~looking to get mPc. which one??~

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~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By centolahj Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:45 pm
I have decided to get one more toy before I stop for a while and have decided to get an MPC. I have been using fl studios for quite some time and recently started with reason 4. I was looking at the 500 mainly because of the price, usb connect, and size but was wondering if buying an older model for the sameish price would make more sense. also I was wondering if the programs that I am currently using would work well for the mpc's and if not which ones would be best. I will probably be buying mid fall (need to save) so I got some time to think about my options. let me know what you think. peace and thanks.

Also i have an oxygen 25 series and was wondering if i could in some way use it as a controller.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By mr_debauch Tue Jul 20, 2010 6:37 pm
mpcs were not made to work with fl studio and reason... they were made to do it's thing internally... recording samples, editing the wav forms and making music using them... they also are intended to controll external hardware with midi cables...

now you can connect the mpc to your fl studio or reason and use it as a MPD style controller but what would be the point...

the mpc is like taking the wave traveler, and the record button of fl studio and putting it in it's own box with pads...
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By krush777 Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:01 pm
centolahj wrote:I have decided to get one more toy before I stop for a while and have decided to get an MPC. I have been using fl studios for quite some time and recently started with reason 4. I was looking at the 500 mainly because of the price, usb connect, and size but was wondering if buying an older model for the sameish price would make more sense. also I was wondering if the programs that I am currently using would work well for the mpc's and if not which ones would be best. I will probably be buying mid fall (need to save) so I got some time to think about my options. let me know what you think. peace and thanks.

Also i have an oxygen 25 series and was wondering if i could in some way use it as a controller.



RTFF!!

And the last F is for Forum.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By mr_debauch Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:21 pm
I think that some people believe the mpc will act like an expansion to their fl studio, or their reason, or what ever... where as a real expansion to reason would be additional ReFill packs and for fl studio more VST pluggins or sound kits. The MPC is a seperate music making system all together.

so yeah RTFF is not a bad idea... or at least some youtube research.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By krush777 Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:26 pm
Hasn't this type of question been answered over and over again on the forum. I have rarely had to ask questions because I have read a huge number of threads while on the forum. I used to think that the expert members on here were far too harsh when they would post RTFM. But after a while, I see why they post that saying. Doing research is the greatest skill that my recording mentor ever gave me.

Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By centolahj Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:00 pm
@NearTao. I am looking to make the songs on the mpc like is is meant to do with the sounds it has preloaded, but would also like to be able to make my own synths, drums, sounds, etc, on fl studios then put them onto the mpc. Also what I was also wondering was if it could hook up live to a program like fl studios so I can play the sounds on the mpc, have them play and record directly in fl studios, and then be able to throw the sounds through say a bit crusher or a flanger in fl studios and record is straight to the program rather than the MPC. My whole goal is to be able to take one individual sound (preloaded on the MPC) and not only have the ability to record the sound as is but then but then be able to play with them, pitch, fade, balance, mute, repeat, etc etc as i am recording. If you have ever heard of Samiyam I know he has a 2000xl and the way he can take each note and make them his own is the same sort of style I am looking to not copy but match.

Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By centolahj Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:05 pm
and @ krush777, MY mentor told me that the best way to learn is through conversation and instead of pididling through 8 million posts about what other peoples questions were, i figured people may actually take the time to help me by give me specific answers to my specific questions. And im sure that I am not the only one on here to have asked a question that has been asked before just as im sure you are not the first to complain about it.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By NearTao Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:44 pm
So you want to use FL (or whatever software on the computer) as a sound source for the MPC?

Yeah, you can do that. At it's most basic, you can record from any sample source whether it is vinyl/soft synth/hardware synth/youtube, anything that interests you. Then you can assign the sample to a pad. If you want to get fancy and use the sample as an instrument you can use 16 levels for example, set it to tune and then you can use the pads to play the sample pitched up/down a semitone for each pad you are away from the 'root' pad.

I've got both the 500/1k so I may come acrossed a bit biased, but I'd probably suggest the 1k (or 2.5k) w/ JJOS as an excellent entry MPC. It has a good selection of upgrades you can do over time as money permits. You can find pretty well maxed out 1k's in the $500-$800 price range on ebay/craigslist, so it is definitely worth looking around.

The 500, while an excellent MPC in it's own right also isn't quite as hands on/friendly/inviting as the 1k. The display really limits what you can do until you really know the machine/workflow.

The 4k/5k both look like awesome machines, but the 4k has no development going on anymore, and the 5k development might as well be dead. At least with JJOS if you report a bug in the OS there is a pretty decent chance it might get fixed. So even if OS v3 comes out for the 5k, who knows how many more bugs may be introduced or how long it would take for them to get fixed since there really is no dialogue with Akai going on.

My opinion, go with the 1k. It is a solid machine and if you get it used should have a decent resale value so that it doesn't kill your wallet if you either decide to upgrade to another device or just move onto software after.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By Menco Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:04 pm
mr_debauch wrote:mpcs were not made to work with fl studio and reason... they were made to do it's thing internally... recording samples, editing the wav forms and making music using them... they also are intended to controll external hardware with midi cables...


Sequencing the Reason instruments with the mpc's sequencer works perfect by me. Hardware synth or software synth. In terms of midi it doesn't really make any difference.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By dabmeister Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:57 pm
NearTao wrote:My opinion, go with the 1k. It is a solid machine and if you get it used should have a decent resale value so that it doesn't kill your wallet if you either decide to upgrade to another device or just move onto software after.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By krush777 Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:14 am
centolahj wrote:and @ krush777, MY mentor told me that the best way to learn is through conversation and instead of pididling through 8 million posts about what other peoples questions were, i figured people may actually take the time to help me by give me specific answers to my specific questions. And im sure that I am not the only one on here to have asked a question that has been asked before just as im sure you are not the first to complain about it.



I hope your mentor also told you that research will allow you to successfully engage other in conversation about a particular topic. True, you are not the only on to ask a question that is already answered. My bad if you took my post as a "complaint", but the forum has a great search function that would cut down on the time anyone has to spend to find answers.
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Re: ~looking to get mPc. which one??~

By dabmeister Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:20 am
If you ask me, I think it's a waste of time cop'n a 500. I see it being more of a teaser thus making you wish you'd saved a bit more a cop'd something better.
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