Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
By sync Tue Dec 07, 2010 6:17 am
Well, just bought my MPC500-- and was surprised to see that the MIDI implementation is looking pretty scant. I just assumed it was complete because I've been working with Korg, and on the Electribes for example, EVERY front panel function can be sent to the unit from an external device. EVERY function, period. I just thought it was de rigueur...

This is crucial for me-- I need to be able to externally mute on and mute off tracks via MIDI, or this thing is pretty useless. I would have just used the Electribe, but I also need more voices, chording, etc., that the Electribe falls short on. I'm pretty amazed that a modern musical instrument company would fall down on the job with this one, if that's the case here...

Can you even send MIDI messages that are equivalent to pad hits? If so, can't you do that when in Track Mute and have it mute/unmute the track? If not, that's pretty darn basic is it not? Akai even makes a pad controller, shouldn't you be able to plug THEIR pad controller into an MPC and control the pads with it?

For me, I don't need it to trigger samples or anything, just to control the muting externally. That's the WHOLE reason I need this box, or at least thought I did, as an interactive sequence controller & sampler that's got more voicing than the Electribe and travels lighter than a computer...
By sync Tue Dec 07, 2010 6:38 am
Me again-- I can think of one possible workaround-- using channel volume as a mute. It should be a control change for control 7 on each channel-- setting it to 0 for a mute and 127 for unmute.


Anyone know if channel volume works to change the volume separately for each track?
By sync Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:51 am
Ugh. I'm not getting the impression this thing does much of anything with MIDI. Are any of you guys out there who's using the heck out of this thing actally doing anything with MIDI other than the canned inside-the-keyboard loop sort of functions? Are there ANY control functions you can send TO THE DEVICE via MIDI that can cause it to do anything? Start-stop, volume control, program change ANYTHING? The Midi Implementation Chart lists what the device "recognizes," but does that merely mean that it records it and plays it back? To me, the term "recognizes" should mean that it acts on it-- sending a midi pitch change or channel volume change should change the vol of the track while playing back, a program change shouldn't just be recorded for playback, but should change the current sequence on the device. Otherwise, the term "recognizes" is a misnomer. If it only records and plays back program changes, and doesn't *act* on program changes to change it's own program, then I would say that it doesn't actually *recognize* program changes at all...
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By BGREEN Sun Dec 12, 2010 4:25 am
I've tried in the past with no luck. Just hooked up the trigger finger, it plays back the pads, but no mutes or any other function such as MODE.
Anyone know if channel volume works to change the volume separately for each track?


Let me know. I remember trying to get the mackie control to do it with no luck. That would have been sweet.
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By bliprock Sun Dec 12, 2010 7:25 am
why cant you mute midi track or channle??? Its easy...... just hit mute on channle sending midi sequence. do you have midi sequence set up on a track?? i mean to say MPC500 is sequencer so it controls midi instruments, have you read the manual??
By sync Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:49 am
why cant you mute midi track or channle??? Its easy...... just hit mute on channle sending midi sequence. do you have midi sequence set up on a track?? i mean to say MPC500 is sequencer so it controls midi instruments, have you read the manual??


I meant, mute the midi track VIA incoming midi signals. Here's ultimately what I need to be able to do via incoming MIDI controls:

1. Start/stop a sequence -- This should be possible by setting it up as a slave and then the start/stop MIDI clock signals should do it. I haven't tried that yet tho...

2. Select a sequence (by Program Change, ideally)

3. Selectively mute or unmute a track VIA MIDI, not via the front panel.

4. Synchronize with other synths/sequencers. I think the MPC500 can do this, I did a little exp, and it seemed to do that at least...

And that's basically it. It's pretty basic stuff, pardon me for assuming the MPC was capable of it. It wasn't easy to tell before I bought it via research. Most MIDI based products don't go into all that much detail regarding what its MIDI capabilites are in their marketing info, but my experience until now, with modern peices of kit you can do most things that you can do on the front panel via MIDI as well. Obviously that is not so with MPC.



Keep in mind that the MPC500 is not *just* a sequencer, it's a sequencer combined with an instrument. It shouldn't HAVE to be the master control to be useful, but it wasn't desiged to be controlled externally it appears. It has to be at the top of the chain, and that's not at all how I want to use it.


The MPC500 is only one element of my kit. And it is not the central control center, as it's just not sophisticated enough for that. As you said, it is a sequencer, but not the ONLY one in my kit, I also have a pair of electribes that also feed MIDI into additional gear. While I can hook the electribes to the MPC500 as the master, I still need to slave the top of the chain to control functions that I need to do remote from the actual unit.

What I want, is something similar to the electribe ESX-1, the sampling verison, but with some additional features that the MPC500 does have (but unfortunately, lack the MIDI sophistication for me to actually be able to use):

- polyphonic sampled instruments (i.e.: full CHORDS) more complete midi record/playback (and ability to import MID files). Yep, the MPC500 does support this.

- Better sample management. The ESX's management of samples in projects and on SD cards, are not nearly as convenient as the MPC500s ability to use CF cards-- the ESX is limited to 128M, when the MPC500 can store 2G, and the "Program" mechanism of keeping sets of "kits". And getting WAV files in-and-out of the MPC500's system is trivial, nowhere near so on the ESX. So the MPC is pretty good here too.


But frankly, after realizing the limited MIDI capabilities, and the fact that I ran into the apparently ubiquitous "corrupt sample" bug on my first project and couldn't seem to work around it, I went ahead and returned it to the store. If it had been reliable enough to handle a beginning easy-project, I can see that it had some functionality interesting enough that I probably would have kept it, but it seemed that the whole interface is clumsy and buggy, and when you have that combined with lack of the ability to control it via MIDI sufficiently, I just couldn't see myself using it. To bad, because it was close it seemed...


I'm glad to hear that many people do get a lot of good stuff out of these, I did like many of its capabilities with regards to sampling and sequencing, but I couldn't see myself using it much if it's not reliable and externally controllable. The electribe's user interface is unbelievably easy to use in comparison, even right out of the box I was able to start making great beats in no time, without having to stop to figure out how to work around bugs. It could be better in some ways, but with regards to reliability, ease-of-use and flexibility it's light years ahead of the MPC. Unfortunately, I don't see that there's much else out there-- I get the sense that the Rolands are like the Elecribes, somewhat limited in their ability to handle enough sample polyphony. Now I suppose I could have just used the MPC for an instrument, and found something else to sequence it-- Sonar for example, but I'm really hoping to put together a setup that doesn't include a laptop (not because I don't have one, but because I don't want to have to lug one around)...

So where is there a piece of sequencer hardware that can do full polyphony and can be controlled externally via MIDI? I don't get the sense there is such a beast at this point. An opportunity for somebody I would think...
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By bliprock Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:11 pm
So where is there a piece of sequencer hardware that can do full polyphony and can be controlled externally via MIDI? I don't get the sense there is such a beast at this point. An opportunity for somebody I would think...


you just sold it its called a MPC500.

But frankly, after realizing the limited MIDI capabilities, and the fact that I ran into the apparently ubiquitous "corrupt sample" bug on my first project and couldn't seem to work around it,


maybe you should take time to read manual and learn how to use it but as you sold it i guess it does not matter
By sync Wed Dec 15, 2010 7:33 am
I did read the manual, the section on MIDI talks about hooking the ins and outs to a keyboard, for basic playing of sample notes and record/playback, but nothing about what control capabilities can be sent to the MPC500 via MIDI. The MIDI implementation chart says it "recognizes" CC 7 (channel volume), but I tried sending it every CC command in the book and it had no effect. It looks to me that the MPC500 will only *record and play back* CCs, but the internal instruments do not react to them.

You're right, it doesn't matter much now though, but if there's something I overlooked, please enlighten me. You're previous message stated, "just hit mute on channle sending midi sequence." Yeah, that works if I manually hit the pad to mute/unmute a track, but what I need to do is send the mute/unmute signals via MIDI, and sending the note-on/note-off for a pad that would in that mode do a mute function, when sent via MIDI just sounded the instrument for that pad, it didn't affect the MUTE at all.
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By peterpiper Wed Dec 15, 2010 11:15 pm
Just a thought:

Did you send the CC7 to the correct MIDI channel?
Check the MIDI settings on the 500 there should be a setting called MIDI filter or so, turn off all MIDI filter settings.

But its a strange behaviour if it records the CC messages but doesnt react on them.

peace
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By bliprock Fri Dec 17, 2010 12:33 pm
peterpiper wrote:Just a thought:

Did you send the CC7 to the correct MIDI channel?
Check the MIDI settings on the 500 there should be a setting called MIDI filter or so, turn off all MIDI filter settings.

But its a strange behaviour if it records the CC messages but doesnt react on them.

peace



yeah my thoughts exactly. MPC500 will respond to cc's on the right midi channle. So check that OP
By Fan Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:37 pm
I have a midi foot controller as fcb 1010 connected to MPC500
I would like to tell you I have been able to start and stop a sequence in Mpc500 by a midi message but it isn' t. For now I can change the programs and play any pads by midi foot controller. You know?.
Someone told me that a new foot midi controller like "Nektar Pacer" can control starting and stopping MPC 's sequences by MMC message midi. But I don' t know if it's real.
By Fan Tue Jul 17, 2018 9:50 pm
Re: Controlling MPC with a midi foot pedal?
By Luna Studio Thu Mar 07, 2013 7:05 am
Hello to everyone,this is my first post and reply.
I use my mpc500 in conjunction with the Boss RC300 looper and the start and stop is controlled by this one and it works fine.