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

The Lounge Other Gear
#6961

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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! :crossed_fingers::notes:

6 Likes
#6962

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.

4 Likes
#6963

Has anyone experience with Ableton Live Control on the MPC Live 1 or 2?

#6964

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.

3 Likes
#6965

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!

3 Likes
#6966

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.

7 Likes
The Virus TI2 desktop made me sell all my synths
#6967

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. :blush:

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!

1 Like
#6968

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.

#6969

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 :slight_smile:

1 Like
#6970

While I still love my Octatrack MKII, Maschine+, MC-707, and other grooveboxes, I am seriously considering whether to add a MPC Live II to the collection in the coming days, in spite of my dislike for touchscreens.

The quality of Akai’s updates have improved since the days of the MPC Renaissance. The MPC Renaissance was a lot of fun when I used it often in the past, but most updates had bugs that caused my PC to regularly crash. Akai seems to be doing a better job these days.

#6971

I’d love, LOVE to get a 1 retro [if it existed]. Me, I really don’t want the speakers. The extra buttons are nice, but not a necessity. But that lovely grey…to hide all that gnarly dust/skin/cat hair, would be great. And the fact that color scheme is sick!

2 Likes
#6972

Have you considered simply customizing it with a skin from Style Flip, buying some grey pads and different knobs from MPC Stuff, etc.? Would probably prove to be the cheaper option, and you could add some personal touches.

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Cheers!

1 Like
#6973

not into skins. thanks for the link tho.

I had made one for fun. but I’m not gonna get it.

[wow I found it…]

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2 Likes
#6974

One retro does exist bro haven’t you seen it? Looks badass. Bet it looks even better irl too because you can choose pad colours. I always set my pads to match my gold MPC

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@Wolf-Rami your cosy pic on the other thread is half of what’s making me want the battery!

1 Like
#6975

He means the MPC Live 1 (I was also confused)

1 Like
#6976

I hate touchscreens too, and the MPC screen is no ipad, but I found with using a stylus instead of finger it is a little less annoying, and a lot of stuff can be prodded then adjusted with the dial or qlinks if you want any kind of precision.

I guess what I’m saying is that it is still a good instrument, despite the touchscreen, it won’t replace your OT or 707 but it works well with both of them - OT can be mounted as USB drive, 707 can be used for audio and midi over USB.

4 Likes
#6977

Oh got it, makes sense, wraps are the only way in that case

#6978

with a usb cable you sync the 707 as a slave, and can the audio be recorded into a audio track on the MPC?

#6979

Live 1 not the One one :slight_smile:

#6980

Better off not using sync as MPC does not send a stable midi clock and 707 does not slave well, just set tempo same and record that way.