It might not be the most focussed advice, but the OT and MPC’s have their own strongpoints that are really different to each other… run them together, run them into each other, all possibilities are interesting and cool… then the Virus can be added in too.
I’ve been sampling/recording some AR/OT performances into my MPC this week, then creating 2-16 bar clips/loops to use in MPC seqs… it feels like a really organic way to work and it’s great for not getting stagnant/stuck in a loop (something that happens regular for me!?).
Enjoy!
Unfortunately the USB midi doesn’t work with the Virus TI as it tries to go into virus control mode - someone please correct me if I’m wrong here, I really hope I am!
So just connect via traditional midi and sequence the different parts of the Virus on different midi tracks in the MPC. Such a great combo!
I thought that until recently, but the virus does work with USB midi from the MPC, there are 2 devices appear, you just need to select the right one, the other one is for the Virus external Midi Out I think. Not tried the latter but that means you get a physical midi out port too in theory.
I’m new to the MPC Live 2, so would you be kind enough to flesh this out a little? Is the MPC recording in real-time like the OT could do or is it a more deliberate process of arming record, recording, stopping record and then chopping/utilizing the newly recorded material? I’d love to hear more about the nitty gritty of what you’re doing. Thank you.
I’ve not experienced that, it was working for me on 2.91 ok. I’ve only ever seen the midi ports available not any audio. I have a TI 1 though, although I think they’re identical firmwares.
You can record a number of ways into the MPC - regular sampling is generally the usual stop/start/trim/chop routine, but you can record specific-length synced samples using the looper, or into an audio track - and you then have the option of assigning the sample to a clip program, so you can have assorted loops of different lengths playing in sync (or not). Once a sample is in the memory you can throw it around in all kinds of different ways, and the editing is non-destructive where it needs to be. So if you have a workflow in mind, the MPC can probably support it. If you’re sequencing and recording external gear, you might need to do a bit of work making sure everything’s tight - but there are too many factors here to know for sure until you try.
Edit. It can Can record from the internal tracks? Thanks!
One issue I found though is when you leave and return to the Looper, it resets the inputs. Annoying.
Also. The midi sync has a bit of latency. So you have to either cut, or nudge your recorded audio to get it to sit perfectly on the grid. Not a deal breaker, just a thing you have to work around.
First off, as a disclaimer, sampling isn’t generally my forte (I more tend to compose/play live/arrange) and there will be people here much more experienced/knowledgeable than me on both the MPC and OT’s sampling capabilities… but;
I wasn’t real-time recording into the MPC (well, not in the ‘live looping’ way), I was setting the MPC’s sampler to record the output of my Octatrack which I have set up as a live ‘performance mixer’ for my Analog Rytm and Analog Four.
Realtime performance macros on the Rytm and OT are really, really, good… but, as they’re both based on a 64 step/4 bar sequence, you need something to catch the overall live performance externally (2-track, DAW, or MPC in this case).
If you’re familiar with the Rytm- I was jamming with the Mutes/Quick Perf/Scenes on a couple of patterns… this was going into the Octatrack A/B inputs (and a Thru machine) where I would use the OT’s fx as a performance tool, via the OT’s scenes.
So the 2x 4 bar pattern in the Rytm is turned into a 3-5 minute jam (using all the perf moves) which I recorded into the MPC’s sampler. (This gives you freedom to go as wild as you want on the Perf moves too).
With the 3-5min file in the MPC I can then go through and pick various sections out that I like and put them into a repeatable structure within an MPC project/song. I ended up with around 16 loops the last time I did this, in various lengths… could be a 1 bar loop of just the kick through to a 16 bar loop of the whole kit with filter sweeps/delays, etc, being used.
I then build up the project/song I’m working on in the MPC with other sound sources (external synths, internal synths, guitars, samples, vocals, etc), using the Rytm/OT loops as my main drums.
It’s cool because you maintain the performance aspect of the Elektron units.
(I’ve recently added an Akai Force to my set up too, so I can easier improvise using the Elektron loops as clips… MPC 2.10 is sooo good, that I’m switching between the MPC/Force regularly now, when I was planning on moving mainly to the Force).
Just ordered a Retro One. Will be really fun to learn how this compares to my Digitakt/Digitone combo. I’ve enjoyed them quite a bit, but I can’t help but feeling like it’s too much of a hassle to mess with all the cables across two devices, it makes it hard to quickly move between different parts of the house. And I’m not really so much into live performances - it’s great fun, but I feel like I’m getting stuck with song embryos where the barrier to finish the songs is a bit too high. It feels a bit like trying to write a book by keeping the ideas mostly in your head, and I’m too used to the DAW environment to appreciate that aspect of it being more of an instrument. I also miss an easy way to share song sketches easily (recording a live performance into the DAW isn’t as easy as it sounds like on paper - exporting a song to a mp3 is way more straightforward!).
But I fear that the One will be a lot less fun to play with compared to the DT/DN and I don’t think I want to keep all three. The MPC seems more like a proper DAW in a dedicated controller kind of machine, and I wonder how much creativity it inspires in practice. I have 14 days to find out!
This is the real current first world problem. I want the Force’s clips, macros and arrangement view, and I also want the pitch envelope, randomisation and new FX from the MPC, but ideally in one unit. Also there should be a stick coming out of the top and the moon should be on the end of it.
If the MPC and Force become broadly unified, I’ll be quite happy assigning them to separate gear configurations. But right now it’s like they’re duetting on Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better.
I just did. Packaged and sent my Live 1 to the north of Finland and kept my brand new Live II Retro edition. The difference in their price was 479€ in the end. For me it was completely worth it. A fancy boutique guitar pedal would’ve cost me the same amount.
14 Days may not be enough time to judge fun of a unit you are just learning. It took me a bit to wrap my head around the MPC workflow coming from a DN. DN was amazing on 1st startup and the MPC felt like work till I understood it. Now it’s a blast to use and pretty much all I fire up anymore.
It sounds like you have a solid idea of how you want to use it, so I would prioritize the features that intrigue you the most in that small return window. Good luck!
I just tested it. Connected the MPC Live II(firmware 2.10) to my Virus TI2 with a USB cable. Just what you said, there are two devices showing up under ‘midi port’ on the MPC. One with ‘Virus TI Midi’ and the other ‘Virus TI Synth’. When selecting ‘Virus TI Synth’ I can control my TI2 from the MPC pads.
You are right, I’ll have to get a relatively quick feel for which of the two workflows I enjoy the most. To be honest, there are parts of the workflow of the DN/DT that feel like work too, for example when selecting sounds and adding it to the sound pool. Or when jamming through a song and making one tweak the you love and having to Func+No across all other patterns that you don’t want to save the changes of and ending up missing one and overwriting it forever. Or not having song mode. So I guess I have to follow my gut because there’s no such thing as a perfect device.
I’m super intrigued to see what kind of sound mangling is possible. Both on the virtual synths (e.g. Odyssey and Hype) and by resampling them and leveraging the sample capabilities. That, and the process of going from ideas to a “finalized” song structure will be my focus. I’m really looking forward to it!
Yeah I never really paid attention to the force, but I like the ONE & pattern based really, I’d just like it to be less hassle with keeping track assignments aligned.
It definitely is different, and as I learn more there is a lot to dig into with the MPC.
Before I owned one, I thought the MPC would be shallow, and it’s not IMO.
It’s continuing to grow on me, and I’m having fun abusing samples with it!
One quirk I wish they would fix is that if you make a keygroup with multiple layers, when you press a pad, it always go to the lowest numbered layer. This makes it tedious to edit say 4 layers, but I get why it works this way… it’s more for when samples are side by side, and it’s just auto switching for you. For now I just sequence a few notes and let it run vs pressing pads. Making layered keygroups is becoming an obsession for me lately
