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Drew Spence — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:08:05 GMT

"I came across the current issue of Producer's Edge and was blown away by the articles and focus within. Since Scratch magazine is dust, there was a void needed to be filled and your magazine seems to have a grasp on the proper presentation of the niche of hip hop production. The article on the SP1200 and the following interview with Easy Mo Bee was tight. I subscribed this evening in hopes that my support will keep this magazine coming." -EDAYE THE ZRO HOUR podcast/radio show

"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....The magazine touches on lots of specialized topics that may leave music fans scratching their heads, but beatmakers and producers will be taking notes." - HipHopProductions.com

"I like the concept---kinda like a Scratch meets VIBE feel with more space devoted to actual gear and how to use it. Like VIBE, you seem to have hookups to a lot of major players and events, but you present a different angle----more music biz rather than celebrity/gossip like some other publications." - LB Korg USA

"I just got Producer’s Edge #2 and read it cover to cover! Mad props my friend; you have put out an outstanding publication. I think it really raises the bar above anything else I have seen directed at the up-and-coming artists and producers in the hip hop world. Most of even the major publications, and I don’t have to name any names here, seem to be focused primarily on the gloss and glamour of the industry, and on hyped-up reviews of the latest new gadgets which again focus on style over substance. By contrast I think Producer’s Edge is coming from a really good place; everything is very well-written, the interviews are serious and focused with great questions, and the whole slant of the publication is towards knowing your roots, doing your work, and learning how to get the best use out of the tools you have available. That is *so* refreshing compared to the alternative! You all are definitely on point. Keep up the great work and let me know if there is anything I can do over here at Moog to help out." -Amos Gaynes Moog Music

"looking good :) I do really like the fact that there is just so much info in there tho! I find it annoying when I see mags where every other page is an advert." - Fxpansion

I look for opportunities to enlighten the youngsters. I've worked with everyone from Michael and Janet Jackson to David Banner ...magazines like yours have been an important part of who I became. -'Madjef'

Producer's Edge Review by Obin The Incredible

xodus phoenix — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:12:33 GMT

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=99387494&blogID=406567912

Producer's Edge Magazine Review

I was given a trial issue of a new Producer's Magazine. Now I have not seen a hip-hop centered production magazine since Scratch. Now Scratch Started out really good. I had the very first issue but when they got bought out and the new owners (Not going to mention any names) started messing with a winning formula and then started losing readers. Well of course I was one of those readers they lost. So all I have been able to read has been online forums and of course the oldies but goodies. Recording, Mix, Remix, Keyboard, Electronic Musician and of course my usual Guitar Player and Drummer Magazines. Well to the huge demographic of future hip-hop producers, there really wasn't anything to cater to us. It is a HUGE demographic to be tapped into.

Well all of a sudden I hear from Griffin Avid, who just so happens to be a writer for the magazine, that there is such a magazine! He quickly sent one to me and I have honestly read it cover to cover 3 times! It is one of the best magazine I have ever read. They had articles that actually appealed to me. Plus they are not over filled with a bunch of short articles that have no use to me or a bunch of advertisements. Not that advertisements are bad, I understand you pay bills with them so i can stand them, but I hate it when you go through 3 or 4 pages straight of them to get to 1 article!

Things I loved about the magazine is they interviewed producers who are legends as well as some who are carving out their legacy. In my first issue there was interviews with legends such as Diamond D and Easy Moe Bee. Then some current Heavy weights 9th Wonder & Don Canon. And to wrap it up there was a interview with the current "Beast of the Beats" Winner The Applejuice Kid. Checked out his stuff online and wow. Great stuff. I love this magazine. I just subscribed to it. I usually don't subscribe to to many magazines any more but this is one I'll be reading for a while. There is so much information in this magazine. Plus it isn't just useless info, it's all stuff I can use in MY production.

They even went into the reviews and technical info on classic gear like the Emu SP 1200! Then it went right into the interview with Easy Moe Bee who just so happens to use the SP1200. It is just a great thought out magazine made by producers and musicians for producers and musicians! Check it out here at Producer's Edge

Now for the best part of the whole magazine.....It comes with a free DVD packed with demo as well as free software and samples! Has great tutorial Videos and great review Videos! This was by far the icing on the cake! It came with some drum refills made by the great Griffin Avid! This is one of the greatest things any electronic musician/producer can buy. Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced. This and the Beat Tips Manual are on my list to recommend to other producers who want to get started or anybody who just wants to get to the next level in their musicianship and production!

http://www.myspace.com/obitheincredible

Check his blog for sample packs every week.

Search the archives for a Pack from our own Griffin Avid.

I can't believe he called you great..puhleeze.

Your feedback is needed!

Admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:32:07 GMT

I think we more than accomplished our goal to provide a creative blueprint for music production, but the idea here is to find out what we can do to improve beyond the obvious. We learned a lot from just making the first issue and have solid ideas on improving the graphic and text. The first concept was to have a magazine with a web interface so we laid out the magazine to not look like a magazine, but more like an online journal. Here are a couple of things we’re addressing going forward.

Bagging the magazine: We are now going to have the DVD-ROM sealed inside the magazine and not loose in plastic wrapping. The idea wasn’t to keep you from reading the magazine. I have no problem with skimmers, but to be honest if you’ve actually read the magazine you know it’s too much info to absorb all in one sitting. I know you have to use the magazine as a reference. Some have suggested the two be sold separately, but I don’t know…

Reviews: Although it’s requested, I’m trying to stay away from product reviews for a couple of reasons. With a quarterly schedule it’s impossible to perfectly time our review material around product release dates. We’d either be too early or too late to be effective. Also, I like the idea of showing you products so up close and personal you can make your own informed decisions. Sure, anyone could talk up a unit, but I’d rather have someone on it that knows the product inside and out. Is this working for you?

The Producers: Tough one here. I feel it’s the responsibility of any worthy media outlet to bring you news on what’s happening in the industry. I mean records in rotation and having an affect on music enthusiasts. Getting at them early is another key and there should be room for up and coming cats as well. You can still catch knowledge from cats that are not fully established in the production game. Having said that, we have to strike a balance as well; you can’t have everyone that ever sold a track in the magazine. You need to have something to say or give to our readership.

Cover Price: The cost is split between the DVD-ROM and the magazine. Hitting the stands four times a year forces us to jam-pack every issue. Lucky you! Every page of advertising is a page lost to actual content, but there is no way to get unprecedented access to software and hardware without supporting the products with advertising. Don’t get it twisted: advertising dollars will keep the lights on, but we’d rather work by candlelight than compromise our content.

Wow, that was reaching. Sounded good though. So, let us know what features you liked, what articles you found useful, and what else you think we can do to improve. Finally, tell us where you purchased the magazine and how it was displayed and where you heard about us first. Thanks in advance.

Drew Spence

To submit an actual message meant to be printed in the magazine: Editor@ProducersEdgeMagazine.com

For tech related issues concerning the DVD-ROM:

Techsupport@producersedgemagazine.com

For business related ideas and concerns:

sales@producersedgemagazine.com

Store Locations 2008

Drew Spence — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:23:50 GMT

Store Locations 2008

I put together a list of known retailers from the issue 01 launch. This is only a list of retailer chains that carry the magazine and NOT a list of stores. For some of the locations I did include states with significant orders to increase the chances of actually finding a magazine there! For a huge retailer like Books-A-Million it’s assumed to be in every location, but there’s no way I can guarantee that. I will continue to update the list with corrections and updates.

Having trouble finding a copy? You can always Subscribe and order back issues. If you are a specialty store and want to carry the magazine you can find an entry point here.

Thank you for your support of Producer’s Edge magazine.

Alternate Reality IL

Atlantic Book Warehouse

A & W News Corp FL

Avid Reader at the Tower CA

Bargain Books FL

Baton Rouge City Newstand LA

Beck's Enterprises LLC

Bob's News & Books FL

Book Bin Salem OR

Book Depot Inc NC

Bookends Bookstore CA

Bookworm, Inc

Book King

Books A Million

Bookshop Santa Cruz CA

Booksmith, Inc SC

Booksmith CA

Books & Books TN

Books N'Things

Bookstore NV

The Bookstore at U of M MT

By the Book MO

Capitola Book Cafe CA

Cope's Superette Newstand NC

Crossroad Card & Gift

The Disc Exchange TN

The Doylestown Bookshop

Earshot Music SC

Ear X-Tacy KY

Eide's Entertainment

Fairhope Newsstand AL

Fairview Books

F.B.E Inc FL

Garden State News NJ

Great Lakes Book & Supply MI

Green Door Magazines OR

Greenfield News & Hobby WI

Good News CA

Hastings

Harbor News

Highland Books NC

Horizon Bookstore MI

Hudson News

Intl Fashion Publications CA

Iowa Book & Supply IA

Island Bookstore NC

Issues CA

Kepler's Books & Magazines CA

King Fort Enterprises Inc HI

King Video MI

MAC Newsstand TX

Maddy's Books LLC KY

Magazines & Coffee MO

Magazines & More

Marwil Bookstore MI

McNally Robinson

M Coffee CA

MontClair Book Center Inc NJ

Naptown Music IN

National Cigar Inc IA

Neighbors Bookstore CA

Newark Newsstand

New Crescent Smoke Shop AZ

Newscenter Of Easton MD

Newsland Book Store NM

News-Readers Inc OH

Newsctr White Marlin

Newsstand (The) WA

Northshire Bookstore VT

ODC IN

Off the Record Tapes & Video CA

One Stop News

One Stoppe Shoppe FL

Plan 9 Music

Poor Richard's Books KY

Raps LLC WA

Rasputin Records Inc CA

Record Store

Record Time MI

River City Books

Rivertown Bookstore MI

Second Hand Stories

Shake It

Schuler Books & Music,Inc MI

Sonic Boom Records WA

Stef-Jen Inc CA

TJI Corp MI

Toadstool Bookshop

Trident Booksellers Inc

Typo Books

University Book & Supply TN

Vinyl Fever FL

Waterloo Records & Video

Whistlestop Bookshop

Willow Glen Books CA

Wired Mgmt Partners TX

WSA Community Pharmacy WI

World News MO

Hip Hop Production.com reviews PE Mag!

xodus phoenix — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:56:28 GMT

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.

New issue came yesterday and I think....

Oscar Wilde — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:04:59 GMT

Nice work! :D

Much better than issue 01 which wasn't bad.

Lots of text. Maybe the articles in the middle go on a little too long.

Good read. Maybe you could put some of it on the internet.

I like the pictures too. That's different. You MUST add reviews.

There's stuff out there I want to know how good it is.

You don't have to put a number at the end maybe just a grade like B+ to keep it simple. I thought the magazine wa thick and real class. I thought it might get thin pages after issue 01. Keep it that way. Now, just come back more often! :P

Magazine update Issue 02 January 2008

Drew Spence — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 09:24:31 GMT

We are putting the final touches on issue 02 for January. It's a double issue with Mr Collipark and David Banner along with Havoc and 9th Wonder. We highlight some of the great products we came across at the 123rd AES and have a ton of sounds and software on the DVD-ROM.

Sorry about the delay on the updates, but this one is going to be a blowout.

All the artwork should begin changing by early next week.

Thanks for your support. As far as I know all new subscriptions begin filling with issue 02.

See you in the lab.

Drew Spence

Notes from the desk Monday, August 6th.

Drew Spence — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:39:37 GMT

Notes from the desk Monday, August 6^th.

The first issue, Summer 2007, shipped in July and we had full orders. Congratulations and a big thank you to the PE staff for an incredible job well done. We’re rapidly approaching the 4^th quarter and we have an even more ambitious second issue on the way. I’ve held back enough issues to honor subscriptions and single issue purchases.

As a quarterly publication, we shoot hours and hours of video each month and the best segments make it to the DVD-ROM bundled with the magazine. We’ve been uploading a ton of content to our Youtube page since it makes sense to share it now instead of waiting for the next issue. Much of the music production based material will remain exclusive to the DVD-ROM and NOT be available on the internet. You can bounce here to see what’s in the first issue. We also don’t handle tech support for any of the products featured in the Youtube videos. You should post questions on our forums or use the resources provided by the manufacturers.

We love feedback. Drop me a line Editor@ProducersEdgeMagazine.com, but I request you stop sending music since it rejects attachments and, as you can imagine, everyone wants feedback on their production. The PROs’ Picks feature is powered from PRO@ProducersEdgeMagazine.com. Press releases and general heads up should still go to info@producersEdgemagazine.com. See you in the lab.

Drew Spence

Editor In Chief