Sub-forum for discussion about the DAWs and mobile apps that you use with your MPCs
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By Lampdog Sun Jul 10, 2016 8:15 pm
Yes, because the audio is passing through ad/da converters. Once in/out mpc and again in/out of computer/audio interface.

Does it matter? That's up to you and your ears.
By Ex:John Doe Tue Jul 12, 2016 12:43 pm
The files from the MPC to the computer will always be "converted" = loss of quality, this I understand (unless we can get to a point where we can send it wireless?!)


I'm asking in terms of registering the files as pure audio (recorded in Logic - MPC as master) vs Importing files from the MPC into Logic.

One option is more "live" the other one is more "still".
This may not matter much, but I'm still curious.

I didn't get the impression that this is what he answered.
Thx
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By Lampdog Tue Jul 12, 2016 3:19 pm
MPC main outs -> audio interface -> DAW track = audio (passes through ad/da converters).

MPC file transfer to DAW never passes through ad/da converters.


Ex:John Doe wrote:..as opposed to transferring the signals..

What do you mean by... "signals"?

Ex:John Doe wrote:I'm asking in terms of registering the files as pure audio

What do you mean by... "registering"?

Ex:John Doe wrote:... (unless we can get to a point where we can send it wireless?!)

Wireless will still lose quality. Best bet imo would be digital output.

Ex:John Doe wrote:One option is more "live" the other one is more "still".

What do you mean by... "still"?

I can guess what you mean by register, still and signals but I want to understand exactly what you
mean.. But, both transferring and recording into daw is something you can try yourself. It costs
nothing but a little of your time. You can do it and see which ones works for you.
By Ex:John Doe Tue Jul 12, 2016 3:56 pm
I can from my MPC without any extra units, send MPC files wirelessly to the Mac? That sounds amazing.
I'm happy to know that I can try these things myself, by asking the question I clearly didn't want an opinion of somebody else
By live as opposed to still. I mean pressing record in Logic, and hitting the pad on the MPC. "Still" = transfer a recording from MPC into Logic" (Logic not involved in the recording)

"MPC main outs -> audio interface -> DAW track = audio (passes through ad/da converters).
MPC file transfer to DAW never passes through ad/da converters."


Using this notion, are both these processes equally harmful to the original content?
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By Lampdog Tue Jul 12, 2016 5:13 pm
Ex:John Doe wrote:I can from my MPC without any extra units, send MPC files wirelessly to the Mac? That
sounds amazing. I'm happy to know that I can try these things myself, by asking the question I clearly didn't
want an opinion of somebody else. By live as opposed to still. I mean pressing record in Logic, and hitting the
pad on the MPC. "Still" = transfer a recording from MPC into Logic" (Logic not involved in the recording)

Ok, so "LIVE" is DAW recording audio, got it. "STILL" is actually transfer, got it.
Wireless is doable (needs extra gear/gadgets involved to make wireless happen), not worth the effort imo.
Even if slightly quality, timing will suffer (shared wifi freqs, noise, timing (network congestion/speed, etc). Like I said, MPC digital output would be the way to go imo. Different topic.




"MPC main outs -> audio interface -> DAW track = audio (passes through ad/da converters).
MPC file transfer to DAW never passes through ad/da converters."


Ex:John Doe wrote:Using this notion, are both these processes equally harmful to the original content?

One passes through 2 sets of ad/da converters, one does not. This you can try out yourself and
check your own results.
By Ex:John Doe Sun Jul 17, 2016 11:24 pm
What happened to my golden letters ? Am I allowed to use silver letters with a fancy font ? How much do I need to pay? :lol: :lol:


- What I find confusing though is how you recommend digital output (adat/spdif?) for a cleaner signal. Aren't you actually converting MIDI to audio (and, disturb the signal) using this method?

- Wouldn't keeping it MIDI all the way through be more beneficial?

- And then there is the USB option. Why not skip the interface and communicate right to the Mac?


Experimentation seem inevitable, but some additional input from expertise is appreciated.
User avatar
By Lampdog Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:00 pm
Midi is not audio.

Adat/spdif is digital. How much more direct from 4k can you get?
From 4k nothing is more direct than that.

4k USB cannot communicate to computer. It's a slave USB, same as the one on side of your laptop.
Thumb drive, keyboard works fine in there.
User avatar
By Wal Martian Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:11 pm
It all depends on the quality of your A/D converter. Low end gear sounds worse. Anything 44.1khZ or better is going to be CD quality. Sending digital files wireless wouldn't sound any better than using a disk or the S/PDIF output, it's the same 1's and 0's being transferred. Recording the MPC analog output is another conversion. The MPC is an instrument, most people own one because you can use it to build full songs inside the box. If your inclination is to transfer the files over and do everything in Logic, you may want to reconsider why you bought an MPC in the first place. You might be better off using an APC, Maschine, Ableton Push2 etc.
By Ex:John Doe Mon Jul 18, 2016 5:47 pm
Lampdog wrote:Midi is not audio.

Adat/spdif is digital. How much more direct from 4k can you get?
From 4k nothing is more direct than that.

4k USB cannot communicate to computer. It's a slave USB, same as the one on side of your laptop.
Thumb drive, keyboard works fine in there.


I'm a 5000 user. Some people seem to use the USB for quick back and fourth communication with it.
When did I refer to MIDI as something else than MIDI?
What I'm saying is that MPC pad dynamics (MIDI) will be converted to audio when using Adat (digital), and if you use a MIDI cable you'll keep everything MIDI (if you want to) all the way to recording.

It would be logical to think that this line would be less disturbed quality wise.
That's why I didn't understand why you recommended digital output. I'll just buy some of these cables and see what works out for me. Thx

Last edited by Ex:John Doe on Mon Jul 18, 2016 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.