so, you think the Beat Thang's a toy?

[slik da relic]

had to make this its own thread:



da relic

 

[Kontents]

Looks fun. Nice post.

 

[UNORTHODOX]

does look nice!!

 

[hanayalator]

How much are these supposed to sell for?

H

 

[Shonsteez]

Im really curious what the A-D is like on this thing. That, and its time correction/shuffle/shift facilities. Also, it appears to use a grip of power for all of its fancy lights and shit, I wonder how long its internal ion battery lasts?....If it could hold a significant charge for say 5-6 hours that would be impressive.

 

[slik da relic]

its supposed to sell for $999... and as far as the lights? i asked this same question months ago, but the Beat Kangz has a video posted on youtube showing them switching ALL the lights off and still operating the machine... this vid alone shows the time and dedication theyre puttin in, to make this THE portable machine that u want... i was sold on the specs b4, but now, im just speechless... my only peev is that it uses an adapter and not a three pronged ground plug.

da relic

 

[Shonsteez]

Yeah, the three pronged plug just feels more stable and reliable, especially after years of use.

The LCD screen is pretty impressive but Im weary of how long that puppy would stay lit up nice and bright too??? But I agree, it looks like their putting together a pretty dope machine.

IMO its one of those things you really gotta test drive in person before you just hand over your hard earned money.

 

[slik da relic]

i feel u on that... im gonna be test drivin that sucker for a few hours when its shipped to the music store, but u still wont know til u get it home.

da relic

 

[hanayalator]

It def looks cool....I just don't know why they didn't show more of its beat-making abilities in the video. That was 10 minutes of showing off the lights and features without actually playing anything! (I think they played a short sample for a couple secs..)

 

[SirSedric]

The forums worldwide are ablaze with stuff like this about the Beat Thang hardware...

I think, in reality, if it's a $1000 product... It needs to compete with, and be compared to, other $1000 products in the same market (meaning no comparisons to Maschine and software-dependant products, no comparison to "flagship" models by big companies)...bottom line, it has to be a competitively-featured product to cost $1000.

If you can get brand new MPC1000 (I know, not the best/preferred model... eh) for $1000 and they basically are designed to accomplish the same thing... you have to weigh them for what they are and what they are capable of.

Assuming all things are equal, in that some people's assessment of features will vary based on taste (pad feel, logistics/mechanics of chopping samples, side wheels, etc...), I'll count my opinion out on those things. I've never played with the Beat Thang, but I have my opinions about the MPC1000 for sure...

So break it down, what do you get on a Beat Thang that you don't on an MPC and vice versa?

I admit, I haven't done my homework as of yet... but I plan on looking into the Beat Thang a little further and seeing what it's worth when compared to a similarly priced product.

From what I do know so far, the Thang looks promising... bigger stock memory than MPC1000 and therefore larger and more hip-hop-centric library... Pitch and mod wheels on the side, adjustable encoders and 3.5 inch color screen with internal chopping and switchable backlighting for the power-conscious... stacks up very well on the surface, doesn't it?

 

[slik da relic]

It def looks cool....I just don't know why they didn't show more of its beat-making abilities in the video. That was 10 minutes of showing off the lights and features without actually playing anything! (I think they played a short sample for a couple secs..)

this is the latest vid fam... there's other vids on youtube that came out last year that show beats bein made.

da relic

 

[booya_nang]

That thing looks pretty sexy haha, thanks for posting

 

[LDB]

Looks dope...sounds dope. I for one believe these guys are SERIOUS about putting something fresh, new and needed on the market. I will more than likely snatch this up when it drops. Looks like probably the only thing bubbling that could pull me "some what" away from Ableton live.

 

[thedreampolice]

Looks cool for sure, of course everything we use is a toy

I don't see anything getting me away from software at this point but I do look forward to playing with this.

 

[Ominous]

When I first heard about Beat Thang, I thought it was a toy. This vid def peaks my interest. But I try not to get too excited about it because gear lust can get you in trouble. My main question when it comes to equipment now it workflow and ability. If this thing has real time pitch shifting without changing the length of time a sample is triggered, well, lets just say this thing will be untouchable.

 

[Relic]

If I spend a grand its gonna be upgrading my current set up..
I need some M-Audio products I think. I dont know why, besides to support these guys in more than spirit, I would cop one of these if I have a 2500.
If I could afford it I would prolly cop the BT to support though.

 

[slik da relic]

If I could afford it I would prolly cop the BT to support though.

and there u have it ladies and gentlemen... the new name is now "The BT" good job fake rel.

da real

 

[saintjoe]

I've messed with it in person, out at namm I went up to their suite. I didn't grab the camera tho, we were supposed to get some video footage the next day.

anyway

it's solid, and I'm even more excited now that I've actually seen it. The size is very portable, but not too small to be almost unusable ( I used to rock the yamaha qy100!!) The feel of it is very sturdy, it's got some weight to it.

The backlights can be turned completely off, or dimmed down. I was there for at least 2 hours just messing with it, and chatting with them...it was running on battery the entire time, lights on and everything.

I really wanted to have it with me on the plane, I tried to use my laptop (regular 15" size) and it's just slightly too big to fit on the tray table...maybe if I was in first class it wouldn't be an issue lol.

But the size if this would fit perfectly.

I like that it has sd cards, and the fact that they did something to wear it will stream your sounds from the storage...pretty much increases your memory quite a bit. My idea for this, is to load up my own sound library on the sd cards and have the ability to take a majority of my loops, riffs, and drums with me when I don't feel like being at the computer.

I personally don't plan to sample 'into' it much myself, neither did I do that with my mpc..I mostly load loops and riffs, chop, load drums, etc. I like the idea of a customized sound module basically. It's just portable, honestly that's my main thing about it, being able to take it wherever I want and not worry about pluggin in. That and the streaming functionality allowing access to many more sounds than I can access at once with my mpc.

One thing I don't understand, is if it will stream samples, what the actual RAM is for. It also comes with 2gb of flash rom...700+ mb is taken up by the internal sounds, but that leaves the rest for storage right out the box. So if you don't have a card or thumb drive already...you still got storage for your samples.

I'm really trying to get my hands on a pre production unit, if I do...expect tons of videos lol

 

[mono]

hahaha, "cos when you hit it, it goes 'blaangg'" i like that.

 

[mono]

...vapor ware ? ^^