Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
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By jmk Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:08 am
Hi guys! Im not newbie in mpc500 stuff but i still have one question: how to play live beat sets on this machine?
I using this way:
- Preparation stage.
1. Save all programs and samples for all beats in one folder.
2. Save all *.all files for all beats in the same folder. (one *.all file for one beat)
- When u need to play live.
1. Load whole that folder. So all samples, all programs and one *.all file in RAM now.
2. Play beat from that loaded *.all file.
3. Get 1-5 sec gap (silence) when u load *.all file for next beat.

So...Silence between beats is not ok for live imho..
Do you guys plays lives in other ways?
P.S.: Yeah, i know that i can save all sequences in one *.all file (1-2 sequences for one beat), but usually i have unique fx settings for each beat so this way is impossible for me.
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By Lampdog Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:02 pm
For the silence when loading can you play sound effects or something.

Maybe record and few beats to CD or something and blend that in while your other beats load up and THEN
blend the mpc back in?!
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By jmk Wed Dec 13, 2017 5:48 am
Thanx for reply!
Lampdog wrote:For the silence when loading can you play sound effects or something.

Yep, this is sort of solution. Some my beats have samples longer than sequence so it continue playing when i loading next *.all file and there are no silence between beats in this case. But what can i do for other beats where sample length is equals to sequence?

Lampdog wrote:Maybe record and few beats to CD or something and blend that in while your other beats load up and THEN
blend the mpc back in?!

Umm, yea, i thought about second sampler for a long time to play live sets like with two turhtables but i cant afford one more sampler :Sigh: So i need to know that secret way how to play on just one mpc500.
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By Ill-Green Wed Dec 13, 2017 7:44 pm
For live use you need to be creative and use everything at your disposal.

What I did was resample sequences to the pads, sometimes they're 2 bars long, sometimes 99 bars, whatever, I just wanted my songs at my fingertips. Sometimes resample a sequence of 4 tracks to 4 pads and do my own build ups. Whats cool about the 500 is that you can play the sequence and perform on the pads at the same time. Also, in RECORD mode, you can play the sequencer while an external sound is coming in such as a turntable or another 500. But it takes practice because it will cause gaps in your gigs if you don't know how to transition songs within the 500, you can get away with a lot once you become ingenuitive with it.
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By jmk Thu Dec 14, 2017 6:33 am
Thanx for your response!
Ill-Green wrote:...resample sequences to the pads, sometimes they're 2 bars long, sometimes 99 bars, whatever, I just wanted my songs at my fingertips. Sometimes resample a sequence of 4 tracks to 4 pads and do my own build ups.

I have thought already about sampling sequences but what if i want to mute/unmute tracks in freestyle during beat playing? So i need my sequences in MIDI to operate with events like i want. Not in WAV.

Ill-Green wrote:...in RECORD mode, you can play the sequencer while an external sound is coming in such as a turntable...

Yeah! The jog wheel is a real alternative to crossfader for scratching! :lol:
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By Ill-Green Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:52 am
It was tedious, I resampled different parts of a song with 5 types of variations like muting, delaying tails, no drum sections etc. And mix and match them around. A sequence can hold 24 programs, but I try to stay on one and fatten it up over the four banks with the above method and go through them on the fly. Tricky part is keeping everything on time and knowing what the pad contains. Half the time I create a 36 bar drum loop in the sequencer and manually fingerdrum the other elements on top like synth and strings, whatever.

Be aware, though it can hold 24 programs, with the weight of polyphony, parameters, bars and effects, the 500 can get wonky and anemic. Its gonna take some time to understand the 500 and know it to your heartbeat and conquer all its limitations.

At the end of the day, though its possible to use in a live setting, its really for studio. That sit and think pace. Gotta be quick on the draw when dealing with the 500 in a live setting. Just practice a best flow and master it.
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By SlowwFloww Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:14 pm
Use a Kaoss Pad.. I have a KP Mini 2.. It has automatic bpm detection and a looper that can play a 1 bar loop while the MPC is loading...
It also plays mp3 and wav files from sd card that you can use while your mpc is busy... It also has a software crossfader that can the mix line in and sound from the Kaoss Pad itself..