MPC 500 tips and tricks?

I just got an MPC 500, it's pretty fun. I put some drum kits on it and it's fun to mess around. There's a few things that I don't get though, maybe someone on here could help me out:

How exactly does the whole track, pad group, and program thing work? How are they related and how can I save and load them? I can't load sequences at all (tried to load a test one, it wouldn't load), and I have no idea how to create and save new programs.

Also, how can I record into it? I have an adapter and a SM57 , but when I went into record mode, I couldn't hear anything. I tried to record into the MPC from my turntable, but the quality was poor and I could t figure out how to slice it.

Any solutions to my problems and general protips regarding the MPC would be appreciated. Thanks.

Different hardware works on different signal strengths.

So, without going through a device to convert phono level to line level, you won't really get much play out of your turntable directly into the 500. Similarly, you'll want to see if the phantom power is working on your MPC 500, as without it, you won't really be able to use the microphone.

If you've got the hookups... try connecting your phone, computer, etc... to the MPC 500... they will output at line level and will at least be able to help you determine if you've got a problem or not.

Here's some stuff that might help

https://www.mpc-tutor.com/mpc500-tutorials/