Do you own a OT? Go in the project menu then to midi page then select control. Go to audio note in and select follow TM. Now from the MPC select the midi channel that corresponds the track that your slices are on and you can play them from the MPC.
Yeah, Iām still new to it but know a bit from time with the digitakt. Thanks for the reply
Yea no worries!
The Mpc drum synth kick models are excellent. I prefer them to the Rytm MkI kicks. Also prefer them to TR8s kicks as they fully tweakable.
thanks for the info
one more question about the MPC:
how does the sequencer compare to elektron? is it powerful? can it do parameter locking (or something similar?) probability?
Iāve used Eletron for years and now Iām on MPC, but to me the Elektron sequencer is better at things that are important to you: workflow, transformability and reliability. Sure, the MPC can do some form of parameter locking, but itās an automation lane you have to add yourself, for each automated parameter. Eventually, you can reach the same functionality, but itās a more heavy and cumbersome workflow for very little advantage in terms of things you can do with it in the sequencer itself.
Is it powerful ? Sure, it can do a lot of things, but it also requires you do to a lot for it, so ultimately using it feels more like a ātaskā (sometimes even a chore) where the Rytm feels and plays like an instrument. Maybe thatās the price of that āno compromise, I can do everythingā approach of the MPC ?
So do I hate my MPC? Sometimes. But it is so powerful and has a few advantages:
- Battery powered. Pretty nice to make a new kit from a chopped up noise sample while on a train, in a park or whatever - obviously that was before 2020, ughā¦ Might be useless for you, but being able to work from elsewhere sometimes helps creativity to get out of its comfort zone.
- Effects are nice enough. Iām a distortion kind of guy, and the Air Music Distortion included in the MPC sounds pretty good once you start to work with it, easy to get drum sounds like Codex Empire on it, might be interesting for you for another sonic flavor. I found the filters of the MPC to be enough but nothing to write home about. That being said, Iām a spoiled bitch, I have 7 filters and only 4 voices in my euro setup
- Drum layering and sample chopping: that side of things is just well done on the MPC, and layered drums is my way of making stuff go to 11.
- Plenty of tracks and 128 samples per track (or something: basically, a lot of tracks and samples I can load, more than enough to take care of all drum duties in my music.
- Great I/O: bay for a big size drive, SD card, double MIDI I/O
Main disadvantages that I see:
- no conditional trigs. You can find ways to have the MPC sort of randomize which sample is being played on a pad which could be a silent sample, but thatās about it
- terrible workflow and UI/UX. Before that, Iāve been an Elektron-only guy for years, so jumping from Elektron to the new MPC in the state it was when it launched felt like getting punched below the belt by the Hulk. This has wide implications: if youāre like me an bad UX puts you off, you will, like me, miss on the real power of the included synths/drumsynth because the experience is so much worse than working with a Rytm that inspiration never strikes when youāre in there.
- consequence of maybe part of the above, the amount of menus and pages is just too much, a lot of it is due to bad UI/UX again. As a result, it took me way longer to build muscle memory.
- Inputs are very āvynil-sampling-for-hiphopā oriented, I would have preferred another line in instead of the RCA inputs Iāll never use. If only those could be used simultaneously, but no.
- included instruments: Iāve debated putting those in the disadvantages because they came for free, but when I see Bram Bosās stuff on iOS being sold for 5ā¬, I canāt help but think that these synths are a joke. Again, Iām a spoiled b so donāt pay attention Objectively, they are usable for when you donāt have anything else, I guess, but Iād still prefer using my synth samples rather than those - YMMV. Comparing the MPC drumsynth to the MachineDrum is unfair in my honest opinion, the MD is āonly a drum machineā (probably one the best, amarite?) whereas DrumSynth in MPC is a free add-on for what is primarily a sampler. That gap has never felt wider, you will be disapointed if you want MD/Rytm fun out of the MPC DrumSynth.
Sorry for the wall of text but I hope this is useful to you. Never hesitate to hit me up with more questions, Iād be glad to help
thanks for all the info!
It very much depends on your workflow ā¦ IMO ā¦
- If you are more of a āprogrammerā then the Elektron way gives you more.
- If you are more of a āgroovy live-playerā the MPC workflow could be your thing
It also depends on the kind of sequencers ā¦ IMO both sequencers are great and powerful.
- The Elektron sequencers are step sequencers, easy to use, give us many options without diving into lanes of automation, we have parameter locks, and probability.
- The MPC sequencers are linear sequencers and provide much more events per time step. Editing of MIDI and automation has been much improved in the ānewā models compared to the vintage stand alone machines.
Itās also a question of āpushingā hard buttons in the XoX-box way, or āplayingā on soft pads.
I love both for what they are and use them for different tasks.
No one says you cant sample that digitakt into the mpc, or that rytm into the mpc. What i found is - that I cant control too many devices at the same time. I totally respect that other guys like cenk can pull it off. I can operate one or two at the same time - i think its cool to record a loop, and then continue with the next one. When i want to fade in /fade out that recorded loop over a longer period, like 8 bars, the mpc can structure that. So, i would not think it as a replacement, its just something you can use to structure your tracks you create with your hardware. (send program change, send midi if needed.) add that āriser fx sound at that certain pointā, have a background pad /noise sample playing for atmosphere. It can fill out many holes that i had when using rytm or A4 together - same is true for the OT- but there i always had to rely to much on sample chains, which also had to be pre produced, and i didnt remember which sample was on which slice. (when i came back to the OT after some days.)
There is not one thing that hasnt its flaws or strength.
Meā¦I love the Elektron stuff for its sequencer tricks. I love the MPC for the flowy vibe I get playing the pads. Iāll even trig tracks on the DN from the MPC just cuz I can get a looser vibe. And use p-locks on MPC tracks.
I hesitated on an MPC for YEARS. And since getting oneā¦Iām not letting it go. [unless Iām strapped again]
MPC Live is sick. Can run everything.
Same here, which is why I stick to Force and 1 synth. I keep an Elektron box around as I like the Elektron style of Sequencer but I just resample it into the Force. Plus the Akai donāt have a pitch envelopeā¦
man I HATE repeating questionsā¦ill screen cap the answer this time I SWEAR. but I canāt find what I asked before.
im using a simple 808 bass and a I have a bass guitar sound in the MPCā¦fine on their own. get distorted as FUCK if any other sound touches them. and they are not very loud at all. someone had written a solutionā¦I cant find. any help?
I PROMISS ill take a screen cap
[I may have asked the question on YT or somethingā¦I cant remember]
Have you tried dropping the sample levels down to -12dB? By default sample levels play a 0dB and you can easily peak with 2-3 energetic sounds as you described. In the MPC software I try to drag down bass elements -12dB on the fader. That way when I am finger drumming I am less likely to hit the red.
I have not. I will. Thanks
Or create a Bookmark for the post.
I create loads of Bookmarks on Elektronauts.
Start mixing your low end at -12dB as
v00d00ppl said and take it from thereā¦In my Mastering Template one tip that i give to users is that but thatās not the only oneā¦Lots of other great mixing/mastering goodies inside!
It is very easy to overload the āmix busā internally. So samples that hare normalized or loud gives distortion if you combine them with other sounds.
A good rule is to never have any individual tracks peaking louder than -6db. But lower is safer. There is no headroom above zero on the master like on analog mixers.
I just sketched a bit cuz Tinez ragged on the Live for distorting bass.
and I got it bad today. youād think the samps in there would just work. butā¦gotta give em some love I guess.
thanks for tips [to all]. looking forward to trying
Live ii retro is one of the most beautiful things Iāve ever seen.
[editors note: Iāve never used an mpc but grew up with an s3000xl - it takes me back]
if only I could figure out how to need one in my setup
The best thing about the 3000xl is the sound signature/quality.It also looks pretty good.