NEED HELP with my MPCX and synth

Hey guys this is my first post!!

Proud new owner of an X. Love this thing but need a bit of help recording sound using my Nord lead. I connected a single midi cable from midi out A on the MPCX to the midi in of my Nord. Got a great sound and wanted to record it, but I am out of shape with midi.

I get the midi track ready for record and play on the keyboard but it doesn't record it. I have only been able to record the synth sounds using the pads on the mpc. That is problem number one.

Problem number two, even after 'recording' a melody using the pads, I can't move onto a new track, because when I touch anything on the synth to find a new sound, it affect the sound of the 'supposedly' already recorded sound.

I know midi only records info, but there's gotta be a way for me to actually record the sound along so I can move onto a new track and continue developing a song.

I saw a 'bounce to audio' option in the midi track, which opened an audio track with nothing in it.

Help please?

Put another midi cable from the out on the nord to the in of the x. Turn the local off on the nord. It will make the keyboard controller for the x. So you can make midi tracks and use it for keygroups on the x.

Also, make sure you connect the audio cables from the Nord to the right inputs of the x and set the x to sample these (e.g. If you connect to 3/4 jack but have the switch set to phono it won't record)
Lastly, your lead is multi timbral, so you can create up to 4 midi tracks with different sounds, without the need to sample them. Set different midi channels for each track and set the midi channels of the layers in you lead accordingly

1.Use Midi in and out.
2.Turn Local Control off on your synth.
3.Assign a different midi channel to each track.
4.Make sure you disarm the record button on each audio track after you tracked the audio from the synth.

Im trying to figure out the same exact thing with my MPC Live and Roland FA-06. And the answers that were given don't really apply. No disrespect but I think most beatmakers are so deep into their daw that they have a hard time processing any questions about midi. We want to be able to record midi notes from a multiple tone\program set up on the synth into separate midi tracks per tone\program on the mpc live\x by utilizing midi channels and program change numbers. But when we go to the next track to record the next sound from our respective synth keyboards (which is done by scrolling down to the next sound\track\midi channel in the Roland FA-06 studio setup) it changes the initial sound being triggered by the first midi track to now play the sound we are attempting to prepare to play for the next track on the mpc. Turning off the local switch on the synth would totally defeat the point because we are trying to records sounds from our synths via midi. Recording the sounds directly into the mpc's audio tracks is a very watered down solution because you lose the flexibility to be able to change sounds after the midi notes have already been recorded. I figured that it was a problem with the Roland FA-06 but now that I see someone is having the same issue with a different synth keyboard my hope to be able to resolve the issue is rekindled. Thanks ahead of time.

I think your way off. The above mentioned methods are how you use the keyboard as a controller for the live and also retain the use of the synth as a sound module. I do it everyday with my keyboard and live exactly how you just described using the methods mentioned above. Not a daw user myself.

Questions to ask yourself:

Is the synth multitimbral?

If so are the tracks set up right on the keyboard?


Are all the cords hooked up right?

Is your midi program set up right?

This will work however you track out your beats. It would be the opposite if you wanted the keyboard to be your work station and the Mpc to be the controller/ module. Neither the live or c are capable of multitimbral support atm. However you can control the current track with the inputs.

To tweak your sounds before tracking out people usually save the programs on the machines themselves so the settings are there

Another question to ask yourself that's not always obvious when using a workstation is,
ok all your parts transmit on different channels but do they receive on different channels.
And you really do need to turn local off.

MPCWeapon1 wrote:1.Use Midi in and out.
2.Turn Local Control off on your synth.
3.Assign a different midi channel to each track.
4.Make sure you disarm the record button on each audio track after you tracked the audio from the synth.

Thank you for the replies! I'll try all of these in a bit. MPCWeapon could you elaborate more on point 4? I think that my be the ticket to flatted the final sound and be able to move to the next synth part without changing the existing one. What does that process look like?

Thanks a ton guys!

Lava Live wrote:Im trying to figure out the same exact thing with my MPC Live and Roland FA-06. And the answers that were given don't really apply. No disrespect but I think most beatmakers are so deep into their daw that they have a hard time processing any questions about midi. We want to be able to record midi notes from a multiple tone\program set up on the synth into separate midi tracks per tone\program on the mpc live\x by utilizing midi channels and program change numbers. But when we go to the next track to record the next sound from our respective synth keyboards (which is done by scrolling down to the next sound\track\midi channel in the Roland FA-06 studio setup) it changes the initial sound being triggered by the first midi track to now play the sound we are attempting to prepare to play for the next track on the mpc. Turning off the local switch on the synth would totally defeat the point because we are trying to records sounds from our synths via midi. Recording the sounds directly into the mpc's audio tracks is a very watered down solution because you lose the flexibility to be able to change sounds after the midi notes have already been recorded. I figured that it was a problem with the Roland FA-06 but now that I see someone is having the same issue with a different synth keyboard my hope to be able to resolve the issue is rekindled. Thanks ahead of time.

Hey Lava Live I think I found a way!! I did apply what was said above and worked to an extent. Yesterday when I turned local off on my keyboard it meant no sound at all, but now with both midi cables plugged in I can hear the sound while still playing on the Nord.

I kept on getting the same problem though (my previously recorded sound was being modified by turning knobs or changing program numbers on my Nord). So after trying a million combination the solution came in the form of a new midi program! I created a new track and a new program for it (program mid002 in this case) and in it, I changed the channel to MIDI CH2. On my Nord I matched that to channel B and voila! I can now turn knobs and programs without affecting my previously recorded midi track.

I also found another workaround before stumbling to that midi solution. Like you said, I wanted to record the synth through midi as opposed to audio so I could then modify the sound and more importantly be able to change the timing of when the notes where pressed. So after tweaking the midi sound and everything to my liking, I solo'd the midi track and then resampled it using the SAMPLER. Not the prettiest solution but got the job done for my test. Just make sure you select the right input on which to sample from.

Hope it helps!

What they are saying is 100 percent correct!
Local off is indeed what you have to do if you want your keyboard to control other synths/modules or it's self if it's multitimbral (workstation), what hasn't been talked about much is how to bring the audio in, you have a few options here!
1.Record audio as a sample
2.Record as an audio track
3.Record audio in the Looper
Nice vid on basic midi setup here

Smackdee wrote:What they are saying is 100 percent correct!
Local off is indeed what you have to do if you want your keyboard to control other synths/modules or it's self if it's multitimbral (workstation), what hasn't been talked about much is how to bring the audio in, you have a few options here!
1.Record audio as a sample
2.Record as an audio track
3.Record audio in the Looper
Nice vid on basic midi setup here

Agreed! Have you used the 'bounce to audio' or 'bounce to sample' feature from the midi track? I have not been successful while attempting to use them. I feel that is why those options are there but the audio track comes empty after I click 'do it'. I can only assume I am missing something in the process. If you have a step by step it would be really helpful.

Bounce to sample or audio is for drum programs,keygroups, and plugins on software.

The midi data is just that, data. What you’re trying to do would be to track out the synth, like he mentioned. Tracks,samples, or looper.

Here what I suggest.

Start a brand new project empty. Load some drum sounds, get any thing on the synth coming into the mpc.

Make a short loop with drums on the mpc, and a simple melody on the synth. Anything really.

Arm the audio track, the same one you turned on to monitor your synth. Press record and play. Let the pattern finish up, mute the incoming audio. In fact just turn off the synth.

Next click menu and enter into song mode. The musical note logo in the menu section. Select the ONE sequence you should have. Press play make sure everything is there.

Click export. Then pick a place and format for the file.

Load into your computer, iPad whatever.

Listen to whatever random pattern you have.

For more audio tracks click add audio track it will layer over just like any 4/8/ whatever track. There’s multiple and easier ways to achieve this but what I have just described is my exact workflow distilled down.

Edit: I did what I just described yesterday for this daily stuff I’m doin on YouTube. I didn’t have much time but was able to make everything you see here in less than a half hour. Start to finish including the weird video I shot to accompany it. It’s about as simple as it gets but That don’t matter. I’m just doing something new every night, no matter what.

Guilleonline wrote:

Lava Live wrote:Im trying to figure out the same exact thing with my MPC Live and Roland FA-06. And the answers that were given don't really apply. No disrespect but I think most beatmakers are so deep into their daw that they have a hard time processing any questions about midi. We want to be able to record midi notes from a multiple tone\program set up on the synth into separate midi tracks per tone\program on the mpc live\x by utilizing midi channels and program change numbers. But when we go to the next track to record the next sound from our respective synth keyboards (which is done by scrolling down to the next sound\track\midi channel in the Roland FA-06 studio setup) it changes the initial sound being triggered by the first midi track to now play the sound we are attempting to prepare to play for the next track on the mpc. Turning off the local switch on the synth would totally defeat the point because we are trying to records sounds from our synths via midi. Recording the sounds directly into the mpc's audio tracks is a very watered down solution because you lose the flexibility to be able to change sounds after the midi notes have already been recorded. I figured that it was a problem with the Roland FA-06 but now that I see someone is having the same issue with a different synth keyboard my hope to be able to resolve the issue is rekindled. Thanks ahead of time.

Hey Lava Live I think I found a way!! I did apply what was said above and worked to an extent. Yesterday when I turned local off on my keyboard it meant no sound at all, but now with both midi cables plugged in I can hear the sound while still playing on the Nord.

I kept on getting the same problem though (my previously recorded sound was being modified by turning knobs or changing program numbers on my Nord). So after trying a million combination the solution came in the form of a new midi program! I created a new track and a new program for it (program mid002 in this case) and in it, I changed the channel to MIDI CH2. On my Nord I matched that to channel B and voila! I can now turn knobs and programs without affecting my previously recorded midi track.

I also found another workaround before stumbling to that midi solution. Like you said, I wanted to record the synth through midi as opposed to audio so I could then modify the sound and more importantly be able to change the timing of when the notes where pressed. So after tweaking the midi sound and everything to my liking, I solo'd the midi track and then resampled it using the SAMPLER. Not the prettiest solution but got the job done for my test. Just make sure you select the right input on which to sample from.

Hope it helps!

Hey Guilleonline... Success! I finally figured it out after years of having this damn keyboard (belong's to a friend) sitting in my studio collecting dust. Lol. The tips on this post definitely helped guide me into the right direction but I still had to do some tinkering of my own to complete the solution. So on the Roland FA-06, which is indeed a multitimbral synth sound module, you must turn off the remote keyboard switch and the usb-midi thru and scroll down on the midi options page and turn off the soft thru as well. And as I was informed on this post (forgive my arrogant ignorance) you must also turn off the local switch in the sound options page. Download the Roland FA-06 sound list from the Roland website and dial in the MSB, LSB and PC (program change) numbers provided on the list into their respective midi program field's on the MAIN page in the MPC to scroll through and select the sounds that you want to play from the FA-06. To avoid discrepancies in your sequences and tracks you must also create separate midi programs in the MPC for each corresponding midi channel/part/track that you will be using from the FA-06. Once you save everything on the MPC before shut down all of your settings will be kept the same on the FA-06 when you load that same project into the MPC the next time you work. Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips and thanks to Guilleonline for the OP. I hope this detailed explanation helps anyone else out there having similar issues. I look forward to more producers returning back to midi sequencing their old Motif's, Triton's, Fantom's, JV-2080's, Kurzwiel K2000's and all of the dope keyboard sound modules that most of us have collected over the years. Its a lot easier than you think. Don't hesitate to hit me with questions.

Very complicated workarounds.
I just wanted to control a Novation Nova from Mpc Live, just recording some patterns on Live with pads or a master keyboard and then let the midi track play with other tracks.
I didnt succeed, as i switch to another track, the midi track that sends midi informations to the synth just stops playing.
Its very frustrating.
No way to record midi informations as a track to play with the other tracks?

Frisbi wrote:Very complicated workarounds.
I just wanted to control a Novation Nova from Mpc Live, just recording some patterns on Live with pads or a master keyboard and then let the midi track play with other tracks.
I didnt succeed, as i switch to another track, the midi track that sends midi informations to the synth just stops playing.
Its very frustrating.
No way to record midi informations as a track to play with the other tracks?

Did you follow the instructions of Nova user manual on how to setup the multitimbral mode?