Skurdd
1
Hi all,
Bit of a Gassy Rant (the smell…)
So I’ve rediscovered sampling / hip hop / jungle and bought a turntable to sample some old vinyl. I’ve been using the DT / OT and Ableton for a while now. Sometimes just the OT, sometimes all 3 and sometimes Ableton / DT. It’s a lot of fun.
But… I have been craving an MPC for a long time. (No thanks to Marlow Digs…) I’ve tried the One / Live 2 briefly, but they felt like a more limited Ableton and didn’t have that instrumenty feel for some reason. I like the feeling of playing an instrument. For some reason it felt like a less intuitive computer. But the sampling was top notch; easily slice, edit etc.
On the OT, slicing is a chore. I’ve been requesting the Lazy Chop a few times but it’s rewarding nonetheless. But playing live with the lovely clicky buttons is not as nice as on the MPC.
Now I feel like I’ve got GAS for Pads.
- Old School MPC. They look (and probably feel) amazing. Inspiring. But I can do all of that with the OT. So I’d be buying a vintage piece of gear just for the pads in the hope that it inspires me even more than the OT. I’m at a point where I’m cool with having multiple tools for (kinda, not really) the same job: Sampling. As long as they inspire me. Been looking at a 2000XL / 2500SE.
- New School MPC. I’ve tried it and liked the sample based workflow, but it did not inspire me as much.
- Push 2: Able to chop and slice like on the MPC, but in Ableton.
- Launchpad X: Cheaper Push 2, but I’d still be slicing with mouse and keyboard.
Is my mind playing tricks? I love the Elektron workflow, but I miss the playability. Such a small quirk to base a purchase on. And buying an old school MPC will probably sent me back into the DAW in a heartbeat. Can you relate?
You could plug a LaunchPad or one of the AKAI MIDI Pad controllers into your OT/DT. Or any number of other pad controllers.
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You could consider getting a USB midi host box which would expand the number of class compliant pad controllers that you can make compatible with Elektron machines, adding some of the less expensive (yet still velocity sensitive) USB only controllers to the mix. Might help keep the GAS from turning into new gear regret.
Just to be clear, the usb midi host serves as an intermediary between usb midi protocol and traditional din midi, so no computer or daw is required in between to act as translator.
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What’s your experience level with the old school MPCs? The workflow is very very different from the OT (and the new MPCs). Some might say it’s slower. Others will say it has its advantages. I too often fantasize about going back to the 1000 or 2000xl but the truth is, I think it’s all in my head. There’s nothing that they can do that you can’t do in a DAW.
Claid
5
Ah, it’s time to suggest the Pioneer Toraiz SP-16 to another unsuspecting Elektronaut.
Seriously, the SP-16 is brilliant.
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[For context: I have a late old school MPC (4000) and a new MPC (Live Mk1).]
I think the new MPCs are somewhat underrated right now, and Akai is as much to blame as anyone, because they keep adding more and more softsynth plugin add-ons as a way to generate revenue.
I highly recommend just using the new MPCs like the old MPCs—a sampling drum machine with a multitrack sequencer. Try not buying all Akai’s virtual instrument crap, just make beats. Play in notes “by hand,” then edit as needed by event list or visually with the piano roll. A stylus helps for that.
It’s really not hard to to MPC, it just takes time. No different than the time it takes to learn the Elektron Way—but very different, you have to kind of readjust your head moving between the Live and the DT.
[You asked about old MPC—I can only speak to the 4000: It might have tighter timing and quicker pad-to-sound response than the current stuff (feels like it to me), but you can get a nice feel going on the current MPCs too, just move notes small amounts as needed.]
fwiw
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If you have Suite, there’s an M4L device that allows lazy chop with pads. Not sure if that’s what you’re after but thought I’d flag it as an option.
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I’ll just leave this here…
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Deluge’s pads aren’t velocity sensitive but new open-source firmware is adding lazy chopping to the slice mode
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pidgeo
10
dude, I was just lookin at the launchpadX this mornin 
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First thing first … the basic workflow of the old-school MPCs is in the new-school as well. If a new school MPC doesn’t inspire you, an old-school might not as well. On the new-school we don’t need to use all the bells and whistles and the DAW like features. We can setup drum programs as in the old days and beat the hell out of those 16 buttons. If this is not for you, other gear might be better.
Yes … MPC and Elektron workflow are quite different. If you are into sampling mainly … why not combine the two? MPC was “Midi Production Center” in the old days and particularly the new-school MPCs provdide many easy to use features to control external gear. It should not be a big challenge to control with the MPC pads functions on the OT. If you take a midi-controller keyboard and plug it in the MPC you have pads and keys. I do this all the time to play chords and melodies.
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Skurdd
12
Looks like a lot of fun!
Right now my Launchpad is indeed used with the lazy chop M4L device, but then I find myself readjusting on the screen anyways.
I figured I’m probably just leaving the MPC thought go for now. The Octatrack still holds many secrets.
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Probably this is the smartest thing to do, especially if this thread has helped address your feelings about the lack of pads.
I’ve said this before, but the one MPC type feature I wish Elektron would adopt, is to allow a simple velocity spread across all trigs in chromatic mode. So, how on an MPC you can have all pads with the same sample, all having different velocities you would have all trigs with this same kind of spread. I feel like this would make up for some of the lack of expression one would normally get from pads on the trig exclusive machines, giving them the feel of having a human element in live recording mode.
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This is the best compromise… get the nice pads… be aware though of double triggers though, and its not that bad considering the pads for the price, and then you can get informed about if you want to invest in a Maschine or 404.
Though to be fair, every sampler can be an instrument if approached with the right mindset, you don’t have to with the wealth of options out there.
Maybe a Beatstep pro? might be a good investment… my only criticism is that there is no fixed velocity, you can go back and globally adjust. (Im just not good at finger drumming control, so I do a consistent velocity.)
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i’ve been using a korg padkontrol with my DT for a long time now, can recommend.
edit: the beige one. i heard the black version has worse velocity response.
maybe you can find a used one cheap.
