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Producer’s Edge calls itself “The Journal of Hip Hop, R&B and Rap Music Production.” While this title is accurate, it’s too humble. I first heard of PE a few months ago, but was under the impression that it was just an online blog, not an actual printed publication (which it is). This 140-page full-color magazine is filled with interviews, production tips, tutorials, product reviews and articles, all printed on quality gloss paper – and hardly any advertisements. In fact, among the 140 pages there are only 7 full-page advertisements. The mag also comes with a DVD that includes demo software, plugins, sound clips, samples and more.
Their timing couldn’t be any better, especially with XXL’s Scratch Magazine pushing out it’s final issue last year. However, where Scratch fell short by trying to reach in too many directions, Producer’s Edge seems to be more in tune with their intended audience of producers. The interviews are long and informative, the reviews are relevant and the tips range from intermediate to extremely advanced. Also, compared to any other magazine, this is by far the best content-to-advertisement ratio I have ever come across… along with being one of the more expensive magazines as well - just under $10 (probably because of the great ad-to-article ratio). Speaking of content, that’s what really matters – so let’s get to it.
Among the various features in the second issue (Winter ‘08), I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only were there plenty of good interviews, but they ranged from artists to lawyers, DJs, various professionals and a handful of successful businessmen. Instead of the typical, “so what project are you working on?” that I am used to reading in various magazines asking random artists, PE presents questions directly related to production, like asking Easy-Mo-Be about the S950, MPC, ASR-10 and SP-1200 along with business and digging tips. Havoc talks about the production gear used on his new album, The Kush, along with his favorite gear and industry politics. Sadly, he decides not to give any production tips, saying only: “No secrets.” Diamond D gets asked about sample clearance, favorite gear, production process and comments on the current state of music. They even get 9th Wonder to address rumors from various forums and blogs:
...if I want to make beats with the same snares and kicks (sic) you know what? I’m going to do it… that producer or dissector or whatever can keep downloading my beats.
The articles in this second issue cover lots of ground. Most notable are the articles about setting up a “Digital Record Label” for the next generation of the music industry, explaining mp3 sales using SNOCAP and tuneCORE, and one of my favorites - “The SP1600, SP2400 and Other Urban Legends.” This is the type of content any true producer will appreciate, and the type of content all other magazines have been lacking to a certain degree. One of the tutorial sections in the second issue was written by L-ROX of RedSecta, called “Mastering Part II.” It covers balance, signal path, mono vs stereo, reading meters, monitor placement, room calibration and much more. With many articles like this, PE proves that it isn’t just some watered-down excuse to show lots of pretty pictures. In fact, the lack of pretty pictures is one of the only cons to this great mag (the other being price).
After such a praising review of the actual content, I feel a need to balance it out a little with some critiques of the overall layout and design of the magazine. First, the magazine is printed in high quality glossy paper with color printing… however, most of the magazine is just black text on a white background. Most of the colors in the magazine are from the (very few) advertisements. Most of the articles also follow the same three-column format, which makes the whole thing feel more like a news paper than a magazine. And one of my biggest gripes with the design is about the fonts used (or rather lack of). Of course, content is king – but when there are 140 pages filled with lots of information, it’s good to have a pleasing design; I found myself getting bored with reading more than a few articles at a time, because of everything just mentioned.
All of that being said, I have very high hopes for Producer’s Edge. The magazine touches on lots of specialized topics that may leave music fans scratching their heads, but beatmakers and producers will be taking notes. If you haven’t already grabbed a copy from your local bookstore/news-stand, you can get more details at ProducersEdgeMagazine.com. All of that said, I am definitely signing up for 2 years (8 issues) soon, which gives you 50% off cover price.
2 new beat meets! are now up. both are due March 16th, 2008.
Enjoy! (the beat meet rules have changed slightly.. you may now use your own bass, as long as it's not a sample - must be a regular bass tone). Read the rules for details.
You may have noticed there are 2 beat meets going on now with the same due date. Just trying something out - for those of you that don't think 1 beat meet is enough! Try them both out, and make sure you enter the right beats into the right threads. Let me know what you think about the kits.
Killah Priest stopped by the forums to post an update.
Check it out here and leave some comments.
For those of you that are used to surfing blogs with RSS readers and etc., HipHopProduction.com now supports RSS feeds, and the main page acts as a blog.
The direct link to the RSS feeds is:
http://hiphopproduction.com/hhp_rss.php
