How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

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How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By argon Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:45 am
Ok so digital things have never liked me. But i know there must be a way to
simply hit play and have audacity record in the quality of what i hear in my mpc go into my laptop.

SO, heres what has happened so far:

I have audacity 1.2.6 and the mp3 export thing all hooked up.
I have already converted vinyl to mp3 with "minor" time consuming adjustments to get it to sound right.
So is there any simple changes i could be missing to get the mpc1000 to sound like it does BEFORE it goes threw my sound card? (i'm beginning to think its my crappy acer sound card)

So I see 2 options to record on the fly from the mpc1000 INTO a computer or whatever you desire
even tho there is NOTHING about this in the manual which disappoints me.
1: go from the head phone jack to the sound card (i would need a 1/4 to 3.5mm cable)
2: go from the stereo out (prob. better quality) to a 3.5mm which i do have!!

So i have 2 1/4" cables going to a (2) 1/4" female to (1) 3.5mm male coupler cable, right into my sound card.
I have audacity setup to record at 16 bit stereo 2 channel at 44100 Hz
i have even went to the sound card settings and turned down the mic gain boost to 0 and mic in level to 50%
*and it Still sounds all garbled a bit distorted and like in a cyber wind tunnel. on some crappy flanger pedal crap!

i turned off all effects on all things on the mpc, main volume is set properly and quite low.
I tried going threw the whole "recording the main out" section and do all that (doesn't help)
I put it threw a mixer a few times which made it sound better but what went into audacity was the same crap (sounds like an mp3 encoded at 2kbps) <--- the best way to describe it which sucks cause when i would pull my headphones out of my laptop and into the mixer.. wow what a world of a difference it sounds... like it should.

I have tried to "normalize" and eq it back to health in audacity only to be met with sub par, slightly better than horrible results. (thats how i get my vinyl to sound good, the normalize and eq thing)

so is there like something i have to do or click in audacity to get it to sound right?
i have looked at all manuals and found nothing really helpful :(
does the mpc spit out a weird frequency that my acer laptop with audacity doesnt like?

it sounds like its in a slightly flanged crappy mp3 even before you hit record sometimes.
i have checked all connections, they are all good. If i went from headphone jack straight into the laptop (instead of the main outs) would that help? i have my doubts. can anyone help me???

and dont say make a wave file, cause i cant change things on the fly and dont want to spend
hours making new sequences for something i can just push with my finger..
ALSO I do NOT want to be forced to download some drivers from akai's site just to have that not work and more usb antics from horrible windows vista, the operating system that never was. All just to get a wave file that i would have to still convert to mp3..

there HAS to be a way to just plug the outs of the mpc, to the in of my laptop and have it sound decent.
any help would be appreciated and possibly a god send. I am ready to throw my mpc out the window along with this crappy laptop into the snow. :(
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Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By Lampdog Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:55 am
Look into the mixer on your computer, the inputs, and what enabled and not enabled. What youa re actually recording through the mixer on YOUR COMPUTER.

Image

This cable to line in on your computer, not mic in.
Like I said above, make sure all other inputs on your laptop are quite, every input or recording volume slider in the windows mixer is down except the one you are actually using. Don't use the "record what you hear" either cause that's just wrong.
That is actually a mix of everything coming outta your speakers AND the inputs all summed up together.

Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By argon Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:37 am
thats the cable i was looking for but the store by me didnt have it.
so i have the other one instead.
this laptop only has mic in NO line in :(

the windows vista mixer is straight garbage it only has 3 sliders: speakers, windows sounds and audacity.
and the audacity and speakers one is linked together. audacity can be lower but not higher than the speaker slider level
so no way to turn speakers off and have audacity going :(
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Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By Lampdog Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:42 am
So you didn't specify or show me a pic of your EXACT cabling, AND your windows is recording mic input AND mpc input AND you have other things in the mixer that are ON that could possibly be recording as well.

You sir, are not doing well at all, lol.

MIC IN is just that, for a MIC.
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Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By Pastor-of-Muppets Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:25 pm
argon wrote:So is there any simple changes i could be missing to get the mpc1000 to sound like it does BEFORE it goes threw my sound card? (i'm beginning to think its my crappy acer sound card)

So it sounds good on the mpc, but not on the computer, and it sounds good in the mixer, but not on the computer ... maybe it's not the mpc?

argon wrote:So I see 2 options to record on the fly from the mpc1000 INTO a computer or whatever you desire
even tho there is NOTHING about this in the manual which disappoints me.

why should the akai manual say how to use your computer and software? it says how to make the mpc output a standard line-level stereo signal, what you do with that is your business.

argon wrote:I have tried to "normalize" and eq it back to health in audacity only to be met with sub par, slightly better than horrible results. (thats how i get my vinyl to sound good, the normalize and eq thing)

so is there like something i have to do or click in audacity to get it to sound right?
i have looked at all manuals and found nothing really helpful :(
does the mpc spit out a weird frequency that my acer laptop with audacity doesnt like?

no it outputs a totally standard signal. but maybe you configured your computer to apply a RIAA phono preamp stage, for recording from vinyl? are you using a USB turntable (with built-in phono preamp) or a normal turntable, which needs a phono stage?

But as Lampdog said, MIC IN is for a mic. Most laptops don't have good sound cards, so don't blame the mpc if you don't have a LINE IN and don't have a good sound card

Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By argon Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:47 pm
Pastor-of-Muppets wrote:
argon wrote:So is there any simple changes i could be missing to get the mpc1000 to sound like it does BEFORE it goes threw my sound card? (i'm beginning to think its my crappy acer sound card)

So it sounds good on the mpc, but not on the computer, and it sounds good in the mixer, but not on the computer ... maybe it's not the mpc?

argon wrote:So I see 2 options to record on the fly from the mpc1000 INTO a computer or whatever you desire
even tho there is NOTHING about this in the manual which disappoints me.

why should the akai manual say how to use your computer and software? it says how to make the mpc output a standard line-level stereo signal, what you do with that is your business.

argon wrote:I have tried to "normalize" and eq it back to health in audacity only to be met with sub par, slightly better than horrible results. (thats how i get my vinyl to sound good, the normalize and eq thing)

so is there like something i have to do or click in audacity to get it to sound right?
i have looked at all manuals and found nothing really helpful :(
does the mpc spit out a weird frequency that my acer laptop with audacity doesnt like?

no it outputs a totally standard signal. but maybe you configured your computer to apply a RIAA phono preamp stage, for recording from vinyl? are you using a USB turntable (with built-in phono preamp) or a normal turntable, which needs a phono stage?

But as Lampdog said, MIC IN is for a mic. Most laptops don't have good sound cards, so don't blame the mpc if you don't have a LINE IN and don't have a good sound card



im not blaming the mpc, im blaming audacity and acer sound card if you read it...
last i checked this was an mpc forum... and chances are people hook there mpc's to computers..
and maybe had a similar problem.
if i go to an audacity forum and mention mpc hookup problems, 9 out of 10 people have no idea what an mpc even is.
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Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By Lampdog Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:57 pm
argon wrote:im blaming audacity and acer sound card if you read it...

Honestly, you can't blam Audacity or Acer. It was you who tried to use a mic in.
Knowing full well that it was MIC IN right? MIC IN and LINE IN have different specs, meaning not the same.
right then and there you aren't going to get the audio that you think you should have cause you are going way outta
the supposed design of the connections.

Next, maybe the Win7 mixer you possibly don't fully understand.
Then, maybe the fact you don't have an audio interface and you already knew that
you didn't have a line in. But I bet you sorta knew you'd need an audio interface?!?!

So blaming Audacity, laughable. Baming Acer sound card, laughable. Please try again
when you get a USB audio interface and the proper connects and such, we'd be glad to help.

Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By argon Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:01 pm
So looking around in windows vista
finding the mic settings, hidden in a menu, in the speaker window, on settings, has weird built in effects??
which weren't selected BUT i checked the box "no effects"
and then ALSO the speaker box has a tab inside another tab
for effects to which was on "sewer pipe" of all things... so i turned that off too. which i never turned on in the 1st place and that fixed the problem!

So any Acer with no line in with windows vista users out there be careful of all the hard to find "options" that might be on in the: start menu/control panel/sounds/speakers/mic/options/settings/effect tabs.

I finally got it out of the mpc 1000! :)

if any one gives a sh!t i put it up here:
http://www.myspace.com/architectsofsound

its in the player called "space"
needs an MC like nine, jeru, buckshot or cannible ox
but its there, its only like the 10th beat i've made so be easy
the volume is a bit low im not sure why.

Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By argon Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:08 pm
Lampdog wrote:
argon wrote:im blaming audacity and acer sound card if you read it...

Honestly, you can't blam Audacity or Acer. It was you who tried to use a mic in.
Knowing full well that it was MIC IN right? MIC IN and LINE IN have different specs, meaning not the same.
right then and there you aren't going to get the audio that you think you should have cause you are going way outta
the supposed design of the connections.

Next, maybe the Win7 mixer you possibly don't fully understand.
Then, maybe the fact you don't have an audio interface and you already knew that
you didn't have a line in. But I bet you sorta knew you'd need an audio interface?!?!

So blaming Audacity, laughable. Baming Acer sound card, laughable. Please try again
when you get a USB audio interface and the proper connects and such, we'd be glad to help.




I was hoping i wouldn't have to do all that. as it costs more money i DONT have..
i mean sh!t i spent 900 bucks on this mpc1000
you'd think they'd include a usb cable and some simple software like audacity with special mpc mode or something
so you could do what i tried. RIGHT out of the box and for FREE

yes sadly i know i should be using line in, if i had one :(
i didnt notice when i bought this, or did i think i'd be doing musical things with this.

i was hoping maybe something advanced since 2001 and cool edit pro
and usb sound cards with rca jacks.. (which i did have at one point)
apparently only minor changes have happened.
is this the future??? where is plug and play??
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Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By poundaproblem Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:26 pm
Cmon now.... Dont BLAME anyone but yourself as the user for not getting info before making purchases. Why should akai have to include free this free that, spoon-fed custom-catered directions etc etc. Every home with a computer should have a $2 USB cable laying around and well Acer makes cheap computers so you cant expect all the bells and whistles of a MBP on a comp that was probably $400. The solution is REAL simple. Either buy a soundcard or resample the MPC back to itself and drag the WAV into the computer. You can get a simple interface that will work perfectly with Audacity for about $80. I'll even make it easy and show you what you can use.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2973468

This is plug and play with vista and will give you line ins to the comp for cheap. The other option is free and will only require a USB cable.
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Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By Lampdog Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:30 pm
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=126082&hilit=convert+song
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=125809&hilit=convert+song&start=15
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=125038&hilit=convert+song

No sound card needed.
Extended RAM space is a MUST cause the resulting wav can be huge in size.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=20082&p=375860&hilit=mpc+1000#p375860
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Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By Pastor-of-Muppets Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:00 pm
argon wrote:im not blaming the mpc, im blaming audacity and acer sound card if you read it...

I read it, and I took "I am ready to throw my mpc out the window" to mean you were blaming the mpc.

I also took "there is NOTHING about this in the manual which disappoints me" as blaming Akai.

I guess I misunderstood, sorry.

argon wrote:you'd think they'd include a usb cable and some simple software like audacity with special mpc mode or something
so you could do what i tried. RIGHT out of the box and for FREE

that wouldn't have helped with Vista's audio settings though!

Re: How come my mpc 1000 recordings sound like sh!t ?

By ChicagoSPecial Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:03 pm
Lampdog wrote:
MIC IN is just that, for a MIC.


Didnt know thats the other headphone jack was a line in...i been recording everything thru the mic in and my mix sounds pretty good after mastering...
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