“That Neumann mic with its own spotlight on the top shelf would be immeasurably gangsta, but between 2-9 Gs, the only way you are getting that is with a ski mask and something automatic.”

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By Odin Smith  |  Send to Friend

Good People,

Welcome back to the Hip-Hop Quick Stop. Along with Gasoline sold at Patrone prices and Strawberry Blunts that smell like woodchips, there is an Isle tucked away in a corner of the store near the flickering light and mysterious puddle that has music equipment for sale. Here are some suggestions for cheap but necessary equipment to snatch off the rack, if you have money left over after buying smut mags.

Mic Mastery

Due to our equipment hoarding-nature, producers have become the default recording engineer in lieu of a professional studio. After all, we charge rappers all that money for production; the least we can do is record the songs since their budget has been Juxxed, right?

Pockets crispy with copper coins thanks to beat sales, we bounce to the music store to cop some respectable equipment to record the loud mouths.

A Radio Shack Mic wouldn’t be a good look. That Neumann mic  with its own spotlight on the top shelf would be immeasurably gangsta, but between 2-9 Gs, the only way you are getting that is with a ski mask and something automatic. If a long bid upstate doesn’t fit into your schedule, you are going to have to settle for something more affordable. If you have $500 to spend on a Rode Condenser, your vocals will have a nice professional sound. If not, you can’t go wrong with the Shure SM58. For a hundred Lincolns, it will hold you down better than anything in that price range. Ask around.

Don’t forget about a mic stand. For most mikes, anything will do, and an acceptable stand will only run you between $20-40 . If you do get your weight up and get a condenser, you might want to get a shock mount for your stand. Plus, it looks very hi-tech, like you are rapping in a NASA facility.

 

 

Rhyming Up the Walls

Next, you have to create a good recording environment for the emcee to do their thing. I’m fortunate to have a large walk-in closet in my studio that I’ve flipped into a booth area. It’s worth the “rappers coming out of the closet” jokes alone. If you don’t have a free closet to shove your gang in, I guess the corner of the room your equipment is in will have to do. With professional sound-proofing outside the range of most of our wallets, there are two popular, folk-style soundproofing remedies; egg cartons or sleeping bags. Classic.

Egg-crates: Don’t front like you haven’t see "Hustle and Flow." This actually does work. You probably don’t have to straight swipe old egg crates from the back of Pathmark; you can probably just ask a manager in the store if you are able to put simple sentences together. And if not, I guess you got to get gully. If we steal samples from soul records, grocery stores don’t stand a damn chance! Make sure you clean them, though. Rotting egg smell lingers, and is an aphrodisiac for bugs and insects.

 

Sleeping Bags: If you rent and your landlord isn’t hip to glue or staples in his wall (dumb punk), head to the thrift store to get sleeping bags on the cheap as a tolerable temporary sound-proofing. Although, be prepared to get stared at by the staff and accused of pedophilia underneath their breath. (I can’t even go back to Village Thrift on Broad Street.)

Be prepared to clean them off, considering that you don’t know where they have been, and that can be a scary prospect in Philadelphia. You could put them in a washer and dryer, but I would recommend hitting up a Laundromat, or wherever you don’t care about the machines. Then, you can hang them up wherever, and take it down when you are done. It’s a bit of an eyesore, unless you want to leave them up to cover up your stash spot or your Paula Abdul poster.

Finally, you have to get some kind of pre-amp if you want your vocals to sound professional at all. If you can afford something with Tubes you’d be doing it major, and in that case, I would recommend one of the Avalon Pre’s. Tubes will help give you that warm, present tone that combats against the generically digital sound that a straight mic into a computer gives you. But, if you’ve already spent most of your money up on mics and soundproofing, Behringer has a nice line of products that are cheap that give you some basic gain, compression, EQ and de-essing options to work with, as well as some attempts at tube simulation. But, like the spice in your cabinet with no label or expiration date, its best to only try a little.

Otherwise, you know what it is. I talk about a pop filter every article, so you know you have to get that. You need headphones for rappers to hear themselves talk about how great they are when they are recording and some Tylenol for yourself. Also, I would recommend a gag.

Well, that should be all you can carry for know, unless you got arms as long as Manute Bol’s, or brought two carts with you for kegs. Once you can scrounge up more coin, you can come back and buy that fancy shit that’s voice activated. I’ll still be here, looking for a mixing board with a sandwich maker on it.




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