MIDI question

I don't know much about MIDI. I have looked around but haven't found the answer I need right now. I was looking for a MIDI cable at Guitar Center and the sales person told me to avoid MIDI whenever possible. He told me that I didn't need it for what I want to do. What I want to do is lay down a beat and add the Microkorg to it. I was told that I could make a beat with my MPC1000 and switch the audio cables (what he recommended instead of MIDI cables) to the MK and just go back and forth layering. Was he full of shit? Every tutorial I watch is nothing but MIDI connections. I know this is probably simple shit but I need to learn somehow. I know what MIDI is so dont bother telling me that it is data not audio. Thanks.

he was full of shit... avoid midi cables??? i dont understand what he was suggesting.. did he want you to lay down drums in your mp than sample the mk into the mp and build like that? that sounds like a waste of time.. almost everyone here's setup would be ineffective without midi.. just midi up.. you will need 2 midi cables and 4 1/4TRS cables..

MIDI:
MPC/A-OUT------>MK/IN
MK/OUT-------->MPC/1-IN

TRS:
MPC L/R---->MIXER
MK L/R------>MIXER

setup your mp sync out (MODE>PAD9>F2) and whatever settings on the mk and you would be set.. its so easy..

Thanks man. I figured so. Maybe he did mean for me to sample the MK but that sounds like a lot of time and not as fun. Thanks for your help and instructions. I will hit the store up in the morning for some cables. Cables are about the only thing that dont cost a fortune. Is there such a thing as shitty cables? Not that it matters too much. High end ones are only a few bucks more. Ive just spent a lot of money on all my new gear and my pockets are getting smaller. Will I be ok with cheap cables?

when it comes to midi, "shitty" only refers to the build quality of the cable.. youll learn that they all do the same thing equally regardless of the brand or price.. no audio is affected, MIDI is only transferring information between the 2 machines. GCs cheapest brand i believe is LiveWire or HOSA, it should do the job.. trust, the pricey cables dont do any thing better than the budget cables..

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-M ... 1166798.gc

or the DUAL cable is exactly what you would need to get started

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-D ... 1166788.gc

Cool man. I appreciate your time. What do you know about the MPC1000 book that is for sale on this site? It is a little spendy but I will pick it up if it would do me good. One more thing, do you know of any good sites to get some drum samples? I have found a few sample packs but they are all around fifty bucks. Sorry for all the noob questions. Im just a cheap ass. Especially after the cash I dropped on all my equipment.

the book is geared for the akaiOS.. i use jjos so i had no interest in checking the tut book on here. if i could recommend anything for a new 1000 user, it would be to install JJOS1, try it out before even learning the akaiOS, and if you like it (which you will) buy it. the akaios is useless after you try JJOS. it cost $49 for the JJ password and there is no way around that.. just youtube some jjos videos. as far ass sounds go, google "producer drum kits" and a ton of stuff will come up...

I recommend that you learn the Akai OS using the MPC-Tutor book first. If you don't know much about the Akai OS, then you would not appreciate JJOS as much. JJOS has some serious features, but I don't see it as better for new people to learn on. It has powerful features, once you learn to use the MPC. If you learn on the Akai OS, then try out the JJOS, you would better informed to judge which OS works best for you. That is just my opinion.

C-Diddy801 wrote:Cool man. I appreciate your time. What do you know about the MPC1000 book that is for sale on this site? It is a little spendy but I will pick it up if it would do me good. One more thing, do you know of any good sites to get some drum samples? I have found a few sample packs but they are all around fifty bucks. Sorry for all the noob questions. Im just a cheap ass. Especially after the cash I dropped on all my equipment.

The book is good, buy it. I started out on JJ OS1 (bought my MPC used, OS1 password already installed) and had no trouble at all reading the book. Some things work differently, but you'll be fine if you keep the stan steez manual at hand:
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=76675

You'll also get a nice selection of free samples when you buy the MPC book.

josephnicks wrote: did he want you to lay down drums in your mp than sample the mk into the mp and build like that?

I do it that way sometimes. Nothing wrong with hopping out the box from time to time; I mean music is art, there is no right or wrong...

If you think about it, sampling yourself playing keys is no different from sampling Herbie Hancock playing keys.