MPC Thread : MPC Live - MPC X - MPC One (Part 1)

The Lounge Other Gear
#1192

guess what, I’m back with more questions :stuck_out_tongue:

first of all I have to say, I’ve been thinking about my workflow on the OT, and I do realize that almost every time, I record tracks live by using the trig keys - so velocity sensitve pads would make a lot of sense for me.
I also really like working with one-shot samples, adding percussion elements as I go, based on what I’m hearing - on the OT this can be somewhat frustrating as I can run out of tracks fast, ie. having independent tracks for closed/open hihats ( I do use sample chains - always - but having no polyphony on tracks makes it a bit limiting for me sometimes, specially on percussion layers, sounds with tails… another point for MPC - wich I know doesn’t do sample chains or anything like that, but having 16 pads/tracks instead of 8 might fit my worflow a lot better - and I’m not even considering the 64 stereo voice polyphony, wich is ridiculously high imo)

so, my questions:

  • can you easily duplicate the length of a track in a sequence in real time? I really like that on the OT - say you have a 16-step pattern, you want to make it 64 steps to add a detail on the 4th bar… I guess it should be, but anyway.
  • one-shots are always polyphonic? ie. can I layer the same sample in diferent tunings overlaping themselves?
  • I still don’t fully understand the new clip tracks, I mean… what would be the limitation if I want to use a long melodic sample that loops in an audio track?
  • I think this is unclear so far, but do we know how many octaves we can transpose a sample in chromatic mode (I think it’s called levels on MPCs)?
  • another aspect in wich it might be way better than the OT: is it easy to create a “setlist”? in the OT, if I want to mix one track from a project with one in another project… well, I don’t.
2 Likes
#1193

ahh ok, let’s go:

  • no idea if you can duplicate easy on the fly. On earlier MPCs this was possible, but it required stopping playback. Really hoping no more stopping needed.

  • oneshots can be either poly or monophonic. There’s also a lot of choke groups for chh/ohh action.

  • No idea what the max lenght for the clip track samples could be. Maybe limited by the RAN only? No idea if the audio tracks can be looped or not (well certainly by copypasting the same regions one after the other but…)

  • chromatic mode? you mean the keygroup programs? for those the transposable range is the full 128 semitones as in the MIDI specification.

  • No idea what you mean by a setlist? All sequences (patterns in elektron lingo) can be individually saved and loaded to any project. Obviously you also need to save/load all the programs used by each sequence.

And btw, there are not 16 slots per drum program, but 16 * 8 because you have 8 pad banks. So that’s 128 pads per program. 128 * 64 tracks = 8192 pads! And since each pad can layer up to 4 samples, that’s a total of 32768 samples, although you might run out of RAM before reaching this amount lol (and still only 64 simultaneous samples can sound)

#1194

64 stereo samples usually means 128 mono in older MPCs. A drum kit will probably contain mono samples. So 64 is the worst case scenario where all of your samples are stereo. But i may be mistaken. We will see about that.

64-128 samples at the same time plus the external gear you probably sequencing is a lot. I don’t think the sample polyphony will be limiting factor for the new MPCs.

1 Like
#1195

Yeah, I think I will rarely (if ever) run out of samples nor polyphony on this thing. Just trying to state the (academic) stats here.

2 Likes
#1196

The 8 audio tracks are going to be huge with a portable device like this. Experimentation with this is going to be next level. Paired with an OP-1 and I’ll be in heaven!

2 Likes
#1197

I think that the MPC Live main draw for me is the 8 audio tracks synced to midi, I have come to the conclusion that for me most sampling is a PITA, at least in terms of recording, mapping them, setting levels and trim points, naming etc, it is a total ball ache when dealing with kits or multisamples, and it does not seem to matter what I use, touchscreen, computer or dedicated hardware, the gonad pain persists regardless. And preset sample libraries are fine for many people but not for me, generally, unless they are sounds I cannot easily or practically recreate myself, like strings or choirs or weird stuff, but even then I edit them.

However, recording loops, chopping them about with the OT or OP-1 is pretty fast and painless, and the limitations of the devices mean that I won’t get bogged down in minutae trying a zillion different possibilities, the upshot of which is that I am in with a chance of finishing something. The downsides of these two though are the limited time and precision editing of long recordings, so for me this is where the new MPCs might shine.

I guess time will tell if akai have changed the game, but interesting nonetheless.

Also nice to see that boot up time seems pretty fast!

2 Likes
#1198

Lazy chop looks like a nice feature to quickly chop samples and get em to the pads! Looking forward to that.

2 Likes
#1199

I want to plug my OT and a Live into each other and see what happens…

3 Likes
#1200

Same here, play a noisy patch on the Blofeld, chop it and layer drum sounds on each pad…

1 Like
#1201

Here is what i think my set up is going to be.

MPC Live and OP-1 for main production.
2 Moog mother 32s, a DSI OB-6, a Rtym, and a A4 to create my own samples.
Create songs in the MPC and record stems into the Octatrack as the master tape.
I take acid, trip, and then dj my music on the OT. I make millions of Pennies.
Be the Uncle your parents always kept you away from.

7 Likes
#1202

Me too. But then I’d press play and rec (on both), and hear what happens :wink: [quote=“Infected, post:1199, topic:32978, full:true”]
I want to plug my OT and a Live into each other and see what happens…
[/quote]

#1203

I’d say a normal way to play/record midi notes as you played them, as some sequencers can do since 25 years…
Editing was more complex.
Mpc Live seems impressive in midi editing.

Ok but step seq is physical on Ot. Real difference. Complementary ! You can rec midi Ot’s step seq in an Mpc, play chords in Mpc, use the Ot’s arp, lfos, rec in Mpc…even several tracks from Ot to Mpc.
As there are 2 midi in/out with merge, if it works like Mpc 1000, a lot of crazy combinations available…

2 Likes
#1204

Well programs can be either mono or poly, and then within poly programs you gain set each pad as mono or poly and you can set mutes and chokes, so in terms of voicing its lots of options

Also, the 8192 pads thing sounds a little off, I don’t think anyone would create a 16x8 pad program for each track. Most use a program across multiple tracks!

#1205

If anyone in the US is thinking of buying the new Akai boxes, PSSL.com has a 17% discount code on their web site that can be applied to these boxes. That takes the MPC Live down to $995.

I’ve never ordered from them so I can’t tell you how good or bad they are but I’d figure some of you might be interested.

2 Likes
#1206

apparently Behringer are releasing a synth… seriously. Called deepmind 12. (Sorry wrong thread)

1 Like
#1207

Mpc live, top of my “new gear” wants list unless elektron drop summit real good this week. The sonic state video got me lol

1 Like
#1208

That Nick dude’s face is pretty funny in parts of that sonicstate review, genuine astoundment/confusion. Haha.

#1209

I was thinking the same, you don’t usually see Nick looking surprised…

I’m actually thinking of scaling down to just MPC Live (or X) Blofeld and maybe 0-Coast…

2 Likes
#1210

I struggle across the board with modern tech making the process of creation almost too accessable, i personally relish kit that forces the user to work at it and learn it to get results, niche retrotech or boutique products that would baffle most laypeople or force us to work within certain limits and perhaps at a slower pace.

While Akai have given us what we wanted and i feel churlish highlighting this.
As there is plenty of used stock still out there for those that wish to work in a classic way
But where Rytm differs to this product as far as i can see is that it is more of an instrument that requires you to learn it to get the best results and that it is more open ended in its uses and application.
For me the new Akais are feature rich but they lack the mojo of The golden era and dont hold any spell over my hard earned…yet

1 Like
#1211

Pretty sure that users with imagination will find a fair few ways to abuse these MPCs in ways similar to RYTM’s depth… Resampling, automation, fx, timestrech, pitch, lfo, x/y, slicing, layer cycle, etc… Gotta be some fun in there somewhere :wink: