What's the best way(s) to become an MPC Pro?

I just wiped my MPC500, got my nose in the manuals, and im ready to get started. How did you all get going? Does anyone have a favorite video series? Or books?(like the ones shown on this site) Or even any good production schools in the western U.S? (the semester is over this month and im looking into going to music school). Please just let me know how I can become as savvy as you all. Thanks

Thomas cook it

Practice?

have fun, practice... dont look at it as being a chore... get your timing right by spending 30 minutes a day hitting those pads along to some music you're listening to.. experiment, try out every feature.. delete all your music from the hard drive unless it was produced by dilla or madlib, learn to manipulate samples to the song rather then only sticking to manipulating the song to the samples.

said it once and ill say it again,

get off the internet and on to your mpc.

real talk.

Read The Friendly Manual, Watch YouTube/Vimeo tutorial vids, stay on lock to MPC Forums and don't purchase those schitty sample CD's from eBay.
You'll learn a lot.

mr_debauch wrote: learn to manipulate samples to the song rather then only sticking to manipulating the song to the samples.

CHURCH

^
and don't forget to RTFM!

just jokin'

tapedeck wrote:said it once and ill say it again,

get off the internet and on to your mpc.

real talk.

No no no noooooooo you don't get to be a "pro" until you fart around the OT section enough you make the "five digit" club.

^

10000 hrs of practice......... thats thee only way....
& carefully read that manual, understand ur chords & don't let it get thee best of u......
Enjoy

the tutorial books on this site are golden, it was the most helpful thing i purchased back when i had my mpc 500. i think they cost 40 dollars.

it breaks down all the features step by step in easy tutorials, it was wayy easier than reading the manual for me.

i dont have a 500 anymore, but since figuring it out (and making more beats on logic) i have a 2500 with jjos and i pretty much brezed through the learning curve on it.

i am still gonna buy the jjos 2xl manual that is coming out for it though.

when i used the manual, i pretty much applied all the concepts in it to the current beat i was working on and didnt use the tutorials step by step, it translated over like that easy enough too.

and last thing, you gotta practice!

BigWillyStyle9 wrote:I just wiped my MPC500, got my nose in the manuals, and im ready to get started. How did you all get going? Does anyone have a favorite video series? Or books?(like the ones shown on this site) Or even any good production schools in the western U.S? (the semester is over this month and im looking into going to music school). Please just let me know how I can become as savvy as you all. Thanks

Making thousands of beats on it...and reading every bit of literature you can on it.