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

Automageddon · July 28, 2021, 7:54am

Focusrite 6i8 works
Digitone and Digitakt won’t work as they have a fixed sample rate at 48k.

I think the requirements are not only to be class compliant at 44.100 but also to be Linux compatible.

Strangelov3 · July 28, 2021, 8:41am

Did you test the zoom in class compliant mode? There is a switch on the back.

jb · July 28, 2021, 8:52am

Is there a CC list for the new mpcs? I want to midi map a mixer to my tracks. Any other function would be good too

NickD · July 28, 2021, 9:47am

I just tried my Zoom R16 and it seems to be working great after an initial hiccup (there’s no relevant switch on the back on mine, though).

My setup was MPC into Zoom via MIDI, and Digitone into the Zoom via audio.

You don’t need to power the Zoom separately, but if you do then use the USB button to start the audio interface mode. If you’re powered by USB you still need to start the interface, but you don’t need to push the USB button to get there.

Powered by USB, the Zoom will start up in 96khz mode, but as soon as you select it as the audio interface on the MPC, it’ll change to 44.1.

At this point the MPC’s audio will be coming through the Zoom’s headphones. The Zoom’s audio inputs will map to inputs 1-8 on the MPC, either individually or as stereo pairs. The internal mics can be activated for channels 7 and 8, and they work too. The gain knobs work but the faders don’t - and the Zoom’s buttons all send MIDI notes to the current MPC track. I’m not sure if the faders can be mapped to MIDI, I haven’t tried that yet.

I couldn’t seem to assign the MPC to anything other than output 1/2 on the Zoom.

My hiccup was that the first time I powered up the MPC, with the Zoom already in USB mode, the MPC seemed to freeze and wouldn’t move past the initial splash screen. I had to pull the power to reboot, and since then it’s behaved fine.

So from what I’ve seen here, the R16 does work as an 8 in / 2 out interface, which could be very handy. Not sure what version my R16 is on, but I can check if need be.

jollyJamDodger · July 28, 2021, 10:36am

Other peeps are reporting that it’s working: Akai MPC Forums - Compatible Class Compliant USB Interfaces : MPC X, MPC One & MPC Live

Maybe something different in their setup?

SoundRider · July 28, 2021, 2:54pm

Thanks, may be it was me or there is a firmware update, which I’m not aware of. I will check again.

But I don’t think there is a different setup. We can only plug USB cables between the interface and the MPC

Edit: It was me … after setting the sample frequency the interface needs a “commit and restart” procedure. I just hadn’t seen this. After the reboot the iConnect Audio 2+ works fine and I can enjoy to play my iPad synths directly in the MPC.

Yorgos_Arabatzis · July 28, 2021, 11:40am

You should definitely check out the latest firmware release 2.10…

hausland · July 28, 2021, 4:39pm

There are project level functions that can be midi mapped via the Midi Control mode (Midi Learn is possible, so no need for CC assignments in that sense) and there are global functions (Q-Links etc) that cannot be midi mapped at all except when in controller mode (ie tethered to a computer) or via a mod/hack made available by TheKikGen (chrck on GitHub).

orion · July 28, 2021, 6:56pm

Oh word. I think i probably need to update the zoom r16. I was getting the mpc to read it, and the outputs worked but i couldnt get the inputs to work. Ill try again.

I wish there was a line mixer/summing mixer that also worked as an interface. I have so many stereo pairs of trs i want to route into the mpc .

If anyone has a cymatic utrack24 please test this out.

HiGrade1 · July 28, 2021, 7:01pm

sweet! love this mixer. thanks for the info.

Strangelov3 · July 28, 2021, 7:10pm

I missed that part about the zoom model tested being an R16. I read it as being one of the newer L series. They have a class compliant switch. My mistake.

jcavell · July 28, 2021, 7:32pm

I already have a Focusrite Clarett 4 pre (thunderbolt) connected to a MacBook. Can anybody tell me if this will work:

I buy a new class compliant USB audio interface and attach to the MPC. I link its output to the input of the Focusrite via ADAT Toslink. Will I then be able to hear the instruments from the new interface, the MPC and from the MacBook in the Focusrite?

Skurdd · July 28, 2021, 7:45pm

MPC users; did you get the MPC expansion builder software with your purchase? I got the Force, looking to build some stuff; but didnt get the software.

NickD · July 28, 2021, 10:29pm

It’s not in my list of downloads for the One, but expansions are easy enough to create by hand. Grab a free MPC expansion and you should be able to rename it from .xpn to .zip, then take a look inside and modify the support files to match your samples. I did this to split the huge Jupiter Rising expansion into smaller packs (bass, pad, lead etc.) to improve browsing times and it was no problem - the longest part was creating separate icons for each pack. Just zip up your finished pack and rename it back to .xpn. I’m not sure if the Force does anything with xpn files at all, so you might need access to an MPC to check the results - but you can check the unzipped expansion folders are working on the Force.

Skurdd · July 29, 2021, 9:32am

Thanks!

Force takes XPM files as well. Converted my Maschine kits to XPM yesterday with a free tool. Works neat and even includes previews.

captain8 · July 29, 2021, 8:27am

what does ‘works near’ mean, and which free tool is this?

Skurdd · July 29, 2021, 9:33am

Typo; this is the free tool: Maschine Expansions to AKAI MPC and Force

I’m probably going to buy kitmaker though ones i decide on keeping the Force (which Im probably gonna, my OT is up for sale already) because thats just too powerful.

NickD · July 29, 2021, 9:54am

I can break down the Drums pack I created from the Jupiter Rising expansion. I’ve got it all in a folder called Jupiter Rising - Drums. This contains:

All the samples used in the expansion.
The .xpm file for the MPC program.
A JPG of the expansion art for the browser.
An Expansion.xml file containing all the expansion details.
A [Previews] folder with the .wav file the browser will use to preview the expansion.

Here’s the full contents of the xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<expansion version="1.0">
    <identifier>com.akaipro.mpc.expansion.jupiterrising-drum</identifier>    
    <title>Jupiter Rising - Drum</title>
    <manufacturer>Akai Professional</manufacturer>
    <version>1.0.2.0</version>
    <type>drum</type>
    <img>com.akaipro.mpc.expansion.jupiterrising-drum.jpg</img>
    <directory>com.akaipro.mpc.expansion.jupiterrising-drum</directory>
    <separator>-</separator>
</expansion>

The only relevant info here is that the preview jpg is named com.akaipro.mpc.expansion.jupiterrising-drum.jpg - matching the value of the img tag.

Everything else - the identifier and directory tags - I just edited to add ‘-drum’ to the end (and similar with the title tag). Of course I had to pare this down from the XML file and contents in the full Jupiter Rising expansion, which took some initial effort - but if you’re starting from scratch, you could use the above as a template instead.

The MPC program and wav files didn’t need to be referenced in the XML file - the MPC just finds and lists them in the browser automatically. So my JR - Bass folder contains over 600 samples and multiple xpm files, but the XML file is basically the same as the one above - it just has the expansion metadata.

When I’d finished this I just copied the Jupiter Rising - Drums folder to the Expansions folder on my MPC card (and my Force card), but my understanding is I could also zip it and rename the file from .zip to .xpn to create a pack - I think this is mainly for use with the MPC desktop software, but I could be wrong there.

Hopefully that all makes sense, but happy to try to answer any questions. I can’t distribute the example above but I’m sure I could make an example expansion that I could upload if that’d be helpful.

Edit: Here are the folder contents in Finder - there are just a dozen or so additional .wav files after the end that I’ve cut off to save space:

NickD · July 29, 2021, 10:08am

For info, the full Jupiter Rising expansion folder has almost 4,000 files / programs inside, but the Expanson.xml file is no larger:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<expansion version="1.0">
    <identifier>com.akaipro.mpc.expansion.jupiterrising</identifier>    
    <title>Jupiter Rising</title>
    <manufacturer>Akai Professional</manufacturer>
    <version>1.0.2.0</version>
    <type>drum</type>
    <img>com.akaipro.mpc.expansion.jupiterrising.jpg</img>
    <directory>com.akaipro.mpc.expansion.jupiterrising</directory>
    <separator>-</separator>
</expansion>

You can see what I changed by comparing with the XML file in my previous post. The only other work was to copy over the drum samples, kit and preview wav, and edit the jpg (I just slapped some ‘DRUM’ text over the original icon).

Skurdd · July 29, 2021, 11:05am

Nice!
I loaded up a bunch of kits yesterday but by making an expansion out of these I keep my shit organised:D Many thanks for the clear writeup!