MIDI Chain - MPC1000 + MPC500 + MicroKorg

Hi there!

I'm sure somewhere along the lines this question has been asked, but this may be an easy one for someone to solve. I'm really excited about my new experiences with MIDI because I'm learning a ton; however, I am a bit stumped with this one.

My friend and I are working on a project together:

Sean - MPC1000
Donny - MPC500 + MicroKorg

The idea is to keep the MPC1000 as the master so the MicroKorg and MPC500 would snap to the tempo of the 1000 during any recording.

I would like for Sean to be able to create a drum beat to loop in a sequence, and then I would essentially record sequences of the MicroKorg on the MPC500 to loop at the SAME TIME to the SAME CLICK.

So far I've got this set up:

MPC1000 MIDI OUT -> MicroKorg MIDI IN -> MicroKorg MIDI OUT -> MPC500 MIDI IN
-> MPC500 MIDI OUT -> MPC1000 MIDI IN

Soft Thru on the MPC1000 is set to ON so any sequence recorded from the MicroKorg to the MPC500 will push through back to the MicroKorg and be sent out via the line out.

Everything syncs up correctly, etc - we are only using one MIDI Channel for the entire set up though and it seems to be posing a problem:

If I play any of the pads on the MPC500 it triggers the MicroKorg AND the MPC1000's current program. I know that to prevent it immediately, we could turn the Program on the MPC1000's track to "OFF" ... but then Sean cannot play his kit live against the loops or sequences playing.

Is there any way to solve this problem? It's almost as if I want the MPC1000 to receive the data from the MPC500 but not have it trigger the current program.

Does that make any sense? Have I lost my mind?

Firstly, I'll point out that the MicroKorg (as far as I know) doesnt have a sequencer that needs to be sync'd. I'm not sure if it has tempo sync features such as arpeggiators, but if it does it would also need to be a sync slave device.

This is how I would set things up:

MPC1000 MIDI OUT -> MPC500 MIDI IN -> MPC500 MIDI OUT -> MicroKorg MIDI IN

In the above scenario the MPC1000, MPC500 and MicroKorg outputs go into a mixer or audio interface for monitoring.

The MPC1000 is the MASTER sync device, the MPC500 is the slave and follows the MPC1000 tempo. The MicroKorg is not sync'd, but simply used as a sound module with the MIDI connection from the MPC500.

Sounds like you have created a MIDI loop because of "MPC500 MIDI OUT -> MPC1000 MIDI IN", which is why playing the MPC500 pads is triggering the MPC1000. There is no need to send any MIDI back to the MPC1000.

Give this a shot, let us know how it goes.

Thank you for your insight, Clint!

This gets me moving in the right direction; however, one of the pieces of this puzzle is to still allow me to physically play the MK and record that sequence on my MPC500. Since the MK doesn't have it's data getting pushed back to the MPC500, the only way for me to record a MK sequence would be to trigger the MK from the 500.

What this seems to be shaping up as is that I need to just get an MPC1000 to have multiple MIDI ins/outs. The 500 doesn't seem to be cutting it in this particular case. I don't really quite have the dough to shell out for the 1000 right now, so I'll have to make do.

Thanks again for the input! I appreciate it.

donny wrote: Since the MK doesn't have it's data getting pushed back to the MPC500, the only way for me to record a MK sequence would be to trigger the MK from the 500.

Sorry I assumed that you wanted to trigger the MicroKorg from the MPC500 pads, you can arrange the pads chromatically, but will 12 pads be enough?

You want to play the MicroKorg keys and record the MIDI into the MPC500? Well the MPC500 only has one MIDI input and one MIDI output so make use of those pads, or look for an MPC with more MIDI I/O.

You could always record your MicroKorg parts using its keys first (using the good 'ol MIDI handshake method) and then sync up with your friends MPC1000. Not really the same as doing it live, I know.

If any one has detailed knowledge of MPC1000 MIDI routing, chime in. There is possibly a way to make better use of the 16 midi channels, avoiding a MIDI loop. I've never had a MPC1000 and don't care enough to read the manual either.