Getting beat out of mpc help

I've looked all over and seen different answers but i decided to post here and see if someone can't make it plain for me. I know about recording the Main Out but I don't want to do that because it doesn't sound the same as when i play from the headphone jack. I understand that a audio interface will help me record the beat into a DAW; I'm fine with that, but some say any one will do while others say it's necessary to dish out enough for an apogee duet or even more for an RME Babyface. I just want the beat that I'm hearing from my MPC through the headphones on my Macbook. What is the most efficient way to do this without changing the sound that I hear?

Recording main outs.. (digitally inside mpc)

I know about recording the Main Out but I don't want to do that because it doesn't sound the same as when i play from the headphone jack.

Great... could you enlight us how it "doesn't sound the same"?


If tibres are not fine like on phones experiment with Master level (mode 10)
If sound is sluggish /lags occur - you got too much useless processing going on
If it's cutting some sounds - you are over polyphony limit, and recording eats up 2 voices BTW

Bugfix wrote:Recording main outs.. (digitally inside mpc)

I know about recording the Main Out but I don't want to do that because it doesn't sound the same as when i play from the headphone jack.

Great... could you enlight us how it "doesn't sound the same"?


If tibres are not fine like on phones experiment with Master level (mode 10)
If sound is sluggish /lags occur - you got too much useless processing going on
If it's cutting some sounds - you are over polyphony limit, and recording eats up 2 voices BTW

Ok..I'm not well versed in musical or musical production jargon so bear with me..recording in the main out input seems to cause a form of distortion..it's not that the beat becomes unrecognizable or anything..but my kick suddenly has this slight grunge as opposed to the perfect roundness it has when i just play the sequence on the main screen..the snare also turns far more metallic than it is normally...and also the overall piece sounds significantly louder...it's just not the beat i made..mind you, i have tweaked the master compressor and eq but that's how i managed to get the sequences to sound good to my liking so how could that be the issue?

To avoid distortion when recording using the main outs, try dropping the global level in the OTHER screen

MPC-Tutor wrote:To avoid distortion when recording using the main outs, try dropping the global level in the OTHER screen

I have, but it creates another issue..now I know people have argued back and forth about the "MPC sound" and whether there is indeed a warmth added or it being just a myth...for my part, I don't know what's added or not but i know that everything to my ears sounds better in the mpc..every sample I put in, every beat I make, sounds better than what I've heard come through a computer..I want to maintain that integrity somehow

Ray.G wrote:

MPC-Tutor wrote:To avoid distortion when recording using the main outs, try dropping the global level in the OTHER screen

I have, but it creates another issue..now I know people have argued back and forth about the "MPC sound" and whether there is indeed a warmth added or it being just a myth...for my part, I don't know what's added or not but i know that everything to my ears sounds better in the mpc..every sample I put in, every beat I make, sounds better than what I've heard come through a computer..I want to maintain that integrity somehow

Then record internally using MAIN OUT in the RECORD page. But we're talking an MPC1000 here, not MPC3000, there's nothing elusive about the MPC1000 'sound'. A more flexible option would be to buy yourself a half decent audio interface.

MPC-Tutor wrote:

Ray.G wrote:

MPC-Tutor wrote:To avoid distortion when recording using the main outs, try dropping the global level in the OTHER screen

I have, but it creates another issue..now I know people have argued back and forth about the "MPC sound" and whether there is indeed a warmth added or it being just a myth...for my part, I don't know what's added or not but i know that everything to my ears sounds better in the mpc..every sample I put in, every beat I make, sounds better than what I've heard come through a computer..I want to maintain that integrity somehow

Then record internally using MAIN OUT in the RECORD page. But we're talking an MPC1000 here, not MPC3000, there's nothing elusive about the MPC1000 'sound'. A more flexible option would be to buy yourself a half decent audio interface.

Right, and that's where I am. It looks like the distortion and change in sound is a result of the Master Level and the built in eq and compression I used. So, now my question becomes what is the best long term option for tweaking (eq, etc) my beats. Is it to make my whole beat in my mpc where I know I like the sound, invest in a decent audio interface and just record the beat into GarageBand or something; Or invest in a good DAW with solid eq and compression and just convert the untouched individual tracks to wav. through MAIN OUT and do all the "beefing up" on my Macbook?

Generally speaking it's best to track out with no effects directly into individual audio tracks in your DAW, then mix down. But you can of course try doing it all inside your 1000, but these days with cheap quality DAWs like Logic and Reaper, and decent enough audio interfaces for $200, you have so much more flexibility tracking it into your computer.

I'd get a scarlett 2i2 USB interface. awesome preamps and comes with some nice compressors too

If you want to be really simple you can just attach a jack from your MPC (headphones) to a mini-jack on your macbook (remember to change the 'sound' setting in preferences to 'input'), and there you have it. Of course as everyone above says you should (for better quality) go via a soundcard, which is preferable.