SAVING and LOADING

I know, this is probably a rookie question here but I gotta break my SAVING/LOADING problems down.

I have the MPC 2000 classic and here's my situation:

I sample something. 2 bars

Loop it

chop it up into 8 pieces

chose a 2 bar chop that i liked

pressed play and record and recorded the chopped loop. loop plays back well

add kick , drum and hi-hat with play/overdub. I'm happy and want to save


NOW, At this point, what have I done? This is my first attempt at music making and I'm trying to understand the MPC 2000 language.

At this point I have 16 samples sitting on my pads and i have a 2 bar chopped up samples.

Now the thing I recorded. What is that, a sequence? or a track? I know how to save snds but how do I save the thing I recorded? I need my recorded chopped up loop with drums to play back properly when I load it from the disk.

Thanks for your help and patience.

I'm on an XL so it might be slightly different...

Simplest way to save your work, save an APS file and an ALL file, and remember that they go together. The APS file is all the sounds / sound parameters and the ALL file is all the sequences in memory. Personally, I save APS and ALL files with the same names so I know they go together.

Now to explain what's happening a little clearer, keep in mind that you've got:
Samples (the base sound files)
Programs (collections of sounds and parameters like volume and filter that can be changed later)
Sequences (collections of triggers that tell a note to play)

Any editing you do to samples and sample parameters (programs) are saved as APS, PGM, SND and WAV files.

When you hit the 'record' button, and run the sequencer, and record the triggering of these sounds, that is the sequence...ALL and MID files. Midi files save all the "tracks" you record seqs into.

So you need to be sure and save:
1) the wav/ snd files
2) the program pgm files
3) the sequence information

When saving a PGM or APS (which is all programs in memory) on my 2KXL, it gives me the option to save WITH SOUNDS or WITH WAVES. Choosing this will determine if it saves the sounds themselves as SND or WAV files.
When you save the PGM or an APS file, and you have the above mentioned option set as WAVES or SOUNDS, it will save the program and the sound files.

You also need to save the sequences, but that is straightforward, select the sequence, or save an ALL file and it will save all sequences in memory.

Of course that's the short version, and there is much more info in the manual. For example, it gets a bit trickier if you say, save a sound once, then load it up and edit it later. You have to be sure to replace the original.

Or you could always just hit record on a tape deck.

It might sound like a lot of different things to save, but it makes it very flexible. And truth be told, at the bare minimum you just save two files.

Thanks for the response. It helped a lot.

However, sequences still confuse me. They get saved as MIDI, right? Anytime I load my sequences and sounds used for those sequences, the sequence never plays back properly. Is that because the sounds are not loaded onto the same pads??

Thanks.

Sequences get saved as MIDI, yes.

MIDI has nothing to do with the sounds used to create the sequence (not entirely true, but I'll explain later).

MIDI store information like this:


On an mpc, midi note #'s translate to pad assignments (A1, B4, etc).
So yes, it expects the sounds to be in the exact same spot they were when you recorded the sequence.
That is both good and bad...bad because you need to remember to load the correct program AND the matching sequence. Good because you can freely exchange sequences and sounds.

Again, the absolute simplest way to save each time, and make sure you get it back right, is to save an APS file (with sounds) and save an ALL file. Name them both the same thing (keep it under 8 characters!), and now you know that if you load those sounds, and those sequences, they should all match up.
Consider this: you generally shouldn't be saving/loading individual sounds, you should be saving/loading PGM/APS files, which, if set to 'save with sounds', will save the sounds for you. Loading a PGM/APS file automatically loads the sounds into the proper pad assignments.

Now in reality, it can get a lot more complicated. But I'll save that for when you get there.
The one thing I would like to clarify is that I said Midi doesn't save any sound information...this is true for the base sounds (the WAV or SND files), but midi CAN store information regarding certain sound tweaks. For example, midi will store the note number (the pad / sound played) and the velocity (how loud it was played) for every note. So while it is not saving sound information itself, it is saving sound manipulation information (by default volume), which will then be applied to whichever sound it is playing.

Also keep this in mind:
APS file = collection of PGM files.
PGM file = collection of SND/WAV files + pad assignments and pgm tweaks (attack, etc)
SND/WAV file = the most basic, raw version of the sound

ALL file = collection of sequences (midi data)
MID file = one sequence, with multiple tracks, trigger and manipulation information.

The point of that is, you can't easily 'extract' a PGM or a MID from an APS or ALL file. To save these independently, you can 'save a program and sounds' or 'save a sequence'...but the PGM and MID files are then totally independent from the ALL or APS file.
THIS IS NOT TRUE WITH WAVS/SNDS.
Each program, whether its in an APS or a PGM file, will pull sound files based on THE SOUNDS FILENAME.
So, if you have a sound, called BD1, and you have 3 different programs that use that sound called BD1, if you ever edit or rename or move BD1, ALL of the programs looking for BD1 will be affected.
This is especially important to remember since you are on a classic and I don't think the classic can handle folders. Just keep that in mind if you ever start re-editing sounds after you've saved them.

^^^ A Million thanks yous!


I have now successfully saved, shut down the mpc, re-booted and loaded all of my programs, sequences and songs! I will keep this thread as a reference for me.


Knobs

Glad to help. Software sampling and hardware sampling are often two totally different ways of thinking, and the latter is a dwindling artform.

New question.

I am attemping to save a couple programs with sounds one one floppy disk. It says there is not enough space and to insert new disk. If I put another disk in does it continue saving where the last disk left off? Or does it just attempt to save from the start again?

Do I need a bigger storage unit? zip drive, etc?

Knobs wrote:If I put another disk in does it continue saving where the last disk left off?

yes.

Knobs wrote:Do I need a bigger storage unit? zip drive, etc?

it's helpful. go with a card reader.

^^ You da man!!

So you need to be sure and save:
1) the wav/ snd files
2) the program pgm files
3) the sequence information

When saving a PGM or APS (which is all programs in memory) on my 2KXL, it gives me the option to save WITH SOUNDS or WITH WAVES. Choosing this will determine if it saves the sounds themselves as SND or WAV files.
When you save the PGM or an APS file, and you have the above mentioned option set as WAVES or SOUNDS, it will save the program and the sound files.

You also need to save the sequences, but that is straightforward, select the sequence, or save an ALL file and it will save all sequences in memory.

Of course that's the short version, and there is much more info in the manual. For example, it gets a bit trickier if you say, save a sound once, then load it up and edit it later. You have to be sure to replace the original.

Or you could always just hit record on a tape deck.

It might sound like a lot of different things to save, but it makes it very flexible. And truth be told, at the bare minimum you just save two files

Ok, whenever I create something I load from my compact flash(explaining my MPC 2000XL process) :

I load my drum kit .PGM
then I load my desired samples .PGM
next I load my .ALL sequence template so things are where I want them

Here's what I dont understand....lets say I made something after changing the sample pitch to all my samples from my desired samples .PGM, when I save the .PGM (PGM only or w/.WAV's) and return some other day to work on my creation the pitch I chose for all the samples is back at 0 again! The same thing happens when I edit sample volume as well (its back at 100) What gives?!?!?