propellerheads

Posted on March 12, 2013 by aktaktion in Production Tips, Reason

reason7-new features release All I have to say is “Wow”! They had me at export audio from a track in Reason as REX file (now we can skip the Recycle program step) so nice! There are many new features added and they also expanded the sound library quite a bit as well with more modern loops for Dub-Step and what not. Man, I am really excited to upgrade to 7. They also finally added an easy way to BUS your track channels making it easier and quicker when controlling the effects, volume and EQ for multiple tracks at once. I would say as far as functionality that is one of the best updates in Reason 7 compared to 6.5 and 6. This makes mixing drums, hooks, verses + adlibs, bridges and many other situations much easier. I won’t get into to much more, just watch the video and keep a napkin close by, as drooling may occur if you are a Reason Head like me.

Reason 7 will be available in retail stores and online on:

April 30th 2013

My Favorite Updates:

- Of course the rack extensions (Started In 6.5)
third party effects and instruments etc.

- Slice auto and export .rex files out of reason! WOW Finally!!

- Bussing (Finally it is easy to Bus into subgroups
for drums, hooks, verse, etc.)

- Spectrum eq for each channel on the mixer!! Nice

- Tons of new loops, Sweeeeeeet, always love that

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Quick Tip: Get Free WAV Files To Sample From Your Local Library

Posted on March 5, 2013 by aktaktion in Hip Hop News, Production Tips

pb library cds 3-3-04 2.jpg If you are like me you like to use a nice crispy (.WAV audio file) when you sample and not some slurpy ass mp3 file from iTunes, amazon, or a random torrent. Also paying for a sample that you are not sure is even going to work for a track can get costly as well. What I have done for years now is head to my local library and check out the selection. They have all kinds of CDs there in most cases (All Genres). You can borrow normally around 20 discs at a time totally free. Unless you bring them back late or damaged of course.

Take them home and rip all the tracks you want through you windows media player or straight into your DAW (or any other method that renders WAV files). Make sure if you are using windows media player you have the rip setting set to WAV (Lossless). Now you can create a large library of tracks you want to sample without spending a dime.

The other great thing that comes out of getting samples this way is you will try some samples out you never would have thought of. They have some really crazy stuff in there usually.

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Kane Beatz In The Studio Talks About Making Beats And More…

Posted on September 4, 2012 by aktaktion in Production Tips

Salute to Drake Presented by Xbox 360 and Heineken at Cafe Entourage in Hollywood on August 26, 2011

KANE IS IN THE BUILDING!! I know you have that before. Kane has worked with almost every major artist from Lil Wayne to Lupe Fiasco. His beats vary in style and flavor, but they always bang. Check out Kane beats in the studio giving you insights into his beat making.

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Get Keyboard Stickers For Your Music Software – Speed Up Workflow!

Posted on June 19, 2012 by aktaktion in Production Tips, Reason

Not too long back I was just surfing around the web and for some reason decided to see if any of music software companies made shortcut stickers for your keyboard. I figured it would be great to be able to see all the short-cuts right in front of my face all of the time. Luckily they exist. The actual companies do not make them, but if you go on Amazon or click the link I provided in this post you can buy them for about $7.00.

Using keyboard stickers when using anything from Cubase to Reason is super helpful. It is good for beginners and pros as it speeds up workflow big time. It can be hard to remember all those shortcuts and even when you think you know them all, you find out quickly that you don’t. There really isn’t much more to say except, GET THE STICKERS!!! I hope they have them for your preffered program/DAW. I also have a small list of the ones I found that are currently available.

Click Here & Get Stickers Now For:

REASON
CUBASE
FINALE
SIBELIUS
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS TRAKTOR SCRATCH PRO 2
SERATO SCRATCH LIVE
LOGIC
SONY VEGAS
SAMPLITUDE

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Rack Extensions For Reason! They Finally Did It!!!

Posted on June 15, 2012 by aktaktion in Production Tips, Reason

Hello Propellerhead Reason Users! They did it! It is finally here. I feel like I am in a dream inside of a dream. As an avid Reason 6 user I have been longing for the day that you could start using the same technology that are in for example VSTi plugins, stuff like the WAVES bundle and so on. Well reason made an upgrade to Reason 6.5 and now those type of plugins are going to be available. The update is totally free to Reason owners and you can buy all the extensions from the propellerhead store online. This is so dope I am flipping out right now, Is this real? Some one pinch me. haha. Well Enjoy the post I am going to go play with some Reason Rack Extensions!

How Are Rack Extensions Implemented?
Well you can now buy rack extensions (basically plugins for Reason) and they work just like anything else in Reason. So they feel just like the effects and instruments do with your current set up.

Basically Plug-ins For Reason – This Is Great

Official Rack Extension Video From The Propellerhead Site

Rack Extensions and Figure App Technology Preview

I will not try to explain the all of it to you as Propellerhead’s Site will do a better job of it. I just wanted to make my fellow Reason users aware of this awesome and amazing update that we have all been waiting for.

Click Here To Get All The Info From The Propellerhead Site

Here Are Some Videos About Reason Rack Extensions!

Bitspeek Rack Extension Preview

iZotope Ozone Maximizer Rack Extension for Reason

Radical Piano – Rack Extension

There are many more instrument and effect rack extensions out there, but I just wanted you to get an idea of how crazy this update is. If you are a current reason owner your update is free just log-in to your Propellerhead account and download the update.

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The Gear Does Not Make The Producer!

Posted on June 14, 2012 by aktaktion in Production Tips

Are you chasing gear instead of finding your sound?

First off let me say this article is based on personal experience with myself and others. It is also an opinion piece so if you do not agree that is totally cool with me as this is music and there are no rules or cookie cutter methods for getting anything done, ya dig.

Are You Always Looking For That Piece Of Gear That Will Make Bangers?

The truth is you make the bangers, not the gear. Yes, the gear/music equipment facilitates the process, but which piece of gear you use or can afford should not decide the sound of your tracks. I spent a lot of my early 20s trying to find myself and also trying to find that magic piece of gear or program that would allow me to make hot beats. The truth is if instead of doing so much searching, purchasing, and learning new equipment all of time I should have been focused more on one or 2 pieces of gear and mastered them.

Now there is another side to this. You may need to go through a few pieces of gear and programs to find the right one for you and your way of thinking. This is actually very useful, but the quicker you can find your musical soul mate the quicker you can start making them heaters.

Chase Sounds, Skills, & Knowledge Not Equipment!

I can pin point exactly when my production started getting way better. It was when I started focusing more on the articles about mixing, mastering, synth modulation and stuff like that instead of reading all the new gear reviews and deciding how to burn through all of the money in my bank account. Start investing in your brain by watching youtube tutorials, reading music production magazines, and talking with other producers and engineers. If you are smart enough musically you can make a hot track on almost any piece of gear, as long as you have the right sounds that is.

Sounds are everything. No matter if are we are talking about the samples you use, the drums, or type of synths. You need to find the sounds you like to use, keep them organized in a way you can quickly recall them and yes, USE THEM!!! If you use a program like Reason, FL Studio, Cubase or any other DAW then you can grab sounds left and right for free or by paying for them. One thing is sounds are way cheaper then new gear 9 times out of 10. They will also normally have a way greater impact on your production.

I like to consider myself a sound connoisseur. From my 6 year fog of smoking herb and ripping samples off records and cds from the library all day. Or surfing online for reason refills and REX files to ad to my collection. The more sounds you have the less chance you have of ever getting stagnate or bored. But just like the gear chasing make sure you USE THE SOUNDS!! Organize them in a way that works for you when you get them and start trying to implement them right away. I have about 350gb of sounds and I can navigate the folders and files with my eyes closed. Well probably not with my eyes closed, but I know where everything is and what it is. This is key.

OK, so the main point of making this post was to let you know that u don’t have to have a 5,000.00 piece of gear to make hits. To be perfectly honest I use 2 programs (Reason & Cubase), one 88key midi keyboard, and ummm, THAT’s IT!! Besides that all I need are sounds, sounds , sounds. Now if have 18 hours a day to work on music and an unlimited budget this article may not make sense to you, but since you are the .001% here that is the way it goes sometimes. I hope this article was helpful you in some way, shape or form and thanks for taking the time to read it. Be back with more soon. Also if you have some time check some of my latest hip hop beats.

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Things To Think About When Buying Hip Hop Beats!

Posted on May 27, 2012 by aktaktion in Production Tips

OK, so you are scouring the internet trying to find the next banger for your album, mix-tape or video and you see all kinds of sites selling beats, so which one should you choose? Well of course I will always say AKTHIPHOP.COM, haha, but there are also many other great beat selling sites out there. I will not give you names as they are my competition, but I will tell you some things to think about when looking for hot hip hop beats online.

1. Make sure the beats/tracks are mixed properly and also come in .WAV format. If the beat is not mixed poperly and does not have that industry sound neither will your track. The reason you want a .WAV instead of a beat in MP3 format is that MP3s our lower quality and have a slurpy sound to them especially when recorded on then exported again. Just make sure the hip hop beats you buy have that crispy, loud, professional sound to them.

2. Try not to buy hip hop beats based on price only. I know you have a budget as we all do, but don’t buy cheap beats just because they are cheap. It may seem like a good idea at 1st but when you get in the studio and the engineer says this track is mixed like crap and he is trying to do quick fixes to make it sound kinda O.K. You will experience “buyer’s remorse” in other words “what the fuck was I thinking when I bought this bullshit”. I suggest buying beats as a lease initially to save money then if the track is definitely going to be a hit, go back for the exclusive rights.

3. Buy Leases Or Exclusive Beats? This is mostly preference, but I would say for the most part go for the lease until you know you got a hit on your hands. For one it is cheaper and two sometimes you get the beat in the studio and the song just doesn’t come out the way you had planned. You can get leases normally from .99 to 99.99 and every price in-between, but most producers want at least 200.00 bucks for an exclusive track as they now have to take it down and never sell it again after selling you the instrumental.

QUICK POINT ON BEAT LEASES: (Don’t be afraid of the lease!!)

Most leases are only sold so many times and amongst those sales a chunk of the rappers that bought them never even use them. (I know wierd Huh! But True!) Then amongst the rappers that do use them very few have a large enough fan base to where even 500 people will ever here the track they did over the beat they leased. Just a quick thought for those who fear leasing hip hop & rap beats.

4. Buy from producers you respect! This is not a must, but rather a suggestion to keep the odds of having a hit record or viral video go up. When you use a producer with a little bit of a name or web presence it can help your track out immensely if they love the song you do. Me personally as a producer if a rapper buys a beat from me on a lease and does a dope ass video and song to it, and gets it a nice amount of plays, and gives me proper credit. I will take the beat down and give him exclusive rights just cause he earned them. Not only that I will also do my part to make the track to go further.

5. Search in different ways and on different search engines! If you want to find as many options as possible you will want to search for beats using multiple phrases. For example : “hip hop beats” “rap beats online” “dirty south beats” etc. etc.. the more ways you search the more sites you’ll find and you may also find some undiscovered gems most people do not know about. Also use Google, Bing and Yahoo as they all show different results for each keyword phrase you type in.

6. Steer clear of generic beat sites that don’t have producers names attached to beats! This is just weird to me. To credit a website in your liner notes and not a person/producer/production team. In the end it is your choice, but being a music producer and hip hop beat seller myself I personally think Wal-Mart beat shops are impersonal and kind of wack.

7. Always record it professionally! Now this last tip is a little for after the fact, yet it is so important I had to ad it. You don’t need to record at a 100.00/hr studio, but you need to record somewhere you know produces high quality sound on “hip hop songs”. You want an engineer that knows hip hop and knows how to record and mix it or you will have a tough time getting the sound you want. In the end when you post the song, or send it to the site you bought the beat from if it is quality you may get love in the future. Meaning they may give you deals on beats or free promotion because you are helping spread there name with a quality track over their beat or beats.

I hop this helps you in your search for that next heater. Hey and while you are looking you mine as well click here and check out some bangin’ AKT Aktion beats along the way. Peace!

AKT Aktion

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